Europe Part 2: Cathedrals, Waterfalls and Limestone

A disclaimer:  Because we waited too long to post this, there’s a lot to tell you.  We considered just keeping it short and sweet, but got a request to go ahead and write about everything (blame Tracey).  If long blogs bore you, please skip to the senses and lessons learned :)

Click Here to see the full Europe Part 2 Highlight Album

For the past few weeks we traveled from Switzerland down to the Adriatic coast via Milan and Ravenna, took the ferry over to Split, Croatia, and then traveled up through Croatia into Slovenia and back down through Italy through Venice and Florence to Rome. 

Switzerland to Italy

The trip into Italy from Switzerland was a stunning one through Swiss tunnels and impressive switchbacks where motorcycles zipped by us on blind curves at angles closer to the ground than vertical.  Apparently, all of Europe goes on holiday in August leaving on Saturday and one of the tunnels was closed—we passed kilometers of stopped traffic that makes I-70 ski traffic on a Sunday afternoon look like a cake walk.  

Milan Duomo

We’d been lucky with the weather and hadn’t had to deal with much heat, much to Xander’s delight, but the heat caught up with us in Italy, which we encountered for the first time when Carolyn led everyone astray in Lake Como walking up the wrong hill to try to visit a beautiful villa, that, once we finally found, ended up being pretty boring.  I guess you can’t win them all—and at least Jim got practice driving through streets so narrow he had to fold in the mirrors. 

Ravenna Mosaics  

Our travels took us  near Milan to a surprisingly nice hotel where Liam learned that the “sink for short people” is actually a bidet—these kids are getting so cultured J Driving across Italy we stopped at the Milan and Ravenna Duomos, where we got to see incredible architecture, stained glass and mosaics.  Even as religious and art illiterate as we are, we were all in awe of these incredible buildings. 

 Next we stayed in the small Italian hill town of Petritoli, where Rotary friends from Denver, Carolyn and Paulo, were incredible hosts and shared their amazing 4 story villa with us.  It was wonderful to explore the area with “locals” from home.  Below is a poem that Liam wrote about our rejuvenating time there:

Oh my the sky as I lie on the chair

Enjoying the Italian Hill Country with Carolyn and Paul

In which nothing can compare

To the refreshing air

Or the grassy farm filled hills

With a couple of scattered mills

Which will me to a thrill.

The coast of Italy not so far

In this pleasant castle terrace

Atop a towering castle wall.

The stracciatelli feeling good

In my belly as I look at the

White walls of the secret church

Inside the town of Petritoli.

Now I have to say goodbye

To playing Shanghai

With a super nice guy

And the beautiful blue sky.

Our adventure continued with new type of accommodation-- the overnight ferry from Italy to Croatia.  We had no idea what to expect of our “economy berth,” but it turned out to be good with air conditioning which was key - given how hot it was (33 C).  We were happy not to be one of the passengers sleeping on the deck; worth our extra 20 Euros for sure!  Split is a dynamic port city with soviet-style blocky apartments and the amazing Diocletian’s Palace complex.  We beat the crazy heat taking a dip in the Adriatic sea- along with swarms of vacationing Europeans. After our quick trip to Split we headed north because we opted to go to national parks over going south and visiting Dubrovnik.  It’s surprising how many “don’t miss” places and things we need to skip even with all this time.

Swimming at Krka National Park

Both Krka National Park and Plitvice Lakes National Parks were amazing, despite the heat and crowds.  In Europe, each car’s license plate has a country letter, like the state plates in the US- so we could confirm that the variety of people and languages came from places ranging from D, B and NL (Germany, Belgium and Netherlands) to PL and SLO (Poland and Slovenia).  Of course, people continue to think we’re from France because of our trusty just off-the-line Peugeot, so you never really know. The water color and clarity in the lakes, rivers, and waterfalls is otherworldly (and also good for a chemistry lesson).

Jim's happy place

Next, we headed north to Slovenia (not to be confused a la George W Bush with Slovakia, which is 2 counties to the north) not knowing what to expect, but left understanding why LOVE is in the county name.  This country, which was created in 1991 as part of the collapse of the Soviet Union, has a statue of a poet instead of a war general in Ljubljana’s (the capital city’s) main square.  We stayed at a guest house outside of charming Lake Bled.  We’ve been pretty insular, so it was a highlight for all of us to get to know  other guests from Israel, Austria and the UK over our several dinners together. Turns out “Spot It” is an awesome game for kids in any language.  In Slovenia, we paddle boarded above giant carp, took an alpine slide, awkwardly paddled a defective row boat in the rain, rafted on emerald waters, walked above the biggest underground ravine in Europe and Jim (finally!) was able to fly fish.   The water was so clear you could see the trout and grayling from about 400 feet above the river.  

Dreaming of Gladiators

Finally, we headed back around to Italy and had several quick day trips in Venice, Florence and Rome.  Liam loved the glass animals in Venice (probably the best thing ever to carry around the world in a backpack), we all thought the Galileo Science museum in Florence was really cool and Rome, well, who doesn’t like envisioning 100 lions appearing to fight gladiators while gazing at maze underneath what was the Coliseum floor?

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow we leave our first continent (and our beloved car) to travel to Ethiopia. We’re excited and a little queasy (but that’s probably from the Malaria medicine…)

Cradle of humanity, here we come.

Senses:                                             

Carolyn: The marble buttresses and statue-topped spires criss crossing the Milan skyline from the terrace on top of the Duomo Cathedral; The juxtaposition of intricate mosaics and detailed fresco paintings on the high ceilings of the Ravenna Basilica; the bubbling waterfalls cascading under my feet on the boardwalk wandering through Plitvice national park as I marvel at the fish that look like they're floating in air underneath the crystal clear water; looking for Indiana Jones or Golumn to scale down the tenuous  explorer path cut into the cliff side on the enormous cavern of the underground ravine

Liam: The beautiful scenery of the grassy farmland hills as I won Shanghai card game against Xander; the force of the powerful white rapid waterfall as it tried to pull of my swimsuit as I struggled to hang on the rope at the bottom of the Kvar waterfall; the magnificent scene of the Julian Alps as we drove on the dizzying 54 switchback road to rafting; The waterfall and river rumbling beneath my feet in the massive cave that looks like it was made by aliens

Xander: The horrible heat disappearing as I dunk my head into the clear turquoise water of the Adriatic sea to discover fish lurking at the bottom; The rain pounding down on me as I paddle the boat off the oar rails trying to get to the church on the island in the middle of Lake Bled; The drip of the stalactite piercing me in the head as I look at the 200,000 year old stalagmite named giant in the Skocjan caves

Jim: The haunting glow of the thin cut marble windows in the Ravenna basilica; the wispy clouds over the gorge as I catch a rainbow trout I targeted in the perfectly clear Sava Bohinjka; The amazing display at the Galileo Museum on how they constructed and drew wooden globes in the 15th century; Amazement of the expansive collection of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts "gathered" under the direction of various Popes

Lessons Learned:

·       The Milan Duomo is the only white marble gothic church in Europe
·       Gothic architecture is cool because of the spires and arches where everything meets together
·       Make sure ice cream is stable before you lick it on a hot day or you will lose it.
·       Switzerland has a one-time 40 CF toll sticker vs  Italy, which has a lot of tool booths.
·       If people are stopped on the highway for a closed tunnel, take the pass around
·       Rocky beaches are great because you don't get sand anywhere
·       Diocletian was the last roman emperor to persecute Christians
·       Even an uncrowded Croatian beach is pretty crowded
·       The overnight ferry is a great way to get from Italy to Croatia as long as you're not sleeping on the deck
·       Above 30C is hot!
·       Ljubljana has a statue of a poet in the main square instead of a war general
·       They eat horse meat in Slovenia
·       Toilets in Europe have 2 buttons depending on the number you go
·       You have to put the key in the slot to get the electricity to work in many European hotel rooms
·       What you think is flavored cream cheese may be spreadable tuna fish
·       Sun reflecting off the white limestone helps to make the emerald color of the Soca river
·       River valleys are V shaped, and glacial valleys are U shaped
·       You need a vignette sticker to drive on toll roads in Slovenia (15 euros for a week)
·       College is free in Austria and Slovenia, as long as you don't take too long (average is 7.5 years)
·       Slovenia became a country in 1991
·       In Israel, lunch is the main meal of the day
·       It snows in Jerusalem
·       Slovenia had a similar economic crisis as Greece, but It's so small it didn’t really matter (two million people and about 6% the physical size of Colorado)
·       Slovenian flag has the coat of arms, (mountains, river, stars) although they were considering a pink elephant design
·       Plichnich designed most of Ljubljana, including the dragon bridges, library, university and main square.  He really liked columns.
·       Fly fishing is reasonably affordable in Slovenia (90 euro for a 3 day license)
·       Several of the 54 switchback on Vsric pass have cobblestone to increase the traction
·       Campers are pulled by all types of cars (not just big trucks)
·       Hemmingway drove an ambulance in the Soca Valley in WWI that inspired a farewell to arms
·       The Orient Express went through Slovenia on the path between Paris and Istanbul
·       They currently only have nighttime mosquitos in Austria
·       Look up and around, even if you're trudging straight up a hill
·       Horses are big business
·       Lipija horses train for 5 years to perform dressage and the “bad” horses are worth about 200,000 Euros
·       Stalagmite dripstones grow 1cm every 50 - 150 years
·       The human fish lives for 150 years and eats once every 10 years.  It has no eyes or ears, is white and snakelike, with hands and feet
·       Science used to be used as a party trick
·       Water can be moved uphill using a water screw
·       They didn’t know how to precisely determine longitude until the late 1700s
·       The gladiators and wild animals were housed in the maze like structure under the floor of the coliseum.  They used to get there through tunnels
·       Romans destroyed rome by taking all of the marble, etc from the palaces and temples to build other buildings in the city center (like St. Mark’s Cathedral)
·       The Pantheon still has the largest freestanding concrete dome in the world
·       Emperors of Rome were worshipped as gods after they died
·       It took until the industrial revolution to match the technology in ancient Rome