Gunnar on Holiday

5 countries in 10 days

The main vacation was clear - Croatia. Promised to friends already since 2014 to visit them at home, with one year delay we could make it possible. To explore the whole coast line including the country highlights was our target. My girlfriend Supennapa and me invited to Roberto, my work colleague, to join us on this trip. For him was it the first time out of spain aera! He couldn't find nobody else better then the "travel guru" Gunni to be safe and to enjoy this adventure! :o)

Do to flight connection difficulties, we planned to start in BCN to catch two days later the flight to Croatia from there

And when we plan, we plan good! So Supennapa advised her sister & husband to join us there

No time to loose. Direct to the center of the city with Las Ramblas and Port Vell

Don't miss the market La Boquería next to Las Ramblas

Something better than "your" jaccuzi on top from the hotel to finish the day?
...i thought so! :o)

Un picoteo as dinner..

..and a cocktail to sleep well

The next day a round trip with the HopON-HopOFF sightseeing bus

The Park Güell,

the stadium Camp Nou from the BCN football club..

..and the famous church Sagrada Familia - of course, still working on it

Impressive architecture, really a highlight

On the way back to the hotel

- The three spies! -
:o)

Relaxing, swimming, playing

Passing the Joan Miró Park..

..to the previous bull fight arena. Now full of restaurants and bars

Observing the light spectacle of the Fuente Magica from Montjuïc

Voilâ, welcome to
Hrvatska = Croatia

Zagreb welcomes us with a boiling heat

Eaten, money changed, sun creme put on and up into the city center

Passing the capital's main square, the cathedral and the St. Mark's church

The 66 meters high oldest Zagreb's public transport - the Funicular Railway. Connects the upper with the lower town

Time to take the road to Slunj/Rastoke

Our first lodging in a little village.
Nice, comfortable, more than enough

Beautiful with all its lakes and waterfalls

First big highlight - the Plitvice Park

This National Park is made up of sixteen lakes..

..that are connected by a series of waterfalls and surrounded by woodlands

From six different paths we choosed one which inlcludes a boad ride over the biggest lake

The park ist one of the most popular tourist destinations

We were not alone

The crystal clear blue seas and the rushing waterfalls..amazing!

The selfie-postcard picture
:o)

Still impressed from the images we continued to the coast

Coming closer with the islands in the backround

By sunset having dinner before we took the farry to our second loging..on the island Pag

In the Summer Pag island is a party island nonstop

In spite of five hours walking through the park before, the Zrce beach we couldn't miss

After a short night, a morning walk in the city Pag

Good morning!
:o)

On the way to Gajac to visit my friends, you could see perfectly the mainland

Petra, Davor and Jana welcomes us hearty at his Summer apartement

The sun bites - so why not take the boat to escape to refresh a bit?

OF COURSE!

Enjoying the maximum of the ride

Yes, heaven is on earth

Arrived in the paradise!

Crystal clear 1,20 meters deep blue water

No, it's not the Caribbean..this is Croatia!

Fun, fun and..

..fun!

On the way back, a stop for "cliff jumping"

This is what i call a perfect Sunday

¡Many thanks again!

Our third loging was in Zadar. Direct a round through the city after arriving at night

A long bridge unites the peninsula

The next morning a round by daylight. Passing the Roman Forum - the municipal square - with the cathedral Saint Anastasia

The world's only sea organ..

..where the waves and the wind play the music

Three hundred multi-layered glass plates form the Greeting to the sun, a light comunication with the sun in a shape of a 22 meter diameter circle

Around the church of Saint Donat, the symbol of the ciy

On the way to a next trip highlight, the Krka National Park

Simular to the Plitvice Park, rivers and waterfalls are surrounded by woodland..

..only a bit smaller

But the top attraction of the Park is the famous Skradinski Buk waterfalls

Here it's allowed to swim inside

Is's a collection of 17 waterfalls that range in height by over 45 metres

After spending hours and hours in the park/water, our next stop was Sibenik - the oldest originally croatian town on the coast

Visiting the center with the town hall..

..and the Cathedral Saint Jacob, enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage

By sunset and still 41ºC in the car! on the way to the next loging

Primosten, a pretty little town with a nice little pebble stone beach

Wake up early for a morning swim and a coffee on the terrace

A quick visit around before continuing

On the way to an other island, visiting firstly Trogir

It's an other
UNESCO World Heritage, with its city walls and the St. Lawrence Cathedral

Secondly we stopped in Split, the second largest city in Croatia

The remarkable statue of Gregory of Nin with his gold shiny toe

Considered to be one of the most imposing Roman ruins,..

..Diocletian’s palace is certainly the main attraction

Taking the ferry to the island and our next loging...Hvar - the fourth largest of Croatia's islands

Having nice dinner..

..and a round in town with the castle walls in the background

The next day was excursion day

Supennapa to visit the Blue Cave. Roberto and me, rending an own boat to explore the Pakleni islands, an island group just in front of Hvar

Crossing on sea

On the way a quick stop on a island where she meets Hiromi

Lovely surroundings coming closer to the cave

Blue...as it more blue can not be

Amazing!

And finally some time for refreshing

And we? ... Having fun riding a boat how we want, whereto we want, as fast as we want

The sun was our one observer

Somewhere between the islands..

..where the heaven was on earth

An other corner..

..and having fun equal :o)

The hours passed without noting it

Along the coast on the way back

The following day we crossed the whole island to take the ferry on the east side, back to mainland

And giving Hiromi a lift

In Sucuraj waiting for the ferry

And that Hiromi is still with us on the ferry (and not forgotten behind) is a big story to tell...

"jump, Hiromi, jump, jump!"

:o)

Along the coast road we went down to Dubrovnik. And there was the division of Croatia through the country Bosnia and Herzegovina. To add this country not only for some minutes driving on the road, we went to go more inside to visit an other UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 24 meters high Stari Most = old bridge in Mostar. Famous also for the free fall jumps into the river.

But from the start until the end, these hours in this country is an other big story to tell...

The customs control, before and after

Approaching to Dubrovnik..

..where the big bridge is the entrance to

Magnific night view from our last - and best (and most expensive) lodging

Good Morning Dubrovnik! Get ready to explore it

On the way to the Old Town we met Hiromi again on the street. Already more than an hazard?!
:o)

The western Pile Gate was and is the traditional entrance to the Old Town

Behind the gate is the Onofrio fountain and in front the
Stradun, also called Placa, with its paving stones laid in 1468 and runs from Pile Gate to Ploce Gate

The baroque Church of Saint Blaise and the Cathedral in the backround

A lot of small and tight streets combine all the interior of the walls wich are 3 meter thick along the sea and 6 meter thick inland

Having a break along the border to the sea..and time to refresh/play

:o)

Around the
Old Town walls

In the Summer time, place means richness
:o)

Our last day in Croatia

First on the way to the best view point of the city,
the top of the Srd Hill

Since 1979 the Old Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our 4th or 5th in this ten days!

You can go up also by cable car

Breathtaking views of the Old Town, the crystal clear Adriatic Sea and the numerous islands

Secondly we went to our fourth country - Montenegro. Just continuing the coast road down

The views, here passing Perast, are equal awesome like the Croatian coast

Kotor. Making a round in the old city and having lunch

Later passing Budva and..

..an unusual and unique place in the whole Mediterranean was our last and most southern visit point. It stands on the cliff of a rocky island with roofs red like rubies. A sand isthmus looking like a stem connects it with the land

Sveti Stefan

'Amanresorts', a Singapore based luxury resort operator calls it now as its own

The island is now closed to non-resort guests

With wonderful impressions we went back

The 10th day, the day of return back to home, includes the surprise - the fifth country

Italy,
Rome

Not just a simple flight connection stop. No! A perfect studied and planned city tour trip with the most important sightseeings from the Italian capital - a lâ Gunnar! :o)