Vincent Poon :: Balkans 2015
17th Sep - 3rd Oct

Visited Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes, Split, Hvar, Dubrovnik, Sveti Stefan, Kotor, Perast, Podgorica, Ljubljana, Bled, Predjama, Postojna and Skocjan Caves

An in-depth visit to the three countries of the Balkans, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. A mix of lakes and waterfalls, with a bit of history and architecture, plus lots of fairy tale sceneries and a couple of caves. You will definitely find enough variety here to keep you interested!
Visits: 960 times
Last changed: Mar 04, 2018
17 items in this album
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www.fotop.netThe good, the bad and the ugly!  
       
We had mussels... very nice!
Looking down you could see the footbridge that divides the lakes Kaluderovac and Novakovica Brod
This is the modern day Split (taken from the ferry pier)
My first time inside a Blue Grottoe...The experience was really eerie.. very quiet and mysterious...
Album: A culinary experience from the Balkans
 
The original intention was always to try out the local specialty of the cuisine from the various countries in the  Balkan peninsula. However after 2 weeks of eating many pasta, seafood, bread and meat I am not sure at the end what I ate was anything local or just made for the tourists.


Changed: Feb 19, 2018.
Contains: 171 items.
Album: Plitvice Lakes National Park
 
Perhaps one of the best known places in Croatia, Plitvice Lakes National Park is truly a must see. Consisting of 16 lakes, this UNESCO site has an abundance of forested hills, turqoise water and falls that will guarantee you a temporary escape from your urban jungle.


Changed: Feb 09, 2016.
Contains: 96 items.
Album: Split
 
More than just any coastal city along the Adriatic coast, what made Split so unique is that the city itself was once one huge palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Nowadays you could still relive this history once you pass through one of the four gates of the palace


Changed: Feb 28, 2016.
Contains: 156 items.
Album: Hvar
 
Some came here for the lavenders, others came here to see the Blue Grotto, the intellects might come for one of the first theatres in Europe. For me, I came here just to check out the island, the sun and the sea of Croatia... After all, Croatia is a country with a thousand islands, and a trip to Croatia would not be complete without setting his foot onto one of these!


Changed: Mar 28, 2016.
Contains: 3 items.
The Old City has been lit up
Splendid view of the Bay of Kotor and its triangular wedge of the old city
On the island is now the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks which was built in 1632
From a fortress to the so-called 'an Adriatic playground for the rich and famous', Sv. Stefan (St. Stephen) is now a 5 star hotel run by the Aman group, with room rate starting from 850 euro a night
Album: Dubrovnik
 
Dubrovnik was our last stop in Croatia and as one of the most visited places in Croatia, we decided to spend 3 days here. Unfortunately on the 2nd day we had a thunderstorm for the whole day and so we were only left with 2 days to explore this wonderful and unique 'Pearl of the Adriatic', which was certainly not enough and gave us an excuse to come back again! (Maybe will also give the Game of Thrones Tour a try next time!)


Changed: Apr 11, 2017.
Contains: 3 items.
Album: Kotor
 
Kotor is definitely the no.1 of the must-see places in Montenegro. It is an UNESCO world heritage town with some churches, palaces and also allowed you to climb the city wall.
 
Of course one could not easily compare with its neighbour city of Dubrovnik@Croatia, but it is definitely less commercialized and crowded and it really sets you back into the medieval times.


Changed: Jun 18, 2017.
Contains: 72 items.
Album: Perast & Bay of Kotor
 
The Bay of Kotor is one of the most beautiful natural landforms found on the Adriatic coast. The spectacular, steep-sided inlet is often referred as the 'Mediterranean fjord'.
 
What makes this 'fjord' stand out is perhaps the two churches built on the two islets in the middle of the bay, near the old town of Perast.  


Changed: Aug 01, 2017.
Contains: 44 items.
Album: Sveti Stefan, Budva & Podgorica
 
Besides the must-see Kotor, people would also visit the coast of Montenegro where Budva, Sv. Stefan and the beaches are. To be honest it was the postcardlike scene of Sv Stefan that brought me to stay here and I did not regret it.
 
Podgorica is the capital but sadly it is not a must-see in Montenegro yet, and we only used the airport to take us to Slovenia


Changed: May 03, 2017.
Contains: 52 items.
The water is very clear and sometimes it looks emerald green and other times it is turquoise blue. They say there are fishes swimming in it though i didn't see any
Bled’s little island - capped by a church right at the middle of the lake, is the iconic landmark of Slovenia. It is known as Otok (which means The Island)
Started with a 9th century tiny castle, over the centuries, different castles were built here, and they gradually moved out to the mouth of the cave.
Album: Vintgar Gorge
 
Located just north of Bled, Vintgar gorge is a 2-km long ravine carved by the rushing waters of the Radovna river.
 
Originally came only because it was part of the day tour to Lake Bled and Postonjna Cave, but this turned out to be a hidden gem that was definitely worth the two-hour walk to start off the day!


Changed: Jul 31, 2017.
Contains: 12 items.
Album: Bled
 
If Sveti Stefan was the reason I went to Montenegro, then Lake Bled was definitely the reason I stopped by Slovenia.
 
Simply put the island, the church, the castle and some colourful pletnas together on a lake and you could easily compose into scenes that previously only known to exist in the fairy tales


Changed: Aug 27, 2017.
Contains: 36 items.
Album: Predjama Castle
 
Predjama castle is located in the middle of a 123 m high limestone cliff, overhanging in the entrance of a cave
 
Listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest cave castle in the world, it was also meant to be one of the most impregnable castles in the Medieval times. It was only fallen once due to the betrayal of a servant. The view itself was well worth the detour if you are visiting the Postojna Cave!


Changed: Oct 15, 2017.
Contains: 23 items.
Album: Postojna Cave
 
Perhaps one of the most visited natural sites in Slovenia, Postojna Cave constitutes the longest subterranean system in the country, with over 20 km (12 miles) of chambers, tunnels together with millions of magnificent stalactites and stalagmites 
 
This was also the first cave I had to take an underground train for a few kms before reaching its entry point, as you could guess the sheer size of the cave.. Definitely worth a visit if you visit Slovenia.


Changed: Dec 29, 2017.
Contains: 36 items.
After our 1.5 hr journey, the grand finale (the sheer size and the view of the exit) definitely did not disappoint!
River Ljubljanica, the triple bridge and Preseren Square
The Ljubljanica River, on the right is the Ljubljana Central Market
This looks like a nice intercity coach (with wifi), shame that ours was not this one
Album: Skocjan Cave
 
On the next day we went to Skocjan Caves, the only natural monument in Slovenia listed in UNESCO.
 
If Postojna is famous for the stalactites and stalagmites then Skocjan is famous for its underground canyon, definitely felt like a journey to the centre of the Earth!


Changed: Dec 29, 2017.
Contains: 47 items.
Album: Ljubljana By Night
 
Old town of Ljubljana was particularly beautiful at night, especially with the many works of Jože Plečnik the architect!
 
We were lucky to live close to the centre of the old town and hence can wander around at night taking some beautiful snaps of the old town


Changed: Dec 30, 2017.
Contains: 17 items.
Album: The Old and the New Town of Ljubljana
 
Like most capital cities, Ljubljana was never intended to be our primary focus during our stay in Slovenia given our limited time there.
 
We didn't have time for the museums nor the castles and it turned out that the highlights were really the architectural gems and the lively markets.


Changed: Jan 10, 2018.
Contains: 96 items.
Album: A glimpse of Zagreb
 
Really was a quick glimpse of Croatia's capital as we only a night here and the next day we left early for our flight back.
 
We didn't have time for any sights in the city except for the bus terminal (if you count that a sight) and the most things we saw were buses, trams and taxis


Changed: Feb 23, 2018.
Contains: 21 items.
Never had an outdoor Jacuzzi before. Pretty unique experience with the grapes and the wine... now if I could get some servants to serve me...
Album: Not just a place to stay!
 
From a countryside lodge to an apartment with an outdoor Jacuzzi next to a thousand year old UNESCO Roman temple to living in a room where you could climb out to the city wall to a room which you could wake up with a stunning view of Sveti Stefan, accommodation in this trip was not just for sleeping in but was really part of the adventure and experience!


Changed: Feb 25, 2018.
Contains: 83 items.
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