Travelling this Fall/Winter with CAMarchand. We are starting out around the Adriatic, visiting some places I have been to many times but new to her.
Our first stop .. to get over jet leg ..is Zagreb, the Capital of Croatia. The city center is very contained and friendly and even though tourists do come here the city is comparatively quiet and relaxed.
We stayed in the Sheraton. Still a fine hotel, but what an example of how things change. All of the lovely old wood paneling that was once throughout the hotel has been covered over with paint and fabric, the old bar removed for a larger breakfast area, and the new decor is reminiscent of a Fairfield Inn.
Zagreb is my “usual” starting off point for travel in the Balkans, and I have been here so many times and written about the city that there is really no more to say. You might look over some of my previous posts about Zagreb if you are considering visiting here or want to see more photos.
This time I am just posting some photos of this year’s visit .. which you may find interesting.
That’s it. Thanks for your visit.
We are now heading down into Bosnia and will check in from there.
Izmir is a good place to visit in the spring when the weather is usually beautiful. Warm with plenty of sunshine.
This visit was in mid March. Early spring in Izmir, high temperatures in the upper 60s. But green already and they are planting the summer flowers.
Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey, located on a large bay on the most western tip of the country. Istanbul has many things that make it interesting and worth a visit, but it is so huge and densely packed that it hits you like a tidal wave. Izmir seems like a small town by comparison..
I am told that Izmir it the most secular city in Turkey, and although it is plenty Turkish it is also fairly European.
This is an ancient city. Neolithic, Iron age, Hellenic Greek .. , ancient before the Romans came here and established their Asia Minor Capital in nearby Ephesus. And an important city of the Ottoman Empire. There are archeological sites from all these ages in and around Izmir.
A funny photo. This was my breakfast table one morning when I started out with a guide to look at Roman ruins.
Besides comfort and curiousness, I travel around warm places in the winter because I like to walk. And Izmir is perfect for a walker. You can walk as long as you wish along the sea wall, in the clean air off the ocean. Or away from traffic in the very large “kulture park”, located right in the downtown, or just stroll around the city.
And, they have fish. Lots of fish.
And so, it is very very easy to find my forever favorite lunch:
There are surely a million photographs available for the taking in the old Ottoman market.
Down in the Ottoman market I was led to see some of the remaining caravan hostels .. left from the days when Izmir was one of the most important trading ports in the Ottoman Empire. Arriving or departing caravans stayed as a group in these enclosed, alley like places. There were storerooms for the goods, rooms upstairs for the men to sleep, places to eat, restrooms, and the Camels stayed in the courtyard. Today they are mostly full of coffee shops and restaurants.
There are a thousand restaurants here in the city center. All along the waterfront. Everywhere in the Ottoman market. Throughout the close by neiborhoods.
The base cuisine here is from nomadic peoples: meat roasted on sticks, flatbreads, simple cheeses and yogurt. One pot soups and stews.
But over the centuries the food has been greatly expanded by an influx of refugees and migrants. Izmir was an important destination for Spanish Moors and Jews when they were expelled from Spain in the 1500’s. And more recently, Muslim refugees from Bosnia and Syria. As well as economic migrants from central Turkey and surrounding countries.
But no Greeks. The Turkish government forcibly expelled all Greeks in the 1920s.
And of course, spices. The food here is usually spiced in exotic (to me) ways.
And, this being the Mediterranean, super fresh salads of all kinds. Interesting to me: they eat a lot of Parsley just straight. And, they have a local big leafed Arugula, very peppery, that they eat with salt and squeezed lemon.
Some more unusual things:
Fresh Almonds.
Sweetened cakes of ground Sesame seeds (made in this shop for three generations).
Fruit juice stands. Many many of them.
And, these Mussels. Sold everywhere. Not simply the steamed shellfish, like say in Brussels, but here, inside, besides the fish is also spicy seasoned rice. And they are delicious.
Had to try this stuff, but you are looking at a photo of my first and forever last. Probably the strongest stuff I have ever tried.
And yes, the bees found me.
Pushing your patience, I want to pass on this factoid. This funny “bean” .. the Carob ..has a fibrous gummy layer between the very hard shell and the seeds. You can make syrups and other concoctions from this material, and people do and have done since ancient times.
It is interesting that the market for Carob boomed and then collapsed when the interior material was used as a compounding agent in PVC to make vinyl records.
But more interesting. The ancients found that no matter the shape of the seeds, roughly spherical, elongated, etc. etc. … every seed had exactly the same weight. And they used the seeds to weigh precious things. And so Carob, now Carat to us .. gave us 14 carat gold, 24 carat gold, 3 carat diamond, and so on.
And that’s it. Thanks for coming along. I am moving west to Athens tomorrow and soon back to Minnesota.
Georgia is on the very eastern shore of the Black Sea. and the country stretches further east up into the Caucasus mountains. The capital, Tbilisi, is in the very east of the country, in a valley within the mountains, running along both banks of the Kura River.
The river valley is steep and narrow but widens to the west to hold this city of just over a million people.
This is Asia. Any further east are the handful of countries with names that end in “stan”, and then China. And yet here, this far away, Georgia is a country that is historically “connected” to Europe, because of their Christian religion.
The “Golden age” of Georgia was around the time of the crusades, the 12th and 13th centuries, considered the time of the development of the Georgian culture. Sheltered somewhat west and east by the Black sea and the Caspian sea, and up in the mountains, they have been able to maintain their own culture over the centuries. But not without adversity.
You can read their actual long and interesting history, but here is a “nut shell” version of the determining flows of the last few centuries: Invaded and dominated by Persia (Iran) and the Ottoman Empire…
…they had to reach out to Russia for protection. The Persians sacked and burned Tbilisi as recently as 1795, whereas Georgia and Russia have the same Eastern Roman Orthodox religion.
“Saved” by the Russians they were then dominated by them from the mid 1800’s. But the relationship was never happy. Every time the Russian state weakened, the Georgians declared themselves independent: In 1917 during the time of the Russian revolution, but the Russians came back.
And in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2008 -2010 the Russians tried to come back, but they were still weak while Nato and the USA had been strengthening and training the Georgian army. After a brief nasty little war Georgia was free.
Unfortunately this mostly rural, poor, agricultural country (serfdom was only abolished in 1864) has endured ongoing corruption and political turmoil during their independence. These negative factors have steadily diminished, but still exist today. And this has caused investment and development to be slow. But steady. And today gives us a case example of an economy in transition.
First the old. It is amazing that the Georgians have remained Christians for so long considering that they are surrounded by Muslim countries. (They are called Georgians because of their reverence (since the Crusade era) for St. George). When you look out over the city the Christian churches stick up like mushrooms. And they date from 1020 to 2004! The populace appear to be very religious. On the street you constantly see people “crossing” themselves as they pass near a church.
They have also maintained their own language with it’s curious and attractive font.
As to the town, maybe half of the buildings are crumbling. No, maybe 75%. Not figuratively crumbling, I mean walls cracking, structures falling apart and down. Incredibly, people are living all throughout these areas.
All across the city you can still see what I call “local initiatives”. This is where (I have seen this a lot in Russia in the 1990’s) the collective system collapses and locals are free to establish themselves as entrepreneurs. And they can get little businesses up and running when nothing much else is working.
Some of these businesses may be able to grow and survive into more modern times. But many, extremely undercapitalized and offering the quality level of soviet products, will perish. When your income and standard of living increases, why would you continue to buy the horrible old Russian breads..
..when right down the street western breads and pastries and sweets are on offer?
I think the laundry I found will be a success. It is very tidy. The woman that runs it is super friendly and has cleverly positioned herself just outside the new Holiday Inn. It was great for me.. a week’s load of laundry wash and fold for 9 bucks.
More and more this divergence of the shopping offerings is occurring, as modern, efficient shopping such as Spar and Carrefour and other international brands move out into the neighborhoods.
Just off Freedom Square there is a glittery new Mall housing the familiar global brands.
The stores in the mall are “manned” by young attractive females while on the street corners downtown clumps of men stand around and smoke cigarettes.
The super upscale brands are also landing in Georgia.
And of course the Americans are here.
The nicest area of the city is west of Freedom square, around the government center, where many buildings and the streets and walks are in excellent repair.
As the investment climate has improved, many global brand hotels have been newly constructed, or set up in renovated buildings. The new modern constructions can seem very strange sticking up in an area where literally across the street the buildings are crumbling.
There are now new apartment blocks with many more on the way.
Renovation and investment are generating nice new areas in the city.
The upkeep of the city parks is now excellent, and so the neighborhoods around them are improving and becoming nice.
I have had a fun week exploring the food. Had to forego the acres of complementary breakfast in the hotel to go out at lunch and track down “must try” Georgian dishes. (One can only eat so much). Then every night through the magic of the “Concierge lounge” three new hot Georgian entrees to sample. Here are some observations:
They have an extremely long grain rice that cooks up beautifully loose and is delicious. Many of their dishes are sauced like Indian curries, but with completely different spices. Mountain herbs and berrys and seeds. Very interesting and many of the dishes are quite delicious.
Lamb Chakapuli is notable as characteristic of this cuisine. Simply braised, but heavy with mountain herbs including lots of tarragon and garlic. Delicious.
Chkmeruli was suggested to me as one of their best and most famous dishes. A small chicken, browned and then simmered done in a powerful cream and garlic sauce. I thought it was too heavy, very hard to eat, and also hard to taste anything but cream and garlic.
They have a green condiment here that is as ubiquitous as ketchup in the US .. “Tkemali” .. made from unripe green plums that is so outstandingly flavorful it made my heart throb. When home I may try to find some on the internet.
They do a lot of things with doughs, many combined with cheeses, which makes the cuisine a little clunky.
Unfortunately, for me, their famous “”Khinkali” dumplings were disappointing. Compared to the Chinese XiaoLongBao these Georgia dumplings are crudely crafted and poorly flavored.
I did not get out to seriously encounter their wines, so consider these comments just my reflections. The few whites I had were limpid. Their standard red wines are “semi-sweet”, and do not agree with me at all. You have to ask for “dry red wine” to get what we would consider standard fare. But the ones I tasted were surprisingly well crafted and delicious. I am sure that I did not have the “really best stuff”, but the best wines I encountered were from the Saperavi grape, and they were very very good.
What Tbilisi is currently famous for is ruckus nightlife, but I am afraid I cannot report much about that. I did walk down streets with bars and night clubs, cheek by jowl. But I believe that they start up around 11PM and run through the night. Probably not so much here in the winter.
Some things that surprised me on the street. The abundance of offerings to sell Tourists souvenirs, tours, transportation did not. But the offerings of alcohol and particularly wine were seriously, everywhere.
Also in surprising abundance were offerings to Exchange money, in some places every 100 steps down the street. And in all types of establishments from glitzy to very humble.
And flowers. These people seem to love flowers. They are on sale everywhere and many people are carrying them in the streets.
Statues. I could take 50 pictures of them. Maybe a hundred. From the glorious to the remembrance down to the guy who changes your tires.
And the simply peculiar:
And last, the bees. All of this trip the bees have shown up. I was around in the back of an ancient church, in the churchyard investigating a consecrated well. The churchyard backed onto a city park, and they had maybe 15 bee hives .. right in the city center, almost across the street from the Parliament building. Standing there you could smell the honey.
And that is it. It has been beautifully sunny here all week, cool, in the 50s for highs during the days. I am now heading west and will stop for some days in Izmir and enjoy the hot weather. I will check in from there.
I have not been in Thessaloniki since, pre-covid. But I am so happy to have came back because now I remember how much I like this city.
Here is the “White Tower”, the symbol of Thessaloniki, the city on the bay.
I am a little further North here compared to most of my winter ramblings. In this first week of March it has been chilly, barely up to 60 degrees during the days. But green with signs of early early spring.
This is the second largest city in Greece, and probably my favorite. The total area of the city is huge, but the old town down around the seafront seems small and manageable. I think perhaps because the distance between the sea and where you see the top of the nearest hill is so small.
In the old town the market still is in operation and the surrounding area is crowded with shops and everywhere all types of good inexpensive restaurants. I say all types because one of the most delightful things about Thessaloniki is the legacy from all of the civilizations and cultures that have held the city over the centuries, and the immigration of peoples from other countries.
And the old town is very busy and lively, especially on the weekends.
This is not a truly ancient city, having been founded by the Macedonians in recorded history, but old, and the remains of the early times are everywhere throughout the city, some of it still being unearthed and under study.
There are also churches everywhere, mostly Eastern Roman, and most have been here for centuries.
Thessaloniki is, of course, a tourist destination. In fact, a huge cruise ship docked here just overnight. But here in the winter I found the numbers of tourists to be negligible compared to say Athens. I felt that I was among only locals all week.
I like to get out in the mornings in Thessaloniki and walk along the sea wall. Smelling the pine trees and the ocean.
It is a nice climb up to the top of the near hill, very steep and up say 900 feet to the old city walls.
But the climb is through some sad and scrappy neighborhoods. Coming in at about 17,000 dollars GDP per Cap, Thessaloniki is not rich and not poor. The old Roman road from Rome to Istanbul is now four lanes and lined with upscale shopping. But there are also empty storefronts and a few beggars and buskers around.
I took a nice “Food Tour” to help me get oriented. It was actually excellent, introducing me to things like cheeses and local wines and local ingredients concocted into delicious tastes ,, that I could not have discovered myself. And I was introduced to a number of very friendly foody type people. It was a great experience.
Of course I have been eating the wonderful salads and the fishes.
And just because I am typing, a note of travel information: I bought some drug store type supplies in a very nice market right downtown. Gone are the days when you have to pack up everything you might need for a month or two on the road. Globalization has made everything available almost everywhere.
And a reminder: As I usually do, I tracked down a wash-and-fold laundry using Google maps and got a huge pile of laundry done for 10 euros. That is about the price for two pairs of Sox in the Marriott.
And a factoid. I just last week learned so much about bees and honey. And it brought me to appreciate how important honey is in Greek culture. Not like religious, but important.
And that’s it. I am off to a lifetime new place: Georgia. Will check in from there.
Larnaca is a different sort of destination for me. I usually avoid beach towns. Larnaca is kinda modern and kinda scrappy and kinda third wordly. But I keep coming back year after year. And enjoying it here.
I am told that the upscale part of Cyprus is at the western end of the island, around Pafos. But the nice little airport here in Larnaca connects to everywhere around the eastern med, and has an airport bus route that delivers you quickly to the city center, making it so simple to arrive and depart.
There are a few historic buildings, but Larnaca peaked in global importance during the times of the Venetian Republic. Today it is attractive as a beach town and for people with vacation homes.
And there are some quite nice parts of town: besides the airport, the strip of restaurants and hotels at the beach is very nice. They have a cute glitzy mall. And maybe a few interesting churches.
But the wonderful thing they have for sure is GREAT WEATHER. For my week here in February, 70 degrees every day with a big beautiful sky.
I like to walk along the sea wall and around the town.
Out to the salt lake and see the pink flamingos. But this visit, so late in the winter, almost all of them have departed for Africa.
After the weather the next best thing in Larnaca ( Cyprus ) is the food.
Wonderful. Simple. Straightforward. Awesomely fresh salads and seafoods.
The town is pretty lively around the beach during the day and around the bars and restaurants in the evenings. And the cast of characters is extremely diverse: beach creatures, loud Russians, families of Indians, pink european tourists, swarthy middle easteners ..
As you know the British held Cyprus for a long time. From the fall of the Ottoman Empire, around the time of our civil war, until the Island achieved independence in 1960. And the people here still have many many british affectations, which resonate with me, having once spent 4 years living and working in England.
They drive on the left.
They tend gardens and trim their hedges with geometric planes.
They drink beer in pints. And eat with their fork in their left hand, upside down.
They use demerara sugar in their coffee and tea.
And, of course, the triumvirate of the british breakfast: mushrooms, baked tomatoes and baked beans ! I love them and eat them every day.
Thanks to the wonderful modern travel offering: the” “Food Tour”, I was able to get up into the hills and visit a few villages.
I tasted some (pretty pedestrian) local wines ..
Visited a family operation producing Honey (fascinating), and had a breakfast at a farm making cheeses using traditional methods.
Tasted dishes prepared with an ancient brazing method of sealing the ingredients into clay pots with a mud cover and then cooking them very slowly in the wood oven. (amazing and delicious).
And visited a family operation producing olive oil. This included visiting the purported oldest olive tree in the world. Not very pretty, but said to be 800 years old.
And I took the opportunity to visit the village of Lefkaritika, famous since ancient times for their hand made lace.
During the period of the occupation of Cyprus by the Venetian Republic, (an important trading center for them), Venetian ladies liked to come up into the cool hills in the summer and stay in this village. And according to records in the Vatican, Leonardo di Vinci took a vacation from his work and visited here, recorded because he bought a tablecloth here and donated it to the Vatican upon his return. Interestingly, in his painting of the last supper the tablecloth has a traditional Cypriot design.
And that’s it. Now that I’ve warmed up from the Bemidji winter I’ll soon be heading north up into Greece. And I will probably miss Larnaca. I am heading to Thessaloniki, and it looks like it will be quite chilly and perhaps rainy. We’ll see. I will check in from there.
Almost December. Chilly weather has settled onto Florence. Last night, the full moon rose over the Duomo, peeked into the window of our apartment and told us that it is time to move on.
Florence is of course for western civilization one of the most historical and valuable cities on the planet. Between say 1250 and 1500 there was an explosion of human creativity here that shook off the slumber of Christendom .. and transformed Architecture, Painting, Sculpture and all of our artistic and scientific expressions .. into those we still today consider the modern world.
There are so many churches standing as they were centuries ago, all crammed with extraordinary art and the graves of historical Renaissance people, and an honor to visit.
You can follow a chronological route through the rooms of the Uffizi, and see unfold for yourself the profound transition in art that occurred in an eye blink of time, just two hundred years .. going from flat, cartoon-like depictions of people and spaces to realistic, seemingly photographic and almost three dimensional representations.
For people who really can appreciate art, the Pitti Palace contains an endless number of paintings displaying works of art over centuries. And also in Florence, there are museums here for Sculpture, Stone inlay, Renaissance Science, Etruscan history, and more …
You can walk all over the city, and must, in fact. And although it is annoying with the tiny sidewalks and the people and the motorcycles and the taxis .. you see the great spaces and buildings.
This is a superficial little blog. There is so much here, but we have been coming to Florence many times over perhaps 25 years. And these days, we just visit our favorite churches and museums and then walk and walk and hang around to focus on the extraordinary food.
And so, if you think of coming here (which you should) or just want more information and photos of Florence, you might want to look at these two previous blogs which contain much more information about this great city.
One caution: Try to visit off season. The waves of tourists that used to be here throughout the summer now splash here in November and perhaps later, and we were told that this past summer they were a Tsunami. On a Chianti wine trip this visit we were in a group of 9 persons, but at one winery the host told us that during the summer they regularly had 5 buses of 50 persons each bus in a day.
There are still some “real” places in the old town .. like out around the university and the Sant’Ambrogio market, but otherwise the old center is completely a tourist zone. There are as many people snapping photos in the Central market as those buying produce.
All of the restaurants in the Old Town no matter how lavish or hole-in-the-wall have more or less the same tourist menu. We shopped in the fabulous markets and cooked almost everyday.
The bottom line: All of the wonderful historical things in Florence are still here and available to access, but you must just accept that the city has become “Disneyland does History”.
If you decide to exit this little blog here I will understand. I am now only going on to talk some about Chianti wine country.
————————————————————————————
CHIANTI
The countryside of the Chianti wine region is beautiful. Sharp hills and valleys. Surprisingly empty. There are maybe 5 significant and ancient villages in the region and their names often appear on the bottles.
Just like all Burgundy wines are Pinot Noir grapes, all Chianti wines are Sangiovese. DOC regulated to contain a minimum of 80 percent. The other 20 percent can vary.
If you buy them, I suggest looking for the Chianti Classico, those displaying the Black Rooster are DOC controlled for the best quality production.
Three observations/opinions of mine:
We have tried numerous Italian Rose wines. We have never drunk one a second time.
The Black Rooster wines are fine drinking wines. Maybe they would improve up to 8-10 years. But we are not talking Barolo. Blindfold me and give me 10 and I would struggle to point out any one notably different from the rest.
“Super Tuscan” wine is a total marketing ploy .. with no legs.
—————————————
And that’s it. We are now off to cold cold London to see some plays on our way back to totally frozen Bemidji.
Day trips from Florence are almost always to the nearby attractive and interesting cities and villages: Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, Montepulciano, etc. But we have done these so many times we head for a totally non-tourist destination: Arezzo.
Travelling by train in Italy is so easy it is a mistake to hire a car .. which is impossible to drive through the cities and costs a fortune to park.
Just like in any country, the view from a train is the worst view of the country: back yards, industrial sites, graffiti, endless junk. But also little villages, a surprising amount of green countryside, well tended Vinyards, olive terraces and fields.
It was such a relief to be out of the tourist crush of Florence and walk around Arezzo. Quiet streets. Making this trip on a Monday made it even quieter but was a bit of a mistake because many things are closed in Italy on both Sunday and Monday.
Not surprisingly we soon find that there are no tourists in Arezzo because there is so little to see. Siena, for example is far far more interesting. On the other hand, this is a “real” provincial Italian town and is interesting enough.
They have a massive fortress (sorry, closed).
And the town itself is a treasure of the past.
The best thing in the old center of Arezzo that we do discover is the Cathedral. An outstanding, ancient building, still used every day and quite unusual in its floor plan.
And that was Arezzo. We walk and walk and gawk and gawk and have a late lunch in a little very local restaurant and take the train back home.
FIESOLE
For whatever reason, whenever we are in Florence we hike up to the ancient Etruscan town of Fiesole. It is a few thousand years older than Florence and so worth paying homage to, but actually we do it for the fine strenuous hike.
If you ever do this, do it on a Sunday or the traffic will make it a misery.
This wasn’t a very good day to make the climb. A very cloudy overcast day and plus they are burning “le Cep”, the grape trimmings, creating a lot of smoke.
And .. there is almost nothing to do up there! A bit of Roman ruins, hardly any Etruscan. Too early to sit and drink a well deserved cold beer.
There was a little bit of local market going on that entertained us for a few minutes.
We bought a little locally produced fresh unfiltered olive oil. We were tempted by the superb vin santo, but passed on it and the huge bottles of grappa (hand made labels indicating 48% alcohol!) and went back down the hill for lunch. With our oil.
Some towns you just like. And little Sibenik is one I like.
Depending upon what administrative district you choose to count there are only say 30 to 40 thousand people here. Just a bump on this coast, which is a continuous narrow strip of houses, apartments, shops, etc.
Tourists come to Sibenik to visit the old Venetian town, that rises straight out of the sea, capped with a fortress.
The main other visitors here are the Yachties. The shoreline around this stretch of coast is a network of islands and channels out into the main Adriatic Sea. Dotted with little villages, it is heaven for them.
At Sibenik there is a peculiar direct east west channel that runs through the islands into the sea, and so the boats can easily come into and out of the harbor. And they do. All sizes of them.
And so, besides the tourists, Sibenik has a constant influx of boats that they serve with cleaning, provisioning, repairing .. and restauranting. This is probably why even around the first of November almost everything is open.
For me this timing has been perfect. Sibenik has been so quiet and calm and uncrowded. I had a fine corner room with the channel to the sea out one side and the old town harbor the other.
And I have had good luck with the weather. Fall is catching up with me here, the temperatures have slowly come down from the mid 70’s into the high 60’s over the week. And some rain, but intermittent showers, so I was able to get out and walk every day.
_upscale
Besides reading books on the kindle, walking, hanging out and eating … I used the time for chores: twice took laundry to the wash and fold, got some dry cleaning done, searched out a sewing shop and had a pair of trousers repaired. Got a very unfortunate haircut. Life on the road.
Croation philosophy, I guess:
Of course I ate some fishes! Some simple, some elaborate. They are readily available all over town.
There is a lot of Italian food here, but since I am going to Italy next I did not get into it. Nor some of the more exotic local offerings.
I think most people would be seriously bored with SIbenik in two days. But I have really enjoyed my peaceful visit. Here are some random photos around town.
And, that’s it. I will soon fly over to Florence and meet up with the lovely and talented CAMarchand. We have an apartment together for the rest of the month. Near the Central market so there will be cooking and cooking and cooking. I will report again from there.
It is hard for me to say anything new about Split. Except for during Covid times I have been coming here every year for 6 or 7 .. and among these pages have posted a number of descriptive blog reports.
If you ever decide to come here, and I encourage you to, there are a number of delightful cities here on the wonderful Croation coast. Plenty of sunshine. Great real food. Nice people. Great public transport.
Marriott recently opened their first hotel in Split and so I had to try it out. An “AC” brand, one of my least favorite, but interesting .. in the new highest building in Split.
They put me in a great room on the 22nd floor.
But for me the hotel was not so great. AC brands are simple hotels market positioned for business people with cars. And this one proved to be so .. out on the edge of town in a nothing neighborhood. I could walk to the center and that was OK .. but it was not so OK to do over and over. And although busses run everywhere I only took a few.
Also, Split continues to grow. More population, more roads, more traffic and congestion. Staying in the old town off season is my recommendation.
Split has for a long time been discovered by tourists, who come not just for the ambiance but to visit the old Venician town and the remains of the fortress of Diocletian.
This is a special area and of course a world heritage site.
Year over year it continues to be restored, tartified, upscaled .. and become ever more pricey.
But if you venture outside of the tourist area there is still plenty of the real local Split to be found.
As you know, one of the prime attractions of this part of the globe for me .. beyond the weather and the friendly people (if you are in a crosswalk all of the traffic stops for you) .. is the wonderful food, and in particular the fish. Like this little lunch down at the fish market.
Or this little Sea bass. Which by the way are getting expensive. This would be 25 euros downtown. I took a bus out to the suburbs and had this one for 12.
Well, as I said I don’t have much new to say about Split .. but again, there are far more informative reports on this excellent destination among these blog pages, if you are interested.
I am now moving up the coast out of the hustle and bustle of the big city to little Sibenik, and will report in from there.
I have enjoyed this week in Mostar. The October temperatures around 80F certainly helped. But also this is such a nice, manageable sized city, only around 60 thousand people.
The town is in a narrow valley up in the mountains, following along on both banks of a clear, fast moving river.
Most visitors swish through Mostar via tour bus, see the historic old bridge and the surrounding old streets, a World Heritage site. One night in a hotel and then onward. I know that because I see them in the breakfast room every morning, a new batch and then they load into the bus.
I stay a fair distance from this area. I can walk to it but it is only full of Touristy things. There are many other reasons to like this town. Let me describe and share some of the things I like, with you.
OK, parts of the town are gritty and sad .. primarily on the west bank. And there are still too many buildings standing ruined from the war. But there is also plenty of nicely restored buildings and new construction.
The east side of the river where I stay is very nice. Wide streets big sidewalks. And people use the streets. Lots of walking and not an overwhelming number of cars.
Some pedestrian only zones and parks.
I was surprised to find that for a Muslim town there are no headscarves at all in this area. And that there are so many Christian things.
In the fine weather people have been out walking everywhere. Young people going to schools, people walking to the numerous shops, coffee cafes, bars and restaurants. Or just hanging out enjoying the weather.
I have been staying in a fine hotel that by our standards costs very little.
Interestingly the hotel is attached to a smallish but glittering shopping Mall with more restaurants and bars. An amazing factoid: the whole of the Mall is closed on Sunday. What a revenue drag. And ..sorry, but they have closed the pool hall since I was here last. Something I was looking forward to .. but so it goes. They are putting a Burger King into that space.
In the basement of the Mall there is the biggest supermarket I have ever seen in the Balkans. With everything. Including this “non Muslim” array.
Yes. I came back here for the weather …. and the food. It is fresh and real and delicious and like everything here in Bosnia, very inexpensive. They eat a lot of meat, much of it grilled. Virtually no fish and surprisingly, no lamb.
The Veal is absolutely amazing. In this little Italian restaurant I had the best Veal Saltimbocca I have ever eaten. Hands down. 11 dollars.
How about this serving of Caprese salad. 7 dollars, with a huge serving of Focaccia included.
I am not often a beer drinker, but in the hot weather and sitting outside whiling away the early evening I have had a few. They have one Croation beer here that I really like. A beer costs a dollar and a quarter. But one day I did go for the big bucket just to try it. 2 dollars.
I have had so many great dinners with an embarrassing amount of good local wine .. dinners that I struggled to finish, for between 13 and 25 dollars, total.
Well enough of that. Yes it has been great fun. After enduring the awful air pollution in Sarajevo being up here in the clean air in the mountains has been a treat, but it is not heaven. These people smoke like chimneys constantly and everywhere. I would hate to be here in bad weather and have to be inside with them. It would be terrible.
A few fun pictures to forget that:
And that’s it. Tomorrow I will travel down to the Croatian coast to spend some weeks eating fish. Next stop Split.
