2025 Dalmatian Coast
After our cruise down the Danube, Keith and I stayed on in Budapest sorting out getting to our next destination, Ljubljana – despite all my research, it seemed impossible to travel by train, so we booked a coach ticket for a couple of days hence. Our route would take us from there to Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Athens and Corfu before we flew back to Heathrow for the trip back to Australia.
Having booked our coach, we set off to walk along the Danube shore of Pest to the Parliament of Budapest. The Parliament represents one of the most important symbols of the city. The structure is characterized by different architectural styles; from Neo-Gothic to Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance.
Not far away is The Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial that honours the victims of the Holocaust. The memorial consists of a line of shoes made of iron that have been cast in the style of the 1940s. They commemorate the Jews who were killed by the Arrow Cross militia, a fascist organization that ruled Hungary during World War II. During their reign of terror, it is estimated that 10,000 people were murdered in the streets and around 80,000 were sent to concentration camps. The rounded-up Jews were often lined up on the banks of the Danube and shot into the icy river. Those awaiting execution were given a final order to remove their shoes, which were of great value in wartime. The members of the firing squad then collected the shoes and sold them or wore them themselves.
The next day we bought tickets for the Buda Castle Tourist Bus. The majestic Buda Castle sits high on a hill above the city. The Castle has always had a turbulent history which reflects the different ups and downs of the history of Hungary. Today the Castle, which is often called the Royal Palace, is home to several cultural institutes, including two museums: the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest Historical Museum.
After visiting the Buda Castle, we visited some of the city’s most famous monuments located nearby, including Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. From the Fisherman’s Bastion you can admire the entire city of Budapest. The Matthias Church was built in the 13th century in Gothic style and has been restored several times.
The next day, our bus departed at 9.30am for Ljubljana, due to arrive at 15.50. The bus was really modern and stopped at midday for a rest stop. Most of the route was through mainly flat farmland with low rolling hills, but as we got closer to Ljubljana, we crossed much higher hills before dropping down into the valley again.
Ljubljana is the beautiful capital city of Slovenia and is located at an important historical crossroads between the Germanic, Slavic and Latin cultures. It has therefore always been a centre for trade and commerce. This has also made the locals very amenable and friendly toward travellers and outsiders. By European standards, the city could be rated as a ‘medium’ sized city with only around 300,000 residents, yet it has managed to maintain that small-town feel.
Ljubljana is a very ‘young’ city at heart, with thousands of students among the population attending the world class Universities. It is also a very ‘Green’ city and has even won European awards for such. Everywhere we went, we found green spaces, parks, and large flowing trees draped over the river, boulevards, and walkways.
Once again, we joined a walking tour of the city and enjoyed hearing about the history and the buildings. Being on a river, there are many bridges and two of them are particularly interesting. The Triple Bridge is a symbol of Ljubljana’s charm and ingenuity. Originally, there was just one stone bridge, built in 1842 to replace a wooden predecessor dating back to the 13th century – the oldest bridge in Ljubljana. It connects the historical medieval town on the southeastern bank with the central Square on the northwestern bank. In the 1930s it was transformed into three interconnected bridges to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
The Dragon Bridge is a road bridge that crosses the Ljubljanica River to the north of the Central Market. The Dragon Bridge was completed in 1901, replacing the wooden Butchers’ Bridge that had stood since 1819. The most striking feature of the bridge are the four large dragon statues standing guard at each corner. These dragons are crafted from copper, each weighing around 1.5tons. It is said that these copper guardians flap their wings whenever a virgin crosses the bridge, a tale that adds a playful sense of wonder to its already mysterious aura.
We enjoyed strolling the streets and stopping for a drink at one of the many bars lining the river. We even managed to find a barbershop for Keith to have a much-needed haircut. It was so trendy that you had to go online and book a timeslot – the salon was called ‘Fast Barber Store’ – and reckoned they could do a cut in 10 minutes. We had another drink while we waited for Keith’s timeslot. They did a good job, as well.
The next morning, we boarded a GoOpti bus for Zagreb. It was only about 143km, and we were there by lunchtime. The apartment we had booked was right in the middle of town, so it was a bit of a walk from the bus station to the apartment. After settling in we went to the main square to join another walking tour that started at 5pm (Guru Free Spirit tour). We usually found these tours a great way of seeing the major sites, even if only from the outside, and the guides provide an insight into life in their city.
Zagreb is Croatia’s capital and largest city, marking the intersection between Eastern and Central Europe for more than a thousand years. For a modern capital Zagreb has a kind of small-town charm, with an expansive old hilltop district of cobblestone streets and squares lit to this day by gas lamps. One of Zagreb’s many curiosities is the way the old town developed as two separate hilltop settlements side-by-side. And their relationship wasn’t always friendly either – Kaptol and Gradec did not integrate for many hundreds of years.
Kaptol is where the clergy was based, the diocese of Zagreb being founded here back in 1094. The main landmark in Kaptol is Zagreb Cathedral, which dates to the city’s earliest year but was razed by the Mongols in the 1200s and then was damaged in a 19th century earthquake.
Gradec was the secular part of Zagreb’s medieval core, populated by artisans and tradesmen. Today it’s a quaint old district, ideal for walks as the cobblestone streets have been pedestrianised in recent years. Culturally and politically the headline is St. Mark’s Square, where the Croatian Parliament and Constitutional Court are found. St. Mark’s Church gave the square its name and retains plenty of its original Romanesque architecture, blended with later gothic additions in the 1300s. At the top of Radićeva Street is Gradec’s last remaining town gate, which became a shrine to the Virgin Mary after an 18th century fire destroyed the entire structure save for a painting of the Virgin (or so they say!).
After just one night in Zagreb, we headed to Split on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. Our FlixBus departed at 9.30am and arrived at 14.30. Once again, the route went through hilly farmland and fertile valleys before dropping down to the coast. We had booked an apartment that was quite a way from the centre of town, so we booked an Uber to take us from the bus station – it was only the second time we had used Uber and were relieved that our App worked in Europe.
After doing a load of laundry and hanging it out to dry, we walked down the steep cliff to the local beach for a sundowner before finding a local restaurant for dinner. With two nights here, we spent the next day exploring Split. Having walked into town from our apartment, we decided that we would be able to figure out the sights and history for ourselves, rather than do a walking tour. We also checked out where the ferry terminal was located, ready for the next leg of our journey.
Split felt like a city that time has forgotten. The ancient centre is taken up by a sprawling Roman palace, still going strong after 1700 years. Over the centuries this architecture has been kept intact and then incorporated into newer buildings, like St. Duje’s Cathedral, at the heart of which is a 4th century mausoleum.
Pjaca on Riva, the waterfront, is where Split’s old town hall overlooks a sophisticated plaza of shiny marble tiles and cafes with outdoor seating. Fruit Square at the eastern end of Riva takes its name from the market that was held here for centuries. There are lots of beautiful renaissance architecture, remnants from Split’s Venetian era. Scenes from ‘Game of Thrones’ were filmed at this stunning location.
Roman Emperor Diocletian reigned from 284 until he abdicated in 305 and retired to Split. Today the Diocletian’s Palace dominates the city’s historic core. It is a wonderfully preserved 4th century complex blending Diocletian’s stately retirement villa with the remnants of a large military camp. Such is the scale that it is more of a citadel than a palace, and surprises await around every corner. The palace is UNESCO-listed, and you can tread the original paving stones of the Roman streets that cut through the complex. At mid-day, there was even a re-enactment of Roman centurions reporting for duty.
After a long hot few hours’ sightseeing, we returned to Pjaca and treated ourselves to a sumptuous meal at one of the outdoor cafes along the waterfront. Then we walked back to our apartment and took some sundowners down the cliff to the beach below our accommodation. Keith managed to dip his toes into the water, but the beach was coarse coral and uncomfortable to walk on.
For the princely sum of €48 each, we did our own ‘cruise’ down the Dalmatian coast – we had purchased ferry tickets from Split to Dubrovnik! The ferry meanders down the coast taking about five hours and stops at three islands along the way: Luka Milna, Hvar and Korčula. Although we didn’t have enough days in our itinerary to stop at each island, the three-hour trip gave us an opportunity to see the sights.
I had booked an apartment within the city walls of Dubrovnik so once again we caught an Uber to take us to the Pile Gate – no vehicles are allowed in the old town. Our host met us at the Gate and showed us to the apartment which was close by the outer walls on the ‘sea’ side. He warned us about the total of 5,423 steps in the city. This includes 1,080 steps on the city walls and 4,343 steps within the old town. He also recommended that we buy a 2-day tourist pass which would grant us entrance to a whole lot of Dubrovnik’s sights.
Immediately inside the Pile Gate is Onofrio’s Large Fountain – a circular spring water fountain built in 1438 and decorated with ornate, carved-stone masks. It teemed with people – either resting from their sightseeing or waiting to meet friends or tour guides.
Dubrovnik’s imperious walls are one of the things that qualified the city for UNESCO listing and if you watched ‘Game of Thrones’ you’d recognise several locations. The white limestone defences go back to the 600s, but their current form dates to the 15th century when the fall of Constantinople was all the warning Dubrovnik’s officials needed that the Ottomans were on their way!
That evening we strolled down to the old town to get our bearings and enjoy a sundowner and dinner. The next morning, we set off early to make the full circuit along the battlements, stopping frequently to take in the magnificent views of the city backed by the Adriatic.
Back at ground level, we started exploring in an anticlockwise direction from where we’d started. The first sight was the Dubrovnik Cathedral. According to legend, Richard the Lionheart was returning from the Crusades in 1192 when he was shipwrecked in a storm and cast aground on Lokrum Island, just in front of Dubrovnik. To thank God for his life, he vowed to build a great church on the spot where his life was saved. When he conveyed his intentions to the shrewd Dubrovnik leaders, they convinced him it would be much better to build the church in Dubrovnik instead. Unfortunately, his Romanesque Cathedral crumbled to dust in the Great Earthquake of 1667. After the destruction of the Cathedral in the earthquake, the Dubrovnik council wanted to rebuild the Cathedral as soon as possible in the Roman-Baroque style. Today’s Cathedral (Cathedral of Annunciation of St. Mary) was constructed by 1713.
Next, we discovered the Ethnographic Museum of Dubrovnik, housed in the building of the Dubrovnik Republic’s granary, popularly known as Rupe/The Holes, which derives from the name for the underground grain storage areas carved out of bedrock or tufa. It was built in 1590, a four-storey structure with fifteen storage pits in the ground floor and spaces for drying on the upper floors. In the earthquake disaster of 1667, the building was seriously damaged, and the subsequent reconstruction turned it into the three-storey building that it is today. Exhibits on the upper floors display the traditional economic activities and the rural architecture of the Dubrovnik surrounds, together with holiday and festive dress, with all the diversity of textile handicrafts in the Dubrovnik region.
Continuing to the old town, we got our bearings on Placa, which is old Dubrovnik’s main street, a straight and broad limestone channel beneath grand old houses. Nearly all these buildings share the same floor plan because of a citywide decree on building designs following an earthquake and fire in the 17th century. The most prominent landmark on Luza Square, at one end of Placa is Dubrovnik’s clock tower – 31 metres in height and built in 1444. There are two bronze figures ‘Baro’ and ‘Maro’ either side of the great bell at the top, both holding mallets and forming the mechanism that makes the church chime at noon every day. After centuries of being exposed to the salty air of the Adriatic, Baro and Maro had turned a strange shade of green, which gave the two men their famous nickname of Zelenci or ‘Green Men’.
At the other end of Placa is the Franciscan Church and Monastery, a large complex belonging to the Order of the Friars Minor. It consists of a monastery, a church, a library and a pharmacy. The cloister was built in Romanesque-Gothic style with arches, 120 columns and 12 massive pilasters and a promenade. One of the monastery’s most unique attractions is its pharmacy, established in 1317, making it one of the oldest functioning pharmacies in Europe. The pharmacy museum showcases ancient remedies, medical equipment, and the history of medicine in Dubrovnik, providing insight into the healthcare practices of the time. The interior of the church is a simple yet elegant Baroque design, contrasting with its plain exterior.
After a brief rest back at our apartment, we once again descended into the town for dinner at Spaghetteria Toni – Keith ordered pasta marinara and was promptly provided with a smart disposable bib to protect his clothes!