Week 37-38 Dec 21-Jan 3

We had a great visitor over the holidays: Mom Mandy! She touched down in Belgium on the Tuesday before Christmas. We toured her around Antwerp for the day, doing our best to keep the jet lag from winning. We had fun exploring the Christmas markets and the local shops decorated for the season. She got a solid nights sleep before we made her go right back to the airport so we could all board a plane to Croatia! We landed in the evening in the capital city, Zagreb. However our first destination was Ljubljana, Slovenia. We collected the rental car and started driving towards the border. The border crossing and 2 hour drive went smoothly except for a bit of trouble finding our AirBnB in the city. Once we got checked in and settled, we headed out to find some dinner. The part of town we were staying in was a bit quiet, but the city came alive as we walked toward the center.  Presernov Square displayed a veritable explosion of Christmas lights in many forms. Some were the traditional string or icicle shape, but others tried to impart a message or educational statement. 
There were math formulas, planets and galaxies, and our personal favorite: a startlingly vivid depiction of sperm attacking an egg, an embryo growing, and DNA being formed. Surprisingly, these topics make for beautiful Christmas decorations. We were quite hungry after our travels and settled for a Mexican restaurant with local Slovenian beer. Not the best Mexican we have ever had, but not the worst either.  After dinner, we took in a few more Christmas decorated streets before heading off to bed. 

Ljubljana's take on Christmas lights

Yes, that is what it looks like...

The next morning we poked around town a bit before heading to our food tour.  We joined a British family of three and our local guide. The tour was structured with the idea that we would try food and wine from all the various regions of Slovenia. The food ranged from sardines and squid to pasta and potatoes.  The wine ranged from dark and sweet to light and dry. During the tour, Tyler began to realize that this part of the world made delicious desserts catered to his deficiency (chocolate allergy). We tried several dessert specialties with the best of the tour being a layered cake of filo dough, apples, poppy seeds, ricotta cheese, and cream. The tour concluded on top of the tallest building in town, offering a great view of the city below, the Alps in the distance, and the city castle. After all that food, we decided we needed to walk it off by trekking up to the top of the castle. It is gorgeously set on a steep rise in the direct center of the city. The tough walk up took about twenty minutes, and we were rewarded again with great views. The audio tour of the castle was a bit of a bust, but we were able to access the majority of the rooms and peer off the tallest points.  A ride down from the castle in the funicular and a giant pizza topped off a pretty spectacular Christmas Eve.

Ljubljana Triple Bridge

She found her dream.  A knitted bike!

Dragon Bridge

The castle

We might have over ordered...

The next morning, we packed up and drove to the picturesque little town of Bled.  This tiny resort town is about an hour north of Ljubljana, not far from the Italian and Austrian borders.  We spent the day getting settled at our AirBnB and exploring the town.  Bled sits around Lake Bled, a small lake formed by the crystal clear snow-melted waters from the Alps.  And of course there is an old castle sitting on a cliff overlooking it all.  We ended up walking the 3.3 miles around the lake twice that day, just to take in the beauty.  It was here in this small town that Tyler found the best dessert of the region: cream cake.  A deep layer of fluffy custard, with a layer of whipped cream, all topped with filo dough and a sprinkle of powdered sugar (hence all of the above-mentioned walking...).  We all had a delicious Christmas Day dinner at a local restaurant, topped off by more dessert and more walking!

Bled and the castle

Cream cake

During our travels in Europe, we often take the recommendations of Rick Steves.  This trip was no different.  He highly recommended a daylong driving route though the Julian Alps, starting from Lake Bled.  Normally, this drive would not be possible in late December, as the mountain pass would be under serious amounts of snow. But due to unseasonably warm temps, we had no concerns about taking the drive.  We stopped at the market on the way out of town to buy a map and provisions, and we headed up into the hills.  The route took us along a scenic path towards Triglav National Park (the highest peak in Slovenia - you can see it featured on their flag).  Before entering the park, we took a detour to see "Planica," the largest ski jump in the world!  Even though the weather was a bit warm for skiing, jumpers were hitting the slopes.  It is hard to appreciate the height of these slopes until you are standing right next to them.  These ski jumpers are a daring breed.  We watched in awe for about an hour and then got back to our drive.  The route through Triglav park was originally built during WWI and features 50 switchback turns.  Each turn was constructed of cobble stones for traction and is labeled with the number and altitude.  Along the route, we stopped several times to take in breathtaking views.  At the summit, a short hike took us up to an old WWI bunker with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valleys below.  After winding down the back side of the slope, we entered the Soca River Valley. The road followed the clear turquoise-blue waters through tiny villages.  We did not get to enjoy the Soca River in all of its glory because of the lack of snow this year.  For lunch, we stopped in Bovec for some traditional Slovenian cuisine. Our route back to Bled actually took us across the Italian border and through an abandoned mining town.  We all agreed that the beauty of this region was a wonder to behold.  Back in Bled, we had another filling dinner (with more cream cake of course), and we took a final lap around the lake before calling it a night.

Spik Mountain

Planica

A jumper!

Triglev

Cinque Punte (from the Italian side)

We got an early start the next morning to hit the road back to Zagreb, Croatia.  It was great to get to drive the stretch we had completed several days before in the dark, this time in the light of day .  Our AirBnB was in the very city center, and our practiced European driving skills of avoiding trams and pedestrians came in handy.  Zagreb center was alive with people going to shops, cafes, restaurants, or Christmas markets.  After a late lunch, we took off on a self-guided walking tour.  The center of Zagreb is divided into "lower" and "upper" sections.  The "upper" section is more historically interesting as it was the original site of the Roman walled city, and continues today to be the location of the Croatian parliament.  We also enjoyed the extremely colorful roof of the Church of St. Mark, the cute chapel tucked in the Stone Gate, and the old homes that housed the original red light district.  The "lower" town is the commercial center of the city, with great shops and restaurants on every street.  After a bit of looking around the "lower" town, we had our first of several great dinners in Croatia at Vinodol.  We all enjoyed our meals under the beautiful brick vaulted ceilings.  And for such a nice place, the prices were easy on the wallet.

The market

Retired Red Light district

Church of St Mark

Jelacic Square

It can be tough traveling with the Smartt ladies

Parliament

We used our final full day in Croatia to explore another area of natural beauty: Plitvice Lakes.  The drive from Zagreb took about 2 hours, most of it on a winding two-lane road.  Sadly, several of the villages we drove through still showed the scars of the all-too-recent war.  Arriving at the lakes, we found that most of the amenities were closed for winter.  This felt a bit strange since the weather was so beautiful, but understandable nonetheless.  The entrance to the park starts at the biggest waterfall of the park and the lower lakes, which are fairly small, but offer close-up views of the intensely clear-green water. It was unbelievable to see straight to the bottom of the lower lakes and watch trout of all sizes darting towards the sunlit sections.  We took our time strolling along the boardwalks, admiring the small sections of falls cascading between each lake.  As we walked on, we were getting pretty excited about seeing the upper lakes.  They are supposed to be similar to the lower falls, but with greater height and volume to achieve even more natural beauty.  However, as we found out the hard way, the upper lakes are "closed" during the winter.  We say "closed" because there is nothing actually preventing you from walking up there, except for the miles of distance to cover, but no boats or shuttles are running up to the higher points.  Running out of daylight, and a little disappointed, we piled back in the car.  We all left with a sense amazement at what we had seen and of wanting to return and see the park at the full height of its beauty during spring or summer.

Welcome to Plitvice Lakes

The view from above

Safety is your own responsibility

Trout everywhere!

The next day, we did some last minute exploring of Zagreb before heading to the airport for our flight back to Belgium.  Mandy had a few more days in Antwerp with us, which we used to enjoys the sites, sounds, and tastes of the city (including some pretty spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks).  Too quickly, we were dropping Mandy at the airport for her return to the US.  We truly enjoyed a great visit with her.  Mandy was a fun and adventurous travel companion, a great cook, a giving Santa Claus (thanks everyone for the gifts!), and a loving mom.  We were so happy to spend the holidays with family and have such a grand adventure to boot.