Of the 4 largest cities in Austria, Salzburg is easily my favourite.
This time I walked several times through high parklands above town. Up on these cliffs.
There are surprisingly few people up there.
And great vistas, of course.
The old town is great.
But there are many modern touches, as well.
All that said — I much prefer Germany to Austria. 😀
You’ll already know the name Kitzbühel as a legendary winter sports resort,
The famous Hahnenkamm mountain above Kitzbühel, where every January the world’s best downhill skiers race for World Cup glory. Many consider it the most challenge course on the circuit.
I went to hike down that famed slope. Over 1200m. … I took a cable car up. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Crazy Canucks Tod Brooker and Ken Read won here.
The town itself is not particularly gorgeous when compared against other famed ski villages.
But I still enjoyed it.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Jo&Joe Hostel in Vienna is housed in the 5th and 6th floors of an IKEA store at the West Train Station.
You can walk back and forth between the hostel and the 4th floor IKEA restaurant level. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
This man at work — Čumil — is just as much a symbol of this city as the Castle. 😀
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. Close to Vienna. Both on the beautiful Danube.
I’d cycled many days along the Danube in 2023.
The best way there is by ferry between Vienna and Bratislava.
I tried and failed to cycle to Devín Castle, from Bratislava. I would have been forced on to a narrow, busy road.
BUT here it is from the ferry.
Most of the tourists in Bratislava come from Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. It’s mostly ignored by the rest of the world.
We visit the Old Town, admiring historic architecture including baroque palaces.
One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle close to the UFO Bridge.
There’s a restaurant up in the UFO. The best vista in town.
Harkening back to the old Soviet Union days there is plenty of what I always refer to as rectal-linear architecture.
The highlight for me was Slavín. A memorial monument and military cemetery remembering thousands of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during World War II while taking over the city in April 1945 from the NAZIs.
There’s more, of course, including a super modern shopping mall.
What REALLY enticed me to go to Bratislava was the CHORS like a hotel hostel.
I was intrigued.
I never did figure out the NFT angle, BUT this is one fantastic hostel. One of the best I’ve ever encountered out of hundreds.
Clean, roomy, spacious, classy. FAST internet, a rarity in this part of the world.
Not inexpensive for me. 33 euro = USD $35 / night. Plus a high city tax of about $4 / day.
BUT you can pay in Bitcoin, if you like. 😀
Zagreb, the capital, is no tourist’s favourite destination in Croatia. 😀
But the Cathedral is lovely.
Sadly it was much destroyed in an earthquake 1880.
Here it is after repairs.
And somewhat damaged in an earthquake 2020 with an epicenter 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the city centre
Four years later, it’s still under repair.
What caught my eye is the pretty scaffolding. Some kind of ultramodern top on an ancient Cathedral.
Many tourists skip Zadar ➙ a mistake, I’d say.
Most of my photos are sunsets on the Adriatic coast.
I only went to Zadar as it’s the best jumping off point for Plitvice Lakes National Park.
A UNESCO World Heritage site with close to 1.5 million visitors each year.
Zadar gained its urban structure in Roman times; during the time of Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus, the town was fortified and the city walls with towers and gates were built. …
There’s an interesting sea organ.
An unusual light show called Monument to the Sun. Photovoltaic solar modules collect power during the day, producing a light show after dark.
As an important port city, a competitor to Venice, there are a lot of sunken and junky ships.
I do recommend a stopover in Zadar. Stay close to the Old City.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Keep in Mind
I found about 80% of Croatians I met as a tourist were rude. Rude by Canadian standards. There’s a good chance they weren’t intending to be rude — but it’s simply the culture here and in much of Eastern Europe.
Croatian men I found mostly macho posturing, chain smoking, or shouting into a mobile phone in public. And they all seem to have buzz cuts.
Many things do not work for the tourist in Croatia 2024. If you are promised snakes, there will be NO snakes. Also no coffee. Nor a machine. And the rental bike will be unusable. 😀
Wifi will be terrible. Use DATA instead, which is inexpensive in Europe.
After Dubrovnik, everyone agrees that Split is an excellent next destination.
The best way to get from Dubrovnik to Split is by ferry.
Not being a beach fan, I skipped the famed islands. Took no boat tours other than this ferry.
There are a LOT of cruise ships in 2024.
Split was founded as the Greek colony of Aspálathos in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE, and in 305 CE, it became the site of the Palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
There are ruins a plenty. And it’s much easier to visit those here than in crowded Dubrovnik.
Split is relaxing and casual. You don’t feel obliged to see ALL the famous attractions.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Keep in Mind
Many things do not work for the tourist in Croatia 2024. If you are promised snakes, there will be no snakes. Also no coffee. Nor a machine. And the rental bike will be unusable. 😀
I’d long wanted to go to Dubrovnik. One of the world’s best and best preserved walled cities.
Game of Thrones scenery.
It’s a hot destination right now for cruise ships and Instagram influencers.
TOO BUSY with tourists in the summer, I’m thinking.
This small city can’t really handle the visitors they are getting. Too much traffic. Too few buses.
BIG tourism is new here. The place was near closed to visitors during the 10 year Yugoslav war.
I’d flown in from Scotland and was a little overwhelmed on arrival. Happily I had a good (US $25) hostel dorm room with a view …
… and a helpful young guy at reception. He’d only arrived a month ago from Argentina and was still super excited about Dubrovnik.
Night 1 the hostel hosted a home made pizza party.
Highest priority for me was walking the famed walls. 2kms. I walked it twice in sequence.
Cost is 35 EU !?
Unfairly, the feral cats do not have to pay. 😀
So — like almost every tourist — I bought the 35EU Dubrovnik ticket which pays for the wall, the castle, Rector’s Palace, and several more interesting attractions.
You also get a 24 hour bus ticket which costs about 5 EU by itself. … Of course there’s no room on the buses. 😀
Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Museum of Modern Art. Normally my least favourite school of Art.
Obligatory stops at impressive Cathedrals.
I do recommend Dubrovnik, but not June through September.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Keep in Mind
Many things do not work for the tourist in Croatia 2024. If you are promised snakes, there will be no snakes. Also no coffee. Nor a machine. And the rental bike will be unusable. 😀
I’d not followed the Yugoslav Wars, 1991 to 2001, splitting Yugoslavia into 6 new republics.
I’d not realized that Bosnia and Herzegovina are one of those 6 nations — so I signed on to a popular day trip out of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Joining a tour makes the border crossing out of the EU easier.
The highlight was a morning stop at Kravica (Kravice) waterfall. It’s even more magical than photos reveal.
25m high. 120m wide.
Unlike many similar scenic waterfalls around the world, you can swim and boat in this one.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The other major stop was at the interesting historical capital of Herzegovina ➙ Mostar.
Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva during the Ottoman era.
Commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, completed in 1566, it’s one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most visited landmarks, and is considered an exemplary piece of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.
A monumental project to rebuild the Old Bridge, which was destroyed during the Bosnian War, to the original design, and restore surrounding structures and historic neighbourhoods was initiated in 1999 and mostly completed by spring 2004. The money for this reconstruction was donated by Spain.
In July 2005, UNESCO inscribed the Old Bridge and its closest vicinity onto the World Heritage List.
Tourists wait around to watch young people jump. They’ll do it for about 50 EU in combined donations.
There are plenty of beautiful mosques in Mostar.
Our guide recommended a restaurant — and it was excellent, though not inexpensive.
Like Argentina, this is a MEAT eating nation. So I had the mixed platter including several of the local favourites. A BIG lunch. Couldn’t finish it.
The new nations, aside from (possibly) Slovenia and Croatia, are struggling. Yugoslavia became: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia (now called North Macedonia).
Benevolent dictator Josip Broz Tito held factions together until his death in 1980. Once he died, the stupidity began. A good argument against organized religion is religious conflict.
___
I learned more about Bosnia and Herzegovina from my excellent tour guide.
Bosniaks are the largest group, Serbs the second-largest, and Croats the third-largest.
A three-member presidency is made up of one member from each of the three major ethnic groups.
Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city.
From the late 19th century until World War I, the country was annexed into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the interwar period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
After World War II, it was granted full republic status in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In 1992, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence. This was followed by the Bosnian War, which lasted until late 1995 and ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement which was reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, United States, finalized on 21 November 1995
These accords put an end to the three-and-a-half-year-long Bosnian War, which was part of the much larger Yugoslav Wars.
My guide from Mostar told us the government is a MESS. This nation will not be joining the EU any time soon — even though he wants them to.
I wasn’t all that impressed with Dundee — but stayed here one night as a jumping off point for nearby St Andrews.
With the decline of traditional industry (raw wool, whaling, shipbuilding, etc.), a £1 billion master plan to regenerate Dundee Waterfront is expected to last for a 30-year period between 2001 and 2031.
In 2015 The Wall Street Journal ranked Dundee at number 5 on its “Worldwide Hot Destinations” list for 2018.
… I’m not sure why.
To me it felt a small city in decline. Many shops vacant.
There are some grand historic buildings.
On the other hand, tourist pedestrian streets downtown are great. And it has excellent train and bus connections.
My highlight was climbing up to the Dundee Law, the highest point in the city. A large war memorial at its summit.
Rick McCharles 