photography

Travel Reminiscing – February 2, 2020

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Day 10 of our 2020 Viking Chilean Fjords & south America cruise on the “Viking Jupiter”. Another sea day in the South Atlantic as we sail north off the Patagonia coast.

Spent the afternoon on our veranda and the sundeck photographing the majestic sea birds as they glide effortlessly hundreds of miles from shore.

This day was Superbowl Sunday, so the ship put on a watch party on the pool deck. The Pool Grill and Pool Bar was serving “tailgate” specialties as we watched the Chiefs and 49’ers live on the big screen. Here we were in the South Atlantic, 5,000 miles from Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, watching the Superbowl live! Thank goodness for satellite communications!

South America Cruise – Part 4

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Puerto Madryn and Patagonian Penguins.

After two days of sailing from the Falklands we docked at Puerto Madryn Argentina, in the heart of coastal Patagonia. Puerto Madryn is an area of Argentina that was settled by Welsh immigrants in the 19th Century. Many town names are Welsh and we were told a Welsh dialect is still spoken along with Spanish, of course.

Our excursion to the penguin colony at Punta Tombo Wildlife Reserve was eight hours long. The coach ride was two hours one-way, the last 30-minutes or so by gravel road.

Punto Tombo is a nesting site for the Magellanic Penguins, a smaller penguin species that is found in more moderate climates (not the Antarctic). It is reported that this rookery is the home for up to one million penguins during the summer when they lay their eggs, incubate and hatch chicks. By March/April the chicks are mature and the colony migrates north, returning once again the Punta Tombo in the Fall.

Magellanic Penguins mate for life and always return to the same nest. The nests here are either shallow burrows in the sand or under thick bushes. The mating pairs separate during the northerly migration and when they return in the Fall, find each other by their unique calls. The juveniles have “fluffy” feathers.

The Punta Tombo reserve has boardwalks and roped off trails that go through the nesting area. The tour guides will stop everyone if a penguin is crossing the “people path”, we don’t want to disturb or agitate these little guys, after all, we are on their turf. You do get up close to these critters and they are quite adorable (but smelly). There were thousands of them, so we finally got to see more than enough penguins.

Caution…. Penguins Crossing!

Walking with penguins…..

Magellanic Penguins of Punta Tombo

Cruise is winding down…

After the Puerto Madryn visit we sail for two days then dock in Montevideo Uruguay for a one day port visit. After Montevideo, we cross the Rio de La Platte to Buenos Aires and our cruise will end there on February 10th. However, we will continue our stay in South America for another nine days visiting Mendoza Argentina, back to Montevideo and Buenos Aires before heading home on February 19th. We will post more from this trip, so stay tuned.

Useful Links…

Puerto Madryn

Punta Tombo

Magellanic Penguins

South America Cruise – Part 3

Rick & Kathie Wetmore

Rounding the Horn… Punta Arenas & Ushuaia

We spent several days cruising the southern tip of South America with port stops in Punta Arenas Chile, Ushuaia Argentina, and then sailing around Cape Horn to enter the South Atlantic.

Punta Arenas

We spent a day in Punta Arenas and we opted for the included walking tour of the town. The ship was alongside the main dock which is in the center of town and our walking tour started right from the dock. We had an excellent local guide.

It was a bit disheartening to see the damage, graffiti and vandalism to buildings and monuments from the recent riots and unrest. The highlight of the tour was the walk up to a hilltop vista point (steep sidewalks and lots of steps) which offered a great view of the town with Magellan Strait in the background.

  • Our terrific guide
  • Magellan Monument with “big foot” Patagonian’s.
Scenes from our walking tour of Punta Arenas.
Some Rock Cormorants along Punta Arenas waterfront.
  • A View of Viking Jupiter from the hilltop park.
  • Viking Jupiter
Punta Arenas scenic vista and harbor views.

Ushuaia, Argentina

An overnight sail from Punta Arenas brought us back out through the Magellan Strait, then into the Beagle Channel for an early morning arrival in Ushuaia Argentina on January 31st.

Ushuaia Argentina is the worlds southern most city and it is a main departure point for Antarctic expeditions. The city is located on Tierra el Fuego and is known as the “End of the World”. It has colorful buildings and is surrounded by snow covered mountains which provide a very scenic backdrop.

We had a brief bus tour around the city and we spent the afternoon walking around the small downtown and along the waterfront. We found the Hard Rock Cafe, I suppose it would be the southern most Hard Rock Cafe in the world. At the recommendation of our tour director David, we visited the Laguna Negra chocolate shop. According to David it is one of the best chocolate shops in South America. We ended up buying a kilo of assorted chocolates and definitely agree with our tour director.

The port is very busy and the dock where we tied up was full of the smaller Antarctic Expedition cruise ships. We left late in the afternoon for the overnight sail to Cape Horn.

  • A scene out of the 19th Century
Scenic Ushuaia Argentina
Laguna Negra Chocolate Shop
  • Who knew they ha a Hard Rock Cafe.
  • Film crew interviewing Antarctic cruise tourists
  • Gulls basking in the sun.
  • This guy posed for me.
Afternoon walk around Ushuaia.
  • Our ship Viking Jupiter
  • Antarctic Expedition ships lined up along the pier.
Ushuaia is a busy cruise port.

Rounding Cape Horn

We arrive at Cape Horn at around 8am on February 1st. Cape Horn is actually an island so after viewing the actual southern most point with the famous Cape Horn lighthouse, we sailed around the island and then headed northeast for our next destination, Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. As we sailed around Cape Horn, there were other smaller cruise ships sailing around the area. As we entered the Atlantic Ocean the winds and the seas picked up a bit so it was a bit rough for much of the day and overnight sail towards the Falklands.

  • Cape Horn Lighthouse
Cape Horn, the southern most tip of of the Americas.

Falkland Islands

We were looking forward to the visit to the Falklands. There were quite a few interesting shore excursions available and we chose two excursions that involved scenic drives and visits to penguin areas.

During the port briefing the night before our arrival we were told there was a possibility that high winds would prevent tender boat operations, thus cancelling the Falkland shore visits. The final decision would be made in the morning when we anchored, when the Captain could assess the conditions and forecasts.

In the morning, it appeared that the winds were favorable, so we were all at our departure assembly points waiting for our turn to board the tenders. The early tour groups actually got ashore but then the winds started picking up an the forecast was not good. The Captain decided to cancel all shore tours and recalled all who already made it ashore. Needless to say, there was a lot of disappointed passengers, but we totally respect the Captains decision. If several hundred passengers were ashore and could not be returned to the ship the whole remain cruise itinerary could have been jeopardized. In addition Port Stanley does not have hotel accommodations to handle that many people and they would have been housed in local school gyms or auditoriums.

So we left the Falklands for the two day sail to Puerto Madryn Argentina where we hope to see penguins.

Sea birds following us to the Falklands. I believe these are Petrels or maybe Albatross
  • Our only view of Port Stanley.
  • Last tender returning to the ship.
Falkland Islands, never made it ashore.
  • Image with my 140mm lens.
  • Enlarged version of photo on the left. Oh look! Penguins.
Our only view of Falkland Penguins as we sailed out of Stanley Harbor.

It is the half way point of our South American Cruise. Nine more days to go as the sunsets on the first half of our voyage.

Useful Links

Punta Arenas Chile

Ushuaia Argentina

Luguna Negra Chocolates

South America Cruise – Part 2

Rick & Kathie Wetmore

Chilean Fjords & Glaciers

Puerto Montt

As we cruised south along the Clilean coast, our first port of call was Puerto Montt in what’s called Chile’s lakes region. Since there was no large dock facilities, we anchored in the harbor and used the ship’s tender boats to get ashore.

The lakes region is a popular hiking and adventure area of Chile and most of our cruise’s optional excursions were focused on high activity. There were demanding hiking tours, white water rafting and horseback riding. We decided to do the included excursion, a coach tour of the town and a visit to the small town of Puerto Varas on the shore of Lake Llanquihue, one of Chile’s largest lakes.

Puerto Varas is a resort town that has summer activities such as boating, hiking, and water sports. There is also a winter influx because of skiing in nearby mountains.

We had an hour of free time to wander the town. The lakefront park and walkway offered some stunning views with two volcanoes in the background. The cone shaped Mt. Osorno looks very much like Japan’s Mt. Fuji.

There was a small artisan center where local handcrafted goods could be purchased. In this part of Chile many German immigrants settled in the mid 19th Century, so many of the buildings, homes and gardens maintain a German look. The local food still retains quite a bit of German influence as well.

Local artisan Alpaca shawls.
  • Volcano Osorno.
Puerto Varas lakefront.

After a few hours ashore we returned to the ship and our ship departed late afternoon to cruise south through the inner passage and Fjords, next stop, Amalia Glacier.

Amalia Glacier and beyond

Sailing south from Puerto Montt, we left the protection of the inland channel and headed out into the open Pacific. A gale force westerly wind greeted us with its accompanying 15-20ft waves which gave us a bit of a rough ride for the rest of the afternoon and overnight, but we were treated to another beautiful Pacific sunset.

Impressive Pacific taken from our veranda with a GoPro
  • Treated to another beautiful Pacific sunset.

The next morning we entered the shelter of another inland passage as we headed to the Amalia Glacier. This area reminds us so much of Alaska waters. The waterway is surrounded by big snow covered mountains with deep U- shaped glacial valleys and the occasional mountain Glacier. As we cruised deeper into the bay, the Amalia Glacier came into view. The Captain was able to maneuver the ship within a mile of the glacier and we hovered there for about an hour giving everyone a great view.

Sailing the fjords heading to the Amalia Glacier.
Amalia Glacier originates at the great Southern Patagonia Ice Field.

Leaving the glacier behind, we headed for our next destinations; Magellan Strait, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia Argentina and then around Cape Horn into the Atlantic Ocean.

Useful Links

Puerto Montt

Puerto Varas

Osorno Volcano

Amalia Glacier

Picturesque Porto

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After two days in Lisbon our Viking Cruise itinerary had us heading to Porto where we would join our river cruise ship, the Viking Torgil. On the coach ride to Porto we stopped in Coimbra for a tour of the historic University of Coimbra, followed by some free time in the town and then a traditional Portuguese lunch at República da Saudade restaurant accompanied by Fado music. The university is the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest, continuously operating universities in the world.

A video recap of our visit to Coimbra

Portugal’s second largest city, Porto holds a place of great traditional importance. The town lends its name to the port wine produced in the region and throughout the nation. Located along the Douro River, the city boasts picturesque neighborhoods, fashionable restaurants and cozy coffee shops. Like Lisbon, Porto has a rich past; its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A great walking city where you find narrow cobblestone streets brimming with romantic buildings spanning the centuries and a stunning Romanesque cathedral on a hilltop overlooking the river and city.

At the riverside, small barcos rabelos, boats once used to transport casks of wine, paint a charming scene. A major landmark on the river is the Ponte Luís I or Luís I Bridge. This iconic metal bridge, a true engineering marvel, built in 1886, connects Porto with Vila Nove de Gaia. The bridge has two levels, the lower level carries vehicle and pedestrian traffic while the high upper level is for street tram and pedestrian traffic. The upper level offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Douro, Porto and its surrounding areas.

Our ship, the Viking Torgil was docked across the river from Porto in Vila Nove de Gaia, where all the major Port makers have their warehouses. You see all the big names on these warehouses and tasting rooms such as; Sandeman, Taylor, Cockburn’s, Croft. The riverfront adjacent to our vessel is a very lively waterfront area with many restaurants, bars, shops and other attractions. A nearby cable car carries you up to the top of the hill where the upper level of the Luís I Bridge crosses over to Porto.

Some interesting facts about Porto:

  • Porto is one of Europe’s oldest cities, having been founded inBC as a Roman settlement.
  • With its six bridges that cross the Douro, Porto is known as the “City of Bridges”.
  • Two of Porto’s six bridges were designed by Gustave Eiffel before he began work on his famous namesake tower in Paris.
  • Porto is Portugal’s second largest city.
  • In 1996, the city’s historic center was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
  • The city is famous for its historic port wine trade, the center of which lies at Vila Nove de Gaia on the south bank of the Douro River.

Picturesque Porto Slide Show

Picturesque Porto

Lovely Lisbon

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Lisbon, Portugal’s capitol and largest city is bursting with culture, history and  tourist attractions. The city is situated along the Tagus River very close to the Atlantic Ocean. This location by the sea is important to Lisbon’s rich history, the jumping off point for the Portuguese explorers in the Age of Discovery.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe, having its origins as an indigenous Celts settlement around 800BC, also as Phoenician and Greek trading posts in the same era. Then occupied by Carthaginians and eventually become part of the Roman Empire as the city of Olisipo. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Visigoth German tribes occupied much of the Iberian peninsular, including Portugal. The invasion and occupation by the Islamic Moors from North Africa in the 8th Century lasted about 4 centuries until they were ousted by Christian crusaders. The influence of the Moors is still very evident throughout Portugal in the beautiful ceramic tiles (azulejos) that adorn palaces, churches, public buildings, even homes.

In 1755 a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated Lisbon and the surrounding areas.  The Secretary of the State of Internal Affairs at that time, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, popularly known as the Marquis of Pombal, lead the bebuilding efforts. Pombal employed new building codes and methods including earthquake-proof architectural design. Much of what you see in central Lisbon today are the results of this 18th Century rebuilding effort. A large monument at the Praça Marquês de Pombal square honors the Marquis of Pombal.

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From Edward VII Park, the monument to Marquis of Pombal can be seen in the distance. 

We spent the first two days and the last two days of our trip in Lisbon. This gave us enough free time to do some walking around. Lisbon is a hilly city with cobblestone sidewalks and streets, so walking can be a bit challenging for us older folks. Lots of stairs and steep streets will ramp up your FitBit numbers rather quickly. We found the public transit system in Lisbon to be excellent and very affordable. On our last full day we purchased a 24-hour Metro pass (about 6.00 Euros each) which covered subway, buses and the famous street trams.

Some of the sights we visited included Belem Tower, Jerónimos Monastery, Praça do Comércio, St. George Castle, Lisbon Cathedral and Edward VII Park.

Enjoying Food & Drink

Cappuccino and Pastel de Nata
Kathie enjoying her Cappuccino
Enjoying Aperol Spritz at a Praça do Comércio cafe
Some good Douro Valley red
Douro vinho tinto with jamon iberico

Making Pastel de Nata

Some visited sights

Belem Tower
Rua de Plata walking street
Praça do Comércio
Jerónimos Monastery
Cloister at Jerónimos Monastery
Cloister at Jerónimos Monastery
Cloister at Jerónimos Monastery
Beautiful architecture along Avenida da Liberdade
Scrulpture at St. George’s Castse grounds
Wine shop display
Peacocks at ST. George’s Castle

One of the interesting features of Lisbon is the extensive cobblestone paving of miles and miles of sidewalks. These cobblestones are small, irregular shaped and are hand fitted. On the sidewalk at the southeast corner of Praça dos Restauradores (Restaurant Square) there is a tribute of the pavers who build these extensive works of art.

 Slideshow of LisbonLisbon

Montana Vacation – Part 3

Rick & Kathie Wetmore4 Comments

Big Sky – Majestic Mountains – Huckleberries – Friendly People

Glacier National Park

In this final post from our August 1 – 13, 2019 Montana vacation we will share the sights in and around Glacier National Park. We spent several days exploring the park and surrounding areas. The weather during our three days in the park area was clear and hot, but smoke from wild fires in Idaho and Washington did impact some of the photo opportunities.

Red Bus Tour

When we first planned this Montana trip several months ago we wanted to make sure we experienced the “Going to the Sun Road” but had some concerns about doing the drive ourselves. The person driving would need to concentrate on the challenging road and would miss out on the scenery.

In our research we found out about the Red Bus Tours that operate in the National Park. They offer several tour options, one a 4-5 hour tour and another all day tour. We opted for the 4-5 hour tour that goes up the “Going to the Sun Road” as far as Logan Pass, then returns. We made reservations online well in advance of our trip (reservations are highly recommended). These tours are narrated by knowledgeable drivers who provide both factual information plus many entertaining stories along the way. The drivers make many photo stops along the route and these buses have reserved parking at some critical stops, which avoids the crowded private vehicle parking areas. Our 4-5 hour tour was $64 per person and we felt it was money well spent.

Our tour started about 9:15am from the Apgar Visitor Center. The parking lot at Apgar Visitor’s Center fills up fast, so getting there early will assure a spot and not risk missing your tour time.

The Tour Route

The tour buses are restored, 1930’s vintage White motor coaches serving park visitors for 80 plus years. I ended up sitting in the front passenger seat, so had the opportunity to shoot some video along the way. The following is a compilation of clips from the bus tour.

Views from “Going to the Sun Road”
  • Lake McDonald Lodge
  • Lake McDonald Lodge boat dock
  • Our bus #112
Lake McDonald
  • Colorful stones in the clear water
Whitefish Lake
Many Glacier Area

Montana Vacation – Part 1

Rick & Kathie Wetmore2 Comments

Big Sky – Majestic Mountains – Huckleberries – Friendly People

This year our August vacation was to Northwest Montana. Our visit would include the towns of Missoula, Whitefish and Columbia Falls, touring Glacier National Park, the Bitterroot Mountain area and the Bison National Range.

Kathie and I met up with our daughter Jen, who flew in from DC. So this was a family vacation and during the week we celebrated both Kathie and Jen’s birthdays.

Our visit was during the first 2-weeks of August. The weather was good overall, albiet hot during the days (mid 90’s). At the very end of our visit there were some severe thunderstorms, but these didn’t interupt our plans in any significant way.

This “Part 1” blog will focus on our visit to the Missoula area. A “Part 2” will continue with our visit to Glacier National Park and the surrounding areas.

Missoula

Arriving in Missoula, we spent the first weekend there. Missoula is a fun town, home to the University of Montana. We explored the Saturday Street Market and Farmer’s Market, which were very popular and lively.

The Missoula downtown has some interesting late 19th – early 20th Century building architecture, great area for walking and exploring. 

Flying to Missoula

We flew United from Boston to Denver connecting with a United Express flight to Missoula, about a 2 hours flight from Denver. The window seat view flying into Missoula on a clear day is breathtaking as you follow the valley between mountains on final approach.

  • Flying over Missoula
  • University of Montana “M” on the hillside
  • Airport welcome to “Glacier Country”

Walking around Missoula

Enjoying the street scenes and the riverfront area. This is Lewis and Clark country.

  • Lewis & Clark country
  • Murals
  • Murals

Saturday Morning Markets

Saturdays in Missoula feature an arts & crafts People’s Market on E. Pine St (closed to vehicle traffic) and a large Farmer’s Market on the riverfront next to Caras Park.

Food & Drink

Missoula offers plenty of food and drink options. There are many gourmet coffee shops and very good micro-breweries. The dining choices vary quite a bit from casual to upscale.

The Bayern Brewery was a real treat, serving excellent Bavarian style micro-brew beers and authentic German comfort food. The pilsner draft with a large, home made pretzel, bratwurst and warm German potato salad really hit the spot.

Our dinner choices included:

  • Plonk, a comfortable wine bar atmosphere featuring a wide selection of wines and a small plate menu ideal for sharing.
  • The Pearl Cafe, a French inspired menu with local ingredients. A very warm, cozy place and we had an excellent server, making it a very pleasant experience. My first Bison tenderloin experience, yum! Reservations are highly recommended.

Other favorite spots in Missoula:

  • Bayern Brewery sample flight
  • Bayern Brewery pretzel & pilsner
  • Wine on display at Plonk
  • Plonk
  • Pinot noir at Plonk
  • Pearl Cafe – Smoked Tomato with Goat Cheese Creme Fraiche & Basil
  • Pearl Cafe – Bison Tenderloin
  • Our wine choice at Pearl Cafe
  • Black Coffee Roasting – Latte
  • Bernice’s Bakery

Other Sites Around Missoula

Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

On the site of Fort Missoula, originally established in the 1870’s during the Indian Wars. The fort served as a US Army training base during WW1, then a Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camp in the 1930’s. During WW2 it was an Alien Detection Center housing Italian, German and Japanese foreign nationals and resident aliens.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Located outside Missoula, it was a few minutes from our hotel. Very interesting and informative, dedicated to the conservation of Elk herds. The exhibition area has life-like dioramas depicting Rocky Mountain wildlife in a natural habitat.

Garnet Ghost Town

Garnet Ghost Town is about a 1-hour drive east of Missoula. The town is an abandoned gold mining site with preserved buildings and structures. There are volunteer guides on-site who provide historical information and stories.

Remembering the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris

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It is so sad to see such an important cultural and historic site ravaged by a devastating fire. As of this writing (Apr 16, 2019), the day after the fire, officials are assessing the damage and while excessive it appears that through heroic efforts of fire fighters and others, important art and artifacts were saved.

The loss of this beautiful cathedral is a blow to the French people as well as all of us who cherish our culture and history.

While the damage is extreme, there is a commitment from the leaders of Paris and France to rebuild and it appears that significant donations are already pouring to support that effort.

After standing tall for over 800 years, through some of the most important historical periods, the Cathedral of Notre Dame may rise again, but I suspect it will be a very long process and the restoration may not finish in my lifetime.

Fortunately, I have had the chance on two occasions to visit Notre Dame Cathedral, once in the Fall of 2010 as part of a Viking River Cruise and again last year, ironically, one year ago to the day of the fire, April 15, 2018.

I want to share some of my pictures of Notre Dame Cathedral from my past visits.

From our October 2010 trip

DSC_5920DSC_5924Paris-5912-HDR_WebParis-5916-HDR_WebParis-5937-HDR_Web

 

From out April 15, 2018 visit

Paris-20180415_102851-HDR_WebParis-20180415_103949_AuroraHDR2018-edit_WebParis-20180415_104145-HDR_WebParis-20180415_182131_AuroraHDR2018-edit_WebParis-20180415_182253-2_Web

Christmas Markets….Vienna, Bratislava & Zagreb

Rick & Kathie Wetmore1 Comment

Zagreb

When we started planning this year’s Christmas Market trip back in October, we were looking to visit somewhere new. Our daughter suggested that Vienna is a must-see Christmas Market, so we decided that would be a good choice. We didn’t want to limit the trip to Vienna, so with the help of our good friend Google, we saw that Zagreb’s Christmas Market was voted Europe’s best for three years running (that according to Croatia tourist website, anyway). We also viewed an number of VLOG’s from folks who visited Zagreb Christmas Market in recent years and these VLOG’s seemed to endorse Zagreb as a good choice. So we added Zagreb to the itinerary and what also helped with that choice is the fact that Zagreb is less than an hour plane trip from Vienna.

When we did our advanced planning, we booked round-trip air with Austrian Airlines and found a conveniently located hotel using Booking.com. Our hotel, the Palace Hotel,  was about $300 for 3 nights, which seemed quite reasonable for a mid-city hotel. More about prices below.

After spending 5 days in Vienna, we flew to Zagreb on Monday December 3rd. Flight was on time, Zagreb airport was easy to navigate and we used Uber for the ride to the hotel. Our driver Boris spoke perfect English and he gave us lots of tips about foods to eat and things to do and see. The ride from the airport to downtown is about 16km (10 mi) and it took almost 30 min because of traffic. The Uber fare was $16, pretty cheap! By the way, Croatia does not use Euro’s, the local currency is the Kuna (HRK) and the exchange is about 6.5HRK to the dollar.

IMG_20181203_144623-01Welcome to  Franjo Tuđman Airport Zagreb

Our Hotel

I can’t say enough about our hotel choice. The Palace Hotel is a classic hotel in a Art Nouveau palace dating from 1891. The location is perfect, right across the street from Park Josipa Jurja Strossmayera and Park Zrinjevac, two of the Christmas Market venues and a 4-block walk to Ban Josip Jelačić square, the main Christmas Market and shopping area.

Our hotel room was ideal, large and roomy (for European standards) and my biggest measure of a hotel room is the size of the bathroom and shower, this one was spot on. Plenty of room in the shower and strong water pressure. Our room rate included breakfast and the breakfast buffet was huge. Plenty of hot and cold selections, fresh fruits, bread and pastries, it was an excellent spread.

The hotel Cafe/bar was a very comfortable space with elegant woodwork, high ceilings and cozy Christmas decorations. It was on the ground floor with large windows facing the park with stunning views of the Christmas Market lights and activities. We would have a glass of wine or cognac and the cost was less than $5.00 per glass!

The hotel had a health and wellness spa and I made an appointment for a one hour massage. That was very relaxing and the cost was equivalent to $38, quite a bit less than what we pay at home.

IMG_20181203_191457-01

 
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Palace Hotel

Getting Around Zagreb

The convenient location of our hotel made it easy to explore the city and Christmas Markets. Everything was within walking distance. Our first morning in Zagreb, we decided to take the Hop-on, Hop-off bus service. This gave us a good overview of the city, plus the audio narration provided some history and context.

We walked to the upper city, some steep roads and stairs to overcome, but we made it. We ended up taking the funicular back down to the lower city, didn’t plan that very well, would have been better going up on the funicular and walking down, let gravity be our friend!

Zagreb has an extensive street tram system, but we didn’t use the trams. There was also a Christmas tram that toured the sights and Santa was the conductor.

010501db3b6ddf1f95d2dfdfd58515f9c60796a5ff The Funicular

IMG_20181204_163722-PANO (1)

Ban Josip Jelačić Square

Zagreb Christmas Markets

The Zagreb Christmas Market is a bit different than what we saw in Vienna or from our previous trips to Germany, France and Switzerland. The vendor booths or stalls are different, all were white, in contrast to the German style which are chalet-like, dark wood. Another big difference is that the vast majority of vendor stalls were selling food and drinks. Not many crafts, clothing or other seasonal items like in Germany or Austria.

It seems that Zagreb is a party city, lots of people, many young adults, out for drinks and food. But there are also families, young and old. Everywhere you went, there was music playing, some Christmas music, as well as pop and rock. The main venues like Ban Josip Jelačić square had stages and bandstands set up where there was always some live entertainment, like local youth choirs, folk groups, traditional and contemporary musicians and artists. The Christmas Market scene in Zagreb is very lively, lots of energy.

IMG_20181203_183445-01 IMG_20181203_183925

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General Impressions

Some general impressions and observations about Zagreb and Croatia.

Croatia is very affordable, the US dollar goes a long way. When dining out, even at a more upscale restaurant, we never paid more than $50 for the two of us, that incudes the drinks.

The people are very friendly, most speak good English.

Zagreb seems very safe, we did not feel uncomfortable or threatened even when walking around at night.

There are many smokers in Zagreb. It seems that smoking is very popular with younger people.

Overall, we really liked Zagreb and we look forward to visiting other parts of Croatia in 2020 when we do a Mediterranean cruise.

More mages from Zagreb

Zagreb Croatia