Zagreb and that blasted 'spider' crew

It was just after 11 am when we left the Hotel Paradise - the large room with separate lounge room and bar was very nice. We all had a tad of privacy. Breakfast was good but predictable. Michael is craving a good old Aussie breakfast now - cereal, poached eggs and toast, FRESH orange juice and his brand of coffee!

We can't get in to our next booking at Hotel Stella until mid afternoon, so we drive in to Zagreb city. And if we ever thought that there was difficulty in parking anywhere else, Zagreb 100% takes the cake. We find that all the street parking is for 1 hour only. And even on a Saturday afternoon, the 'spider' team are alive and well and very very active. We see them on the prowl and later, actually watch them remove a car from a spot - aha, so thats how they do it. Now we know how our car was moved in Dubrovnik!!

Anyway, Frances finally finds us a spot about half a kilometre away from the Cathedral (but it will mean that Michael has to come back to feed the ticket machine!) and we set off to take a look through the Upper Town. You see Zagreb is divided into the Upper and Lower Town by a mighty cliff of about 66 m. Oh, it can be climbed by stairs - that would make about 440 steps - not likely for me thanks very much. So we just explore the Upper Town and will leave the Lower Town until tomorrow.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary holds an impressive place at the Kaptol - one of the higher points of the upper town. Its twin spires tower over the city and can be seen from many vantage points. Construction of the cathedral began in the 11th century but over the years has been adapted and added to many times adopting new styles as they became 'fashionable'. An early gothic facade was added in the 13th century, but the gothic facade that it primarily shows today dates mainly from the early 19th century.

Anyway, whatever, it is beautiful and like many of the large churches in Europe, it too is currently undergoing major cleaning and restoration works - thankfully only on the outside, so we can have a good look around inside. Probably the most stunning thing about this church is the back wall where there is a statue set of the crucifixion. But behind it there is a piece of text that covers the entire wall that is in a language that we have not seen before! It does seem to have some familiar looking letters, but lots that are not. Turns out that it is a text called Glagolitic text and has been used in parts of Croatia for millenia! The exact origins are not known, but it was in use before St Cyril visited the region while preaching Christianity in 860! They also have a saintly resident effigy lying in state - its Bishop Stiepan, the 13th century bishop who had a chapel built next to the church and dedicated it to his patron saint to give thaksfor the deliverance of Zagreb from the Tartar invasion.

As the Virgin Mary is the Patron saint of Zagreb, there is a tall column that a gilded statue of the Virgin sits atop and four angels - Faith, Hope, Innocence and Humility stand beneath her column. At its base is a four-leafed clover shaped fountain complete with bronze reliefs of a face around the base - all crowned with dying wreaths in a somewhat pagan look. And the Cathedral is surrounded on three sides by renaissance walls built to safeguard it from attacks from Ottoman Turks between 1512 and 1521. There are small huts built into the inside of the walls that still stand. These are some of the best preserved renaissance walls in Europe.

We wander down the street opposite the Cathedral straight in to the Dolac markets. These daily markets are one of the landmarks of Zagreb. There are heaps of fresh fruit and vegetables and down on the lower section down the first of all those steps we can also see the flower sellers. There are some junky bits, but not nearly as much as we have seen in many areas. Everyone is very busy and if only our markets at home could be like these ones - fresh farm cheeses - hard and soft, figs fresh and dried - some tied with bay leaves in garlands, mounds of walnuts freshly shelled and never bitter. Ah, the tastes, and the smells! THIS is what markets are all about!!

Down behind the Dolac market is St Mary's Church - it looks a little forlorn with its leaves buried forecourt where the moss is already growing. We wander around to the front and the only reason we even got to look inside was because there was a veritable army of lady parishioners cleaning it with a vigour that was amazing. I think that they were all trying to be the one who cleaned the hardest and fastest - gosh, they can come do my cleaning any old time! This church is much more sombre than the cathedral (maybe fittingly) and had only its original lights fitted with electric lights, so that it is still very sombre. Baroque in decoration, we can only get a quick glimpse.

From here we head down some of those stairs to Tkalčićeva Street where we meet Marija Jurić Zagorka - a local suffragette and author who wrote a series books titled The Witch of Grić based on the witch trials of the 17th to 18th centuries that Empress Maria Teresa later abolished. She stands in the ground beneath a lovely sundial that is the only part of the rendering on its wall - the rest has crumpled and fallen. In fact, there are lots and lots of statues throughout Zagreb, paying homage to all sorts of locals - minor and major, who have impacted on the lives of the community. This street was the separation point of property owned (and I think still is) by the church and that owned by the secular community.

The meter needs a feeding again, and so we head back to the car, passing through part of the remains of the medieval walls into Ribnjak Park which was the original site of the Bishop's ponds where the priests caught their Friday fish! Now it is a green space with a lady trying to train a very enthusiastic dog and children on a playground.

From here we walk past the Franciscan Church where it is said that St Francis himself lived for a time. Like most of Franciscan buildings, it is much simpler than other churches. There is a florist tying garlands on to the pews for a wedding later today and one of the monks is sweeping. He willingly lets us take some photos including this mural which depicts St Francis being welcomed into Zagreb. A church has been on this site since the 13th century and this church, rebuilt in the 17th century was damaged in a great earthquake in 1880 but repaired.

Back at the car, we are pulling out of the parking spot with another car is inching in behind us - yep, parking sure is a pain here. The other 'attraction' we want to have a look at today is the city's main cemetery - Mirogoj. It crowns the top of a hill and is known for its beautiful park and its amazing wall topped with multiple cupolas at its entry. Well, it takes us well over an hour to find it. Sure it crowns a hill. But so do many many mature trees! And that big wall - well, it is on the other side of the hill, so can't be seen from below. By the time we find the correct road in the honeycomb of narrow winding ones that go up into the hilly area, the light is fading fast. We do see the cupolas along the top of the wall and the impressive entry facade, but decide that a good look in the light of tomorrow is warranted (now that we know where it is!).

One suprise today has been the amount of rubbish and debris that is sitting on the streets of Zagreb. We are not sure whether there is one of those annual council clean-ups happening or what. A lot of the debris appears to be from offices while there is also rubbish from renovations. And there are lots of people scavanging and there appears to be a rather healthy trade in lumber - with Romany people seeming to be the most active sellers.

Once we get out of the city area, we come upon more of that high density housing that we have become accustomed to seeing in Europe. While there are smaller apartment blocks on the CBD fringe, it is not too far out that they mushroom to those huge soul-less blocks that see thousands of people living in very close proximity to each other, relying on public transport and the provision of close by shopping facilities. Gosh, I know that I could never live in these. And they are suffering the same fate of many of the buildings in Zagreb - decrepit, grey, broken and falling plaster. It combines to make it look very very grubby. Other areas are pristinely clean and we see a whole parade of Canadian and Croatian flags flying. We rack our brains trying to work out what the link is and find out later on the news that the Governor General of Canada is visiting - ahhh, politics - should have known it would be something like that!

After 1.9 kms walked this afternoon, tonight we are staying at the Hotel Stella. Funny shaped room, but it means that Donna has a little space of her own! They do not have a restaurant and have recommended a the Turk Restaurant a couple of kilometres away. Despite it being Saturday night, they are not very busy. None of us are really hungry so we just order mains. Michael and I shared Teleće pečenje s police krumpir (Roast veal with roast potatoes) while Donna had Teleće Turopoljski odrezak (Veal escalope Turopolje style – mushrooms in cream sauce) and we shared Pirjano povrće (Braised vegetables) and Šampinjoni na žaru (Grilled mushrooms). And if Donna's meal last night was a highlight, then this was the opposite for her, although the Roast Veal Michael and I had was moist and delicious in a light tomato based gravy.

Paris - ring o ring the (roundabout) rosie

Things that make Hel laugh - sirens and burping irons that sound like growling lions! What a laugh huh! She was ironing her jeans when she came out with that little gem. Not a big brekky today - gosh, we were still full from the cheese last night - no, make that earlier this morning!

Planned for a big day today - over to the Arc de Triomphe travelling by metro and then down the Champs Elysee. Hels is not a fan of the underground rail system - whether it be the RER or the local metro. She finds it grubby and smelly and crowded - not good for someone who can get a little claustrophobic at times. All of a sudden I realise that she has never spent any significant time in anywhere with an undergound rail system - unlike Michael and I who commuted in Sydney for years and years. Now I am thinking that I should plan our trips around the bus network, but she insists she is OK - very brave of her (I am not being condescending).

You emerge from the subway onto the Champs Elysee facing the Arc de Triomphe - and what an awesome sight it is. Helen had no idea how big it was - I think I felt the same the first time I saw it. And the traffic that rushes around it put her hearth in her mouth just like it did mine! You hold your breath thinking there is going to be one huge pile-up, but there isn't. It is just so crazy and frenetic. There are a couple of German girls from near Stuttgart of all places trying to get a photo and I offer to take one for them. And they are more than happy to reciprocate. They are excited - they leave the for the US tomorrow and I can't resist giving them a little advice to make dealing with the entry requirements a little easier.

Last night the American couple we met had given us their tickets for one of the open bus tours - the tickets are valid for 2 days and they were leaving today. As luck would have it, the correct bus was sitting at the bus stop at the Arc. Now, Michael and I have used these buses in many cities - some are great, some are very ordinary. I wasn't sure if Helen would be happy to do a tour - it limits you to the main sights route - according to someone else. But no, she suggested that we use the tickets.

It was the best thing we could have done. With the limited time that we have in the City of Light, this was a great way to see all the major sights - and especially those that we knew we are not going to have time to visit seperately. And it gives you a bigger look - you are off the ground and can get a clearer impression of the siting and impressiveness of a place this way. She moved from awed silence, drinking in the atmosphere and the magic of this place and verbal excited chatting. I am so glad that I have her here in Paris with me. I really don't think that there is another person on this globe who sees so close to what I see (and then some I suspect).

When I was downloading the photos we took today (733 between us - her 440 of them!), we have unknowingly taken so many the same or similar in terms of the style, subject and perspective of a photo. Wow, thats my friend, mon ami!

You know there was so much to take in. Helen more than me was in visual overload and I am so glad that she has so many pics because she won't really be able to process them mentally until she is back at home in Australia and over her trip. Been there, happenend to me too. So, what did we see?

So, we left the Arc de Triompe and headed bravely across the intersection where there are up to five lanes of traffic, no lines and almost no rules. But as I said to Helen, the bus is bigger than the rest of the traffic, so we are pretty safe!

The route we follow is:
- down the Champs Elysee, into Winston Churchill Avenue to the Grand and Petit Palaces
- across the Seine to the back of the Trocadero then crawled slowly past so that we could all get a photo with the Eiffel Tower in the background
- around the front of the Trocadero and across the Pont d’Iéna to outside the Eiffel Tower where today there are thousands of people queueing for tickets
- through the Champ de Mars looking on one side back to the Eiffel Tower and on the other to the Ecole Militaire
- around to the Musée du Louvre where we are going tomorrow, admiring the space and use of architecture
- onto the Ilse de Cité to the Notré Dame
- down the Rue Lille to the Musée d'Orsay where the statues on the outside of the building are amazing
- around pass the stunning Opera House with all its gilded statues atop the corners that gleam in the sun
before we turn back onto the Champs Elysee for the journey back up to the Arc de Triomphe. It was quite a journey and the fact that we took so many photos is testament to the amazing sights that the City of Light provides.

By the time we got off the bus a couple of hours later we needed to make a comfort stop. We are passing McDonalds on the Champs Elysee and off Helen trots to join a pretty long looking queue. I didn't expect her back any time soon. After quite a while, she comes out all flustered - she had been stuck, locked in the toilets in Maccas! Hot ladies room, dark walled loos and my poor claustrophobic friend. Gosh, why did it have to happen to her. Anyway, we leave and get her some air outside and look for a nice open cafe to have a coffee. A little further down the Champs Elysee we find it.

We sit inside at the Cafe George V (little tip guys, terrace or pavement orders cost considerably more and I am sure the waiters knowingly encourage tourists to sit outside!) We even managed to order and repsond to our very obliging and engaging waiter in understandable French (wow, I am impressed with us!). We ordered Cafe au Lait and Crepes - mine with Grand Manier and Helen's with Creme Marron - both with Chantilly cream - yu-um! He very kindly offers to take a photo for us as soon as we have the camera out! But it paid off - he got a nice tip!

Cross the road to get a better photo of the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the road and find the banks are all on this side of the street - hurrah, we can replenish our dwindling cash! Then it is back across the road to go to the Virgin MegaStore so we can pre-buy our tickets for the Louvre tomorrow and so avoid the queues - we pay a tiny bit more, but well worth it. Continue down to get photos of the amazing gardens at Franklin Roosavelt Avenue - even though it is now winter and the blossoms are past their best, but the gardens are still stunning.

Then its on to the Metro to go back and have a look at Notre Dame and get there literally 5 minutes after they have closed. Helen had her first encounter with Gypsies around Paris today. Merv (the travel agent back in Maryborough) had warned her about the Africans selling souvenirs near the Eiffel Tower. But the Gypsies are another thing altogether. They are persistent and niggly - they invade your 'space' and here, the opening line is "Speak English?" so if you look dumb, don't make eye contact and just keep walking, the soon lose interest. I have been told by people in a number of cities as we have been travelling that the clever ones can bank up to €2,000 a week!

Afterwards we had a very ordinary dinner at Quasimodo Notre Dame. Guess that close to the Cathedral they serve a-la-tourist food - quick to cook, quick to serve. Get em in, get em fed, get em out!

So what stood out today? Gosh, what a stupid question - we are in Paris for gods sake! But the monuments and fountains are amazing as is the Paris skyline in general. And the Iron Lace on balconies gives the Parisian buildings a look of not only completedness, but also of eternal elegance. It does not matter that it differs from building to building. Because it all follows the same line, they look seamless. Absolutely fabulous!

We see the tunnel where Princess Diana met her death and remember where we were on that day. We hear the bells of the Cathedral chime out across the City.

The dinner cruise boats on the Seine are unbelievable. I mean there are boats running up and down all day long, but those at night have these incredibly strong lights that are directed to the shore. From the Eiffel Tower the other night they are so strong that when the are passing, you lose all your night vision. And when we are in the apartment, they light up both sides of the riverbank. I am so suprised that the powers that be have not legislated against them. It is the arrogance of the tourist industry and visual pollution at its very worst.

So a huge day and we get home knackered. Helen goes to bed early and will no doubt be up halfway during the night! Another big one tomorrow with the Louvre planned.

Young people are great ambassadors

Everything about the Hotel Yasmin is top notch. There was a young lady named MARTA on reception when we checked in yesterday who was so very helpful and pleasant. But when I asked if we could get on to the roof to take some photos of the Košice skyline, she was horrified and quickly explained that there were still buillding works going on up there so it wasn't possible.

Breakfast this morning was first rate with cereals, cold meats and cheeses, cooked to order egg dishes, a good selection of fresh fruit, breads and pastries, juices, teas and coffee. Ahh it was wonderful to have such a wide variety again!

Marta is genuinely interested in what we think of the hotel, so we get chatting as we check out. Turns out that it is brand new - its only been open for 3 months! I asked if they got many tourists and she replied that most of their guests are business people and now the events are starting to book. When asked if there are many weddings held there she told me that there had been 3-5 since the hotel opened. Then she added that she was getting married herself in two weeks, so I asked whether she would have her wedding party at the hotel but she shook her head and said no, she could not afford it, and they are trying to save money, and so will have a holiday later as well. Much like us when we got married I told her. So all the very best for your wedding day and your future Marta. We hope the management realise what a great employee you are!

Last night really whetted our appetite for the city centre here, so back in we drove to take a look in the daylight. And we are so glad we did. Mass had just started at Košice's Cathedral - St. Elizabeth´s Cathedral, so I opted to go. The experience of Mass in a totally different language is amazing - the rituals are still the same, so there is a feeling of understanding, but just not being able to participate fully is frustrating! This Cathedral is not some shiny showpiece that we found some of the Vienna churches to be - it is the local community's place of worship. Mass was well attended primarily with older parishioners, but there were comparatively many more younger people and young families in attendance than we would see at home.

This Cathedral is considered to be one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in the world. It was built between 1378 and 1508 and is the city's oldest architectural landmark. Particularly imposing is the main altar with its three oversize statues and forty-eight panel paintings, while the side altars, stunning Gothic wall paintings that have survived the centuries of grime and sculptures add to the charm. It has a beautifully tessellated roof and the most amazing gilt decorated spire. And they have a reliquery that is said to contain a drop of Jesus' blood given down the ages to the Archbishop of the time by Pope Paul II.
St. Michael's Chapel located to the south of the Catedral, is a single-nave Gothic edifice from the 14th century. Originally a cemetery chapel, it is the city's second oldest building.

And while I am at Mass, Michael goes to visit the Archaeological Museum very close to the Cathedral. Unearthed during roadwork in 1996, the buried remains of the ancient archaeology of medieval Košice - defence chambers, fortifications, waterways and the cathedral foundations - in the mazelike passages were a real highlight for him. Especially the gate tower built in the late 13th century, the oldest fortified entrance in the town (the Arpad Gate).

In the light of day, the musical fountain continues to put on its lovely show. I must admit that it looks most stunning at night, but to sit in the shade near the fountain for a little while was so cool - something fantastic on what is becoming a very hot day! Children were playing around the edge, lots of families and older people sitting, chilling out!

So it is time to hit the road again. The national speed limit on highways in 90 kph (130 kph on the newer motorways) so you can maybe start to imagine what the roads are like. Not only are the highways narrower than many we have been on, they are in fairly poor condition with the evidence of heavy truck and farm machinery use evident by the rutting and tar lips on the edges. Still, they are not impassable by any stretch of the imagination. Yesterday we had travelled the motorways because of the distance we were travelling.

Today, we are not going so far - only to a town called Banská Bystrica - about 200 kms away. I have programmed Kate to avoid the motorways and added a few side destinations so that we get what I hoped was a more scenic route. I was hoping that this route might take us in to the Tatra Mountains where there is supposed to be some stunning gorge passes. But true to form, the route I have chosen traverses the valley just to the south of them! We couldn't get a good photo because of the incredible haze - probably caused by a temperature inversion. This range is the highest in the Carpathian Mountains and rise majestically from the flat valley floor just near the city of Poprad - as though some giant just dumped them there!

Here on the northern side of the Ore Mountains, there are less of the concrete flat blocks and more individual houses - especially in the smaller towns. And they look less depressed - the houses are better maintained, gardens are planted and even the people in the street have a more contented look to them. The farm machinery is much more modern with combine harvesters busy at work (no rest for the farmer on a Sunday - hey Jeff?) No-one appreciated the farmer though, parked in his machine on the edge of the road, reading a newspaper while the traffic piled up around him in both directions.

We saw some great sites travelling this way. There was the young lass roller-blading in the middle of nowhere, miles from anywhere. Then there was the boom gate that came down just as we were nearing it - again on a back road miles from anywhere - probably the only train of the day - and we caught it!!

We see two very different sides to life in Slovakia today. We pass through a number of small spa towns where there are local pools capturing the waters and on a day like today, being thronged by the local population. Again, there is an air of affluence - though we are puzzled at the source of income - many of the smaller towns have no obvious industry and little in the way of commerce - maybe family members are some of those truck drivers seen so prolifically in Western Europe!

And then there are the Roma people as Slovakina gypsies are called. Living in what can only be described as shanty towns or slums, we saw a number of settlements on the outskirts of traditional towns. These people are unlike the blond and often very beautiful Slovakian race, rather, they are much darker - even swarthy, although they have a proud beauty all their own. We saw them walking into Krompachy, a distance of something like 5 kms, where Michael bought two crisp bagettes, 3 bananas and 2 croissants for €1.71! They hawk eggs and honey on the roadside, older kids were swimming in a muddy pool of water that had filled in a pit on the side of road-works. Yes, there is definitely a diochotemy of living here in Slovakia. Like in many places, the haves get more, while the have-nots survive with less and less.

So westwards we continue, travelling via Poprad then Lučivná and Štrba to Banská Bystrica. We climb up into the Low Tatras - an offshoot of the Tatra Mountains and down into valleys. This is skiing country and there is obvious affluence and the signs of a car race! Finally we reach Banská Bystrica and get caught up again in massive road works and other building sites. Kate wants me to turn where I can't so again, now knowing where we need to be, we abandon her in favour of local knowledge!

Once we have checked in to the Hotel Národný dom around 6:30 pm we connect with home and then later, head up town to have dinner. The City Square is large by standards here and nicely laid out with decorated and classical buildings surrounding it.

Michael had gone for a walk earlier on to inspect the local restaurants, and we settle on a side-walk restaurant called 'Starobystricka' in the town square. Dinner was a combination of:
Entree:
Paradajková so syrom (Tomato soup with cheese) - Maria
Teplé Predjedlá (Roasted chicken livers with toast) - Michael
Mains:
Rybie filé na bazalkovom masle (Fish fillet with basil butter) - Maria
Husacie stehno, lokša, červená kapusta (Goose leg with potato dumpling and red cabbage) - Michael
As dinner was quite filling we opted not to have dessert and had coffee instead.

After returning to the hotel, Michael went out for a fag and to take a few night shots of Banská Bystrica.