Beautiful Tribunj
We have been very lucky to have this opportunity to travel and to have a picturesque village such as Tribunj as our base, we are blessed. This hasn’t come at a cost the location is blue sea, rocky coastline but unfortunately has poor buses. We have waited 45 minutes for a bus to date.
The bus will be here soon...it is only 45 minutes late!
There are so many buses that it surprises us that the system is very ineffective and down right frustrating at times. Fran said that one thing that hasn’t changed and that is the bus system, it is still terrible.
Being frustrated by the buses started with local trips but when we decided to head to Dubrovnik for 2 nights, it was confirmed and cemented in our memories. We caught the bus from Vodice (Near Tribunj) and we travelled the scenic route along the coast. Every 5 minutes (it felt like that) the bus stopped to pick up a passenger even if there were no seats available. The 7 hour trip ended up being 8 hours and 45 minutes due to meandering nature of our bus driver. But the scenery was amazing and this made up for the mammoth trip.
We arrived in the magnificent city of Dubrovnik, drenched in history and a postcard picture from every angle. We were only booked for 2 nights but after the bus trip decided and extra night was required and we were so glad we did as we felt we SAW Dubrovnik and left feeling that we did as much as we could. Note, if going to Dubrovnik, it isn’t cheap, the food isn’t that great but the atmosphere and the history is overwhelming. We stayed at the Mia Apartments which were close to the old city. It was great waking up early and walking through the city before the big tour buses arrived making it a very busy place. We went on the cable car to the top of the mountain, walked the fort walls and went up and down the stairs that meander around the city.
Caleb and Kayla enjoyed drinking from the central fountain and Fran loved finding out as may places we could see that were part of the Dubrovnik card. Stephen enjoyed taking the photos and making sure exploding doors didn’t hurt his son…now about that, Caleb and Stephen went to get breakfast from the local bakery when on their way back they decided to see where a door lead, as they approached the door, a gust of wind blew the door shut in front of them and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Luckily neither one of them was hurt. Maybe it was a sign?
Being frustrated by the buses started with local trips but when we decided to head to Dubrovnik for 2 nights, it was confirmed and cemented in our memories. We caught the bus from Vodice (Near Tribunj) and we travelled the scenic route along the coast. Every 5 minutes (it felt like that) the bus stopped to pick up a passenger even if there were no seats available. The 7 hour trip ended up being 8 hours and 45 minutes due to meandering nature of our bus driver. But the scenery was amazing and this made up for the mammoth trip.
We arrived in the magnificent city of Dubrovnik, drenched in history and a postcard picture from every angle. We were only booked for 2 nights but after the bus trip decided and extra night was required and we were so glad we did as we felt we SAW Dubrovnik and left feeling that we did as much as we could. Note, if going to Dubrovnik, it isn’t cheap, the food isn’t that great but the atmosphere and the history is overwhelming. We stayed at the Mia Apartments which were close to the old city. It was great waking up early and walking through the city before the big tour buses arrived making it a very busy place. We went on the cable car to the top of the mountain, walked the fort walls and went up and down the stairs that meander around the city.
Caleb and Kayla enjoyed drinking from the central fountain and Fran loved finding out as may places we could see that were part of the Dubrovnik card. Stephen enjoyed taking the photos and making sure exploding doors didn’t hurt his son…now about that, Caleb and Stephen went to get breakfast from the local bakery when on their way back they decided to see where a door lead, as they approached the door, a gust of wind blew the door shut in front of them and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Luckily neither one of them was hurt. Maybe it was a sign?
The door that wasn't meant to be....gone
We sadly had top get back on the bus to Tribunj (sad because we feared another 8 to 9 hour journey) and we made our was along the coast, crossing over Bosnia Herzegovina again and back to home in great time, the bus driver this time was dead keen to finish work on time, so much so he risked driving through Sibenik only to be pulled over by the police to be warned that he would be fined cutting through the city. So we made it back very tired ready for our next journey, Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia 4.5 bus journey inland from Tribunj.
This time we were pleasantly surprised by our bus service. The bus was immaculate and on time. We made our way through the magnificent mountains and the bus only stopped where it was suppose to stop. The highway to Zagreb is new and fantastic. Tunnels bore straight through some mountains – the longest just under 6 kms in length. The country side kept changing as we wizzed passed and you could see the style of housing changing with the different countryside.
This time we were pleasantly surprised by our bus service. The bus was immaculate and on time. We made our way through the magnificent mountains and the bus only stopped where it was suppose to stop. The highway to Zagreb is new and fantastic. Tunnels bore straight through some mountains – the longest just under 6 kms in length. The country side kept changing as we wizzed passed and you could see the style of housing changing with the different countryside.
Caleb on the bus
Tunnel ahead!
The Austrian Hungarian Empire was very evident when arriving in Zagreb, the architecture was very Austrian and the Hansel and Gretel Ice-cream parlour was the icing on the cake, pardon the pun. Stephen was a little surprised at the graffiti and the deteriorating architecture but it was a welcoming and friendly city with an amazing tram network making movement around the city easy and efficient.
Raspberry Heaven
Capsicum anyone?
We brought the hot weather with us with our final day being 38 degrees. We visited the cathedral, museums, bought souvenirs, ate too much good food and generally had a great time. The kids highlight was the Zoo and Fran was pleasantly surprised at how many improvements had been made since her last visit 24 years ago. Even with the trams, our feet hurt and we were very thankful to the wonderful apartment where we stayed.
Now we are back in Tribunj again and getting ready for our next adventure – trying to get to Italy. We have a 2 hour bus trip to Split, a 7 hour boat trip to Ancona, Italy, where we will stay the night, then an early start to catch a train to Venice taking 4.5 hours. We have 3 nights in Venice and we are once again relying on the apartment system rather than hotels. So far, we have been very happy with the apartments and would recommend the ones so far. The heat continues even though we have been told that the weather changes after Velika Gospa…um, it is still hot!
Our apartment in Zagreb
But the beach has become our second home, where we can swim without fear of sharks and stingers (Except sea urchins) and lie under the pine trees in the non- ozone depleted sky. The tourist numbers are reducing making it a lot quieter and more relaxed. We are amazed at how we only have 3 weeks left in Croatia and hope it slows down in the last 2 weeks. More could have been written about each and every sight, but it would go on forever and nobody would want to read that! Ciao!
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