Sunny skiing in Breuil-Cervinia

Breuil-Cervinia

For the last few years, I have wanted to try skiing in different countries, rather than the usual Switzerland, Austria and France that we have been going skiing to. So this time we went to Breuil-Cervinia, in Italy. Though it's still the Alps, at least the food was better than the ski resorts in other European countries 😂. Plus the skiing was enjoyable - sunny weather, fabulous slopes, and the ability to cross-over and ski in the glaciers of Zermatt.


Getting there

We took a flight from London to Geneva, which flew over the Alps. It all looked so calm, so serene down below, with the white peaks peeking through the clouds. We also had to register at check-in kiosks before immigration, which was a new addition. Thankfully the queues weren't as chaotic as they became by springtime.

We had to drive about 3 hours to reach Breuil-Cervinia. We had rented a car from the airport, and picking it up was an interesting experience. First, the car was parked in a car park, 200m from the rental shop - it’s the first time I have seen something like this. Second, the car was extremely dirty, especially the wind screen and windows, which were completely covered with flowers and leaves stuck to them. When we pointed it out to the rental staff that the car should be cleaned before handover, they had a very shocked look! Thankfully they did clean it a bit for us.

And then we were off to the Alps. We first drove on flat plains, with snow covered mountains right next to us (well they were far away but looked near!). The plains were mostly farmlands with some industries in between. The far off peaks accompanying us the whole way looked stunning. The driving was bad though. It felt like no one drives properly in Italy! People speed, change lanes without signalling and quite often break the rules. I have had this experience in Italy a few times before but it still shocks me that such driving exists in Europe!

Ivrea

After some time, we took an exit and started driving through the alpine valleys. We first stopped at Ivrea for lunch. It was a small town and quiet empty at that time. We walked to a few restaurants and all of them refused to let us eat so late as it was already 2 pm 😂! So we had a snack at the station food shop (so much for good Italian food on this trip 😂).

We walked a bit in town. It had a few castles, one within the town and one slightly outside of town. The streets were all cobbled and looked lovely, with the red-orange houses around, and the snow covered Alps in the background. It was quite a scenic though short (and hungry) halt.

Thereafter, we mostly drove through Aosta valley through a scenic route which passes through the local villages and is dotted with castles. The scenic route runs alongside the highway but is a smaller and slower road. We drove through small villages, all charming and rustic, surrounded by mountains on both sides.

The houses were wooden and different from the Austrian/Swiss alpine chalets. The vegetation was mostly brown. The mountainsides were lined with vineyards. And there was no snow in this valley. We also drove past loads of castles on the mountainsides along us, including the famous Bard castle. They looked so majestic, and so cute - perched in brown on the hilltops. I enjoyed this slow drive, through charming villages, with the sun setting behind the mountains.

The gradient on the drive till now was gradual. Then suddenly after the town of Chatillon, we turned and went up quickly to 2000 m. We crossed a pass and suddenly there was a lot of snow everywhere. The last bit of the route was quite winding but not too tough to drive on. And then we reached our village, Breuil-Cervinia. We should have seen the Matterhorn (known as Monte Cervino in this area) as we arrived at our village but we couldn’t, as it was quite cloudy that day.

Snowed out view

We were staying in an airbnb in one of the apartment buildings in town. It was tough to find as the location shared was wrong! But it was very well done up, close to the ski lifts and we had a gorgeous view of the mountains around us. It started snowing right after we reached, so everything around looked heavenly. The temperatures were freezing though.

High street

On our first evening, we walked into town for dinner. It looked so cosy and active, with loads of people around. There was a small little high street, all lit up at night, with loads of eating places around. There was music playing in the evening. It felt like being in winter wonderland as it was snowing lightly all evening!

We first walked to our ski rental shop to rent skis and the staff there were so unfriendly. The owner was just not willing to store our skis and even started shouting at us when we asked him questions! They were also upset that we came late in the evening, even though the shop was still open. It wasn’t a great experience, and till now, I wasn't impressed by the service and hospitality of northern Italy.

After renting the skis, we walked into 5-6 restaurants and they were all fully booked! Finally we found a place, the Sporting Bar, which was willing to accommodate us 😂. Dinner there was simple but at least we got to eat!


Skiing in Breuil-Cervinia

Overall, I loved the skiing in Breuil-Cervinia. It was snowing the first day, but the next three days were gorgeous and sunny. The slopes were wide, the snow was fresh and the Alp views magnificent. On two of the days, I even skied the other side of Monte Cervino, in Zermatt valley in Switzerland, where the skiing was even more amazing.

Breuil-Cervinia

On the first day it was snowing and the slopes were covered in clouds the whole time. It wasn't too crazy weather but we still couldn't see where we were skiing. So we mostly did blues all day as we could not risk skiing blind on unknown slopes! I didn't enjoy it much that day as I couldn't see much around. So I skied only 4 hours, one of the fewest hours I have skied in a single day.

We had lunch at La Grotto, a fancy Italian restaurant in town. And the pizza there was so tasty. Finally we got a taste of the great Italian food we had dreamt of! Also I always say, I like Italian food only in Italy (otherwise I don't like pasta and pizza much) and this trip proved it. The pizza here was so thin and tasty, I loved it!

The last day too, I skied on the Italian side. I took a few connecting gondolas and went all the way till the village of Valtournenche. The gondolas on this part of the resort went quite far, they took a long time to navigate. The runs here were amazing though. And so long! I had a nice day skiing here in the sun.

Love Apres

I went on a very long run, all the way down to the village. Valtournenche looked delightful from the top, it even had a lake visible from the mountain. There was less snow here though than Breuil-Cervinia. As we were leaving the same day, we started early and it took a while to ski back to town, after taking a mix of gondolas and lifts to get back. I had lunch on the slopes that day at Love Apres (a place I had skied past everyday but never stopped at). It was lovely to sit there and enjoy the last view and feel of the mountains before heading back to the plains.


Skiing in Zermatt

It is possible to ski from Breuil-Cervinia towards the Zermatt valley in Switzerland. There are a few gondolas which can take one over the high peaks to the other side. To do that, one needs to buy international ski lift tickets for the day. A lot dependd on the weather and of course winds though, as quite often these gondolas are shut down due to bad weather.

On days 2 and 3, the weather was brilliant and we could have a full day of skiing. So I ventured to the other side. I had to take a few lifts and gondolas to cross the border. I also took the Matterhorn Glacier ride which takes you all the way up to the mountain peak of Klein Matterhorn, at a height of 3800 m. In fact when you get off, you have to walk through a tunnel inside the peak to reach the ski slopes.

Matterhorn

It was fun to go there, and I spent the whole day skiing around the Zermatt ski resort. From the peak, you can ski on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise on the top, which is open for skiing all year around. Around it are 5-6 other glaciers which one can see from one of the lifts at Hohtalli. Skiing on the glacier was like a dream. Cruising on wide slopes, with stunning views around. I mostly did reds all day today and they were stunning. The only time I fell was on a flat slope while I was admiring the Matterhorn 😂. One can see the Matterhorn while skiing down, and it was stunning. It looked like a sphinx to me. And over the next two days I kept admiring it from various different angles.

I skied down to Furgg and Schwarzee lifts. The marking on the slopes was a bit off here. So as I was skiing, I got on a very flat blue slope (51) which went all the way down to Furi. It was not fun at all, as I had to push on the poles the whole way down.

When I reached Furi, it felt nice to be back there as I had visited the place in summer 2021, when I had hiked this area. It looked so different now with a completely opposite vibe. I was looking for the same restaurant that I had eaten at then, but I couldn't find it. So I had lunch at the Gitz Gadi restaurant near Silvana hotel, in the sun. It was lovely. It felt so nice to be there.

As it was my first day on the Swiss side and I was a bit anxious to get back to Italy, I left early on and took a few lifts to get back to the Italian side. I had to take the Trockener Steg gondola to the Klein Matterhorn peal but this gondola approached from the other side. I could see a lot more of the glaciers around (I had done a hike in the same area during the summer of 2021 when the glaciers had receded a lot more).

The gondola went through a few ups and downs and we could see the peak of the mountain far off. And boy, was it scary. So scary, that I decided not to look outside of the gondola even! The weather was brilliant that day, but now I understand why most of the time this gondola does not work. It would be quite scary on a bad weather day. After I got to the top, skiing down on the Italian side was quick as most lifts closed by 4 pm (even though sunset was after 6 pm!). So I just cruised down on the blues, all the way down.

The second day I went to Switzerland, I started earlier and skied much further, across many mountains to get to Schweigmatt. I went all the way through Furgg, Riffelberg, Gant and Hohtalli till Schweigmatt. The whole ski route was lovely. The valleys were wider with more panoramic views. They even had a ski train on the Gornergrat mountain, which looked cute. We got a magnificent view of the glaciers and peaks around from Hohtalli. Skiing here was just fabulous, with some easy but many challenging slopes. The weather was colder here though as the sun set here earlier.

While skiing back to Breuil-Cervinia, I stopped for lunch at Alphitta Zermatt, and it was heaven. We ate with a direct front view of the Matterhorn. And there was live music playing there. I think this was the highlight of my ski trip. I also chatted with some Germans who had taken a train all the way up till the restaurant and were also going to walk back down. They were on a holiday taking mostly trains to get anywhere (including the famour Glacier Express and Bernina Express), it sounded like an interesting travel idea. After lunch, I started the long trek back to Breuil-Cervinia via the Matterhorn Glacier.

The slopes on the Swiss side were generally longer and wider. The slopes felt easier too, maybe because they are wider. Surprisingly the snow felt less than in Breuil-Cervinia (other than on the glaciers of course). Also there were regular patches where one had to go speeding down to be able to naturally ski up the mountain. It was good practice for me, especially to get comfortable with skiing at high speeds. But still surprising.

Also, there were far more gondolas than ski lifts on the Swiss side. Which led to a lot of time wasted queuing for them. But as the slopes were longer, we didn't need to use them often. This side of the mountain was also more stunning than the Italian side. The Zermatt valley is definitely one of the loveliest in the Alps. And I think it's because I was admiring all the scenery around, I ended up skiing a lot, almost 8 hours from 9 to 5 pm. And I totally enjoyed it.


Breuil-Cervinia town

Monte Cervino

One of the evenings, I just walked around town for almost an hour and a half, all the way up one of the mountains. And I loved the town. Monte Cervino is the name given to the Matterhorn on the Italian side, and is quite a key attractor of people here in town. The town is quite huge, and spread out along a few of the mountainsides around. There were many other activities going on around here other than skiing, like snow tours, snow walks, glacier walks and so on. Overall, it seemed quite calm and convenient town. 

There are apartments in the centre of town, and also along four of the mountainsides. I walked up one of those mountains (where our airbnb was), and there were apartments and hotels there, right next to red slopes coming down! It would have been nice to stay at such a “ski in ski out” place. The sun also came out during this walk and the skiing on the other side of the mountain still in the sun, looked amazing.

High street

When we went into town in the evenings, we could see many apres ski and other restaurants alive and kicking. One evening, I sat outside Casa Montana next to a fire and sketched the hotel in front, the Da Compagnoni. The high street felt so lively with all the people around, the snow falling and the music playing there. It was so atmospheric, I loved it.

The second evening, we had dinner at La Barbaroque, where I ordered an Aosta soup and it was so bad. There was no soup in it, no liquid 😂. But the service was really good, our waiter was from Argentina. So she changed the order for me. The next evening we had dinner at Casa Montana apparently the oldest in Breuil-Cervinia. The vibe was so fun there though the food was quite average.

Leaving Breuil-Cervinia

On our last day, we had an interesting experience at the ski shop (again!). When we went to return our skis, we realised they were closed from 12-2 pm! That was a shock. It is Italy, but still we hadn’t expected this. Thankfully the owner picked up our phone and came back to take the skis, so that worked out OK. But if she hadn't, we could have even missed our flight.

The drive back to Milan airport was quicker, as we drove through the highways. Even that was as beautiful as the scenie road we had taken earlier. There were snow covered mountains and gray clouds all the way. Apparently, there was a storm approaching and the next few days, skiing was going to be limited in Breuil-Cervinia. At least in that respect, we had good timing.

At the car rental, after we dropped our car, the receptionist offered to drop us at the airport in the same car. And he drove so crazily, that now we knew why traffic was so bad all around! We had our dinner at the Milan airport. There were just so many nice restaurants - Italians do love their food! And by then, we started felling our trip was now over. 


Overall, I loved the experience of skiing in Italy. The views were great, the sun was welcome and the food yum. I would definitely recommend this ski resort anytime.

Driving through the Balkans (3): Kranjska Gora to Zadar (and around)

Itinerary (1)
Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) (2)
Portoroz (Slovenia) (4)

Juz Franza lagoon

The second week of our trip was spent in the coastal town of Starigrad - Paklenica near Zadar in Croatia. It is located on a quieter part of the Dalmatian coast, with Zadar (a more popular tourist town) located nearby. For a week, we explored places around - towns, beaches, islands, the sea, mountains, rivers, waterfalls and so on. The water there was the highlight - warm, clear and a sparkling green. We loved our stay on the coast and would love to be back.


Day 8: Drive (4.5 hours) from Kranjska Gora (Slovenia) to Starigrad-Paklenica near Zadar (Croatia) with lunch stop in Ljubljana (Slovenia)

The drive from Kranjska Gora to Starigrad-Paklenica was quite picturesque and not too long, though the day started a bit rainy. So we couldn’t stop as much on the way as we wanted. When we left from Kranjska Gora, we again drove towards the Lake Bled area through some hilly areas.

Initially we were not planning to visit Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia) but as the rain seemed to stop for a while, we decided to pay the city a visit. And what a charming little place it was. On the outskirts, Ljubljana felt like a boring Soviet bloc kind of place with typical post-war apartment block architecture. But our view changed once we reached the city centre.

Ljubljana high street

We parked near Ljubljana castle which was on a green hill in the centre of the city. As we explored the area around, we were blown away by the beauty and simplicity of the place. We walked to a local square where a farmers' market was going on. Then we walked through one of the high streets where a lot of handicrafts were being sold. There was a lot of activity going on there, and it looked quite colourful.

Along the river

After the high street, I started walking along the river Ljubljana - what a walk it was. Old, simple and classy. The river turns around the hill, and so the Ljubljana castle on top of that hill was visible throughout the walk. On both sides of the river were parks, lot of trees and colourful buildings. And since it had just rained, it all felt so fresh and inviting. There were a lot of trees, lovely bridges, churches, shops, restaurants, museums and so on, all along the river.

Along the river

I loved the walk so much, I just kept walking. It felt like walking through a fairy tale village. And most of all, totally unexpected. I had not expected to see such a pretty town centre, especially given the Soviet-type housing we saw when we just entered the town. We explored the area for a bit, and left before the rains came back.

On the drive

After Ljubljana, the drive was mostly through green hilly areas. We got some gorgeous views on the way, of narrow country roads through green forests, charming villages and churches. We stopped at a village on the way with a spectacular view, and I remember thinking - even the cows here get better views than we do living in our cities 😂. I think this was one of the prettiest drives of this trip, so simple and so green.

After that, we drove on a highway all the way till Zadar. The hills were smaller here and not as pretty. It was again raining all the time, the dramatic gray clouds adding a darkness to the sky. Towards the end, we crossed a long tunnel, and when we got out of it, the landscape changed dramatically. The dark clouds vanished and the sun came out.

We were staying in the village of Starigrad-Paklenica, along the Dalmatian coast, next to the Velebit mountains. It was a very quiet area, away from the tourist zones. So we turned much before reaching the Zadar coast, and drove about 10 kms along the coast to get to our village. As it had got dark by then, we did the long winding drive along the coast without knowing what kind of terrain we were driving in.

Starigrad-Paklenica

There were many small villages all through the way, driving past which we reached our village, Starigrad-Paklenica. It was near the Paklenica beach, close to the Paklenica National Park. It was a small picturesque village on the coast with very few houses.

Our airbnb was an apartment on the ground floor of a two floor building, where the owner's family lived on the floor above. It was a nice cosy apartment, with three different sitting areas - inside the house, behind in the garden and in front outside the door. The garden thankfully had no wind, and not much sun either, which was helpful as there was a lot of both there. We again settled into our apartment for our five night stay there. We felt like we were living like the locals. Our airbnb was about 5 mins walking from the beach. And there were olive gardens on the way. 

That first evening, we walked out of our airbnb towards the water. The town was very small, with barely a few houses. There was a beach, a pebble beach. And the weather was so warm, with a cool sea breeze flowing. I loved it. As we walked more, we found some restaurants on the waterfront, and had pizza dinner at the Fratelli Pizza Bar. The food was average, and this is the point in the trip where our food quality started going down. After dinner we continued our walk along the beach, it all felt so quiet and remote.


Day 9: Exploring Starigrad and Zadar Old Town (45 mins away)

Swimming in Starigrad

The first half of the day we spent around our airbnb as we had had a long day the day before. We walked out to the waterfront and went swimming in the water. The day was quite hot and the water was so warm. The water there was protected by the Zadar archipelago, so there were no waves and the sea was so calm, it was fun to swim. The beaches were pebbly though. There were some people swimming in the water, but not a lot. It was just so slow, so relaxed as we were far away from the tourist zone. We loved it. And the town looked quite pretty, with deep blue sea water on one side, white houses with orange roofs and a lot of greenery in the centre, and the grey hills of the Velebit mountain range on the other side. Everything there was scenic. And slow.

Roman ruins

In the afternoon, we drove to Zadar which was the largest tourist town in this area. It was about a 45 mins drive, mostly through barren areas with shrub vegetation. We first walked all around the waterfront along the sea and it was lovely. The water here had a deep blue colour. And the sun was out - it felt like a perfect day to enjoy the Adriatic Sea. We first sat near the Sea Organ, a musical instrument set up on the waterfront where the waves coming in and out create musical sounds. It felt lovely to sit there enjoying the sea playing music. It was heavenly.

Sunset at Zadar

As we continued to walk along the waterfront, we came across some Roman ruins right next to a church - quite a scenic location I would say. We stopped for dinner at a sea front restaurant, the Tramonto and saw the sun set while having dinner. It was quite surreal. Apparently the sunset in Zadar is supposed to be stunning, and it was. 

After dinner, we walked through the old town and around the fort. The streets were made of white rocks (instead of black cobblestones). At night, it was brightly lit up, with all the shops still open and people filling up all the space. There was a party-like atmosphere at night. There were many lounges and clubs all ready for action, and party music was playing everywhere. Though all the places were still empty even at 10 pm! Clearly parties here started late.

But we had an early morning the next day, so we left before any of the action started. Also, the drive back from Zadar felt different than the one we had taken on the way there. This was a highway route whereas while driving in, we had gone through smaller country roads. Funny.


Day 10: Boat trip to Ugljan island (45 mins drive and then a boat ride)

This was one of my best days in Zadar. There are many islands off the coast of Zadar, and we booked a boat to take us to one of those islands, where we could jump off the boat and swim in the open sea. We left from Zadar harbour, on a small speed boat, with some 5-6 people on it and the captain. We first went along the main island, then turned and sped towards Ugljan island. The day was sunny and the water was sparkling everywhere.

Uvala Frnaza lagoon

We made a few stops along the Ugljan coast. The first one was in the wilderness, near Uvala Frnaza lagoon. The boat stopped there for a while and we jumped into the emerald green water! The water was warm and clear, we could see all the rocks on the bottom of the seabed. It was so clear, we could also see all the fish on the reefs just like that. I saw some needlefish and many many sea urchins on the seabed. It was so much fun.

Interestingly the captain was saying that the locals had already stopped swimming by now as the weather was cold by their standards (in the low 20s!). We were all laughing at how such things are so relative. I also convinced some other British tourists on the boat to jump in, given that the next 6 months we would not find anything close to such warm temperatures in the UK.

Our next stop was the nearby Zaljev Juz Franza lagoon. The water was completely clear here too. We jumped in and swam all the way till the beach. There were a lot of pebbles here too, but still fun.

After that, we went in the boat all along the beach. The island was lined with the typical houses of the region, yellow in colour, with orange roofs. There were some stunning seafront mansions also. All of that was surrounded with loads of greenery all around. And given how sunny it was that day, everything sparkled. The water, the trees, the houses, the sun; and the air was so fresh and crisp - it’s very difficult to capture the experience of that day.

Preko village

Our last stop on the tour was Preko village. We stopped our boat in the lagoon in front and jumped in again. The village had the typical yellow and orange houses, and looked so enchanting. We swam in the sea looking at all that scenery around us. I also thought to myself, that next time I should stay on the island. It would be a great experience. We had a lovely day just being out and about for about 4-5 hours, swimming in the open sea. It was tough to return to the city that day though.

Streets of Zadar

Once back on land, we explored Zadar more. We walked through the high street, it was fun, though not as much as at night. The town looked older during the day 😂. It still had an active vibe to it, with its narrow white streets, and the pastel houses all around. But as it was too hot, it was less inviting than the pleasant nights. 

Zadar downtown

In the late afternoon, we thought we would be experimental and drove to a beach slightly out of town, called Borik beach. Apparently that was where all the locals hang out. Though it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. For starters, it looked a bit run down. There was grass on the side beyond the beach to sit and chill. The water was difficult to swim in because of all the waves. Honestly, it wasn’t fun to be there. So we just walked along the waterfront for a while and soon left for our small village of Starigrad.

During the drive, we got a view of Zadar from higher ground, it looked nice. A spreadout town on a small peninsula. The drive back today was through a country route with views of mountains and water all around. It was definitely more fun than the highway route.

We had dinner at Dalmacija restaurant, which was in one of the happening areas of Starigrad. The food was ok, but it was nice to sit outdoors, enjoying the cool ocean breeze.


Day 11: Exploring Starigard-Paklenica

We took a day off from all the travels given the busy past few days, and today was that day. It was raining most of the day, and that helped in not feeling guilty about doing very little. We spent most of the day near our airbnb, resting at home or exploring nearby areas. In the morning we first drove to the nearest supermarket, Tommy to shop for groceries, and then had coffee next to the the beach. It started pouring again as we tried to get back to our car after the coffee.

Starigrad-Paklenica

In the evening, we walked along the waterfront for about 3 kms one way, and saw the luxurious living along the Dalmatian coast. There were some beaches, some parks, and many magnificent holiday homes along the way. At one point, we walked right down to the water, enjoying the parked boats and all the waves lashing at them, and the pine trees and the white and orange houses on the other side. We sat there for a while, just enjoying listening to the waves.

We finally reached the lively part of town where there was a boardwalk with many shops and restaurants all lit up for the evening. There were a lot of billboards advertising different kinds of activities, like watersports, rental boats and so on. There were a lot more people hanging around there too. So this place isn’t as dead as we initially thought it to be.

While walking back we got caught in the rain and thunderstorms though. And I had to go and charge my car nearby, again all in pouring rain. But still it was nice that we took a walk in the area. It turned out that it was actually quite an interesting place, with lots to do around. It's just that as it's not on a tourist map, we didn't make many plans to explore it. Still its good we did see a bit of it that day.


Day 12: Hike in Plitvice Lakes National Park (2 hour drive)

Today was another one of my favourite days in Croatia. We drove to Plitvice Lakes National Park, about 2 hours away, and spent the whole day exploring it. The place is just spectacular, and has to be visited to be believed. The weather, which was supposed to be sunny, turned out to be very rainy. And we were not prepared for it, as the forecast had been for a sunny day. This did affect our experience as we walked all day in the rain. Still the place was so mind-blowing, it made up for the weather.

The drive to the lakes was quite scenic, through small green mountains, cute little villages, huge farms and just so much beauty all around, that I enjoyed the drive a lot too. There was a long patch of the road which was quite bad and bumpy, but most of it was fine. And close to the park, there were many towns which offered hotels and other amenities for tourists.

One of the upper lakes

When we reached the park, the weather did not look too inviting, so thankfully I changed into something more suited for the rainy weather. And it helped. There are two different entrances to the park. And when buying tickets, one needs to choose which route they want to take as there are 8 possible routes to choose from. Each one of the route covers a different part of the park, some routes are longer than others. We chose route C and were in the park for about 6 hours, walking past all the rivers, lakes and waterfalls, including a boat and tram ride also.

Once you enter the park, everyone must follow the standard path which takes you through the lower lakes, then to the upper lakes, through multiple levels in the park. It is very well managed and easy to follow. As you walk along, slowly the whole magical world of this place unfolds in front of you. 

Waterfalls in Plitvice
National Park

The Black river and White river combine and flow through the park. And given the mountainous nature of this park, and the soft limestone and dolomites rocks here, the rivers as they flow through the landscape create lakes, cascades across different levels, rock caves, waterfalls and many other interesting structures everywhere. As you walk along the path, you can see many of these places.

There are about 16 lakes which can be easily seen, some known as lower lakes and some as upper lakes. The colours of each of the lakes are different based on the vegetation around, the minerals in it and the angle of sunlight. And as the limestone karst rocks are all soft, many different structures are created across the park due to the flowing water.

Big Waterfall

When you enter the park, you first see the ‘Big Waterfall’, one of the defining photographs of the park. It is a single large waterfall with multiple branches, made by the Plitvica stream. It is quite impressive even from a distance, and it's also possible to go up close to see it. When we went near it, it was all misty there.

After the waterfall, one can walk for about 10 kms across the park. First you cross all the lower lakes, each on a different level creating small cascades and with a different colour. The water everywhere was so clear, one could easily see fish swimming everywhere. The shades of blue or green of the water, based on the minerals present in that lake are stunning to look at. And on both sides were high mountains with some fall colours already appearing. Every spot in the park was picturesque and it was lovely to walk around.

The walk

After that, we took a ferry across one of the lakes and reached a camp ground to reach the upper lakes. We ate a quick meal for lunch. We could have turned back from there but we chose to continue to walk forward. So we took another ferry and kept walking. (There is a maze of ferries one needs to take to be able to continue the walk). We walked up and down hills, through lush green vegetation and past so many lakes, it was tough to keep count. The upper lakes had many waterfalls, caves and lush green forests all around. The water was clear everywhere, and created many unique views. Every scene was just mesmerising.

And finally we reached the end of the trail when it started pouring like crazy. We waited and took a tram back to the starting gate before the park closed down for the day. The tram ride was very scary, as the tram moved very fast on very narrow roads along the cliffs. I really wonder how the driver could drive so fast without fear.

Top view of the cascades

Even after the tram ride, we were dropped a bit before the main gate. As we walked the last half a kilometer to the gate, we got to see all the cascading lakes from the top, another popular view of the Park. It was tough to walk back the last part as we were drenched in rain and very tired after walking the whole day. Though we still loved the place. I can’t imagine how it would have been if it hadn't been raining. I don’t think we would have left the park then 😂. I was also very impressed by how well organised the place was. It was very convenient, well marked and had many amenities within the park (including many eating places on the way). I loved it totally.

We had initially planned to eat at one of the towns nearby, but after the rain, all we wanted to do was get back to our warm airbnb. So we just drove back directly. The drive was again, as after the rain, it had got even more beautiful.

Once back in Starigrad-Paklenica, we changed and went out to one of the nearby restaurant, Kaleta, for another meal on the sea front. And just like that, this second part of our trip in the Balkans also came to an end. Soon we were to go back to Slovenia.


Day 13: Drive (4 hours) from Zadar (Croatia) to Portoroz (Slovenia) with lunch stop in Senj (Croatia)

The weather on this trip had already turned for the worse by now. Even on the day we drove from Zadar to Portoroz in Slovenia, it was raining most of the day. We did stop on the way in a small town, but couldn't explore much as it started raining again.

The route we chose to get to Portoroz was not through the highway, but a scenic route along the coast. And it was fabulous. We started from Zadar and continued along the Dalmatian coast for a few hours. On the one side were the mountains, and on the other was the blue-green Adriatic Sea. Every turn was picturesque, with loads of houses dotting the hills and boats dotting the water down below.

Cove on Dalmatian coast

Around many of the turns were small coves with shallow water where the light green was even more prominent. We stopped at one of these spots to dip our toes in the water. The colours of the water there were just out of this world. We later drove by a line of islands spread out in the sea on the other side. The views were so stunning, that after a while, even that began to feel normal 😂. 

Senj

On the coast, we stopped at a supercharger in a random town called Senj. Even the supercharger had an imposing view of the sea around! We walked around town and had lunch. We then explored the high street and the shops there, looking for local coral stones. It was a cute little town, nothing extraordinary though.

After Senj, we drove on some highways which were a lot faster but less scenic. When crossing back into Slovenia, at the border, we were asked for our passports! That was a big shock to us as we were within the Schengen zone and weren’t expecting to be asked for our passports. Anyways it was good learning for the next week when we would be skipping between Croatia and Slovenia quite often.

The drive now turned greener, and we drove past some cute little towns. The entry into Portoroz was quite impressive. You drive through a road covered with trees on both sides, like a tree tunnel. After that, you drive through a small pass, with the whole of the Piran and Portoroz valley opening up in front. Both towns are located on the sea, with hills all around and have some of the best views I have seen in a while.

The whole area felt very posh, so fancy. On the one side was the vast sea. And on the other, the green hills with orange houses peeping out from between. There was something very picture perfect about this place, it's tough to explain. And we hadn’t expected it at all.

Sunset in Portoroz

We checked into our airbnb on one of the hills and the view from there was something to die for. To get there, we had to drive up a small hill. And the view was of all the hills around, and the sea in front. We could have just sat there and enjoyed the sunset over the sea everyday. Though the first evening, there was a lot of rain, and we couldn't see the sunset. Anyways, we settled in our airbnb for the next six nights and rested after the drive in the rain.

In the evening, we drove to a local supermarket and then to the nearby Portoroz marina for dinner. It was pouring, so a bit difficult to get anywhere. Still we braved it. There were loads of restaurants along the marina, and we walked into one which had parking right next to it - Santa Lucija. They had local seafood on the menu and the food felt tasty after almost a week! So we were definitely looking forward to the next week in this coastal part of Slovenia.


Our week in Croatia felt very short. Especially because there was so much more to explore in the area (leave alone the rest of the country like Hvar, Split and Dubrovnik areas). I enjoyed all the places around Zadar, the highlight being the swims around Ugljan island and the day in Plitivice National Park. We all left with great memories from Croatia, and a resolve to be back.

Driving through the Balkans (2): Amsterdam to Kranjska Gora (and around)

Itinerary (1)
Zadar (Croatia) (3)
Portoroz (Slovenia) (4)

Julian Alps

The first week of our Balkans road trip started from Amsterdam. We drove through Germany and Austria to reach Slovenia where we stayed in Kranjska Gora for a week, exploring the Julian Alps around us. And I totally fell in love with Slovenia. The Alps there are stunning, with loads of activities to do. Hike up the peaks, swim in the lakes, cycle around, enjoy the fall colours, explore Lake Bled and so on. I think this was my favourite part of this whole trip.


Day 1: Drive (7 hours) from Amsterdam to Erlangen (Germany) with a lunch stop in Limburg

It was a long two day drive from Amsterdam to Slovenia, and we stopped in Germany for the first night. We had a lot of driving ahead of us next few days, so everytime we would drive from one location to another, we planned a picturesque halt on the way for lunch or a walk - the joy of a European driving holiday.

The drive through the Netherlands was flat as usual. And once we reached Germany, we saw some mountains which already felt better. There was a lot of greenery around and we saw some lovely landscapes. Though there were lots of roadworks going on everywhere which led to many delays that day. It was fun to drive on the autobahn though, I touched 200+ kmph a few times (up to 220 kmph I think), but could never touch 250. Sigh!

Along river Lahn

For lunch we thought we should find a scenic riverside restaurant on Google Maps. So we drove to an Indian restaurant called Lahnterrase on the banks of river Lahn, in the town of Limburg. It was such a weird place, and the food was very bad too. I think after that we decided that we would prefer to go for good food rather than picturesque locations 😂.

The second half of the drive was quite boring, we were mostly driving through fields. The weather was also very hot and humid that day. We had picked the town of Erlangen for the night stay based only on its convenient location next to the highway. But it turned out to be a charming German town, with a cute little town centre.

Dinner at Kitzmann

We were staying at the Bayerischer Hof which was a nice comfortable hotel. After checking in, we walked to the nearest restaurant for dinner, a beer garden called Kitzmann Brauschanke. It was such a cosy place, very well decorated with lights. We sat outside on the wooden benches under the umbrella and had dinner enjoying the cool breeze. It was very nice to be outdoors, the service was quite average though. But it was all quite convenient for a night halt. And interestingly while we were walking back to our hotel, we heard someone playing hindi music in one of the apartments on the way. That was a surprise.


Day 2: Drive (6.5 hours) to Kranjska Gora in the Julian Alps (Slovenia) with stops at Hallein and Sankt Johann im Pongau (Austria)

The landscape today was so lovely, we enjoyed our drive even. Most of our day, we spent driving through the Alps, and the views around us were just majestic. We first drove through the small mountains of Bavaria, bright green in summer, with cows on the hills, valleys with orange roofed houses, and tall church spires peaking out from them. Every moment felt like we were driving through a painting. And then we entered Austria which was just picture perfect. Magnificent mountain peaks dotted with castles, and lakes and villages in the valleys. Every scene felt just divine.

On the way, we stopped twice. Once in a small town called Hallein, for charging our car. It turned out to be quite a pretty little town, located right next to a small river, and surrounded by mountains on all sides. Apparently the town is popular with tourists as the Eagle’s Nest (Hitler’s retreat) was nearby.

We walked to the nearest restaurant for lunch while waiting for charging, and it turned out to be a very nice one. Gasthaus Hager was run by a local person who was wearing a lederhosen in the summer heat! He told us that it is comfortable even in the summers (I am not that sure of it though!). We had a tasty lunch, again sitting outdoors in the sun. The owner predicted that it was going to rain soon. It had seemed unlikely when we started our lunch but by the end of it, it did start pouring! So we had to run to our car without getting a chance to explore the town.

Walk in St Johann im Pongau

When we left Hallein, we saw a car on the highway which had caught fire and was burning, like actually burning with flames! That was quite a sight. There was a miles-long traffic jam on that side of the highway too. Our side was clear though. We then drove through a few tunnels, coming out onto some spectacular landscapes on the other side - gorgeous hills, higher peaks, picturesque villages and castles on top of the mountains. We even saw some rainbows in the sky there.

Town of St Johann im Pongau

As we hadn’t got a chance to explore Hallein, once it stopped raining, we stopped at another town on the way, St Johann im Pongau. We mostly walked around the town centre which was quite lovely. We went into the cathedral, and then walked up one of the hills to get a feel of being in the Alps. We got a panoramic view of the town in the valley, with the Pongau Cathedral spire rising up high above it all. Apparently this village is also quite popular with tourists who come here to visit the Liechtensteinklamm gorge, one of the longest and deepest accessible gorges in the Alps. One can also take a balloon ride through the gorge.

After, St Johann, we continued driving through the Alps, with the peaks getting higher and the valleys narrower. We also saw some white rocky mountain peaks on this part of the drive. It got dark by the time we reached Slovenia. Also the roads became more winding there as well as narrower. We also couldn’t see much and weren't sure what kind of a place we were going to. 

We reached the town of Kranjska Gora quite late, and it took us a while to find our airbnb, the Apartment Kotnik. Google Maps took us to the middle of the national forest, which had us worried for a while. Finally when we found the apartment, we relaxed. The airbnb was in town, not in the remote jungle that Google Maps had us initially believe! The town also felt quite big (relatively). In fact, our airbnb was right across a huge casino hotel, so it definitely wasn’t as remote as we feared initially.

Daytime view from our airbnb

It was a cute little apartment, close to the main road and right on the boundary of the Triglav National Park. We had a view of high peaks on one side, and the Korona casino hotel on the other. And at night, we could even see the Milky Way up in the sky. After the long drive, we welcomes this break. And settled into our apartment for our six night stay.


Day 3: Hike up Slemenova Spica trail, near Vrsic pass (30 mins away)

For the next few days, we explored the areas around. There was just so much to do and see. On our first day, we drove till Vrsic pass in the Triglav National Park, which was a 30 mins drive away. The place seemed quite popular, as there was a lot of traffic on the narrow roads. We even got stuck in traffic at one point! There were loads of cyclists everywhere, definitely a faster way to getting around than a car stuck in traffic (tougher too though!). We stopped at a few viewpoints on the way to admire the high peaks.

On the hike

When we reached Vrsic pass, there was a traffic jam there too. It was quite crowded, with people and cars. And a lot of sheep walking in between the parked cars too 😂. It took us a while to find parking though we finally did find something, right next to the steep mountain edge. We started our hike from the Vrsic pass, which is at a height of 1,600 m.

Sheep on the hike

The hike was around 6.5 kms long, and took us 3.5 hours to go up and back. The views on this hike are just stunning. The path took us through different landscapes - we climbed up steep rocks, crossed through passes, walked through green meadows, and so on. The mountains all around were quite imposing. We crossed through the Saddle of Vratca pass, which opened up to a completely different landscape. There were sheep grazing everywhere in the meadows. We could see a village, Ratece, far off on the opposite side mountains. It was just fun to walk through it all. The trail was well marked too with loads of people going and coming.

View from the peak

And the view from the Slemenova Spica viewpoint was just spectacular. We could walk to the edge of the mountain, from where we could look down several hundred metres, getting a 360 degrees view of three different valleys down below (including Tamar valley). There were bare rocky peaks on one side, with the mountains looking like gray walls. And green valleys on the other two sides. It was a breathtaking view, as if one is standing on top of the world. It was just surreal to be there. (Interestingly a few days later we ended up in the valley below and could see the Slemenova Špica peak from there).

Meadows on the hike

When we had started our hike, the weather was hot, around 30+ °C and sunny. But while we were going back down, gray clouds started coming in and it looked like it may rain. No one could have expected that when we had started. And by the time we reached our car, it was pouring. Another reminder that weather in the hills can turn at any point, so one always needs to be ready.

Lake Jasna

While driving back from the hike, we stopped at a lake 5 mins from our airbnb - Lake Jasna. And it turned out to be so mesmerising, something I hadn’t expected at all. It had an emerald green colour and the reflections of the mountains and chalets around in the water were just breathtaking. I can only imagine how much more stunning it would look in the sunlight, as the clouds at that time had muted its colours. We walked all around the lake, checking out all the activities and cafes around, which had closed by that time though.

After our first day in Julian Alps, I realised they are as picturesque as the Alps in Central Europe. And a lot cheaper 😊. Also, I had been expecting the infrastructure to be less developed here, but that was not the case at all. Slovenia is known as a cheaper Switzerland, and I agree with that description fully.

In the evening, we walked to the city centre. It was quite small, lined with typical alpine buildings. It was full of tourists walking around that day. We had dinner at Vinoalpino and the food was outstanding. And this was the start of all the good food we found in our first week on the trip.


Day 4: Exploring Lake Bohinj and around (1 hour drive)

We spent one entire day around Lake Bohinj and loved it. Lake Bohinj is also part of the Triglav National Park and was about a one hour drive from Kranjska Gora. The drive till there was quite scenic (and we ended up on that route 3 times too!). As one leaves Kranjska Gora, the initial drive is through small country roads with charming little villages surrounded by high mountains on both sides. It was so green and felt so fresh to drive through every time - we always kept our windows open when driving there.

Then there was a short drive on the highway before we would take the exit to Lake Bled. That part of the drive got a bit crowded though. The day we were going to Lake Bohinj, we drove past Lake Bled and it was tough to not stop there 😂. This place is just so spectacular, there can be no words to describe it. The turquoise blue and emerald green lake, with a church in the middle and a castle perched on top of a hill overlooking the lake. It’s just a magnificent sight. There was a lot of traffic around here though, and it took us a long time to get past the area.

Ribcev Laz

The drive from Lake Bled till Lake Bohinj takes about 15 mins and we again drove through some dense forests and small villages with charming churches dotting the path. The two closest villages to the lake, Ribčev Laz and Stara Fužina were quite picturesque. The peace and quiet here felt nice after the craziness of Lake Bled.

Lake Bohinj

Lake Bohinj is a huge blue-green lake set amid some stunning mountain scenery, part of the Triglav National Park. The mountains here were not too high, and fall colours were already visible in the surrounding mountains. We decided to walk around the whole lake, which felt like a good idea initially but not later in the day 💦.

Colours of Lake Bohinj

The whole walk around the lake was around 12 kms and took us around 4 hours to finish. There was a path all around, through different types of vegetation. And twice, we stopped and swam in the lake. The water was such a vibrant green in colour, and even felt a bit warm. The lake shore was quite pebbly though. Swimming there felt like being in a dream. In such clear blue green waters with green and orange forests on the sides, and total peace and quiet all around. There were even fishes we could see swimming with us, so many of them. Some areas also had seaweed there.

Around Lake Bohinj

But then it started raining! And we had not prepared for it, in fact we had turned up mostly in summer clothes! So we had to finish most of the walk in the rain. We even stopped midway for tea at a lakeside hostel, hoping for the rain to give way but it didn’t want to. So we kept walking, through trails, on the road, past camping grounds and so on. And soon the clouds came down in the valley, making everything around look so dreamy. It was lovely though very cold and wet for us.

Anyways, we did manage to finish the walk somehow, but what a day it had turned out to be. With comfortable swims but also a long walk in the rain. Anyways, back in our car, we felt better. And then started our drive back to base. We drove through thunderstorms all the way back, which we didn't have to walk through thankfully. But the views all looked so magical. Driving in the rain through small charming villages in wide valleys, with fall colours on the sides and clouds in front. It was quite an experience, and was a cherry on the cake, after a day of swimming in turquoise blue and green waters. Wow!


Day 5: Exploring Lake Bled and Vintgar Gorge (45 mins away)

This was one of my most adventurous day on this trip. We drove to Lake Bled again through the scenic route and then rented mountain bikes from there. We cycled a bit around the lake and then towards Vintgar Gorge. We initially cycled through some built up areas, then through some unpaved paths, and then through small villages up the mountains. It was quite a strenuous climb up the mountain. We passed by such stunning views - alpine villages, green meadows, flower fields - it was fabulous. And Slovenia is absolutely gorgeous.

Radovna River

At Vintgar Gorge, we parked our bikes and hiked through the gorge. There is a long wooden platform built in the gorge for tourists, where one can walk all along the Radovna river with the gorge on both sides. It was such a stunning place, the river in emerald green gushing through the narrow gorge, over big and small rocks, creating small pools and waterfalls everywhere on the way. Every turn in the gorge was like a new painting made by a nature lover. The colours of the trees on the mountains were reflected on the water. This was another very magical place for me (such stunningness had become a daily occurrence in Slovenia by then though!). It was a long walk and the only way to share that is through photographs we took on the way.

Along the river

Along the river

Vintgar Gorge

The wooden platform is a one way path, and at the end, we started walking back towards the entrance. However, we got lost and ended up taking a very long path to come back. Through some fields, villages and mountain roads. The villages were full of fruit trees, many of them laden with peaches and apples. I plucked a few and ate them on the strenuous walk back.

While mountain biking back to Lake Bled, I had a nasty fall (I think I got too lost in the stunning views all around 😂). And that slowed me down for the rest of the trip. We cycled back to Lake Bled. And then spent some time around its shore. It was still sunny, so we had dinner at a restaurant on the banks of the lake - the Arroi. The food there was very tasty. And we tried Bled cream cake too, it was yum.

Lake Bled

We then walked around the lake for an hour or so. The lake just looked so enchanting and lively. And all around, the green was dotted with orange fall colours. The reflections on the lake made it very mesmerising. The whole area was so active, everyone was doing something or the other. People were swimming, kayaking or sailing on the lake, cycling and hiking up the mountains, walking around the lake, eating at the banks and so on. But it had become a lot quieter than before. So we enjoyed it a lot. I felt there was still so much more to be done there and was happy that we would be coming back soon.


Day 6: Hike to Mountain Home Tamar, visit to Laghi di Fusine, dinner at Tarvisio-Boscoverde (Italy) (30 mins away)

We took it easy that day, first doing a short hike to Tamar House, a mountain hut in the Tamar valley, then a visit to a lake in Italy before finally having dinner in the town of Tarvisio-Boscoverde.

Walk to Mountain Home Tamar

We first drove to Planica, a 30 mins drive away from where we could walk to Tamar House. There were loads of activities happening at Planica, including music stalls, food stalls plus a zipline. Apparently, they also have skiing here in winter. We however started on our walk through the woods to Tamar House. It was a 8 kms return trail and took us about 2 hours going and coming back. It was a beautiful sunny day and the walk was pretty, sometimes through forests, sometimes bare riverbeds. There were huge trees on both sides, which shaded us from the strong sun. And towards the end we walked past a few meadows which reminded me of DDLJ 😀.

Mountain Home Tamar

Mountain Home Tamar is a wooden mountain lodge located in the Tamar Valley and is in such a magnificent location. With huge meadows in front, green woods behind, and behind them are majestic mountain peaks towering up above, the same ones we had seen on the Slemenova hike. It was such a lovely spot to sit and lounge in. We stocked up on sugar there and tried the local snack, “struklji”. After a short break, we headed back. And while on the walk we ran into an Italian lady who said she came to Slovenia for holidays as it was cheaper than other similar places. She also told us about a few places nearby to visit, including Lake Fusine where we went next.

Colours of Laghi di Fusine

Then we crossed over to Italy, and stopped at one of the lakes, the Laghi di Fusine. We did a walk all around the upper lake first. It was about 2 kms and took us about an hour to walk around (with breaks of course!). It was just stunning, with the colour shifting between emerald green and turquoise blue depending on the light. The reflections of the trees on the banks created many picturesque scenes. I think by now we stopped noticing when the scenery was stunning 😂. It was like that everyday.

Reflections

We also drove to the lower lake but by then the sun had set, so the colours were less striking. Also somehow I felt that the moment we had stepped into Italy, everything felt cosier and warmer. Maybe it's the food or the people, but I just felt it.

Tarvisio-Boscoverde

After the sun set, we drove to the town of Tarvisio-Boscoverde where our friend was arriving by train. We picked her up from the station, a small place in the mountains and then drove into town. We had dinner at Hotel Pizzeria Trieste, sitting outside with a view of the mountains around. We enjoyed the food, the service was a bit lacking though. Then we walked through town admiring it, it felt like a cosy little place. And it also felt different from Slovenian towns, though it was so close to those. Italy definitely has a different vibe, always.

While driving back the 20 mins to Kranjska Gora, we saw exits to Austria. And it felt so different. This is the joy of being in Europe, moving between countries feels like one is skipping rope.


Day 7: Boating and swimming in Lake Bled

Lake Bled

On our last day in the Julian Alps, we went back to Lake Bled area, and spent more time exploring the place. The lake and the church on the island in the middle. We first took a local boat, a traditional wooden row boat called the pletna to the island in the middle of the lake. On the island there was a church, the Church of the Assumption. We went to the church and then walked all around the island. There were loads of people swimming around, with many boats parked all around the island. We also saw many large fish swimming in the waters. The water was so clear, we could just see them while walking around!

Around the island

The colours of the lake were stunning, a dark blue-green which was quite difficult to capture in a photograph. Apparently the angle of the sunlight changes the colour of the water, sometimes it looks teal, sometimes emerald, sometimes turquoise and sometimes something in between. Also the reflections of the scenery affect its colours. Anyways, all the colours are so stunning.

Lake Bled

We then came back to shore, and walked around the lake. I also swam in the lake. It was lovely, the water felt warm, the colours brilliant, and swimming in such lovely surroundings felt ethereal. The temperature suddenly started to drop and a cold wind started blowing. So we left, and thankfully at the right time. We got in the car just when it started pouring, again. Even though it was still early September, the weather had changed earlier this year and for the rest of the trip, we experienced mixed weather - some warm and sunny days, but mostly colder and rainier than expected.

Back at Kranjska Gora, it was pouring. But somehow, we did manage to get out of our airbnb and drove around town to find a restaurant open at that time. We had dinner at the Kekec ski restaurant, a huge alpine place where people eat when skiing around here. The food was very tasty and it also had a nice cosy ambiance.



Overall, I was quite impressed with all I learnt about Slovenia Its population is only about 2 million. But it has a lot to explore for tourists, the Alps, the coast on the Adriatic Sea, vineyards, plains and karst caves. The hilltop churches are a distinct feature of the landscape in Slovenia, we could see them everywhere when driving. Apparently Slovenia also has one of the highest number of rivers, 59 in total! That’s quite huge given how small the country is.

Slovenia also felt like a place of active holidays, there were so many cycles on the roads, boats in the waters, hang gliders in the sky, hikers in the mountains and swimmers in the lakes - it felt like everyone was busy doing something. 

Soon we had to say goodbye to Slovenia as we were heading to Croatia the next day. Overall, I loved this part of my trip. The people were very friendly and helpful. And quite cheerful too (well Slovenia does have ‘love’ in its name 😁). The food was top notch, and the places to see were all breathtaking. My favourite places on this part of the trip were Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj, Vintgar Gorge and the Slemenova Spica Hike. Basically everything we did 😁. And I surely became a fan of the country, from whatever we saw.