Wednesday June 12 - Zagreb
After a bit of a restless night we flew to Zagreb at 10:50am. We arrived a bit late, around 11:45am at the spanking new ZAG airport (well 2 years old) - we seemed to be the only flight at that time - our luggage was literally first off the belt - a miracle - our 2 suitcases arrived together - another miracle.
Our pre-booked car and driver was waiting for us - the car was a really small electric vehicle but was fine as was our lady driver. We checked into our suite at the Esplanade Hotel - very 5* with old world charm. Since breakfast was a distant memory we had lunch around 12:45pm once we had settled in - we ate in the hotel Bistro restaurant - very nice but certainly not cheap.
We were both quite tired and jet lagged so we had a bit of rest before heading out to walk around the old town in 33℃ heat. It was quite draining - apparently this is "situation normal" all summer which, according to the locals, started this week (weather-wise).
Before heading out we had a bit of a panic - as we had an e-mail from our hotel in Plitvice National Park stating that we needed to buy our entrance tickets online at least 2 days prior - well you need to specify a start time and entrance which are capacity controlled - some slots were already fully booked but we were able to secure the 11 am slot for entrance 2 - which means we must enter between 11-12 or miss out and forfeit our entrance fee (>$100 for 2). All in all this meant we must leave very early on Friday morning for the 2 hour drive.
We walked around the old town which was not very inspiring - you can see that Croatia is not really booming economically - even after all the EU handouts.
We stopped for five’es at a sidewalk bar of which there any many - an Aperol Spritz and a large beer were about $16 including 25% VAT + another 2% unidentified tax - clearly a lot cheaper than Switzerland.
After showers we just a light bite sitting on the hotel’s bar terrace - too tired to do anything else - it was off to bed before 9 pm.
Thursday June 13 - Zagreb
We both had a much better sleep - we went for breakfast around 7 am - excellent cold buffet and a la carte hot selections - 9 out of 10.
We spent the morning exploring more of the city in sunny and hot conditions - 33℃ again - we finally stopped for a drink at a nice cafe at one of the main squares then went back to the hotel so I could change from my runners to cabos due to a bunion attack. Around 1 pm we went in search of lunch - and to our surprise the majority of the street-side / square-side cafes only serve drinks (of all sorts) - not even a bowl of peanuts to be found. We eventually found one serving food so we shared a salad and pizza.
We went back to the hotel around 2:30pm - tired - I reorganised the luggage for our very early start the following day to Plitvice park.
We went to the hotel’s lovely outdoor bar around 6:30pm for a pre-dinner cocktail (cocktails are pretty much the same price as a glass of wine). We had planned to just eat at the hotel’s bistro but when we tried to get a table we found it was fully booked for a function - that will teach us not to make a reservation. By this time we were too lazy to walk the 15 minutes (in the still hot conditions) to another restaurant so we returned to the outdoor bar for a very light dinner (salad and soup for Dieter and chicken Caesar for me). Then it was off to bed early again.
Friday June 14 - Plitvice
It was a very early jump for us - breakfast at 6 am and taxi to the car rental place at 8 am for the estimated 2 hour drive to Plitvice. By 8:30am we were on the road but with city traffic and traffic on the 2-lane road for the last 80+ km’s to the park we only arrived at our hotel just after 11am. The hotel (Hotel Plitvice) is 2-star, somewhat to my surprise and chagrin but it was only for one night. We dropped our bags with the bellman and headed over to ”entrance 2” of the park. We had booked this entrance as the time slot we wanted was not available for entrance 1. To our surprise this was better in any case as our hotel is basically right at this entrance with entrance 1 some 5k’s away.
At the suggestion of the Information desk we took “route H” - estimated to take 4-6 hours and requiring 8.9 k’s of walking. It started with a short bus trip to the start of the route - then a 4+ km walk past various lakes which cascade into each other, from here there’s a 20 minute boat ride then the walk continues …. this second part was much more scenic and the area reached from entrance 1 - the crowds were ever increasing as we made our way along. The highlight being the “big waterfall” - here it was body to body. By this time we had abandoned our plan to return to the park in the morning.
By 3:30pm we were back at the hotel very hot, tired and hungry not having had any lunch. There are some spots to eat/drink within the park but they only serve pretty much snack food. We checked into our room - finding out that it’s not air-conditioned and while overlooking one of the lakes it gets the afternoon sun - with the outside temperature being mid-30’s it was hotter than Hades in the room. So we had a drink on the terrace before hitting the showers. By 5:30pm it was even hotter so we returned to the bar before dinner. The dinner was OK - but at $80 for 2 you can’t really complain.
Saturday June 15 - Sibenik
After an ok (6 out of 10) breakfast we drove off to Sibenik - a coastal village close to Krka park. It was about a 2 hour drive to our hotel - D-Resort, a new 4* resort - boutique luxury. We were able to check-in almost immediately but decided to delay our trip to Krka to the following morning. Instead we went to the pool/spa restaurant bar for a light lunch. When we tried to book the hotel's main restaurant for dinner we were advised that it was closed for a private party. The was a touring group from the UK, all driving high end luxury cars, staying at the hotel. These cars, which were parked right outside the hotel, all in a row, were super luxury - some worth literally millions of dollars.
So back to dinner - the guest services lady then made us a booking at a restaurant in the old town. She also advised that there was a children's festival in town - a really big deal - it was the 49th anniversary etc etc - with the town expected to be overflowing - just our luck!! Anyway we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in one of the pools right beside the sea.
After showers we headed into the old town by taxi (some 4-5 K’s away and definitely not walkable) - we arrived early so we could have a walk around the town etc - clearly we were overdressed in long pants. We had a pretty reasonable dinner at Pjat’s accompanied by an excellent 10-year old Chardonnay. Then it was back to the hotel and off to bed.
Sunday June 16 - Sibenik to Split
After deciding not to visit Krka after all (too similar to Plitvice and also very crowded) we spent a couple of hours exploring the old town of Sibenik before driving off to Split. We took the costal road which is very scenic. We stopped just outside Split at a Lidl to buy some preliminary groceries then arrived at our apartment around 2pm. We had a few navigation issues as is always the case in old towns etc. The owner of the apartment who checked us in could not speak English (her daughter who does was not available) - anyway we finally sent her on her way and I started unpacking while Dieter returned our hire car - another navigation hassle.
It was now around 3pm so we headed to the Konsum supermarket only 2 minutes walk away to get more provisions - enough for breakfasts, one dinner and some plonk. By the time we got back to the apartment and got organised it was time for a beer and G&T - since we had not had a chance for lunch we had a few chips with our refreshments.
The apartment is great - virtually brand new - 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, fully air-conditioned with even a laundry.
We then went out for a familiarisation walk around town. We stayed home for dinner - pesto & mushroom pasta and salad. It was another early night.
Monday June 17 - Split
We had breakfast of fruit and yoghurt and coffee (sort of) - when shopping I was not able to buy filter papers for the coffee machine but was able to get pods for the “Nespresso” machine - however I unknowingly bought machietto pods which have a light milky blend - fine for Dieter but not for me - I decided to grin and bear it and use these up. Provisioning in a strange city in a foreign country has plenty of challenges; eg. I could get a bottle of gin but only 1.5 litre bottles of tonic - shocking !!
We spent the morning visiting the city’s main attraction - the castle then went back to the apartment to drop off some berries we bought at a local market and book a tour for the following day.
We then had a light lunch at a seaside cafe following by more walking around in the scorching sun - 35℃ - just too hot for this sort of activity.
Disaster - I just realised our apartment had been broken into while we were out - safe ripped out of a cupboard with all our passports, money and my wallet (all my credit cards) as well as both sets of house keys and car keys; in addition, all our clothes were dumped out of our new white suitcase and the suitcase taken (probably to put the safe in). Police and owners in attendance - owner and a technician were here without our permission) while we were out - she claims (in Croatian) that she was with him the whole time - I think he must have jimmied the door and returned. We are currently planning our return to Zagreb to visit our respective embassies to get new emergency passports.
Tuesday June 18 - Split to Zagreb
We set out around 9 am for Zagreb, some 4 hours drive away. We first had to stop at the police station to get a report - we arrived at our hotel Canopy by Hilton around 3 pm with no navigation hiccups. After checking in and unpacking our various grocery bags of our belongings (due to the stolen suitcase) - we got a bit more organisated for our passports to be re-issued. My appointment with the OZ Embassy was for 9:30 am the following morning - Dieter just had to front up at the German Embassy. At this stage he is in a bit of strife as the Germans are quoting 2 weeks for a new biometric passport then he needs to get his OZ re-entry visa transferred to the new passport.
We had dinner at the hotel - fish for both of us and quite good. Off to bed totally exhausted.
Wednesday June 19 - Zagreb
I took a taxi to the OZ embassy for my 9:30 am appointment - it took some time as I had to go get passport photos and fill in the forms - I also bought a suitcase in the shop in the same centre - the shop rang a taxi for me and I was back at the hotel before 11:30am - my passport will be ready around 11 am tomorrow.
Dieter also convinced the Germans to issue him an emergency passport on the spot. Getting his resident return entry visa transferred is proving to be a bit of a challenge.
We idled about the rest of the day - finally walking into town to check out a restaurant then back for showers and back to town for dinner.
Thursday June 20 - Zagreb back to Split
After collecting my passport we drove back to Split - leaving around 10:15 am - the drive should have taken 4 hours but in fact took 8 due to very heavy traffic and multiple traffic jams. We arrived at our hotel (Hotel Luxe) at about 6:00pm - it’s on a very busy street (near the ferry wharves which is why we choose it) - we ended up parking 10 minutes walk away and dragging our luggage to the front door. After a swift check-in we dropped our bags then went back to the car to drive the 20+ minutes to the Sixt return depot. The walk back was not nearly as far/long as you can go via the old town (walking streets only) - it was so late we stopped for a well deserved drink then picked a random tourist joint for a salad and pizza for dinner. Finally it was back to our hotel and bed.
Friday June 21 - Split to Korcula
After an early breakfast we caught the 10 am ferry to Korcula arriving at 12:30 pm - Zoran our host at Korcula Adventures met us and drove the short 10 minute drive to our villa - which is really an apartment.
We settled into our apartment - a simple but nice 2-bedroom (2 bathroom, kitchen but no lounge) with a terrace overlooking the bay. We went straight to the common dining area for lunch around 1:30 pm - breakfast, lunch and all tours are included in our package. The apartment has a lovely balcony overlooking the sea - will be home to a few sundowners I’m sure. Other than that it’s pretty modest.
Lunch was on offer at 1:30pm - we had (without any choice) some salad, pasta with beef and ice cream washed down with water and some local white wine.
We spent the rest of the afternoon settling in then got Zoran (the owner) to drive us to town (a couple of k’s away) as Friday is the local fishermen’s cook up - we sat in the pub along side the street stalls and shared a serving of tuna dished up on a flimsy plastic plate with 2 plastic forks - a bottle of local wine added to the fun. The town was buzzing with tourists and locals - we went home early (9pm) via free taxi (funded by Zoran) and hit the sack. Fortunately I had my Zermatt pillow as the bed is not comfortable with hard pillows.
Saturday June 22 - Lumbarda on Korcula
We had breakfast at 8:30 am (the earliest possible time) - it did not take long as we both rated it as a 2 out of 10 - a shared banana and some yoghurt - Dieter had some corn flakes with luke warm milk (yuk) - they offered to cook eggs but we decided to cut our losses and get ready for our tour at 9:30 am.
We boarded one of Zoran’s motor cruisers with other guests (2 couples, one single, one couple with 2 children) and a family of 4 day trippers. Of course there was a captain and a crew / guide.
Today’s tour was to the town of Hvar on the island of Hvar - 1h45m minutes away at high speed. Once at Hvar we were given 2+ hours walk around with or without the guide. We tagged along with the guide for a hike up to the fortress (30+ minutes each way) + touring time - the town is really lovely - much nicer (but smaller) than Split.
Back on the boat we cruised a short distance for a “mediterranean” lunch on the boat - another 2 out of 10 - the white wine was warm - yuck. Then some swimming off the boat and finally back home at 6:30 pm. While the trip was long it was very nice to visit Hvar.
After showers and happy hour on our terrance we had dinner at More - the “best” local restaurant - well at least the fish was good - everything else (salad for starter and green slime for side veggies) was an all time record of 0 out of 10.
(Heard from Merrilyn that she and Geoff are heading home early due to an eye problem with Geoff - very worrying).
Sunday June 23 - Lumbarda on Korcula
We had our usual early morning coffee in our apartment then went for brekkie at 8:30 am - to our surprise it was much better than yesterday - hot off the press home-made croissants and a frittata also hot off the press - even the OJ was cold.
We did the “riviera” tour today - on Zoran’s new boat - a step up in luxury from yesterday’s boat. It was a short cruise over to the town of Korcula - a tour around town with a drinks stop then anchoring in a bay for a swim then back to the villa for lunch at 2 pm. We were joined by a couple for the UK and their 21 year old daughter.
After a restful afternoon - Blaza (Zoran’s wife) drove us back to Korcula town where we had a reservation at Filippi (a Michelin rated / not starred) restaurant - we had a lovely dinner by the seaside. We had a bit of an issue getting home as Zoran did not receive our text and we ended up waiting nearly an hour for Blaza to pick us up (they insisted on picking us up when we would have been happy to catch a taxi for the 15 minute drive home) - we were a bit irritated.
Monday June 24 - Lumbarda on Korcula
Got the news overnight from Merrilyn that Geoff is scheduled for eye surgery tomorrow to repair his retina - good luck they headed home early. As of this morning Dieter still has not had confirmation of his Aussie re-entry visa transfer to his new/emergency passport - will follow up tomorrow by sending “paper form”.
We had another day trip with Zoran on his new boat - to the island of Lostovo - a really good walk then car tour of the town and island - followed by lunch on board and swimming in a small bay - home by 4 pm. We were joined by our English friends (Sara, Lydia (21) and Henrico, and the American family (Anna, Jason, and their 5.5 year old twins, Sofia and Logan).
After happy hour we walked to a local family run bistro for an excellent fish dinner - sea bass and AmberJack (for some reason twice the price of Sea Bass) accompanied by “green slime” puréed zucchini (this time it was really good). It was followed by a complimentary slice of house cake to share. Lovely service - our waiter was related to Blaza.
Tuesday June 25 - Lumbarda on Korcula
Got the news that Geoff’s eye surgery went well but he need to see the specialist again tomorrow for further assessment.
Another day trip on the old boat today with a full load of guests - Irish family of 6, English family of 2, American family of 4 + us - just a little crowded in our opinion. Due to windy conditions we did not venture too far - a bay on the peninsula for swimming, a short stop at a fishing town, then another bay for lunch on board and more swimming - home at 4:30pm. After happy hour we had dinner at a most charming little water front bistro across our bay - $60 for 2 !!!
We were lucky to get in as the high season is now in full swing and our bay (and others around Korcula) are full of charter yachts on anchor. Fortunately Zoran worked his magic and got us a table. When we arrived 4 old local guys were at our table but they quickly vacated and we had a quick chat in English (a little broken) - naturally they had relatives from Australia now living here on the Aussie pension !!!
Wednesday June 26 - Lumbarda on Korcula
Last full day here - now we’re really in the swing of things - lack of information and pre-planning becoming all fine as situation normal. We might even return some day.
As of 7:30 am it had become very windy - possible change of plans as today should be the Big Day Out to Vis - lots of motoring.
Well we took off for Vis as planned at 9:30 am (together with the American Detroit family of 4, the Boulder US family of 4, and the English family of 3). It took 2h30m+ to get to Vis where we stopped first at the Green Cave (where we entered by small boat), then off to a bay for swimming and lunch then finally late in the afternoon to the Blue Cave where we again entered by small boat. We finally took off for home at 4:30 pm arriving at 7 pm only to be met by Zoran who told us our farewell Captain’s dinner booked at a restaurant would now be on the new boat in 45 minutes with the Detroit family and 2 other couples (one American and one Canadian) whom we had not met. We told Zoran that we could only be ready at 8pm at the earliest and that we preferred to still go to a restaurant - he seemed to get the message that we were not happy - but he then stated that this would be OK but we had to go on our own (20 minutes each way by taxi) - since it was now so late we reluctantly agree to go on the boat - I emphasised that I would only agree if they had lots of ice as their drinks (of any sort) were never cold.
So we arrived back at the boat at 8pm to find we had been banished to the “sin bin” and had to eat alone - while the others ate together in the cockpit - the meal was pretty yuck - not hot and not really to our liking.
So we drank lots of their cheap (warm) white plonk.
Thursday June 27 - Korcula to Dubrovnik
Up early to pack etc before our departure for the 10am ferry. We left at 9:45 am together with Alex & Michelle and their 2 daughters who were just doing a day trip so had no luggage. Jason, Anna and their 2 kids were left waiting for another car/taxi/?? at the villa. We arrived around 10 am for our 10:10 am departure - there was a massive queue. Alex et al actually had tickets for a second ferry at 10:30 but Zoran told then they could take the 10:10 - just as the 10:10 started loading, Jason et al arrived in a bit of a panic - someone else had given them a lift - it was a complete “cluster” on Zoran’s part.
The ferry was packed - every seat taken and as a result Alex et al were not allow to board but told to wait for the 10:30 ferry. We were among the last to board - it was chaotic - luggage piled everywhere and almost no free seats - we all finally squeezed in sitting separately.
Anyway - we arrived in Dubrovnik at 12:30 and our taxi was waiting to take us to the Rixos Libertas hotel just 10-15 minutes walk outside of the old town and right on the water. The hotel was also a bit chaotic - clearly totally full - we checked in then had lunch at the pool bar while waiting for our room.
Got to our room around 2:30pm - lovely room with huge terrace overlooking the sea.
After relaxing we had dinner at a local restaurant (Magellan) - totally excellent.
Friday June 28 - Dubrovnik
We spent the morning walking around the old town - it was very hot and pretty crowded but not unbearably so. We had lunch (salads) at a bistro overlooking the sea.
We walked back to our hotel (about 15 minutes) and did some swimming in the pool. We decided to have dinner at the hotel’s lovely sea-side restaurant - food was fine but the service was a 0 out of 10. Then it was off to bed early as we had a very early start the following morning.
Saturday June 29 - Dubrovnik to Zurich
We left at 6:30 for the airport for our 9 am flight to ZRH with a 30 minute connection in VIE. Contrary to what I had read on Trip Advisor, Dubrovnik airport was not total chaos and we spent the extra time in the lounge.
The flights were uneventful (OS to VIE then LX to ZRH) - it was a mad-panic rush in VIE to get to our connecting flight but we made it with 5 minutes to spare only to find our flight was delayed 20 minutes. We reached the Raddison Blu (at ZRH) around 1:30 pm and were upgraded to a giant suite. Since it was still early we headed into the city for a wander around. Back at the hotel around 5 pm we had our complimentary welcome drinks in the bar (FC for me, a Margarita for Dieter).
We had dinner at the hotel’s Italian restaurant which was very busy and under staffed so service was problematic - as a result we were comped a few glasses of wine.