The Dalmatian Coast and Greece

In May 2010, my fearless travel companion, Kit, and I took Overseas Adventure Travel's cruise down the Dalmatian Coast and on to Corfu, Delphi and Crete. We didn't always have the best weather, until we got to Greece, but we had good travel companions, wonderful food, and a great guide who showed us this part of the world with enthusiasm. We began our exploration of the former Yugoslavia in Slovenia, at Lake Bled near the Julian Alps.

Remember that I'm manipulating the blog format to keep the trip in order, so click "Older Posts" at the bottom of each page to keep going throughout the trip (and even beyond, to earlier trips!). Click any photo to see it larger.
A guide can make a huge difference in the quality of the experience you have on a trip, and Overseas Adventure Travel has, in our experience, the best. This trip's guide, a vivacious Croatian named Petra, was no exception:


Here, you can see the Alps beyond Lake Bled, with Bled Castle perched above the lake . Bled was, and still is, a desirable resort area, with lots of pretty villas set in lovely grounds all around the lake. At the end of the 19th century, it became known as a health resort, owing to the efforts of a Swiss naturopath.




Rather like Brigadoon, the Assumption of Mary pilgrimage church rises on a lovely little island in the Lake, which you can get to on traditional wooden barges. The church has 99 steps; local tradition obliges husbands to carry their new brides up all of them. Visitors of all kinds ring the church's bell for good luck.

Bikes propped against the flowering chestnut trees that ring the lake.