According to “Copyright@2013 Maps of world.com there are 236 countries in the world.
“If we add all the pieces of land under jurisdiction by other countries, like
Aruba, Christmas Island, Isle of Man…then we can argue that there are 247
different countries.
Another argument : You can be part of the “World Country List “ If you are member of
the UN…and then there are 193.
On June 22, 2017 I set out for Slovenia and Croatia and by
July 15 my tally was 45 countries visited.
I had almost ruled out Slovenia because I could not
pronounce the name of its capital city.
Ljubljana.... The J’s were
throwing me off. .and then I was told to ignore them..and Loo..Blee..Ana just rolled off my tongue.
Not that
different from Loo Dhee Ana.
Slovenia , Croatia
and five other countries were carved out
of Yugoslavia.
I
visited two of them ( Slovenia and Croatia ) and drove through a third Bosnia
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| Map from the WEB
My strongest memories are of great natural beauty…
 Shades of Blue and Green 
Red Roof Tops
There are cable cars, easy to attempt grassy tracks…and my special mention goes to the cows
I encountered…an unbelievable size with lovely tinkling bells around their
necks.
 
Both countries are Adriatic..Slovenia has only 46 km of the
sea..but it has the Julian Alps and Croatia has an 1800 km coastline.
It was summer. There were plenty of tourists, mostly from
Europe, families, students, back packers; and tour groups from the far east.
The numbers were manageable. I did not wait in long queues and there was
no jostling.
I loved the fact that my hotels in Ljubljana ( Slovenia)and Split ( Croatia) were in a
pedestrian only zone. You walked or rode a cycle . Food and other provision
trucks came in before 7.30 am and thereafter you could cross the busiest
street as many times as you liked..where ever you
liked and there was no danger of being knocked down. .
6 AM
A great rule that
ensured no pollution be it noise or fumes. It allowed for pavement cafes which ranged from rustic tables and benches
to elegantly laid ones with silver cutlery and little posies.
Slovenia is primarily a catholic country.
I had visits to
several churches on my itinerary. Their interiors were ornate , but not garish. Some had tiny
souvenir shops and almost all of them had little cafes serving simple snacks,
soft drinks and coffee.
I suppose that since
my entire schooling was in a convent I
felt a kind of kinship when I entered them.
 
Slovenia Highlights :
- A Gondola ride to the Bled Island. The Gondola had a feminine name and I was
told that It is customary to name your gondola after your daughter. I don’t
know how they sort out an issue if there is more than one daughter.
The ride is approximately 20 minutes and then there are a
daunting 90 steps to climb.. to reach The Church of the Assumption….this is a
must..and I did…because you dare not disbelieve that when you ring the church
bell and make a wish…it will come true.
-A visit to Ljubljana Castle..you go up in a Funicular…there
is the charm of the views from the castle walls a lovely courtyard and when you
are exhausted from climbing the turrets you can rest on one of the several stools around a tree with a book stand..not for sale
just reading.
The castle has a
museum with its history and there are underground prisons with an audio that has the sound of
tortured prisoners !
- You cannot leave the
country unless you have tasted their absolutely sinful cream cake; crisp on the
top and at the bottom with a custard
filling which oozes out at the first bite!
Croatia is currently the more popular tourist destination.
Perhaps it is the
beeches and the crystalline waters of
the Adriatic
, the over 1000 islands ,
and the absolute must see
Plitvice National Park .
( Croatia has 11 Nature Parks
, 8 National Parks and 2 Nature Reserves.)
It is a country, that in its 56.59 sq. km of space makes a
huge variety of experiences available.
Over a stay of 4 days , I went truffle hunting,
 
rambled
around in Goznjan,an interesting hill town with private galleries and studios,
then stopped for a snack at Porec where my guide revealed that she always shops
for her clothes in Italy..there is a ferry service ..one and a half hour one
way ride…to Venice…No visa required.
I had a full day for Plitvice…and it was not enough. You
need time to linger, reflect, savour.. and revisit.
You can cover the park on foot, by train or by boat….and
there a lot of visitors, queues..but I did not mind because there was always a
lot to feast your eyes on and it was well managed.
 
Dubrovnik…is the star of Croatia.
I was recommended to take a cable car
to Srd Hill..which I did, to get a view of the city…
take a boat to the
Elaphati Islands , which I did. The sea
was very rough but luckily for me I have a strong stomach .
and to get another
view of the city from the city walls …a tough climb !
My two evenings were wonderful. After walking approximately
10 km a day I returned to
my now deserted
hotel beach… not for any serious swimming
…just cooling off and recording
memories
…and then on to the terrace restaurant where they had musicians playing and you could sit till as long as your
eyelids stayed open.
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