Sheilaclapkin's Blog;

Sleep # 28:  Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our little ship has been rocking and rolling for days now. The Reception has run out of seasick pills. I have my box of 10 pills. I just had to prove that I am not pregnant and sign a legal document to several other issues I do not have at the moment.

We were lucky to have a very special guide and driver to share with us a special tour of Dubrovnik and surrounding area.  We were provided this complimentary guide and driver by Signature Collections. Thank You to them. We ended our marvelous Dubrovnik experience on the Southern Adriatic Coast in a little town called Cavat. We sat on a patio with coffee and a spot of lunch while; the breezes truly caressed us. Sounds corny, but it was so true.

We experienced the Northern winds of Croatia when we were in the north. They are called Bora winds and today we experienced the southern winds called “Jugo.”  They were especially strong on the top of the magnificent ancient city walls.  These fortifications date back to the 14^th and 15^th century and are worth the climb. Our guide, near the end of the day said when she was told the ages of her clients, Skip and I, she thought we were going to be crotchety and not be able to do the things she had planned.  She said we did everything and she had to tell us about her early worries.  We sure did everything and she walked our too toos off for hours before she let us rest with a coffee and a little lunch.  She was so happy that we were enjoying everything she had planned and not too infirmed by the sound of our ages.

First, here are some photos of the overview of Dubrovnik from the city wall. The sights from on high are worth the trudge up the many steps.

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Notice the new bright orange tiles in contrast with the old more muted tiles.

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Our guide and driver picked this spot for the ultimate photo of Dubrovnik.

A look at the famous Onofrio’s sixteen-sided fountain.

We went on to see the Placa where everyone meets and greets. Our guide told us that she spent her growing up years on the Placa, first fell in love, first kiss and a few other firsts.  She said all of the kids would meet there everyday until they grew up and some moved away.  She often meets some of her early childhood friends in Placa for coffee to this day.

The Placa

We visited the Franciscan Monetary with adjoining chemist’s shop, which claims to be the oldest in Europe (since 1317).  We were treated to the Sponza Palace.

The Sponza got its name because when the wars were raging, they put sponges on the roof top in order to collect and store water as in those times they did not know if they could get out and have free roaming in the town.

We visited The Church of St Blaise, Dubrovnik’s patron saint.

It is a 14^th century church with beautiful marble work. The alcoves on either side of the church each match the one directly across from it.

We visited the Rector’s Place, 1441, and can you see the Gothic-Renaissance mix of architecture?

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Inside courtyard of the Rector's Palace

Interesting information:  The Rector’s were picked for only a months term so that in this way they prevented anyone from becoming too powerful. Sounds like a plan.

The old port has served Dubrovnik in the past as a necessary navigational tool, but also as the fish market. There was a law that stated  you would only be able to sell fresh fish caught that day. In order to assure that the fish would not be sold the following day, the guardian would go along and cut off the tail of each fish so that by sight it would not be sold. Since food is/was such an important commodity they wanted to leave it  still good to eat by the family and friends of the fisherman/seller.

Lokrum Island:

This island  originally  housed a Benedictine 12th century Monastery. As the legend says, Prince Ferdinand and Marie Antoinette came to the island and fell in love with it. They expelled the Benedictines and built a mansion for themselves.  The Benedictine monks circled the island three times holding lit candles and cursed the island. Everyone who has owned it ever since those days has died a violenet death; again, as legend has it.

Lokrum Island as seen from Dubrovnik

To end the tour of the lovely, gorgeous city of Dubrovnik we visited a small Synagogue housed down a quaint alley and tucked into a doorway. It is classified as the second oldest Synagogue in Europe. After walking the stairs, you will come to the second floor museum and up another flight of stairs is the actual Synagogue which was exposed to us.  Surprisingly, it was all so very tiny. The women’s place was behind a wall with little slits for them to peek at the services. This visit was something we requested and the guide knew where to go immediately.

Sleep # 27

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Plitvice Lakes National Park is stunning in its natural beauty in all seasons. When you see the brochures advertising Plitvice Lakes, all of the photos are showing the full strength of summer and the green against the water screams out at you. When we got out of the car today after a two-hour drive, started walking and enjoying our long walk into the lakes I was stunned realizing that everything was in full fall colors. What was I thinking? Did I really expect the picture perfect green brochure photo?  Perhaps naiveté got me and I did.  November is full bloom autumn in Croatia.

Before showing you some of the lovely, lovely photos of Plitvice Lakes in autumn let me explain a little about the day and how it was different in every way from any of the others.

I booked the tour taking a two hour drive each way to see the lakes when we were told that we would dock at 9:00 a.m. and re-board he ship at 5:30 p.m. giving us ample time to make the day work. First, the ship was late in docking due to severe weather through the night. It was raining when we pulled into Zadar.  The original tour guide was ill and we were provided with a lovely girl named Marina.  Marina met us at the dock and told us that her friend was driving us to the lakes. She said she had not renewed her license, so she had made arrangements with her friend, another little young lady as the driver.  As we drove off they mentioned that the car was small, apologized for it and mentioned that it was a rental car.  Oh gosh. We started in a complete blinding rainstorm to the northern part of Croatia. We took a wrong turn, but quickly remedied it and were on our way again.

Before we left the ship, the Captain said that he had changed the time to return to the ship for 3:00p.m. rather than the original time of 5:30 p.m. due to the weather.  We forged ahead, and I often reminded the absolutely beautiful and lovely girls that we had to be back by 3:00 pm and they assured us they had it all under control.  You will see from the photos that this visit was a photographer’s dream and certainly one everyone should have on their Bucket List.  I watched our time and calculated our  time into the park carefully.  When our adorable leaders wanted to take on another lake, I flatly said we had to return because as it was, we were cutting our time close.  It was a long downhill walk into the lakes and a walk on slats that in the brochure look flat and streamlined, but in actuality were bumpy, steps galore, and big gaps have appeared in them. It is a hard trip in and an even harder one climbing out.  I had a cheering fan club and they helped to make it up and out fine.  On the way home the girls took a wrong turn and did not realize it for about 20-25 minutes and so, we turned around and headed back to the right road.  Now we knew we were going to be about an hour late for sure.   We tried for a half hour to call the emergency number provided by the ship on the ship’s boarding cards and the number did not work. Finally, a ship’s number we called asked for a credit card, as the call was $9.50 a minute. After trying another 15 minutes to give the credit card number, we were frustrated because they would not accept the card number and just hung up. Or shall I say the machine hung up.   We gave up on the emergency number that should have enabled us to tell the ship we were on the way, naughty, naughty on the ship.  The agency where we booked the trip is closed on Sunday and no one could be reached. All four of us were stressed to the maximum.

We were all beginning to panic because we knew we are going to miss the ship. The intensity of frustration in the car is thick. My mouth went dry and I felt like my body was splitting in half over the stress.  Skip is handling the situation, as he is not yelling at these little adorable girls or me either. Finally, Marina gets a brilliant idea and calls a friend who lives near the dock and asks him to go over to the ship and tell them we are on our way and not to leave us.  Another 20 minutes of shear torture go by, finally the friend called with the good news that the ship will not leave us. We drove up to the dock at 4:00 p. m. and the ship with gangplank in place is waiting for us. We screamed and jumped out of the car; the girls jumped out, we madly hug each other and we ran for the ship and they drove off waving like mad.

It was a terrible and wonderful day. It was a painful and peaceful day. It was a tender and aching day. We met new friends in Croatia. You could not help loving these girls and they gave back to us. Being under stress either pulls you apart or pulls you together. In this case the screeching and hugging at the gangplank was a sight many people saw and thought to mention it to us.  I had hoped no one would know it was S & S who kept everyone on the ship waiting and our return would go unnoticed. How could they not know it was us because we were told it was announced over the loudspeaker. Oh gosh, how to become the center of attention in one or two minutes, lasting for days. I think waiting was good for them. I can’t tell you why, but for some mysterious reason and there is a reason, it was a good thing for them to have to wait.  And it is a blessed thing that we got back to the ship.

Someone asked us if the trip was worth all of the stress. You be the judge:

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Walking to the entrance of the park,

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Walking with our two beautiful Croatian guides.

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Sleep # 26:  Koper and Slovenias Capital – Ljubljana

Koper is a beautiful seaside city with a small and quaint city center, but we moved on quickly as we had a long drive to see  Ljubljana located in the center of Slovenia. In retrospect, we wish we would have had more time to spend wandering in Koper.

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and is a lovely city.  Jason, of Jason and the Argonauts, appeared in some of the early literature as being the founders of the city of Ljublijana.

We floated down the Ljublijanica River in a glass boat, and one of the first sights were lovely bridges. The Dragon Bridge was named alluding to the time when Jason, was to have conquered a dragon on the site and cleared the way for the city to begin it’s new life.

Dragon's Bridge

There are two magnificent dragon icons on both ends of the bridge.

We all wondered why the locks were locked onto the Butcher’s Bridge and found out that it is a tradition when lovers cross the bridge; they bring a lock and lock it so that their love will stay locked together, forever.

Other lovely river scenes.

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Greeting us as we entered the city was a huge wine tasting festival and a lovely vegetable and flower market. It seemed like everyone crowded into all of the squares in the city center.  I took a few photos of people doing their thing in Ljubljana.

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After viewing many of the not to miss  sights, and enjoying the crowded festivals, we were treated to a traditional Slovenian luncheon.  Delicious. Two dishes will remain a wonderful eating memory. One was the huge bread bowl containing a wonderful hot, very hot mushroom soup. The other was a seven-layer cake with a flavor that was good,  not delicious, must be an acquired thing, but all the same, I can bring back those layers and each individual flavor and the collective ones as well.  Why am I going off on this dessert, well, because I will never taste it again and I want to remember it as being memorable?  The bottom layer was the crust, the layer up were poppy seeds, next a layer of baked cheese, then pastry layer, followed by another poppy seed layer, an apple strudel type of filling and to top it off it had a layer of finely chopped nuts.  Oh, I forgot to mention that a thin layer of cake separated each layer! Imagine that. Not delicious, just admirable and flavorful.

Many of the main streets in Ljubljana are named after the directions in which they are going,  For example: Austria Street is going in the direction of Austria,   Italia Street, is going to Italy, of course. Or if you see Trieste and you want to go to Trieste, take the street.

Everyone of us on the tour are double and triple layered with clothing. We are cold, especially when the wind blows and it blows! Our guide said that this is a hot day especially for November. Hot day? Not for me, as I was layered, zipped and hatted. (probably no such word, but you get the idea)

There is a wonderful ancient canoe in one of the lovely museums in Slovenia made by early people as they had to travel through marsh land to go from place to place.  Now they have the land pumped out and bridges span what marsh is left. But my interest is in the canoe, carved from one tree trunk, which was found, and now preserved for all future generations to see.  I imagined the man or men who hollowed out this tree trunk talking and generally shooting the breezes with each other. They had no idea that what they were doing on that day would be noted and remembered for all time.  It is a thought for us to remember.  Not that what we are doing on a specific day will be found and remembered throughout time, but it is important to remember that what we are doing on many of our days is and will remain vital.

Galley Market Lunch: A gala not to be missed!

An interesting photo taken at the entry to the Galley Market Lunch.

Sleep # 25

We are back in Venice for the day to discharge and load new passengers. This is a back-to-back journey and we are on for the two consecutive journeys.  It was so nice to meet many fellow passengers, but alas, they are on their way home and we are to meet and greet a whole new group.

We were looking forward to getting lost again down the lanes, into squares, eating pizza, pasta and gelato.  But, oh, the rain came pouring down to greet us.  So, let us say you have one last day in gorgeous Venice the queen of the Grand Canal and are you going to let the rain deter you? No. We headed out dry as bones basking in the sun and came back drenched like laundry left on the line in a downpour. Rain or shine we are happy to be in and amongst the Venetians.  We got an early start and noticed trash out in front of every door tied in neat little bags.  Then, we noticed the trash collectors and their carts nipping at our heels. We wondered what the collectors do when they have a full cart.  We happened upon the answer to our trash question.

First the collector brings the full cart to the edge of the closest canal where the trash boat is moored.

The cart is positioned just right for the jaws of the boat’s crane.

The jaws are clamped and the bin is swung along to the boat.

The trash is dropped into the pit and mashed.

The bin is returned to the collector.

The collector is then on the way to get more trash.

Here are some photos of a few Venetians who happened in front of our café.

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Doorbells: This one is for GUY!!! We would like one installed asap.

Stuffed and not needing another bite, we remembered what John, a fellow traveler had instructed.  He said, “Have the most outrageous gelato flavor and then you can tell your kids about it.”  It is raining; are we really going to have gelato in the rain. Yes. It was my choice, and I chose Crema di Dogi. Yes, outrageous and kids, it was so good I swooned. The gelato/cream part was a creamy custard flavor with orange marmalade swirled through it. If you were not an orange marmalade aficionado, this flavor would not have the same effect on you as it did me. Viva la Crema di Dogi.

We made a purchase of 15 small magic beads today in the square, and the lady used slight of hand to remove one. Skip was quick to notice and made her recount them; certainly one was missing.  He asked her to put one more on the pile and then the deal was sealed. Bravo for the magician’s eye.

Sleep # 24

We are floating around on the Seabourn Spirit which is a nice small ship that is perfect for docking right at the city’s edges in Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia,  allowing a convenient walking entrance to most cities.  Not only is this particular ship and this particular journey elegant in every way, best most friendly and attentive staff, best food in the universe, but it is a cultural exchange that none of us have ever experienced heretofore. Let me give you the nationality breakdown of the guests as presented to us by Seabourn and you can see right off the bat what an interesting and thought provoking cultural interchange we have been having onboard. I have to say I love, love, love it.  Australia 2, Austria 4, Belgium 2, Brazil 5, Canada1, Germany 8, United Kingdom 81, Croatia 1, Ireland 3, Italy 1, Norway 10, Sweden 2, United States 82!  We beat the Brits by 1.  Just envision our table conversations. Just visualize what we are learning about each other. Just conjure up in your mind’s eye what we must be saying to each other and you are right. This ship full of various societies have meshed and gathered a strong appreciation of each other.  It has been most enlightening.

Last night’s sailing away from Sibenik gave me pause to think and to photograph something unknowingly interesting. I really did not know what I was photographing, just that it looked interesting and quite unusual. Now I know what we have here. Look first.

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It is time to tell you that you have been looking at some entrances to Marshal Tito’s Atomic Bunker.  It was built to withstand nuclear war and was a secret shelter for many years. This underground complex was/is armed and stocked to house Tito and his communist Yugoslavia’s strongmen and his closest confidents for at least two years. Only after I photographed the secret entrances did I find out that they were in fact the entrances to this Atomic bunker but also, I found that it will soon to be open to public as an art gallery, albeit a quirky one. Someday I would like to return and be part of this underground experience. We did experience the underground bunker built by the German Army on Guernsey. It was something we will never forget.

This whole trip has been a giant HISTORY lesson. I am weak in historical knowledge and I know it. It is not possible to catch up. I have been reading, but there are so many centuries of time, events, philosophies and characters in this play that it is difficult to keep up.  Going way, way back, Neanderthals lived in Northern Croatia, and from then it goes on until we have a present day Croatia which we are able to visit. Still there is some recent history that is very important to know.

To simplify things and to bring it to present times, Croatia, once Yugoslavia claimed independence in 1991 and the Serbian rebellion supported by the Yugoslavian People’s Army, which started the war for independence. Oh, I hope that is right. In 1992 The Republic of Croatia becomes a member on the UN. There was a separatist rebellion in Croatia in 1995 and by 2001 Croatia signed something called The Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union and things have progressed to today when Our Journey of Thirty-two sleeps brings us here to see how the country has progressed. The towns and cities in this Adriatic area have grown and become jewels in the Crown of Croatia.  This is a beautiful area, which has kept its medieval beginnings protected, but they have added, super Markets, Malls, and all of the trappings they have seen and want.

There are 1,200 Adriatic Islands along the Croatian coast and 69 of them are inhabited. They have frequent ferries running all day long and into the evenings connecting islands.

Today we are in the City of Opatija. As you can see from some of the photographs, it is a change of scenery. It is a tourist destination and you know that it has been and is being restored as a tourist attraction. You have to admit is a beautiful façade, has nice beaches, great surrounding villages for day trips and lovely weather surrounds this area year round. I am happy we enjoyed this lovely spot before the fog rolled in.

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My favorite sign and why:

The money in Croatia is the Kuna, which are 5 to $1.00.

This sign really tickled me because yesterday we had to pay 5 Kuna to pee using of course only one sliver of paper per customer. This sign is offering all my favorite coffees.  So it really became a bit of a dilemma for the moment, but soon solved.

You can have a private pee behind this rounded and most private kiosk and then have your coffee for the same price. Who is to know? Now you do.

Sleep # 23

Today we visited Sibenik, and I dare you to pronounce it. I have tried all morning. When you think you’ve got it, you don’t.  The atmosphere in Sibenik is lively with little streets leading to great things to see.  The Cathedral Sveti Jakov, which dates back to the 13^th century, is not to be missed and is located just next to the fortress walls.  There are steps leading up to and down from everywhere you want to go in this city. People are carrying large parcels up and down the stairs and their exuberance got us in the mood to shop a bit.  Skip bought a little polka dotted piggy bank for about $l.50 and no sooner had he walked out of the curio shop; it dropped and broke into many pieces. A lady next to him said, “That is an omen you should stop saving.”  Now did she mean stop saving money or stop saving piggy banks?

The Green Morning Market

We also took a side trip to Trogir, which is on an island located inland and connected to land by a stone bridge. During the drive into Trogir, we were treated to an hour of views along the Dalmatian coast where we saw islands, little inlets, villages and beautiful scenery full of ancient wonders as well as modern.

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This is a mussel farm.

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Now, on the ride back to Sibenik, which you cannot pronounce we went by the mountain route and all I can say is that if you need a place to stash someone in the witness protection program; this is it. No one will ever be found or recognized.  We did see many vineyards, the changing of the colors and harvesting of the olive trees.  Everyone knows the ownership of each tree and one would never pick from anyone’s trees but the trees that belongs to them.  A large plastic tarp is laid beneath the tree and 5 or 6 men all stand around the tree picking the ripe olives.

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View of central Dalmatia

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We enjoyed going further afield today and exploring something that was not on the beaten path.

Kotor, a charming city, is backed up to a huge mountain with fortifications surrounding its medieval center. It is lovely and we got so lost inside the walls. Really, getting lost is the fun part.

City Gate

City fortification walls

More walls

Day time view of the mountain fortification wall around the city of Kotor.

Night illumination of the ancient mountain fortifications around the city of Kotor

A very content resident of Kotor.

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Sleep #22

Kotor, Montenegro

We woke early this morning as we were being whisked away to the end of the Kotor Bay to the town of Perast. Why leave beautiful Kotor I asked myself and received my answer loud and clear. Perast is a town at the end of Kotor Bay that has two islands directly in front of it. One island is called Our Lady of the Rocks and the other is called the Island of Death.

Our Lady of the Rocks and The Island of Death

We were taken by boat for a visit to Our Lady of the Rocks, which is an artificial island made my sinking shiploads of rocks year after year and gradually an island appeared from the sea.  Even to this day they have a parade of boats where they ceremoniously drop rocks into the sea by the island.  Legend has it that sailors found a painting of the Madonna and Child on the rocks near the site in 1452 and ever since that miracle, after a successful voyage, each sailor places a rock on the island. The church, which is built on the island, is very beautiful and is filled to capacity with lovely antiques and artifacts.  It was a visit to appreciate.

Our Lady of the Rocks church on the island.

The Island of Death was not really discussed and when asked, our guide said that it is not used now, but sometimes the priests hold meetings and retreats there.  Also, someone in the group said they thought I was once used for prisoners in the past.

The Island of Death!

As we walked through the town of Perast, a charming little lady came out of her house,  and we tried to have a conversation with her using fingers, hands and body language.  Skip wanted to go into her house and look around; she graciously let him enter.  She tried to rent him a room, so we thought, because she kept pointing to upstairs and putting both hands as a pillow, closed her eyes and smiled.  We enjoyed the encounter and I gave her a hug good bye and she kissed me. What a sweet little lady. She was happy and so were we. On the way back from Perast, which by the way is pretty much at the end of Kotor Bay, our boat proceeded allowing us to view the life on the shore. It is fantastic to see and be allowed to witness life in Montenegro. Montenegro has a long history that is complicated and not forgotten, but their lives have mended and they are doing quite well in every way. They seemed to have weathered the war storms quite well.  The water in the bay is so clean and clear you can see the fish enjoying the good life. Life on the bay as follows . . . . .

Sleep # 21

Korcula

Korcula is a beautiful old town on a long and skinny island. We walked up to some of the newer parts, but mostly enjoyed being in the old medieval part of town. We relished our day and hope you will look at some of the photos and be there with us.

Korculan’s want you to know that Marco Polo was born here in 1254 and his name is plastered all over town. For tourists looking for interesting artifacts regarding Marco, wander all over town looking for the house where he was born.  We think we found it several times, but maybe not. There are so many Marco Polo signs you don’t know which ones are really Marco or advertising souvenir shops, coffee houses or a bakery.

We found that the medieval quarter is laid out like a fish with tiny lanes branching off of the backbone.  We walked up and down the backbone, branching off into the little lanes.  We sat in the lanes and passed time.  We got the feeling we were in the internal structure of things.  Here are many photos of the tiny lanes because I think you will enjoy that each one is different and unique.  The lanes are not just decorative and quaint; they have a purpose. They are designed to catch the sea breeze and to provide shade, which I appreciated very much.

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Have you ever wondered what is behind a LOCKED ancient door like this one?

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I have  wondered and this time the weathering left a hole on the sides of the door just big enough for my lens to slide through.  Here is a peek into the environs on the other side of the door.

ZADAR

Sleep #20

The Greeting To the Sun

We did not feel like guests in Zadar, we felt a part of the Zadar  family. It was Sunday morning and so many of the inhabitants were sipping their coffee on the main streets and children were riding their scooters, small bikes, and parents were holding their helmets. I wondered why they didn’t put the children’s helmets on their heads. Not only was it Sunday, but also they were celebrating All Saint’s Day with a huge section set up for flowers in the main square. Everyone by the end of the afternoon were carrying bunches of flowers.  We were told that after church families went out to the cemeteries to honor their dead with their prayers and flowers.

Church of St. Simeon

Look at the beautiful marble streets in Zadar.

We checked out all of the money exchanges in Zadar and all were closed.  We were timid about using the ATM even though we did secure a pin number before leaving home.  We could not even buy a coffee. Oh dear. We didn’t need any money after all.  We started out with a map and were able to scout out each sight. It felt a bit like a scavenger hunt.

This location has  ancient connections to Liburnians, Romans, Byzantines, plus Greek influences and  date back to the 9^th and 10^th century.

We really enjoyed finding the ruins, which are interestingly left to seek and find. No one else was touring these ancient spots, but others may not realize that the ruins and the garden held much of the mystique of this city. If you listened and paid attention you felt a part of the past in the present. Meaning, you came to understand that you were in a place with ties to another time and remnants of proof were there for your hands to feel and your feet to touch.  It even smelled dank and old as you went into and out of the leftovers. It is the best sights the city has to offer.

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A big scavenger hunt score: The Five Wells Square

In the front of the harbor of Zadar there is a huge circle of glass and other materials that form a symbol called: A Greeting to the Sun. (see first photo) and a little way down from the sun greeting circle is the only Sea Organ in the world.  The city of Zadar is very proud to have the first musical organ driven by sea waves and what a unique musical experience it provided. We sat with other listeners to an unusual melody of haphazard notes sounding continuously. Actually, I became quite lulled by the tunes, or mistunes. The day was spent in glorious sunshine and ended with the perfect sunset  as we sailed away to come again another day.

Sea Organ

Listener's to the Sea Organ Concert

Some sailing away sunsets are glorious.

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