9/11-We also had a beautiful view from our 5th floor windows. Lots of bicycles here, but not as many as Copenhagen.

9/11-Our new digs in Stockholm had an antique elevator that worked flawlessly (unless someone forgot to close the cage door after they used it).

9/11-Today we took the high speed train to Stockholm. It was very fast, except for the one hour delay when a bridge had to be repaired.

9/10- After the museum we decided to go on a troll hunt. Dambo had built two trolls near each other, Happy Anders to attract attention away from Moonmer, the mother of all trolls, who was obviously pregnant. To find them, we followed the bird houses, which we knew from his Seattle installations.

9/10-We took a train to Roskilde to see a Viking Ship museum. it was fantastic! They explained in detail how they found the sunken ships, how they salvaged them and pieced them together. Our tour guide is a marine archaeologist student. Her enthusiasm made up for her English deficits.

9/9-After the tour we found art in a park featuring giant ticks and the family law courthouse. The Tour de France started in Copenhagen in 2022. And we saw a giant thermometer. It doesn’t go higher than 30 Celsius And the girl on a bike is replaced by a girl with an umbrella when it rains.

9/9-We joined a food tour of Copenhagen for the day. Starting at another food market, we sampled cheese. Then to a bakery for cardamom cinnamon buns. We ate Smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches made with EVERYTHING!), beer, hot dogs, more beer, and chocolates. I highly recommend it!

9/8-Our final stop of the day was at the food market in Refshaleøen. This amazing place started with a pea patch garden specializing in mushrooms.🍄 We learned that a new favorite beer in Copenhagen is Yakima IPA. They thought it was Japanese. (Yah-KEE-muh)

9/8-We walked along the lake filled with Christiania homes until we reached the Amagar Baake. This amazing structure houses an energy production plant that uses garbage for fuel.. It also is home to a rock climbing wall and a ski hill “Copenhill”. From the top you can see a cable water skiing park.

9/8-Christiania has only recently made peace with having a police presence due to an increase in drug/gang activity. Otherwise it is a haven for funky art and unique architecture.

9/9-Today we took off to explore Christiania, an old hippie area in the heart of the city. You can instantly feel a different vibe when you walk the streets. The signs are everywhere! Be sure to look closely at all four signs on that black building.

9/8-Today it was dozens of children passing by our apartment in the morning. The Norrebro neighborhood where we are is full of young people who are having children. I wish we could figure out a way to make that easier in the US.

9/7-We only had one hitch when the guy in the bearskin hat told us we couldn’t park our bikes near the King’s residence. We moved on and saw two little mermaid statues, Kierkegaard, and a dog.

9/7-We got back to the city in time for our bike tour of Copenhagen. This was a great way to see the sights and get oriented. Maya, our guide, is an architecture student from Germany. 🇩🇪 She had a lovely, understated sense of humor that gave good information and kept us entertained.

9/7-The Monday morning commute was well underway as we ate breakfast. We decided to go to Køge to see an exhibit about Thomas Dambo, the troll builder. We traveled a long way only to find the museum is closed on Mondays. An evil clown greeted us at the train station.

9/6-And we arrived in the much cooler climate of Copenhagen (yay!). We purchased a transit pass so we could get to our apartment. We passed a huge market where the goods seemed to be used clothing before we found our new digs. A nearby cemetery made me wonder what happened to the wife.

9/6-We had a 6:15 flight, so woke up at 3am, walked down all those stairs, and caught a Uber to the airport. While the Split airport was decorated in seagulls, the Dubrovnik airport had jellyfish floating around. Too bad their lights were turned off. You have to look closely to see them.

9/5-our last night in Dubrovnik we ate at the Taj Mahal because our neighbors, Michael and Connie, recommended it. I had a lamb pie and Paul had a different kind of “pigs in blanket” concept. Very good. And so we say “Zivjeli” (JEE-vyee-lee) to Croatia 🇭🇷 and head to Denmark 🇩🇰.

9/5-There was a water polo tournament going on, but all I saw was this behind-the scenes beauty. The swallows when the church bell rings. Girls negotiating the stairs. Paul pulling in the clothes we hung out the window to dry. Don’t forget to swipe left to see all the photos.

9/5-Also at the top was a museum about the Balkan war of 1991 to 1995. It was sobering to see a picture of the luxury hotel where we stayed in flames; the dock where we had dinner the night before being bombed, and a map showing (with black dots) the 3,000 sites in the city bombed just 30 years ago.

9/5-The cable car took us up to a fantastic view of the walled city, Bosnia 🇧🇦-Herzogovenia, and Montenegro.🇲🇪

9/5-Today was all about climbing stairs. We decided we wanted to minimize stair-climbing because it was so hot. Instead of walking the wall, we took the cable car to the Spanish fort at the top of the mountain behind Dubrovnik. Poor choice, as we climbed way more stairs! Paul was soaked in sweat!

9/4- after saying goodbye to everyone, we packed up our bike gear and mailed it home via UPS. It cost $220 US! But worth every penny when we had to haul our bags to almost the highest point in the city to our accommodation that night. Whew! A lovely calico cat was waiting for us in the courtyard.

9/4-fun fact: they did have trouble shooting Cerce’s walk of shame scenes when the local people serving as extras kept taking off their clothes. I don’t blame them. It’s really hot in there….

9/4- more tour photos. The walled city, walking a tower staircase. The streets of Dubrovnik. Learning about coral jewelry. The pillar of shame, where they really do place people who had done bad things before they made them ride backwards on a donkey to their deaths.

9/4-First we had yet another breakfast for the record books. What do they do with all that food? Then Ivan gave us a tour of the walled city. Then we said goodbye to our Backroads friends.

9/3- tonight we had our farewell dinner in the walled city of Dubrovnik. This is an amazing place that cannot be described. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, it’s where they filmed King’s Landing scenes. Cerce’s “walk of shame” road is the Main Street. You feel as if you are in the year 320 AD.

9/3- more pics. Don’t forget to swipe left to see all the photos.

9/3-Paul’s birthday started with the balloon-festooned bicycle, which he carried proudly all day. He also got a day without a climb, just beautiful rolling hills along the coastline of Korcula. Then we boarded a water taxi and a bus for the ride to Dubrovnik.

9/2- we had another big hill to tackle and it was hot. Rhe opted to catch a ride to the hotel instead of tackling the climb, but Paul caught a ride to the top of the climb and finally became the first rider back to our accommodation on an acoustic bike!

9/2-Today we are off to Korcula, again on a private boat. Mia gave us a Croatian history lesson and taught us some Croatian words. On Korcula we had another lovely ride with unbelievable views. Don’t forget to swipe left to see all the photos.

9/1-lunch at another small restaurant with the most wonderful ice cream dessert that was beyond creamy, then most of us abandoned the ride to avoid that gigantic hill (even those on e-bikes! Back to the hotel where we enjoyed another excellent meal, the view, and some Hennessy from the hotel staff.

9/1-Mia told us this would be the most beautiful ride. And it was gorgeous after we got past the city dump.

9/1-ride two on Hvar. After a wonderful breakfast on the terrace with a chia seed pudding, Ruben gave a “route rap” outlining our day’s ride. The giant hill (represented by the left side of the black bag) he thought would be great to go down, but cautioned us against trying to ride back up….

8/31- We had a traditional dinner made with meat and gravy cooked in a lidded skillet that was placed in the coals for hours. Local wines and olives and seafood rounded out an excellent meal.

8/31-That evening we went into the countryside for a dinner. We heard stories about survival on Hvar. The grapes got the European fungus and the vineyards died. So then they grew lavender until a man roasting his dinner started a fire that burned all the lavender. The car was a plus.

8/31-We stopped for coffee, then started a climb. The heat required another rescue for Rhe ( I love Backroads support!) and at the top of the climb they were preparing for a bocce tournament of dozens of teams throughout the islands. Hannah and Mia had a special treat for us of local cheeses.

8/31-After the boat ride, we headed across the island on our bicycles.

8/31-After breakfast we made our way down to the water and boarded a boat to Brac (pronounced like “scratch” with a”br”). We had a yacht to ourselves for the day. We got our “route rap” discussing the plan for the day onboard, then disembarked to start the ride.

8/31-Started out with a hearty breakfast at the hotel breakfast bar . This is no Best Western breakfast, I tell you. I could only capture a portion of it in the picture. And you had the option of ordering from a full menu if you couldn’t find anything to your liking….

8/30-that night we had beer and cider with amazing labels! And the view from the top of the Coronaro hotel was fabulous!

8/30-Today’s ride is through an agricultural area outside of Split-Our first chance to see rural Croatia. It was very hot and Rhe started having troubles. We called the leaders, MIA, Hanna, and Rueben, and soon Hanna showed up in the van To give her a ride back while Paul soldiered on to the end.

8/30-We all got on a bus and were taken to a rural area outside of town. We found out we are the only two in the entire group riding “acoustic” bikes. Everyone else in the group is on electrIc bikes. Our fearless leader, Rueben, had to wait for skydivers to touch down before he gave his spiel.

8/30- Our instructions are to be at the Hotel Coronaro at 8am dressed, fed and ready to ride bicycles. So we left the apartment for the last time. Reception told us it would cost 65 Euros each to eat there, so we walked across the street and got pastries for 9 Euros total. Graffiti is gone!

8/29- some scenes from walking around after dinner. We listened to more music, and noted that Split proudly displays its Olympic medalists with plaques on the promenade by the water.

8/29- For our last night on our own in Split, we ate on the rooftop of a restaurant named Art-a-coke ( pronounced “choke”). We had to promise to be out of there by 7:30 pm to get a seat. As we left, we looked back and saw them showing a movie on the adjacent wall.

8/29-feral cat houses

8/29 - it is hot here. Just look at Paul’s shirt. 90 degrees plus most days. After the hike, we ate at the Downtown Grill, which featured BBQ. Across the street was an interesting diner as well. I had Split’s signature dish, black risotto. The little boxes are cat houses for the tons of feral cats.

8/29 - Today we went for a hike in the Marjan Park. This is a huge park just west of Split. It used to be a volcano. It has all kinds of structures from all times in history. splitholiday.com/top-attra…

8/29 - Our apartment in Split is nice. You can see details at homes-and-villas.marriott.com/en/proper… The view from the balcony was spectacular. To find it in the maze of streets, we looked for the goofy face.

8/28 - We also saw some interesting signs along our tour, including one advertising an art exhibit. If you look closely behind the graffiti, you can see how a modern couple deals with a baby’s diaper.

8/28 - Our fearless leader’s name was unpronounceable by English speakers. She told us to call her “Irene.” She is a historian and knew all kinds of cool stories, particularly about how evil Emperor Diocletian was and how much filth accumulated in a 1700 year old castle without toilets.

8/28 - Inside Jupiter’s Temple we listened to some traditional Croatian songs. The roof of the temple was built with the top open, which actually kept the soldiers dry in the rotunda below. They almost didn’t let me out of the Palace at the end of the tour.

8/28 - so I was off by a day or two on my previous posts. The last posts took place on 8/27. Today (8/28) we had a tour of the Diocletian Palace, which makes up a large part of the touristy area of Split. It is where GOT Daenerys’ dragons got locked underground and she freed the Unsullied.

8/29 - and some talented buskers under a full moon.

8/28 - be sure to swipe left to see all the pictures I post. Here’s some night scenes from Split.

8/28 - We also enjoyed a walk to the beach, where we watched cliff divers, people swimming in the Adriatic Sea, local boats as opposed to gigantic yachts ( note the masthead on the blue boat), and a relative to our dog, Zuzu. Also learned a new name for ATM machines.

8/28 - we had fun yesterday and today exploring the city. So many windy little streets and passageways, and the unexpected.

8/28 - The palace in Split is where the scenes from Meereen City were filmed. In fact, they have Game of Thrones Tours and a GOT Museum! The next city we visit is Dubrovnik. That’s where the King’s Landing scenes were filmed. thirdeyetraveller.com/split-gam…

Let me back up a bit. Paul and I are on a 4-week vacation in Europe. The first part of the trip is in Croatia. On our own at first, but on Sunday we join a bicycle tour with Backroads, which will take us from Split to Dubrovnik through the islands on a luxury bicycling tour (?!?) lasting 6 days.

8/26 - we slept until 11 am, then explored the city of Split, Croatia, which has so much history that I can’t even attempt to address it here! The middle of town is a huge palace built by the Romans before Christ was born. More on this later.

We arrived in Split at midnight. 34 hours without sleep. Our driver from the airport told us his harrowing experience avoiding the wildfires that sprouted here two weeks ago. He saved the house where he was living by dousing it inside and out with water. But everything around it was destroyed.

That’s okay because the Amsterdam airport had lots of natural beauty to calm you down and pick you up.

Paul and I are in Croatia! It was an adventure getting here, as we missed our connecting flight in Paris (Jill, you told us to avoid the Charles-DeGaul airport!) even though we had over an hour to make it, and had to be re-routed through Amsterdam.