Deadly serious

This has got to be our busiest holiday yet and I still can't believe we got everything done that I'd had planned despite the whole police thing and numerous bus nightmares. The people across this region, almost without exception, were always friendly and helpful, despite what must be a painful abundance of demanding tourists. Probably for me the most pleasant surprise was the familiarity of the language even if I couldn't speak much at all. It just felt like home with the close affinity to Czech. We did four countries that each had very different identities and yet had such similar tongues. It's so sad that so much pain came to this region so recently and I so much hope EU membership (already true for some and waiting for others) brings peace and wealth to all. I had put off visiting the Balkans because of my anger over the wars of the 90s but certainly my prejudice has gone. This is not a warring backwater of Europe, but a collection of small but proud European nations...

And goodbye summer 2014. Prior to this trip Slovenia was always that country wedged between Austria and Croatia, not quite the Balkans but also not quite at the heart of Europe. After three days here that view has changed. Slovenia certainly is at the heart of Europe and with a very clear national identity. Although it is small I do wonder why I've never heard more. Maybe that's a good thing; well known is usual synonymous with notoriety. I'm not sure how we managed to fit in the mountains, lakes, caves and capital in three days but, just about, we did. Ljubljana is conveniently placed at the centre of the country and, despite the mountain routes, nothing is very far away.

We were treated once again during our short 25 minute drive to the airport in a shuttle shared with three our tourists by views of the magnificent mountains surrounding Ljubljana. Some of these are even visible at the end of main thoroughfares through the city. It was so strange we never noticed until our third day here how close the mountains were. Coming from a country with limited supply of mountains I always marvel at their sight and couldn't help but stare at every opportunity. Ljubljana is a beautiful city in a small and beautiful country. You don't hear much about Slovenians emigrating to the UK. You can plainly see why.

Ljubljana might not quite be Copenhagen where every corner would be stacked high with bikes but certainly bicycles are everywhere and there was an abundance of cycle lanes. It seems strange that such a mountainous country should enjoy cycling but I suppose it's the hills that attract the fanatics and, in any case, Ljubljana itself is quite flat. At Ljubljana castle yesterday during the short history animation we were told that the oldest wheel in the world was found buried in this city at about 5,000 years old and we were reminded again during the cycling championship opening ceremony. There's no mistaking this is a nation of cyclists.

We woke early and got down as soon as the breakfast room opened. We had an airport shuttle booked so all we had to do was pack the last of our things and wait. The Stari Tisler was our only hotel and certainly had character being a converted old coach house with many original features. It didn't offer some of the luxury of our apartments but we appreciated finally getting some breakfast each morning even if it wasn't one of the richest compared to previous trips. Naples still goes on record as our best ever hotel breakfast.

I'm not aware there was actually a festival in Ljubljana but certainly we were lucky enough to be treated to a festival atmosphere. These were just a selection of the musical performances including classical, folk, jazz, 70s tribute and Turkish music alongside numerous street dancers and performers. Wherever we turned there was another performance of singing or dancing. At times you could hear three different musical sounds from one spot. And no festival would be complete without food and so we settled on some more street food, although unfortunately we probably didn't choose the best one and only on our walk back to the hotel did we come upon a street full of better food choices. Back at the hotel I packed our bags and collapsed on the bed. Our trip was complete.

Ljubljana is pretty enough during the day but at night the spectacle continues. In fact this bridge, with three crossings side by side, is obscured by tourists during the day, so much so you don't really appreciate the architecture. Only at night with it lit up, and the reflection below revealing at least two of the bridges, do you get to see it in more glory. The whole river was lit up with cafés and street stalls and of course bustling with tourists, and, we now discovered, street performers.

Back in the old town we stumbled across the opening ceremony, in English, for some World Cycling Championship. The speaker proudly claimed Slovenia as one of the cycling capitals of the world and until now, although I'd read cycling was big here and we had seen many cyclists, I hadn't quite realised just how crazy Slovenians are about cycling. It was a small ceremony and we didn't stay so long but we hung around enough to see all the nations in line, I assume, with representatives and perhaps not the actual racers. It was an unusual thing to suddenly stumble across but it was the shape of things to come for our last evening. Ljubljana had suddenly come alive as the sun set. It made quite a stark contrast from the first night we arrived in a deserted Ljubljana with rain and a drunk falling over in the main square.

The main street of the old town that I mentioned winds around the castle was suddenly blocked by preparations for an outdoor concert with police guarding a cordon, so we had to take a detour to the river to pass around it. Many others were forced to do the same and so we all found ourselves walking over a building site with men shoveling dirt across our feet as we walked past, some with buggies dragged over the earth. I suppose we should have been grateful they didn't close this as well and force us to walk even further back to escape the old town. We had decided to pop back to our hotel to drop of some of our gear and enjoy the final evening unencumbered by our usual bags and cameras.

We took a break from pacing the cobbles and rested our weary feet in a tea house where we had cake. I ordered a beer and Katarina had a hot chocolate that was actually a thick dessert and just too much to complete. The waiter pointed out the free WiFi so we took our time catching up on social media stuff. It's difficult to know where to stop here with so many choices but the interior was beautiful and it was a simple menu that didn't bombard us with long lists of expensive meals. We've hardly eaten a healthy diet this past 10 days but I'm hoping the exercise will make up for it.

It's impossible to capture the old town with a single image but this is a largely random selection and I know I've missed some better ones but couldn't find them. The main part of the old town winds around Ljubljana castle with a series of bridges that then extend outward as spokes. The area, as you would expect is awash with tourists and cafés. Having seen so many old towns you'd think we'd seen them all but each one has its own take and unique character. You can see here bits of other old towns but we've never seen one quite laid out like this, circling a castle. Like the Baltic states, Slovenia is a tiny country with only 2 million people and Ljubljana only 280,000. Our last stop in Ljubljana castle was a short film showing the history of the country. It's always fascinating how different a small country sees itself especially given that a small country will have spent most of its history under the thumb of the foreigner. Slovenia, and Ljubljana, is no di...

The stairs up to the tower were very unusual. The spine supported two spirals, one for going up and one down. So as people were coming down as we were going up you expect them to meet you but instead they're on a sort of parallel path and you never meet. Confusing but impressive. I could do with this at home. However despite the convenience of two stair spirals the tower itself wasn't busy so we had a view to ourselves.

Ljubljana castle overlooks the city from a hill at its centre across an otherwise quite flat landscape until you hit the mountains. The castle itself serves no administrative function and for a hundred years has been pretty much a cultural institute since it was bought for the city by a rich Slovenian after being owned by countless empires over the years, including the Czechs. So the space inside is very much designed as a visual exhibit displaying the history of Ljubljana as well as numerous conference rooms and performance spaces. The tallest tower offers a fantastic 360 degree open view of the countryside and given how small this country is I suspect you can see a good chunk of it from here.

Our holidays are never complete until we ride at least one funicular. As soon as we hit the old town I wanted to do Ljubljana castle first thing so we can just wander the streets afterwards. It was a very short wait and the ride is only about 90 seconds but it's the first time we saw the countryside immediately surrounding Ljubljana. We'd spent two days travelling out of the city and returning in the dark so hadn't yet had the chance to see what was around. It was a bit of a shock as we rose with the funicular and suddenly the mountains were revealed. It's almost as if we didn't need to leave the city at all. We could see mountains just by sitting in a cafe in the capital.

With it being midday already, and we had stumbled across a market, we settled on a stall selling fried fish. The smell to me was wonderful but for Katarina it was more a case of persevering. I ordered mackerel and Katarina had some fried vegetables, declining all the fish on offer. Unfortunately the only place to sit was a spot that a pigeon had walked and shat a few minutes earlier. Fortunately it meant the table was free but I had to cover it with tissues. I loved munching my fish whole, including the tails at times, which clearly you are supposed to do here. We also found a fruit and veg stall where a helpful lady who spoke no English sold us some excellent plums which were sweet and fleshy. We washed them under a tap nearby.

We dragged ourselves away from the shops by which time it was already midday and we'd only just completed the 10 minute walk from our hotel to the old town. Ljubljana has numerous bridges across the river, each a tourist attraction in their own right. This was the Dragon Bridge with a large dragon statue at each corner. For us it marked the start of Ljubljana's old town. I'd found a suggested walk in the only guidebook I'd brought for the whole trip, although I found it quite hard to get a decent pocket sized book to cover these countries so settled on photocopies from larger books which I sorted into days.

With a day planned locally in Ljubljana we finally got to have a little lie in, which translates to about 8.30am. We took our time and then walked slowly into the old centre, which is only about 10 minutes away. However we found ourselves distracted by a road of clothes and book shops, taking it in turn to browse around. I like to buy poetry in each country I've been, in the native language and found two booksellers with great enthusiasm about Slovenian poetry. So much so that I ended up buying two books, one of which was beautiful but quite expensive. I felt I had to reward their helpful advice. We later discovered that Ljubljana has book shops everywhere and in far greater frequently than London. I spoke to one owner who said that Ljubljana is a bit behind the Internet boom in bookselling but they still fear it is coming.

The island at the centre of the lake is probably the most photographed place in this country and you can see why. It changes as you walk the circumference of the lake and so never bores, although perhaps it was a little boring for Katarina and maybe the walk is more suited to the slightly older generation, not that the lake wasn't filled with plenty of young holidaymakers. Eventually we completed the walk and collapsed at a pizzeria where we had enormous pizzas that, unusual for me, I couldn't finish. Waiting for bus with a group of young English and Irish tourists we were approached by dodgy taxi drivers touting cheap drives back to Ljubljana. The Irish guys went for it but we held on with two young English women despite the persistence of one driver. Eventually on the bus we were treated to an equally unusual driver who wanted to entertain his passengers with jokes as he drove, knowing his bus was full of tourists. Back at the hotel neither of us could stay awake long.

We waited 20 minutes for a bus to Lake Bled alongside the group of German tourists and their tiny dogs in shoulder baskets. At Lake Bled th sun had by now dropped a little and was directly in our face for they shots of the lake so we walked a little of the way round to get a better view. We were planning to get a bus back to Ljubljana in time for the sunset there but as we walked around Katarina was up to complete the whole route. It's a popular walk for tourists and fitness freaks who went round on bikes, roller blades, mopeds and whatever they could find with wheels. But as we worked out way round and th sun shifted further and further behind us the views of the lake got better and better. However it was probably a slight stretch too far and we could have stopped about halfway. There was a small tourist train going round but at 8 euros it seemed a little steep so we persevered even though both of us have probably walked a few marathons these past few days.

There are two big lakes in this region. The other is Lake Bled that we'll get too shortly but by the cable car is Lake Bohinj, less romantic but no less dramatic. The cable car station can be seen down below in the left corner. We joined the queue for the car down alongside a family of about 20 Israelis. With the clouds now clear on this side I got as many shots as possible before the car started its journey down. It travels a lot faster then you would expect and very quickly we were near the bottom.

We've taken enough selfies on this trip thanks to our phones, as all do, having backward facing cameras. This dramatic view, which is hardly different to the rest, becomes a selfie by virtue of the little shadow at the bottom, our gondola hanging precariously above the rocks below. At least it's evidence the sun had its hat on today.

Well not all the sights were miles in the distance and a couple were distinctly closer to home. Katarina has done well especially these last few days of constant walking. It's the first trip she's not complained about sore feet although exhaustion has taken its toll with a headache on a few occasions. As for me my feet are you little sore but not too bad. But I think we'll both be relieved to eventually put our our feet up at home.

We returned to the chair lift for our return journey to the cable car. Having caught a load of images on the first journey we were a little less snap-happy but cameras were hardly absent. In this photo you get an idea of how much the peaks are obscured by clouds. To go the left you can see one mountain peak poking through the cloud. Fortunately we did get some clear mountains but the clouds continued to come and go, shaving off the top of the mountain range. I have read however that cloud and rain are hardly uncommon features of Slovenia. But saying that we haven't really had much rain, or at least it hasn't come at the worst moments. Not like our British trip to few years back!

Some of the slopes here disappear from view very quickly and it's difficult to know if you're approaching a cliff or a path around the nearest peak. With such loose ground underfoot I was little worried we'd just slip over the edge. Fortunately none were cliffs and I'd hope they wouldn't let you find out for yourself. I have no idea if Mount Triglav is visible here as either there were no sign posts or we missed them. Triglav, after which this national park is named, is the national symbol of Slovenia and their highest peak, present on their flag. I've read it is custom for every Slovenian to ascend Triglav at least once in their life. I don't know how many actually do. It's amazing to think though that this is part of the greater Alps mountain range that extends all across Italy, Austria, Switzerland and others. Slovenia, in so many ways, seems closer to the Europe we know than the Balkan countries further south. Is Slovenia even part of the Balkans? Ap...

The clouds finally cleared, in parts anyway, and enough to reveal a few peaks for us to capture a more snaps of the dramatic scenery. The colour came out in the mountains and it was as though someone had simply turned up the saturation dial as the sun lit up the to rocks and vegetation. Interestingly the shrubs here seem happy at high altitudes. I remember at Ben Nevis it became barren after about 1000m. I assume here it's just a little warmer. It was about 10 degrees but in the sun it felt very comfortable. We'd brought warm tops but didn't need them too much. Since I'm comparing to the UK I feel compelled to mention Mount Snowdon. Here the peak we are on looks down about 600m on the level below. While Snowdonia didn't have as many dramatic peaks you did get stunning views that swoop down 1,200 metres. I'm not diminishing the stunning views here but it's nice to think our diminutive mountain ranges can still offer something in competition. But back to Trigl...

Off the chair lift our first mini trek was up the small hill just to the left of Katarina's head in this photo. There's a mileage marker pointing to various European cities, but not London, and a bell that each visitor rings - we didn't. Unfortunately the clouds were still present chopping off the mountain peaks but we could see some clearer skies on the way so we sat and waited at another small hill next to these stone cairns left by other hikers. We had a go but it seemed like too much trouble to find the right ones. There are many other peaks around with paths but we didn't have the energy and, in any case, we needed to leave time to make the bus ride to Lake Bled, the stop on the day's itinerary.

Given the crazy pace of our holiday and our insistence to digitally capture everything even from the chair lift, we couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the complete serenity of the journey. The only sounds were cow bells and sheep baaing (is that a word?) below. We were tempted to take a few more trips on the chair lift just to feel it again. But we would do so on the way back as the lift deposited us on the neighbouring peak. We prepared ourselves to exit and ran from the seat only then realising the chair pauses briefly to let you off.

This futuristic building is the base station of the chair lift. Our ascent didn't just end with a cable car. Actually the other end of this chair lift isn't any higher but it does take you from one mountain peak to another although the more energetic or less tired at happy to walk it. We paid the €3 between us and stood in position waiting for the chair to come scoop us up.

We paused at the top cable car station to have some lunch, ordering two hamburgers the size of hub caps. Katarina realises she's had three hamburgers in the row for the last three meals. But we've only managed one proper meal each day these last few days with us moving so much and takeaways end up being the most reliable option. The top of the cable car is not just a platform for people to view the scenery around but simply the starting point of miles of trekking ground across the Julian Alps. For miles in every direction you are free to wander and many people do with their walking poles and even huskies so eager to go their owners have to hold them back. Unfortunately our views were still plagues by clouds and all the mountain tops were obscured by a narrow layer of cloud like someone had gone round with a white highlighter and drawn across the sky.

It's been a successful but exhausting day so will catch up with the blog tomorrow.

Unfortunately on arrival at the top at 1,750 metres we were met with a view completely obscured by clouds. This was thanks to our early start and my plan to do the cable car first. The morning clouds hadn't yet cleared. However the fresh air and a small peak through the clouds gave us an idea of what to expect once the clouds had cleared.

It was a 5 minute walk to the foot of the cable car where we joined a crowd which quickly gathered, as usual, to get the best spot. We were competing with a group of Russian Putin lookalikes. On board we secured a spot with a view of two directions and got out our photographic and videographic gear. It was the usual over-the-top moments when you want to capture everything twenty times over. I was videoing while also photographing. All the while I was trying to look out the windows myself too. I didn't want to experience the whole thing through the small Ltd screen. Below is the Lake Bohinj quickly shrunk in the distance as we rose at a very rapid pace.

This time we were fully prepared mentally for the slow bus journey and it made everything much easier. Today's route however goes into far higher ground with dramatic mountain scenery in all directions. Although Lake Bled is our last planned stop today we pass it first because we plan to come back on ourselves. From the bus it looks every bit yes good as they say. We stay on the bus which fortunately takes us all the way to the cable car. Today our transport worked.

After a late return yesterday I was up early to have time this morning to make it to the mountains and lakes for our penultimate day in Ljubljana and indeed on holiday. Surprisingly given how hard it was for Katarina yesterday she didn't have too much trouble getting up. However breakfast was quick and after the little advice from the hotel on times, which just confirmed information I had anyway, we somehow made it out very quickly and 5 minutes from brushing our teeth we were in the queue for the 9am bus. Today we plan to travel to Trglav National Park, go up a cable car and then move on to Lake Bled, which everyone mentioned whenever we told them we're going to Ljubljana.

We completed the 5km Forest walk in decent time as it was level the whole way, unlike most of Slovenia where mountains dominate everything. Back in Divaca we stocked up on a load of groceries from a small supermarket we saw on route and waited for our bus alongside a group of young English interrailers on their own way across Europe. The bus journey back was slow but this time it was expected. It was now bucketing down rain so we were glad the hotel was just 5 minutes away and we were soon in bed. What a day. Twelve hours for a visit to some caves about 60km away. It's times like these a car would be handy, although then we would have missed that last view of the town above the canyon.

Waking back to the bus stop we were treated to one of the best views of they day and possibly one of the greatest views I've ever seen. Forgive me for another huge picture. At the top is the town of Skocjan and below is the river bursting our from the eave deep below. Does it get much better than this? It's times like this when views are so akin to Hollywood that it looks more like a set than real life. You can only photograph it and hope you can relive it later. Slovenia certainly has some stunning scenery.

This is a large photo so bear with it as it downloads. A wide panorama is the only way of capturing what we could see and how well these walkways and bridges are designed. We continued for a long while yet before reaching the end of the views. Sadly the best views of the waters below just don't come out well on photos as it's the whole noise and atmosphere that create the image. In a single photo the river looks small and quiet. Outside the tour path we made the very long walk back to the tourist centre by which time we were again exhausted. After a 10 minute rest we discovered there were no more buses back to the village we got the bus to so would have to walk back. It sounds unreasonable but the buses here are about every 2 hours anyway and many people walk it. They have a signposted route covering the 5km trek through the forest to Divaca, where we arrived by bus.

After taking the lift down and being treated with a little more kindness by a couple of other guides we got back some energy and even Katarina who was exhausted and still suffering a headache suddenly had a spring in her step. We got our cameras out for some more great views.

But it all went pear shaped when we looked for the tourist party in the second extended part of the tour. We kept ascending more and more stairs and now with the heat of outside we were very hot and sweating buckets and Katarina had developed a strong headache. We persevered and made our way to the top only to be told we had gone too far and had missed the second tour. I let my frustration be known while Katarina collapsed in a seat somewhere. Eventually the guides called down and told as they were still open and we could take a lift down to continue the tour. It was a shame it took my complaint to get them to act.

It's difficult to capture the fill view here of the canyon as it continues out of the cave. The views are almost as spectacular but magic in their own way. The crashing river below is loud as it was inside the cavern. The walkways continue outside along the canyon walls taking you around an over the rapids below for more and more breathtaking views. Like the walls of Dubrovnik or the Cetina Gorge in Croatia we were getting camera fatigue.

I had to cheat and get a photo from the web. This gives a good indication of what we saw. There's one of the bridges to the left and 50m below is the fast flowing river and canon. And this is all onside a vast cave up to 150 tall. To the right you can see the walkway with lighting, which is exaggerated here in a slow exposure but is more subtle in reality.

The entrance we started at was artificial and the point we exited was the natural entrance. This photo gives a slight glimpse of what we saw. To the right is the walkway pinned to the cave wall, which we followed for two kilometers, together with bridges, and on the left is the exit. We had bought tickets for a second extended tour so we followed the trail outside for more great views of the gorge, this time on daylight an photography was allowed.

We bought our tickets and now we were dumped in the middle of nowhere we had no choice but to pay the overpriced takeaway food. Fortunately it was good nosh so couldn't really complain. Our tour began at 3pm when a very large group of tourists was joined by two guides, who between them spoke Slovenian, English and Italian. We were in the English group, which went first. We were led inside through a metal door and immediately the temperature dropped and humidity rose. Very shortly we were in amongst the stalagmites and stalactites but we were told three times that photography was prohibited by law. And that was as a shame because it's very difficult to explain just how beautiful and vast this case system was. The first cave, the silent cave, was filled with enormous stalagmites and stalactites up to 30 metres high and over 500,000 years in the making. The colours, all kept as natural as possible with very subtle lighting, unlike the tourist cave, which looked like Disney in th p...

When the bus to the caves did eventually arrive, on time, it was barely an oversized van and it was only us and one other who go on. It was a free bus provided by the caves, which I suppose is generous, but given it would be 3.5 hours after leaving Ljubljana, I wasn't feeling so grateful. That was to cover not much more then 60km. However I did notice on the map that we were now only 5km from the Italian border. Every 4 years since 2002 we've holidayed in Italy, but didn't do so this year. This will have to do. If we'd had more time I'd be tempted to take a bus across and back.

We eventually arrived at our destination, Divaca, at 12.20pm, which was the closest public transport gets to the caves. There is also a station here, another stop on a famous train line. The caves were 5km away and an option was to walk but we looked at the tourist timetable and the next bus was due at 1pm. It was an annoying wait so I enquiried in the train station. Unfortunately, it was empty despite an office present with all the lights on. I then saw another timetable that said that bus was due at 2pm. We waited until 1.05pm when I asked at a bar nearby. They confirmed it was 2pm and I couldn't believe it. I asked if they had food as we were getting hungry but they had only drink. We asked if there was a taxi service but none was here. So, we tried to walk it. But by now the clouds in the morning had cleared and I hadn't brought a hat. We had to wait for the bus. In total it would be 1 hour 40 minutes from our arrival. I was furious.

All the houses and forests are very reminiscent of the Czech Republic. Together with they language and some people the whole place seems so familiar, even more so than Croatia was. We certainly got to see many local villages as we meandered our way to our destination at an average of 40kph.

I'd looked this bus up online and it looked like the only one available. I still think that's the case but unfortunately we're visiting the non-tourist cave, Skocian. Another cave, a little closer to Ljubljana, has better and fast connections. This one has only the local bus. The distance is about 60km and there is a motorway, but every 10km the bus took a detour of 15 minutes to visit local towns on route. It meant to journey was 1 hour 40 minutes. I knew the from the timetable bus thought it was because the caves were far away. In fact Ljubljana is a very small country, half the size of Wales, but everything is far because of mountains and slow connections. At least we were treated to a old locomotive at each stop. I think an important railway was built through here connecting to Trieste.

Our first hotel breakfast and it was the usual continental buffet. Although not as large as some and lacked my favourite bacon and scrambled eggs, it was sufficient and we were certainly satisfied with the pastries and fruit. Then, checking the timetable I'd prepared I could see the next bus to the caves we planned to see today would leave at 10.40am and it was already 10am while we were eating breakfast. Somehow we managed to eat, pack for the day, run to the bus station, buy tickets (after enquiring at three buildings, two of which sell bus tickets to different companies) and find our bus. It was quite a feat for us and we did it with 5 minutes to spare. It's overcast today so I decided we might as well go underground and leave the outdoor activities for what's forecast to be clear skies.

This is the sight I woke to. Did we really carry all that? I slept well and only woke to turn on the air conditioning in the middle of the night. Ljubljana is now a lot colder than we've had so far so we had it off when we went to bed. It's about 8 degrees colder and, unfortunately, wetter. Today is forecast rain and then sun for two days so we need to plan carefully. One small inconvenience while moving around so much is the shower. They are never the same and you have to learn how to use them properly. This one is a decent shower but the shower gel was empty and there was a shortage of shower rails and the water temperature wasn't as constant as it could be. But it's all tastefully decorated in the bathroom. In the bedroom it isn't so much, with quite horrid textured plasterwork. But I'm being very picky and we haven't gone down for breakfast yet. It's embarrassing what becomes important when you're travelling, but your place of stay is half your w...

The wifi at this hotel is pretty poor so some of these posts may not arrive in chronological order. It's ironic that the first hotel has the worse connection although that has been our experience in other countries too. Hotels generally have poor wifi. Fortunately however this is the first country on this trip where my phone has a roaming Internet connection which might mean I don't need to write all these posts in the evening.

We finally made it to the hotel at 9.20pm as it was only a shirt walk from the station. I'd chosen it carefully. They were very welcoming and spoke perfect English. They were quick to point out that we'll find Ljubljana a very different country to Croatia. We were taken to our rooms where we emptied our luggage and seemed to make a mess almost immediately. The room was decent but certainly not up to our place in Split or Dubrovnik. Perhaps a better star rating than Mostar but not as cool. But this is a hotel, our first on this trip, so we're due a proper breakfast. Fingers crossed.