June22,2013 Beautiful Prague

We arrived late in evening from Budapest and staying at Camping Sokol outside of Prague.After a day of rest we tackled Prague.At the camp they have a shuttle that takes you to the train and goes straight into Prague.Very easy.We wanted to do the castle and it's sights first and headed in that direction.We rode the tram all the way up to Strahov Monastery and looked around and then started are walk down to the Castle.They have a new and a old castle,but you can only tour the old one.As you enter Castle Square their are guards on either side of the gate going into the complex.While there I got to see the changing of the guards.Very nice.

You must buy a ticket if you want to go into some of the sights.We were able to get 2 senior tickets for 125k each and saw 4 sights.First we went to St. Vitus Cathedral and includes tombs of local saints and the first 3 Hapsberg kings.

The old palace wasn't that interesting put it was included in the ticket.Next was the Basilica of St. George.Nothing special quite simple inside.We proceeded to the Golden Lane.These tiny old buildings originally housed castle servants and goldsmiths.Today the buildings show how they lived in medieval times.Some of the places are now used for small shops.Kinda cute.

We walked down to the Charles Bridge and crossed over to the Old Town.

The Astonomical clock.We walked around old town and sat outside for dinner and enjoyed the evening.After dinner we headed home and said goodbye to Prague.Lovely city

June 19,2013 Budapest

Arrived in Budapest to Camp Arena.It is close to the bus which takes you to the metro and into Budapest.It is very hot here,around 95.We got off the Metro and immediately was approached for the Hop on Hop Off tour.We decided to use this to get us around to seee the sights and get us oriented.First we took the bus all the way around the circuit and then started to hop off.We went by Gellert Baths and thought we might go there the next day.

There are several diffferent baths houses to choose from including Szechenyi Baths,and Rudas Baths.Gellert is the high end and Szechenyi is where all locals go and a little different.Beneath castle hill is a secret military hospital and nuclear bunker known as the Hospital in the Rock built during the 20th century now open to the public.

We stopped by the Opera House and went inside to see about a tour but it wasn't until 3pm and it was morning so we passed for a tour.

 

The bus stopped by Heroes Square for 5 minutes so got off and took a couple of pictures.This square was built in 1896 to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars.

Another place on our stop was the Great Synagogue,and largest in the world after the Temple Emanu-El of New York.We went inside and I had to put a scarf around my shoulders and all men must wear hats.It has a Moorish decor and balconies all around the sides were where the women originally worshipped seperately than men.Outside in the memorial garden is a Tree of Life sculpture.The willow makes a upside down Menorah and the leaves have over 4,000 names etched with each Holocaust victim.

With our Hop on ticket we also got a Danube River cruise and it was so hot we decided to use it today.It was about a hour an a half trip up and down the river.It was nice to cool off from the breeze of the water.We past the Parliment building with it's elegant spires.You can take a tour but you need to get tickets ahead of time and it was to late for us.

Sam was enjoying a beer on our river cruise.We decided to call it a day and ate at a TGIFridays for dinner.Tasted like home.The next day I wanted to go up to Castle Hill and see the castle and Sam had lost his hop on ticket for the next day,so-------we decided we would met after lunch at the Szechenyi Baths and spend the afternoon there.This place was outside and it was filled with people trying to stay cool. The large swimming pool was not hot and the other pools were warmer but not as they should of been. We relaxed and enjoyed them throughly.We had done the baths in Baded-Baden last year and these in Budapest were no comparison.I did get up to castle hill and took photos but I can't seem to load them onto my computer.I'll try again.We left Budapest and was headed toward Prague but decided to stop in this town that had a camp.This was a mistake.Everyone in town was at this lake on a one way road parked on both sides.We got to this camp but it looked to be for just tenters on a hillside.We finally got turned around and ended taking a back road to Prague.Needless to say we got there at 930pm and we were tired and just hit the bed.Tomorrow a day of rest before we tackle Prague. 

June8-13 2013 Dubrovnik

We arrived at Camp Solitudo in Dubrovnik today the 8th under sunny skies.Can't say much for the campground,way overpriced and full of weeds.They also have a couple of hotels with a nice pool and beach area we can use.There are several cruise ships in every day so will try and go into town on Mon.Sunday we all went down to the pool and swam and laid out.Sunday evening I started feeling bad and  by Mon.really was feeling bad so my sister bought a 3 day pass for the wall and bus services and went by herself.The next day I was feeling better so all 3 of us went to town and wanted to walk around the wall.We didn't leave campsite until around 1pm waiting for the cruise ships to be leaving.The town was quite crowded when we got there but thinned out a little later.We started the walk around the city at 2pm and finished at 4pm.It just happened that today was a cooler day and going later in the day it wasn't as crowded.The 2 places in Croatia I liked best was Dubrovnik and Plitvice Ntl.Park.After climbing up and down steps on the wall I was pooped.We walked around Old Town a bit then headed back to camp.The next day I got up feeling bad again so didn't get into town.Kathie went byherself and rode the tram up the mountain. Beautiful views from above.She said she did a lot of climbing today so It wouldn't have been for me.We had to take my sister to the airport the next day at 5 am for her flight back home to sfo.We continued on and stopped at a camp along coast heading back towards Zadar.Beautiful spot and right on water.
I will try and give you some info on Dubrovnik and post photos as well.Although I didn't get to see that much I hope to come back another time on a cruise ship.
Dubrovnik is the Pearl of the Adriatic.In 1991 Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia.Within 2 weeks war broke out.They didn't expect it to hit Dubrovnik.The Serbs started bombing the town and it was finally surrrounded although a lot of the people didn't leave.After being bombed for 8 months the Croatian army liberated them.Most of Dubrovnik was destroyed although it has been completely rebuilt. You never would of known a war was raged not so long ago.Here's the city walls encircling the town from the 15th century.Do this walk on a cool day.

June 6,2013 Split Coratia

We arrived at Split and staying at a camp close to the bus.Sam didn't feel like going into town so Kathie and I took the bus into town.We arrived in the old town and we went to see the Diocletian's Palace first.This was built as a retirement home for the Roman Emperor Diocletian.The ruins of this palace are now intergrated into the city.There is a charge to see everything which really isn't worth it.There were the cellars which held up the foundation of the massive structure.We went into the Cathedral,crypt,and baptistery.The only worth seeing was the Church.We walked around the Old Town,market place and along the water.Split just didn't do anything for me.Kathie and I had a nice lunch at a waterfront cafe and then headed back to the campground.Split is a jumping off place for those wanting to take a ferry to other islands.

June 3,2013 Canp Sibnik

I forgot some important news from several days back.We left Pula and filled the tank so we could get to Plitvice National Park.After driving aways the RV started to pour out white smoke.We had to pull over and call a tow service.We knew that Sam had put gas instead of diesel in the tank.The tow service had to empty all the gas that we had just filled the tank with and then put a couple of liters of Diesel back in the tank.A very costly mistake.The diesel handles are black and gas is green.Anyway we got on our way and it has been smooth sailing since.Knock on wood.After leaving the national park we went to Sibnik to a campground called Solaris to chill out for a few days.This is a resort with hotels cabins,campground,mini golf and many more ammenities.A lot of the rv's are right on the beach and there is a long promenade that you can walk along for a long ways.

June 1 2013 Plitvice National Park

We arrived at Plitvice National park and staying just outside the park at Camp Koruna.The day we decided to go to the park was a Sunday and they were having a marathon so it was very crowded and and the upper lake was closed off.This is a Unesco site and it surpasses everything we have seen this far.If you ever get to Croatia this is a must see.There are 16 terraced lakes with waterfalls everywhere.You walk on slippery wood planks so you have to be careful when wet.They have small electric boats to get you to the upper lakes and lower lakes.There are many trails to hike up and down to see all the beauty of this park.The photos I'm posting will never show you how beautiful it really is.

May 30,2013 Pula

Our next stop on our journey is Pula.We stopped here to see the large roman amphitheater.The one in Pula is the 6th largest and supposedly one of the best preserved. After seeing the one in Rome it wasn't what we expected.We walked around the old town and saw the forum and cathedral.We didn't spend much time here and continued on to Plitvice National Park.