Travelling Simply

Travel recommendations, ideas and observations from two simple travellers

Author: Smita (Page 9 of 16)

Visiting Croatia? Be sure to include Zagreb in your itinerary

14/07/2019 / / 0 Comments

We clear Croatian border control and follow our trusty GPS, acres of fields and pastures flanking us on both sides of the road. The signage is clear and we continue our leisurely pace enjoying the scenery.

We know we are close to the city as the traffic becomes heavier but are surprised when the GPS suddenly comes to life, reminding us that our turn is up ahead. Why are we surprised? We have booked to stay in the centre of the city and there is no sign of city life even though the GPS tells us we are only a couple of kilometres from our destination!

“You have arrived at your destination on your right”, says the confident voice of the GPS as we pull up in front of a small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. The address list is retrieved from the bag. Yes, we have plugged in the right address! If all else fails, enter the GPS coordinates and this confirms our suspicions; we are still another 30 minutes from our destination!

The Croatian capital city, Zagreb, is often bypassed by travellers who are lured to the popular cities of Split and Dubrovnik and an island or two off the coast for the ultimate Croatian experience.

We second guess ourselves as we drive into the city passing row upon row of utilitarian apartment buildings from the communist era. The roads are wide and easy to navigate but there doesn’t seem to be any old-world charm in sight.

Early impressions are quickly dispelled when a turn or two later, we are in the heart of Donji Grad, Zagreb’s historic Lower Town. Our host, “call me Porchca” is waiting to guide us into the no access area and into the apartment’s private parking area. We are not disappointed by our choice of accommodation, it is a spacious and cosy apartment just metres away from cafes and restaurants and beautiful green spaces. Bustling Jelacic Square is only a few hundred metres further.

Our highlights (in no particular order):

  • Enjoying outdoor music and activity in Park Zrinjevac, a beautiful green space in the Lower Town and just metres from our apartment which has been transformed into a night festival with food stalls and live music. No crowds and very family-friendly.
Park Zrinjevac

Summer festival in Park Zrinjevac

  • Watching international performers entertain larger audiences with classical concerts and dancing on the main stage in Jelacic Square.
Jelacic Square, Zagreb, Croatia

Evening entertainment in Jelacic Square

  • A morning walk to the expansive Maksimir Park in the middle of Zagreb through the streets and local markets peeking into doorways and shops along the way. An opportunity to observe the people of Zagreb go about their daily business. We remember a lovely older woman stopping to make sure we were okay as we tried to reorientate ourselves in a marketplace. She spoke no English and us, no Croatian.
  • An afternoon exploring Gornji Grad (Upper Town), strolling along the almost empty cobblestone streets and similarly empty St Mark’s Square allowing us to appreciate the beautiful St Mark’s Church and its multi-coloured tiled roof.
St Mark's Church, St Mark's Square, Gornji Grad, Zagreb,Croatia

St Mark’s Church with its distinctive tiled roof

  • People watching around the vibrant Dolac fruit and vegetable market.
Dolac Markets, Zagreb

The wonderful array of fresh produce at the markets

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  • A visit to the Museum of Broken Relationships. Set in a baroque palace in the Upper Town. The brainchild of a couple who remained friends after their own relationship had broken down, the couple started collecting anonymous donations of relics from Zagreb residents whose relationships had suffered a similar fate and created this interesting concept. Sounds a little quirky but well worth a visit.

Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb, Croatia

For a capital city, Zagreb still maintains a small-town feel and without the usual summer crush of tourists, we were able to wander about the Lower and Upper Towns freely.

All in all our time in Zagreb was a greater pleasure than Split or Dubrovnik.

P.S. – Our recommendations:

Located in the heart of the Lower Town, Apartment Atrium Plaza was the perfect place to stay. Newly renovated, clean and spacious, within walking distance of all attractions, numerous dining options outside the secure compound and superb hosts.

Exploring the streets a short distance from Park Zrinjevac, we found a wonderful place to have dinner. Heritage serves traditional Croatian food in the form of street food. Their menu offers the opportunity to try dishes from all the regions in Croatians accompanied by local wines and craft beers.

Have a spare day to kill? Take a day trip to the charming city of Ljubljana in Slovenia only two hours away by car and about the same by train. Explore the old city known for its beautiful bridges, green spaces, lively marketplace and Romanesque architecture. Then, take a leisurely drive back to Zagreb on the back roads which wind through some of the most picturesque scenery we have seen in Europe.

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You will love doing this one thing in Barcelona!

16/06/2019 / / 6 Comments

As they do in most European countries, the day started slowly. This is typical in summer when cities are buzzing with dining, theatre and music until the early hours.

We step out of our apartment just a few metres away to find Las Ramblas starting to come alive. The leafy promenade runs from Placa de Catalunya, the point where the old town and new town collide down to the Christopher Columbus monument at the port.  The beautiful plane trees conveniently shelter tourists from the strong summer sun. We hear many different languages being spoken around us, but not English!

Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s vibrant promenade in the heart of the city centre

We are intent on starting our Sunday exploring the back lanes and plazas of the Gothic Quarter before making our way Montjuic Hill for the afternoon. It’s a Sunday and expecting to see the quiet weekend life of the Catalunyian capital, we stroll down an alleyway off Las Ramblas stepping right into the middle of a melee. We see hundreds of people, some clambering on top of each other and while many crowded in groups and others around the perimeter of the square.

We are in Plaza Sant Jaume, the home of City Hall. During the week the plaza is buzzing with town officials going about the business of running this busy seaport city. Weekends, it seems, is for the residents of this vibrant Catalonian capital.

Often the scene for protests, today, residents are using the Plaza for another Catalunyian tradition – building castells or “castles”.

So what is this obsession with building castles?

Unique to the region of Catalunya, forming human castles began in the 18th century when they were built as part of religious festivities. At the end of the celebrations, people formed towers of three or four layers putting on a show to outdo the dancers.

Since the 1980’s, building human towers has become a sport and have grown so much in popularity that there are now competitions to build 9 or 10 tiers of people. The grand finale is a young child clambering up and over team members to raise his arm and four fingers, symbolising the four stripes in the Catalan flag at the top of the tower.

There are at least four teams competing today. Each team dressed in white with black sashes and colourful bandanas representing their allegiance and comradeship. We stand back to observe.

Some of these towers look fragile and precarious, looking as if they will collapse at any moment. However, none of the towers collapse. It is an example of extreme precision, teamwork and commitment with an element of trust involved.  Everyone contributes to the team’s success, from the heaviest to the lightest of participants. The base “pinya” consists of the strongest team members, they must be strong and powerful to form the firm base for the more agile and lighter team member who form tiers supporting others on their shoulders until the lightest climbs to the top. It is the team that forms the tower the quickest that wins.

Castell building in Catalunya

With the base in place, the human tower starts to rise

Human towers in Barcelona

More tiers are added to the human tower!

The atmosphere in the plaza is one of intense concentration coupled with fun and laughter further intensified when the Mayor and his contingent appear on the balcony to watch the proceedings.

Barcelona offers much to the visitor: a colourful history; interesting and amazing architecture; museums and theatres; golden beaches; and a wonderful dining culture. If you want to experience the real Barcelona, do not miss a chance to watch the art of building castells next time you visit.

Human towers/castells in Barcelona

The human tower is almost complete with the young child making her way to the top.

Looking for something else to do in Barcelona? Read about our day in Palau Guell and why we recommend spending some time there.

A glorious day in the Sonoma Valley

27/05/2019 / / 1 Comment

The sky is clear and blue as we drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. What a contrast it is to the day before when we walked over the bridge enveloped in eerie fog as it swirled and rolled all around us. We had experienced the phenomenon of the mixing of the hot inland and the cool ocean air which creates a fog rolling over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay during the summer.

It is not long after enjoying spectacular views while driving over the Golden Gate Bridge that we are surrounded in beautiful countryside, rolling hills and farmland. We are on our way to explore the Sonoma Valley.

When considering visiting wineries in northern California, tourists go to the Napa Valley. Most tours from San Francisco concentrate on taking visitors there in busloads. Not as well known or marketed, Sonoma is the more sedate cousin of the busier Napa Valley. Driving between the valleys typically takes less than an hour and we expected to end our day in Napa.

But we are eager to spend most of our time in Sonoma and surrounds. It is Sonoma’s historic background along with its reputation for producing exemplary wines equal in quality but lesser known than Napa’s wines which has drawn us there.

First stop is the Cornerstone, an indoor/outdoor complex offering boutiques, artisans, and wine tastings. It would be easy to while away a day just wandering their splendid gardens of art. One of Cornerstone’s helpful volunteers gives us advice on what we should do in Sonoma.

  • Cornerstone art gardens
    The beautiful themed gardens at Cornerstone

Next, we must stop to visit the historic Plaza. It is the largest plaza (town square) in California. A former military outpost and Spanish Mission settlement, the Plaza radiates tranquillity as we drive in. The historic Old Town Hall surrounded by tree-covered park area is in the centre of the Plaza You sense you have stepped back in time. Local people quietly go about their business. There is no hustle and bustle and there is ample parking around the Plaza. Galleries, eateries, wine tasting rooms and artisanal shops sit interspersed between historic landmarks around the four sides of the Plaza and the alleyways leading to discreet courtyards. We spend a couple of hours exploring the historic buildings, having lunch and indulging in sampling local cheese and chocolate. Apart from the tasting rooms, there is little evidence that we are in wine country.

  • Sonoma Old Town Hall
    Sonoma Old Town Hall
  • Sonoma Plaza
  • Sonoma Plaza
  • Sonoma Plaza
  • Sonoma Plaza

We reluctantly leave this sanctuary. The lovely lady at Cornerstone has suggested we visit one of the more unique vineyards in the region. Benziger Wines is a boutique biodynamic farm and this is an opportunity for us to see how they create their organic wines. We arrive in time to join a small group tour of the farm. The tour takes us on a guided journey through the picturesque vineyards explaining the biodynamic winemaking practices the Benziger family has adopted to produce world-class organic wines. We stop at regular intervals among the grapevines to receive a lesson on grape varieties and to taste wines produced from the grapes. The tour finishes with a stop at the outdoor winemaking area and a tour of the wine caves lined with bottles of wine traversing the ageing process. 300,000 bottles of wine are produced annually by the vineyard. A visit to the tasting room completes our visit. We have gained an appreciation of the distinctness of the organic product.

  • Benziger Wines
  • Benziger Wines

There is just enough time to carry on through the rolling hills and valleys of vineyards to Napa. Not to visit any more vineyards or wineries, but to complete a day out with a meal in the wine capital of northern California.

  • Benziger Wines

Were we happy with our choice to visit Sonoma? Being simple travellers spending time wandering the Sonoma settlement and surrounding countryside was more appealing than battling the large numbers that descend on the Napa. Indeed, it was a glorious day out.

Lest We Forget – A day in Gallipoli

24/04/2019 / / 1 Comment

On a sunny August morning, our group of 16 boarded the bus in Canakkale for the final day of our tour of Turkey. We were returning to Istanbul and eager to go back to explore more of this captivating city for a few days before we flew home. We are enjoying our visit to Turkey more than we had anticipated.

There was one last visit to make on our “Turkish Delights” tour.

The bus boarded the ferry to cross the Dardanelles, a narrow strait which separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey, and the boundary between Europe from Asia. We were on our way to the Gallipoli Peninsula, the scene of the World War I campaign by troops to create a new war front gaining control of the Strait in order to invade Turkey and attack Germany’s other main ally Hungary.

The atmosphere on the ferry was jovial; elderly Turkish men sat in groups alongside other groups of young school children. We were all headed for the same destination. Both groups kept us entertained with their renditions of patriotic songs and laughter as the ferry swept along in tranquil waters.

  • Turkish pilgrims on the way to Gallipoli
    Turkish pilgrims on the way to Gallipoli
  • Schoolchildren on the ferry to Gallipoli

The Gallipoli campaign failed with large numbers of allied troops killed or wounded when Turkish troops fought back fiercely to maintain control of their land. About 27,000 French and 115,000 British allied soldiers were killed or wounded.

Our small group consisted mainly of Australians and our guide, Murat directed the driver to take us to ANZAC Cove, the scene of a bloody battle between the ANZAC’s (Australian and New Zealand contingent) and the Turkish defenders.

The ANZAC campaign commenced with the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at dawn on 25 April 1915 at ANZAC Cove and ended eight months later when the troops were withdrawn and evacuated after suffering heavy losses. Under fire from the Turkish soldiers almost as soon as they landed, the troops were faced with steep cliffs covered in gorse-like prickly scrub and bush which they had to traverse in order to capture further territory.

The site was calm and peaceful for our arrival. The water lapped gently on the shores of the Cove while we spent time wandering among the gravesites reflecting on what had been, while Murat provided a commentary on the events of that fateful day. Gazing up at the mountainside, we could only look and wonder at the formidable task the soldiers had been confronted with.

The memorial at ANZAC Cove displaying the heart-felt words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

We paused for some time to read the famous words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a commander at Gallipoli during the 1915 campaign and the founder of modern-day Turkey who in 1934 wrote a heartfelt tribute to the ANZACs killed at Gallipoli:

“Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

The bus took the easier route up to the summit to the Lone Pine Cemetery, the scene of the heavy battle between Australian and Turkish troops which the Australians eventually captured.

Lone Pine cemetery at Gallipoli
Lone Pine cemetery at Gallipoli

Here we were at the memorial to over 4,000 Australians missing in the ANZAC area of Gallipoli who have no known graves and the cemetery where 652 Australians are buried. Wandering along the lines of graves reading the gravestones was a sobering experience.

Gravestone at Lone Pine Cemetery
Gravestone at Lone Pine Cemetery

Back on the bus, we passed the New Zealand memorial at Chunuk Bair and further on to the Turkish memorial and cemetery. The Turks paid a heavy price for their victory at Gallipoli with an estimated 250,000 soldiers either wounded or killed during the campaign.

Turkish cemetery and memorial at Gallipoli
Turkish cemetery and memorial at Gallipoli

The Gallipoli campaign, one of the worst decisions made by the allied forces and one that lead to the unnecessary demise of thousands of young men. Deaths that could have been avoided.

Lest we forget.

ANZAC Cove
Time for reflection at ANZAC Cove

12 things to know before visiting Egypt

08/04/2019 / / 2 Comments

Fresh off the plane from a visit to Egypt, we conferred with our fellow travellers to put together 12 tips to ensure you enjoy your visit to Egypt.

  1. Egypt has a culture of tipping and everyone expects a tip. Be sure to carry small notes and change at all times.
  2. You will need to purchase an additional ticket at most of the popular tourist attractions if you want to take photos.
  3. An offer by security personnel or attendant at a tourist venue to take photos for you will often result in a request for payment after the photo has been taken.
  4. Dress appropriately, especially if you are a woman. Wearing short skirts and dresses or shorts may encourage harassment.
  5. Expect to be harassed to purchase goods and services. Vendors will not take “no” for an answer and will follow you down the street in the hope of getting a sale. If you do take up the offer or are purchasing in shops and at the markets, remember that bargaining is acceptable.
  6. Be wary of strangers offering assistance who may take you to their friend’s shop instead of your destination.
  7. Asking an Egyptian for directions will not take you to the right place. English is not Egypt’s first language and Egyptian comprehension is limited and often causes misunderstanding.
  8. Avoid carrying bags or backpacks when visiting tourist attractions. It is comforting to know that there are security points through which you need to pass before entering a sight. However, all bags will be required to go through screening leading to long queues at entrances. You will gain entrance quicker if you go “hands-free”.
  9. Do not be surprised to find men working in the service and hospitality, Women do not normally work in these contact industries, especially in Upper Egypt.
  10. It is considered inappropriate for men to have physical contact with women who are unknown to them.
  11. Alcohol is expensive to purchase in hotels and on riverboats and there are few liquor stores where you can purchase your own supply.
  12. Be prepared to pay for using public conveniences. You will be required to pay to gain entry and be provided with two sheets of toilet paper.
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