Vienna - final Europe 2009 post

Schonbrunn Palace

The last stop on our Europe tour was Vienna. Honestly, it was our least favorite but I think we were a bit spoiled coming right from the calm beauty of Croatia. We enjoyed our time in Vienna, even checking out Mozart's The Magic Flute at the beautiful Vienna opera house. Here are some foodie highlights.

Veggies for sale at the wonderful Naschmarkt.



Olive oils and vinegars for sale.



There's always an Elvis fan... just down the street from our apartment in Vienna.



Delicious hot chocolate from Oberlaa.



Different flavored macaroon cookies, also from OBERLAA - I loved the lemon and the raspberry.



Sachertorte from Oberlaa - with coffee.


Cookie from the market - delicious.



EIS = ice cream and small shops serving it can be found all over Vienna.



Trying Eis Kaffe - ice cream with cold coffee poured over the top. Calvin's had Bailey's too!

Istria - Heaven in Croatia

First night seafood spectacular!

The Istrian peninsula of Croatia was by far our favorite stop on the trip. Lots of great seafood, lovely inexpensive rooms (there's also an apartment) at Rooms/Apartment Lara, and a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere. The weather was perfect - warm, 80 degree days and cool nights. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Beaches of Rovinj.

View from Rovinj bell tower.

Another great meal at Gostionica Trattoria Toni.

Rovinj octopus salad - very tender and tasty.



BEST EVER ravioli with shaved truffles, arugula with fresh cheese and squid ink risotto with rockfish.



Some tasty fish and veggies - this fish wasn't as good as the first night though.



Our laundry drying in the wind. The woman we stayed with (Ivanka) graciously did our laundry.



Breakfast from the grocery/bakery 10 min. walk from our rooms - the wine was from the night before!



Beautiful sea shot.

In front of 1700 year old olive tree on Brijuni, the island where Tito used to live.



View of Fazana from our ferry to the Brijuni Islands.



Our last night in Croatia, we booked one of the seven tables at Krcma Ulika, a truly unique, art-filled tiny restaurant on the cobblestoned streets of Rovinj. The meal was quite expensive with wine and three courses for each of us, but it was a high-quality intimate experience we will never forget.



Bruschetta (bottom left), Mediterranean delights (top) and scallops baked in a shell started us off in the right direction.

Entrees of sea bass lasagna (top left), sea bass and bean and mussel stew.

Cheese & fruit plates and ice cream with pumpkin oil delighted us for dessert.

Calvin and John with the woman who runs the restaurant.

Huge figs grew in Ivanka's yard.

Fresh figs are the best!

Lake Bled and Whitewater Rafting

View from our tent at the Eco-camp in Soca Valley, Slovenia. What a way to wake up!



Lake Bled castle - we walked up for a great view. Magnificent resort town.



Lake Bled, Slovenia - a gorgeous lake with a small island. Several weddings were performed while we were there! We rowed over in a rented paddleboat but John and I swam back while Calvin rowed solo!



Delicious, spicy pizza in Bled.



Famous pastry shop in Bled where we tried kremna rezina cream pastry. The fruity one tasted better but we had to try the famous cream pastry!



Assortment of baked goods.



Saurkraut sausage stew.

With John's encouragement we headed to Lake Bled for a day of beautiful weather and spectacular views. We encountered a triathlon going on while we were there, we walked around the entire lake (3.5 mile perimeter), rowed across to see the island and church and some of us swam back - definitely one of the greatest highlights for me. After we explored Bled, had tasty pizza and a pastry for lunch, Calvin and I got on the road for the adventure portion of our trip.

We drove over Vrsic pass - or rather, Calvin drove the cute Mercedes rental we picked up in Ljubljana for a few days up, over, down and around 50 hairpin turns! Finally we made it to the Eco-Camp where we'd arranged to spend one night and do whitewater rafting the next day. The camp itself was slightly disappointing, although the views were so lovely and awe-inspiring we still really enjoyed our time there. The place, Adrenaline Check, looks much better on its website than it does in person and organization was truly lacking. Upon booking I was told we'd have a BBQ dinner - one of the things we'd most been looking forward to; however, upon arrival we were told that since they had a BBQ the night before there would be none! Thankfully there was another couple from England in the same position, so one of the camp co-owners took us on a scary ride to one of the only local restaurants about 15 minutes away. Our dinner was hearty and we enjoyed it but it was not the BBQ we were expecting!

Our tent with the fabulous view was also within a stone's throw from the main area of the outdoor camp. Unfortunately for us, this meant that people were very loud all night. They were obviously having a good time but it was not easy to sleep.

Deer goulash over polenta in Soca Valley.



Ready to raft.

We really did enjoy the rafting. We were placed on a 9 person raft with a group of Slovenians including a woman who occasionally made a random comment in English. Such comments are probably not as funny to your average reader who was not there but somehow her accent and choice words still make us laugh. These include "It's a beautiful daaaaay" and, when we began to go through some strong waves, bouncing us around: "Shake it, baby, shake it." OK, so it is funny to us...

Overall Slovenia was a beautiful country to visit. We encountered many nice f0lks and saw amazing scenery. I recommend it for the seasoned adventure traveler.

View on the way back to Ljubljana - over the pass and around the 50 hairpin turns again!

Ljubljana and Environs

Grilled octopus with figs and potatoes - this is probably the largest octopus I've ever seen on a plate!



John and Cal outside restaurant Gostilna Sestica in Ljubljana, Slovenia.



Wild boar with dumplings.

Our first night in Slovenia we had dinner at Gostilna Sestica, just down the street from B&B Slamic where we stayed. We enjoyed our dinner in the courtyard, although John's fish was rather salty. The octopus was tasty and the boar definitely something different! A great way to start off our time with John and to say hello to Ljubljana.

Slovenia is a neat country. Overall it was one of our favorite spots on the whole trip. Most people know English well here because they learn it from television (they don't dub, even most kids shows) so communication wasn't difficult. The lifestyle is so laid back here, with lots of cafes lining both sides of the river that runs through the center of town. Our last night there we even caught a free concert featuring Joss Stone and the Slovenian artist Siddhartha. We also had a fabulous time in the mountains of NE Slovenia (more to follow in next post).

Fish with greens.



Yes, they eat horse. This is a reminder of how difficult times were for people during the Yugoslav Wars. No, we did not try any.



Dragon bridge in Ljubljana.



Fruits for sale at Ljubljana outdoor market.



Basket anyone?



Flowers for sale in the marketplace.



We saw (and ate) lots of ice cream in Prague, Slovenia and Croatia!



River running through Ljubljana.



Art in the anarchist district of Ljubljana.



Predjama Castle, about an hour outside of Ljubljana. Our friend John was very excited to see this castle, which is an amazing architectural delight. Built right into a cave mouth, this is certainly a unique sight.



Postojna Cave - near the castle. We had a blast riding the train into the mountain for a look at these spectacular caves. They really didn't want us taking photos but this is one long cave system!