Trip to former Yugoslavia
In November 2019, I took a tour to some countries of former Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. There were few tourists due to the off-season on the Adriatic Coast. It rained almost every day. It rained heavily while we were moving by bus, but strangely enough, it stopped whenever we reached the destination. We visited many world heritage sites. There were 24 members in our tour. The tour attendant was older than me and looked experienced.
We flew from Tokyo and transferred in Poland. One member missed the connecting flight. We arrived in Venice and stayed at a hotel far away from the tourist area. I visited St Mark’s Square alone at night. When I set foot in the square, I felt a splash. It was partially covered with water. Venice was flooded the following day, which became world news.
On the second day, our bus headed east to Slovenia. The driver got lost and circled the same area even though he was following the GPS. We visited Lake Bled, which had a beautiful view of the Alps.
We also visited Postojna Cave. We went through the cave in a rail car. Whenever I tried to take pictures, a plump woman seated in front of me raised her arm, taking pictures with her 360-degree camera. All my pictures were ruined.
On the third day, we visited historic cities in Croatia: Sibenik and Split. Split used to be a huge palace of Diocletian, the Roman emperor who persecuted Christians. Ironically, his mausoleum was later turned into a cathedral. We stayed at a hotel in the suburbs of Trogir. I visited the old town at night and walked back. I sometimes had to walk through the darkness alone without any streetlights and it took 40 minutes.
On the fourth day, we visited Dubrovnik. On our way there, our bus swayed due to a windstorm. In my free time, I walked on the wall surrounding the city. I also went to the top of a nearby mountain that commanded a panoramic view of the city. I took a taxi because the cable car was suspended due to strong winds.
On the fifth day, we visited Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I spotted some buildings destroyed by the civil war. After leaving the city, our bus came to a dead-end due to construction. We stayed at a hotel in the middle of nowhere. There were stuffed bears in the lobby, which scared me into not going out.
On the sixth day, we visited Plitvice Lakes National Park. As we got there, the mist rolled in and blotted out everything. The mist gradually faded away and I found many autumn leaves igniting into red and yellow.
In the afternoon, we visited Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. We stayed at a luxurious hotel for the first time, but I didn’t have enough time to enjoy it because I was walking around outside until late. We flew back to Japan the following morning.
※この文章はアメリカ人の先生の添削を受けて修正済みです。
