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!