Europe, July 2023
Day 7: Zurich, Switzerland
I had a long layover in Zurich so I arranged a tour to Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein.
But before I could go on the tour, I had to get through customs, find lockers, and get on the right train to the tour departure location. And I only had one hour and thirty minutes!
Zurich Airport itself isn’t too bad but once you’re out of the gates, it is huge and the signage isn’t too great. After wandering for a bit, I found the lockers by accident and lucky the trains were nearby. But there were trains everywhere and I couldn’t decipher which was the one my Apple Maps was telling me to take. Thankfully a worker guided me to the right train. Once I got off the train, I was turned around and walked in a very big circle but eventually found my way and got to the departure point with minutes to spare.
While I may have been questioning going on this tour, I’m so glad I did. The Rhine Falls was so powerful and the town of Stein am Rhein was exactly was I envisioned when I pictured a Swiss town. The murals on the buildings were my favorite.
Exhausted so fortunately I’m headed back to the airport for my flight to Barcelona.
Day 8: Barcelona, Spain
Wow, what a treat this city is!
I had high hopes of getting up for breakfast at 7 and hitting the city. There was a ton I wanted to see and I only had one day. But because I didn’t get enough sleep last night, I almost missed it.
I checked into the Hotel 1898 and it is gorgeous. Centrally located on La Rambla, and just a short walk from the Cathedral de Barcelona. Fortunate for me, that was my first stop on my walking tour of cathedrals. Thank you ChatGPT.
Cathedral of Barcelona - I am speechless. My pictures don’t do it justice. I walked in and I could feel tears in my eyes at it’s beauty. And then goosebumps as I thought about all who walked those steps before me.
After that I walked in circles for almost two hours trying to find the Oratori de Sant Felip Neri. It ended up being roughly 500 steps away but Apple Maps wasn’t picking up my directions correctly.
I finally made it there after a stop at the Basilica del Santa Maria del Pi and then tapas and a very cold beer. I finally made it to the Oratori and after that I walked to the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar. It was another beautiful church.
I had next intended upon walking to the Sagrada Familia but I kept getting distracted by all the beautiful buildings and browsing the local shops. I went into the El Born Site, an archaeological site of late 17th century Barcelona and then walked along the Barcelona Harbor before heading back.
Barcelona, you did not disappoint. I will be back.
Day 9: Dubrovnik, Croatia
I left Barcelona behind but before leaving, I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely young woman who lives in Chicago. While waiting for our flights, we passed time talking about some of our trips and talking about the hard choices of kids or traveling. We exchanged numbers and promised to meet for coffee in the future. Then on my flight, a celebrity, LA Laker and 2x NBA champion, Pau Gasol. And the views from the plane!
I arrived into Dubrovnik and took a cab to the hotel to meet Jeremy. While the hotel doesn’t look very European, it is quite spacious and has a balcony.
We took a little nap before heading for an authentic Croatian dinner at Konaba Dubrava. The restaurant was on the top of the mountain and we saw gorgeous views of the sea. We ate pork and octopus cooked “under the bell” and while there, we snuck a peek at the kitchen and listened to Croatian music.
After leaving, we took an Uber down to the Gated Walls of Durbvnik. This is where some of Game of Thrones was filmed. While I thought that was cool, the history, the walls, the sea was spectacular. We tried skipping rocks, drank cold water from public fountains, and got lost wandering in narrow alleys.
We took a bus back to the hotel, making it an early night for our day trip this morning. More on that in another post.
Enjoy the pics from dinner and the Gated Walls
Day 10: Kotor, Montenegro
Wow, another beautiful old, walled town. This seems to be the theme for this portion of the trip. We got picked up at 7:30 for the day trip to Montenegro.
Lucky for us, it was a private tour and our tour guide was monitoring the border situations because the line to cross over was long so we detoured through Bosnia-Herzegovina. Along the way, we talked about the Bosnian war from the 1990’s. It was so interesting to hears names and places such as Yugoslavia, Miroslav, Bosnian genocide, and see remnants of a war that existed only in far away news stories for those of us that were not impacted by it. I image this is how our kids will think of the Ukraine and Russia war when they are my age. I could not have hoped for more out of our discussion.
We made two stops. The first at Perast. It was a charming small town on the bay with some of the clearest water I’ve ever seen. We took a quick boat ride to an island called Our Lady of the Rocks. The story is that boaters dropped rocks in the sea and sunk boats with rocks and over 200 years created this island. It had a very old church, circa 1452 with beautiful tapestries and paintings.
After Perast, we drove to Kotor. We had several hours to wander this walled city, dating back to 5th century BC. With beautiful churches, old buildings, and narrow alleys, it was easy to get lost. I bought a beautiful plate, hand painted in the region, and we had a local beer at a very old pub.
Fortunate for us again, our tour guide was monitoring the border and took us back through a smaller border crossing. For us, the crossing was only a couple of cars long but the reverse direction was more than 4 miles long. People were standing and walking around their cars on the highway to pass the time. Apparently this is a common occurrence when Albanians return home from other EU countries and they prefer to drive than fly!
I also used the bathroom from some random person’s house along the route. This seemed to be a common thing as the woman seemed nonplussed when I asked, immediately taking me into her home. She spared me from squatting in the bushes along the mountainous route back.
Next, we are headed to Split, Croatia via ferry but not before we check out the cable car to Srd Hill and the Imperial Fortress.
Day 11: Dubrovnik to Split, Croatia
We woke up early to take the cable car to the top of Syd Hill. The views were unbelievable. While we wanted to browse the old city some more, we walked the 1.5 miles uphill to the cable car entrance and were hot and tired by the time we got there.
After the cable car ride up the mountainside, we looked at the panoramic views, had coffee and fruit at the restaurant, and then went down about 100 stairs to the bottom.
We then went over and caught the ferry for our five hour ride to Split. We stopped at several islands on the way and I hope that tomorrow we get a chance to visit them. We capped our night, arriving at the Airbnb in the center of old town split, and had dinner at a restaurant right below us.
Tomorrow, laundry, exploration of Old Town, and maybe the islands
Day 12: Split, Croatia
Today was pretty relaxed and we lived like locals. The Airbnb owner came out to check the air conditioner. We dropped off laundry. We went grocery shopping. We made and ate dinner at the apartment.
We also drank water from the public fountains, made stops at a local church, walked through the Golden Gate, checked out the Gregory of Nin statue, and generally got lost. And then once it cooled down to a mere 80F, we went to check out Diocletian’s Palace. Even at 11 at night, the streets were crowded!
The Palace was built in the 4th century AD and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian. While it is referred to as a "palace" because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the term can be misleading as the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress: about half of it was for Diocletian's personal use, and the rest housed the military garrison.
Words and pictures do not do it justice. I highly recommend.
Tomorrow we plan to visit the beach and go on a Split Food Tour.
Day 13: Split, Croatia
This country is just so beautiful. We spent the day marveling at the buildings that were more than 1500 years old, eating local food and drinking Croatian beer, and jumping the waves of the Adriatic Sea.
The highlight of our day was a food tour. We made five stops and at each, our guide told us about some local history. I broke out of my comfort zone and tried both a bite of Paški cheese from the island of Pag. It is rated as one of the top ten best cheeses of Europe. Still not my thing but I’m proud of myself for trying it. I also tried some local Istrian pršut (prosciutto), air dried and perfectly cured. Both staples of Croatia.
After that stop we are risotto and cuttlefish, a species of squid, and house white wine. The cuttlefish made the risotto black and I was very wary of trying it but so glad that I did. I ate nearly everything on my plate.
Our next stop was at a traditional Croatian restaurant where we ate Pašticada, a Dalmatian stew of beef and gnocchi. Judging by the clean plates, I think everyone loved it. We also had a shot of Rakıja, a traditional Croatian drink made from herbs from the Adriatic coast.
Our next stop was a tasting of a traditional pastry filled with cheese or meat. They were quite flaky but admittedly I was stuffed and didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have. We capped our evening with ice cream. I had a fruit yogurt and mango ice cream. Both delicious.
The tour was so well done. If anyone is making plans to go to Croatia, I highly recommend this tour.
Enjoy our photos from the Adriatic Sea and the food tour.
Day 14: Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
We got up this morning for our transfer from Split to Zagreb via Plitvice Lakes. I hated saying goodbye to Split but was excited for the rest of our adventure!
I cannot say enough about the beauty of Plitvice Lakes. I’ve never seen such clear water especially in a lake. This national park area is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and sees 2 million visitors for two months every year. That is more than 30,000 visitors a day. The park service is committed to keep the water clear so swimming is strictly prohibited.
There are regularly 16 lakes and 26 waterfalls but because of rainfall, these numbers can vary.
After the lake, we are at a local restaurant and then took a transfer to Zagreb, arriving this evening. Though we spent 7 hours in the car, we definitely got in our steps (nearly 20,000!) between the lake and waking around Zagreb. So far, the jury is out on Zagreb. Perhaps spoiled by Dubrovnik and Split. So tomorrow we’ll visit and then we head to Slovenia.
It was hard to choose my favorite photos of the lake, there were just so many.
Day 15: Zagreb, Croatia
We had to check out of the hotel, so with no real plan, and armed with only a map and our phones for GPS, we headed out.
Similar to Split and Dubrovnik, there is an old city center so that is the way we headed. We walked through narrow alleyways, old bomb shelter tunnels, uphill streets, and street markets. We first went to the Cathedral of Zagreb and then onto St Mark’s Basilica. Unfortunately both the cathedral and the basilica were closed for renovations. It’s unfortunate because the basilica is one of the oldest buildings in Zagreb and the cathedral is the second tallest building in Croatia. While in the old city center, we also went to the 80’s Museum. It had some cool artifacts that took us for a stroll down memory lane.
Once we finished with the city center, we still had a few more hours until our bus left for Ljubljana so we hopped on the very cheap (.53 euros) tram and headed over to the Nikola Tesla Museum (AKA Technical Museum). The Transformation of Energy exhibit was very well put together. It was really cool to see a young woman with her family and as their dad explained the mechanisms of the internal combustion engines, she asked so many relevant questions. I loved seeing that!
We finished our time in Zagreb with a variety of pastries from a local bakery and then hopped on the tram to the bus station. We arrived in Slovenia (no border control) in a torrential downpour. Our Airbnb looks super sketchy from the outside but has amazing views of the river and the clock tower inside. I’m excited to get out today to explore.
Day 16: Ljubljana, Slovenia
It poured rain. The kind of cold, hard rain that makes you want to cuddle up in bed and read a book cover to cover. But we didn’t want to waste a day inside so we ventured out armed with our umbrellas.
We had breakfast at a cute wine bar, walked throughout the old city, took some pictures, and went to the grocery store.
Later in the evening we went on a food and wine tour. The food choices were interesting, not all tasty for me but Jeremy loved them all. The wine was very good. I only wished they had more of it!
Day 17: Ljubljana, Slovenia
More rain but not as bad as Saturday. In preparation for the rain, we chose to hit up some museums today.
First up was the House of Illusions. This place was really cool. The exhibits were interactive and I think my favorite illusions were the mirrors. I also loved the end where they had small puzzles that you could try.
After the House of Illusions, we walked over to the Castle and took the funicular to the top. But only after we were distracted by a emu and a cute coffee shop. At the top we saw views of the city. All in all, we walked more than five miles, shopping, having coffee, and just admiring the architecture.
On Monday, the rain is supposed to end and super thankful for that as we are headed to Predjama Castle, Postojna Caves, and Lake Bled.
Day 18: Postojna Caves, Predjama Castle, Lake Bled, Slovenia
It was an early morning and the sun was shining. We had a driver and went with a small group to the caves, castle, and lake.
The caves were amazing. We took a train several miles in, and then walked about another mile, to the highest point and the lowest point. We went through several different chambers of rock formations. Postojna Cave was carved by the Pivka River over millions of years. There are stalagmites, stalactites, and formations called curtains or draperies that look like folded curtains. The cave system is 24.34 kilometers (15.12 mi) long and is made up of four caves interconnected through the same underground river. The caves are also home to the endemic olm, the largest troglodytic amphibian in the world.
After the caves, we headed to the castle. The castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult. The castle became known as the seat of the knight Erasmus of Lueg (or Luegg, Luegger), lord of the castle in the 15th century and a renowned robber baron. ccording to legend, Erasmus came into conflict with the Habsburgs when he killed the commander of the imperial army. According to a popular but unfounded legend, Erasmus was betrayed by one of his men and was killed by a shot from a cannon in his lavatory
Finally, we drove about an hour away to Lake Bled and another castle. The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origin. It is 2,120 m (6,960 ft) long and 1,380 m (4,530 ft) wide, with a maximum depth of 29.5 m (97 ft), and it has a small island. The lake lies in a picturesque environment, surrounded by mountains and forests. Medieval Bled Castle stands above the lake on the north shore and has a museum. The lake surrounds Bled Island (Blejski otok). The island has several buildings, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary (Cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja), built in its current form near the end of the 17th century. It is decorated with remains of Gothic frescos from around 1470 in the chancel, and with rich Baroque furnishing. The church has a 52 m (171 ft) tower and there is a Baroque stairway dating from 1655 with 99 stone steps leading up to the building.
We capped our day with a traditional Slovenia dinner.
This trip has been so full of history, amazing food, and beautiful architecture. There are way too many pictures to choose from so here are a sampling.
Thank you Wikipedia.
Day 19: Trieste, Italy
After pounding the sidewalk for the .8 mile walk to the station, we departed Ljubljana via double decker bus, front row! These are such a great way to travel shorter distances. I wish the US had better infrastructure for them. They are clean, air conditioned, have power, toilets, and the seats were very comfortable.
We passed the two hour ride admiring the scenery and chatting with a very nice Croatian man who spoke five languages fluently. He sold pumpkin seed oil which is a luxury item over here.
Upon arriving in Trieste, we dropped our bags at the station and went out to explore. We had no real plans for today and I could have been okay just sitting in a cafe, drinking coffee and eating. But of course, there are too many things to see to do that.
As we walked to the city center (every European city seems to have one), we passed the filming of a movie. Too bad we couldn’t get any video. But we did see what appeared to be a car chase with guns shooting out the windows.
After watching for a moment, we continued on, zigzagging through streets because of the filming. We made our first stop for coffee at an outdoor cafe. After two cappuccinos with delicious foam and assorted biscuits, we were ready to go once again.
We walked more, took pictures, went into stores, and enjoyed the day. The weather was a gorgeous 75 and sunny. Eventually reaching out intended destination, we went through a narrow street way and found ourselves at the site of several beautiful churches. After stopping to admire, we continued our walk and found the Trieste theatre. Our walk culminated with a beer and chips and later gelato.
By this time my feet were dead and I just wanted to sit somewhere. So we headed back for our bags and to the train station.
Our plan - an overnight train from Trieste to Rome, 10.5 hours. I didn’t know what to expect but what I can say is that it wasn’t what I expected. Would I try the sleeper train again? Perhaps if I was better prepared…
Anyways we arrived in Rome this morning and I’m ready for my final leg of this adventure. It is different than what was planned in January but I’m making the best of the situation. Next up: Madrid and then Portugal.
Day 20: Rome to Madrid
We got to the airport in Rome where I dropped off Jeremy. The original plan was to meet Carmen and spend 7 days in Rome and Florence. But life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to and so there was a new itinerary. So I caught a flight to Madrid.
So The flight…I was comfortable in a business class seat. Wow, do they treat you differently there! All the accoutrements - free wine selection, a meal choice, chocolate, lots of it, and overall good service. I didn’t love all the attention but maybe some day I can get used to it. And also, our flight was delayed by an hour. The reason - someone missed the flight but checked their bag. They had to find it and remove it from the plane. I used the delay to catch some much needed ’s.
I got into Madrid about 4 and took a taxi to the airport. I was given an upgraded room and thought about how to spend my evening. Anyone who knows Spain knows evenings are quite busy. But I was tired and not being able to figure out how to turn on the air conditioning made my tiredness even worse. So alas I spent the evening in, catching up on some work. Fortunately, I figured out the air and had an uneventful night and I was ready to hit the ground running tomorrow (today).
Day 21: Madrid, Spain
Well as you can see from the step tracker, I got a late start. Spain is in the midst of a heatwave and todays temperature was no exception, reaching above 95.
But I finally made it out, after some work and packing - I have a very early wake-up tomorrow.
I wasn’t sure where I was headed but ChatGPT had given me a start so I ventured out. My initial intention was to see the first couple of items and head back to the hotel. Anyone who has traveled alone in a country where the language is different than what you speak can certainly appreciate the anxiousness that goes with just going.
First, I started by finding Puerta del Sol. It ended up being a lackluster square so I stayed a moment and headed to Mercado de San Miguel. This is an indoor street market and it was awesome. I had a fresh fruit bowl and if I ate olives, I would have tried every kind they had. They looked so good. All of the food looked good but since I couldn’t find anywhere to sit, I stuck with the fruit and continued my walk.
At this point, I was mildly unimpressed with the city center of Madrid so I was going to see the Royal Palace and at least one cathedral and head back. But before I made it to either, I stopped into the Crypt of Almudena Cathedral which made me stop in my tracks. It is the resting place of much of Spanish nobility.
I then went into the Cathedral and was blown away by the beauty of it. Next door to the cathedral is the Royal Palace. A waiting line that stretched a mile in the hot sun made me think twice about going inside.
So instead, I planned to head back to the hotel. I wanted to see the Cibeles Fountain but I had determined it was much further than I wanted to walk. Luck was with me though because I decided to go to the Archaeological Museum and had to pass the fountain to get there! I’m so happy I went that way because I passed the Palacio de Buenavista. It’s towers were stunning, soaring high into the air.
After finishing at the museum, I walked back to the hotel and stopped for some meat paella and sangria. Both delicious.
Tomorrow, I begin to head home. My flight out of Madrid has a long stopover in Portugal on its way to Chicago.
Day 22: Lisbon, Portugal
I left Madrid on a very early flight and arrived in Portugal at 8am. After stopping for Starbucks (!), and wasting some time, I headed to the city center and my hotel. Fortunately, they held my bags since I was not able to check in yet.
I decided to head out for a bit and begin exploring. I had a general idea - thank you Lisbon tour guide and ChatGPT for some ideas. But after walking for about a mile in 95 degrees, I decided to grab a Tuk-Tuk tour of the Alfama and Belem districts. Good choice as Lisbon is very uphill and it was HOT! We made several stops, the most noteable was The Monastery of Sao Vicente de Fora. I wish I had more time to go through the museum and church. I also had Pastel de Belem, a custard Portuguese tart and saw the Red Bridge, named because it looks just like the Golden Gate Bridge. fun fact: they were designed by the same person.
After the tour, I was able to check into the hotel. A beautiful boutique hotel in the middle of the city. Plenty of treats were left for me including a bottle of wine and Porto. Later that evening, once it cooled down I headed for dinner.
Based on a recommendation from the hotel staff, I ate at the Sacramento. I had Bacalhau à Brás (Portuguese pronunciation: [bɐkɐˈʎaw a ˈβɾaʃ], meaning Cod à Brás), a Portuguese dish made from shreds of salted cod (bacalhau), onions and thinly chopped (matchstick-sized) fried potatoes, with an egg yolk in the center and finely chopped black olives. It was delicious, evidenced by my clean plate.
After dinner, I headed back to the hotel as I had an early next day.
Day 23: Fatima, Nazare, and Obidos, Portugal
Today, I had a planned tour of Fatima, Nazare, and Obidos.
Fatima is a religious pilgrimage site for Christianity for the airings of the Virgin Mary. The grounds were enormous and the 9000 seat church was Impressive. I can’t say that this church gave e goose bumps like all the other cathedrals and basilicas I have seen but nonetheless, I’m glad I went.
After Fatima, we went to an old monastery called Batalha. The church was gorgeous (I’m running out of worlds to describe these structures ) and I wanted to sit there forever. Here we also ate lunch. I had more of the cod fish but today it was made with a tomato crust and served with French fries AKA potato chips. It was delicious except for eating around the tiny bones of the fish. The meal was called Bacalbau Dom Duarte, and the restaurant was Batalha Dom Duarte.
Next up was Nazare, an ocean front town with a church on a hill overlooking the water and mostly known for its big waves. I tried to get pics of the huge waves but was never quite ready for them. This little town is one that I would be interested in exploring more even if the ocean was too rough and cold for swimming. We also had a local beer. Crazy that it was only 7.50 euros for 3 beers (I bought one for my new friend and her son ).
Finally, we stopped at Obidos, a charming village situated with a castle and surrounded by old city walls. Here we had a taste of Ginjinha, a Portuguese liqueur made from sour cherries. It's dark red in color and is served in small shot glasses or edible chocolate cups. Thank goodness for the chocolate cups - it tasted a little too much like cherry Benadryl otherwise. Reminiscent of the shot we took in Split on our food tour.
While on the tour, I met a nice woman and her son. We exchanged numbers and stories of our travels. She is headed to Morocco next and promised to send me her recommendations. I’m headed to SE Asia in January and promised to send her recommendations. The air conditioning in our van also broke after Fatima, and well since I was sitting in the very back, let’s just say, thankfully he was able to secure a new van.
I ended the evening with Chicken Tikka Masala and butter garlic paan and a couple of cold beers. Back to the hotel to pack for the final leg of my trip.
Tomorrow I take the train to Porto and then fly home to Chicago on Monday.
Day 24: Porto, Portugal
Portugal is ranked as one of the top places to retire and I wanted to see a little more of it while I was here. So I made a last minute change to my itinerary and boarded a 10 am train bound for Porto. I marvel at the transportation system in Europe, buses and trains are convenient, comfortable, and cheap and makes changes like these so easy. With airport wait times, so many cancellations, and having to arrive early, it makes so much sense to take other modes of transportation.
I checked into my hotel, again right in the city center. Porto is a lovely seaside town, situated alongside the Douro River and the Atlantic Ocean. Similar to San Francisco with its narrow, uphill streets and trolley cars. I planned a packed day so after check-in, I was on the go.
First, a Tuk-Tuk tour. Thank goodness for those because just walking to the meeting point, I thought for sure, I’d die of a heart attack. Seriously, I was worried when it took a while to slow my breathing. Note to self - if Porto might become home, I better work on the cardio.
During the tour, I saw the Porto Cathedral, the Mercado Bolhao - fresh food market, more on that later, the tallest point in Portugal - the Torre dos Clérigos, and the Monastery of Serro do Pilar. Fun fact about the monastery, when the built it, they were worried about ghosts hiding behind corners so it was built round and therefore had no corners. Also I saw the beautiful Porto train station and two churches, the Carmo and Carmelitas churches separated by one of the world’s narrowest houses. This house was built to make all contact between the nuns and the monks impossible. with a tiny house between them. The guide also pointed out the old school fire alarm box and the mutated Sucamore trees.
After the tuktuk tour, I went back to my hotel to change and headed back out via the very cheap Uber system. I was going to a tour of the six bridges of Porto and a wine tasting. While I’m not sure I learned much about the six bridges, mostly because we were very busy chatting with each other, I did thoroughly enjoy the wine. We also saw the meeting point of the river and the Atlantic Ocean.
After the tour, I headed back to the hotel to wrap up my evening and get ready to head home tomorrow (today).