Ancient Water, Venetian Water

On our way to Italy today, we visited Postojnska Jama (Postojna Cave), the world’s third largest cave behind Carlsbad and Mammoth in the states. Pictures were unfortunately not allowed inside, but it was as awesome as Blanchard Springs in Arkansas. 

Did you know that caves are, as this had been, safe places to be during an earthquake because they are hollow? Slovenia has 21,000 known caves with 300 new ones discovered each year. This is earthquake and natural hot springs country. Some of the stalactites and stalagmites we saw take 10-30 years to grow one millimeter, other formations like the limestone curtain shapes take 100 years to grow a millimeter. It was amazing to see rock that predates Christ. We headed into Italy, entering first through Trieste ending in Venice. Arriving the evening of June 18^th, we also spent the 19^th and 20^th of June in the city directly with a transition to Tessera for the night of the 20^th. 

Perhaps because it is June, Venice’s beauty is all the more tragic. People go to see it but there are so many people there taking it in, that it’s far beyond its human capacity in the touristy areas of the city. While car free, the boats and smell of diesel, noise and canal stench takes away from the experience. I’m not sure the future of this place unless somehow it is treated more like something precious and a larger entity intervenes. Our hotel, while optimally located suffered from mold and inability to properly handle the mid 80s humidity. I wish our stay had been much shorter. 

Venice didn’t disappoint me with its artsy and traditional food creations. I now have a third Venetian mask for my collection.

The Naval history museum which is partially translated and even has a Swedish section is time well spent. The museum has a very impressive collection of armaments from wars and model boats. The oldest pieces on hand are 17^th century vessels and a lovely room devoted to the evolution of the modern gondola.

Eine Kleine BoatMusik in Croatia's Mini-Europe

Spoken English as I know it is leaving me. After several days with Martin, our Slovenian accented guide along with other local guides such as Ljubisa in Belgrade, I have to stop myself from saying over lunch to Dave, “Is nice, yes?” I am sponging up the accents of the natives, despite the other Americans on the tour. It's a relief. Maybe I'm getting more cultured in the process as well?

Our day included a walking tour of Dubrovnik, a city with a history of buying its freedom from the Turks. 4 ½ centuries old, Dubrovnik is Europe’s best preserved city some claim. But it is overrun with tourists and like Venice, few actually live there. The lands surrounding the drive into town rise steeply up out of the water and definitely compare with equal beauty to Norwegian fjords and California’s Big Sur. The Adriatic Highway is Eastern Europe’s version of U.S. Highway 1.

It’s little known fact that Dubrovnik is also sinking. The city has a closed sewage system that is still in use and dates back to the 14^th century. It has a sloped design so it is higher in the middle and drains down on the sides. The city also has the oldest pharmacy (still in operation) in Europe . Many ancient beauty of the city is the result of the Venetians. Our guide Antea admitted to being a trained economist (tourism has become everyone's industry here) who said, “I spent five years studying how capitalism cannot work. I’d prefer to be a good guide rather than a bad economist.”

Of all we learned, what I found most interesting is that those entering the city used to be quarantined for 40 days before being allowed to enter (during plague times). Anyone incubating the plague would show symptoms within those 40 days. As a result, a black market of people buying their way in sooner than the quarantine time allowed evolved. [cough, cough]. Our last day in Dubrovnik we walked the city walls, getting great views of the Adriatic.
 

As for the animals there, sunset into the early evening is a time when river swallows fly back and forth around the city like Star Wars tie fighters and X-wings. Instead of the rush of space sounds dubbed in by Skywalker sound, they cackle their joy and fly in groups that peel out in patterns. I’m not sure if they’re recreating or actually catching bugs up above the city walls.

Animals here roam the city, are thin and have medical needs that appear to not be getting met. Kittens are (a mother cat plays with her kitten here outside our hotel) common and dogs are not neutered.

In the evening, we caught a Mozart performance aboard the Tirena- which went out into the harbor, killed the engines and filled the night with sound. Touristy, but lovely.