Lost at Sea: July 2015

Monday, 27 July 2015

Nothing goes to windward Part II - Ptuj and Zagreb

I'm about to reveal my true provincal nature. We were in Bled and wanting to travel to Ptuj. If we were to stay in Slovenia, we'd have to backtrack to Ljubljana, where we'd already been. We could take a more direct route through Austria. So that's what we did, but it still boogles my small Australian noodle that we can just take a 'short cut' through another country. Doesn't work that way in Australia.

Weedon am See in Austria, our little short cut

This gale force wind came up in just seconds.

A few Austrian hovels.

Cute electric car

Crossing back over the border (we didn't need to stop at all), we followed along a river valley take took us back into Slovenia and to our next stop, Ptuj (pronounced Ptui, like spitting). There were some interesting derelict hydroelectric generation schemes along the river, harking back to the age of glorious Soviet engineering in the old Yugoslavia.

Generator houses sit above the river, turbines suspended in the flow.

Turbine from hydro-electric generator

Our hotel in Ptuj, Musikaffe

Bit of street art in Ptuj

Ptuj is an interesting small town in Slovenia that has suffered the ravages of neglect and a declining population. However, it is going through a cultural renaissance, and an Arts Festival was in full swing while we were there. There were classes and music competitions, art displays and concerts aplenty. We stayed in a fantastic guest house [Musikaffe], owned by some designers that were actively practicing their craft. The rooms were novel with interesting furnishings, breakfast was haute cuisine and there were cultural events happening in the hotel. We loved it there, and decided to stay a second night.

Jazz concert in Ptuj, these guys were great!

Old church, converted to an art gallery

Interior of the re-purposed church

Another heart warming Australian icon!

Painting of cloisters, hanging in some cloisters.

Clock tower in Ptuj.

Main street, Ptuj

Old style residences

It seems de rigeur for Slovenian towns to have a castle floating overhead, and Ptuj was no exception. We toiled up the path to the Grad and took in the view over Ptuj.

Climbing up to the old castle.

View from the castle over Ptuj and the Drava river

More views

Castle buildings

This building has a musical instrument museum

One of the early piano-fortes on display

Town hall in Ptuj

Church in the main court yard.

After enjoying ourselves immensely in Slovenia, it was with a heavy heart that we turned the car towards Croatia. We hadn't seen a 'real' Croatian city, only the 'husked' tourist towns like Dubrovnik and Primosten, and the more real towns like Zadar. So we headed to the capital, Zagreb, to see what we could see.

Main cathedral in Zagreb.

Sun echoes the halo... must be angelic!

Details of the cathedral renovation, showing the degradation to the stonework.

Cathedral interior

Elaborate pulpit

The spire on the main cathedral, undergoing extensive renovation

Zagreb was monumental and very very ugly. It felt a bit coarse and dirty after the ethereal quality of Slovenia. There were some massive and stunning buildings, but they were mostly run down, and covered with grey grime. It was not a light-hearted city.

Massive architecture of Zagreb

Interesting brass scale model of the city

Main square, Zagreb

Nice rotunda in a central park

Monumental art gallery

Another Zagrebian dude

A very yellow building

We couldn't generate much enthusiasm for exploring Zagreb, and the welcoming thunderstorm allowed us to retreat to our hotel. Next morning, we headed towards home. We stopped at Rijeka, just so we could see the feared Velabit channel, where the bora regularly blows over 70 knots. And yes, it was very windy there, and I'm glad we avoided that passage all together. We found a market, and edit a bit of shopping to restock the boat.

Harbour at Rijeka

Market at Rijeka

Fresh produce

Interesting town hall in Rijeka

Another very Baroque building

From Rijeka, it was only a short haul to Pula, the major town near our marina. We stopped briefly to look at the large roman amphitheatre.

Ampitheatre in Pula

Amphitheatre detail

Inside the amphitheatre

More detail

And then home. It had been a fantastic trip and a great escape from our Pavlovian conditioning. Renewed, we're planning our escape to Italy. We're longing for better food and friendlier (or at least more animated ... ) faces outside Croatia. Ciao for now!

Nothing goes to windward like a VW Golf!

There comes a point, around high summer, when we've had enough of the boat and we just want to get off! We'd been anchoring off, in small coves, surrounded by naked campers. Every day felt like being at the beach... lie around, get hot, go for a swim, repeat.

Pavlov tied to a jetty in Tunarica

Beach off a camping ground in Tunarica

As hard as this might sound, particularly for our poor friends currently freezing in the UK, after some days we'd had enough. Megan and I looked at each other and said "LET'S GET OFF THE BOAT". So we headed up to Marina Veruda, just south of Pula and docked Pavlov for a week. We hired an air-conditioned VW Golf in the marina (Hang the expense!!). After getting Pavvie some needed resuscitation for her new alternator (one cable had burned out), we jumped in the car and headed out of Croatia. On the way out, we stopped briefly to see the Liminski canal

The Limski canal

We then entered Slovenia. What a breath of fresh air! I'm still amazed at how different the vibe can be in European countries that are separated by just a thin line on a map (and years of fighting each other). Slovenia was just so different to Croatia. While Croatia is one of the most beautiful countries for sailing with its thousands of islands and bays, we have found that Croatians are not the most convivial or friendly of folk, and there is a tendency in Croatia to gouge tourists for all they are worth. This can get tiring after a while. Also, Croatian cuisine is an oxymoron; we have found the food to be unexciting, bland and expensive. Our first stop in Slovenia was a petrol station. Yes, even here, the food was thousands of times better than Croatia, and cheaper too!

Portoroz, Slovenia

Slovenian countryside

We drove up the Slovenian coast, stopping briefly at Portoroz, before heading to Ljubljana, the capital. Ljubljana took our breath away, its a delightful and friendly city, with a romantic castle floating above it and a canalised river flowing through it. It enchanted us the same way Paris did: it's a city that sings to a romantic and passionate soul.

The Triple Bridge in Ljubljana

Statuary in the main square

Canalised river winds through the town

An accordionist plays traditional music

The famous dragons guarding the dragon bridge

Jazz brass band

There was music everywhere, on the streets and in concert halls. Every second store-front seemed to be an art gallery. It was like finding culture after a period in the desert. There was even a kangaroo bubbler to warm every Australian's cockles.

16th century Ljubljana dude

Main Square

Hotel by the riverside

Ljubljana is a bike friendly town, with its own twist!

Just loved this, a Kangaroo bubbler!

Funicular up to the old Castle

We took a funicular up to the old Castle in Ljubljana. This castle had suffered from significant decay and was almost demolished. The renovation was interesting and very modernist: it actually worked to see the stark contrast between the old and new.

View from the castle in Ljubljana

More views

Courtyard of the castle

Beautiful old house

Art outside the cathedral

Interesting church door, cast iron.

After a few nights in Ljubljana, we headed north to Bled. Bled was particularly interesting for Megan, as she'd been here over 30 years ago in 1980. Bled also has an old castle that sits above a gorgeous lake. We had to have a swim in the fresh water of the lake, very refreshing after all the salt we've been imbibing.