Well hello blogger land! Have just returned from a fantastic tour of Italy, Greece and Croatia....What a trip!
I wondered before embarking on this trip, has the internet, with its pictures and images and stories, taken the mystique out of travelling now? Has being able to click and see grandeurs like the paintings of Michelangelo, or Venice's canals, or the Vatican, taken from us our desire to see them in their natural states? I think it has a little....globalisation takes away the mysteries that travel once offered us but nothing can explain the feeling that comes over you when you are experiencing these sights "in the flesh". I was overwhelmed by the extravagance of the Vatican....the sheer enormity of the Colosseum and the Acropolis, the incredible beauty of Croatia and its laid back lifestyle (work starts at...ummm...say "around" nine....but coffee has to be had first....an espresso means "no time for a gossip" a bigger coffee means "hey...lets have a chat and think about going to work" hahahaha) Is it worth 28hrs flying to get to your starting point...OF COURSE IT IS!
28hrs flying! Its a battle....its cramped, its tiring, your feet and legs swell....your impatient to get to the country you want to get too....I found the best way to avoid the longest leg boredom (16hrs) was to watch as many up to date movies you want...DRINK THE FREE ALCOHOL and if all else fails..pop a valium LOL......
I had so many people (mostly Americans) say to me "Oh my you Australians have to travel so far to see anything"...umm hello?? What else are we supposed to do to get there? Until they develop the "beam me there Scotty" thing we don't have a choice do we LOL.
And lets talk a little about other travellers..... I found the Indian people were the most shovey and pushy people...always happy to push in at the front of the line you have just been standing in for 2 hrs.....that annoyed the hell out of me...but hey...we were on our way to Italy...everything was an adventure...who cared right? (footnote: by the end of the trip...this DID matter.... A LOT LOL) We met some really lovely American's and we met some really arrogant and conceited Americans.....I'm on the fence there, and of course we met some fellow Aussies on their journey's....you can always pick an Aussie accent and its like "Hey! Fellow Aussie!!" There are plenty of us out there checking out the world :)
Our first destination was the beautiful city of Venecia (Venice)...we (my cousin Karen and her work mate and now my mate too, Jolanta) were SUPER EXCITED to touch down (phew! I was a LITTLE worried about the plane having problems and plummeting to my death....I had that Allanis Morrisette song playing in my head...Isnt it ironic....) but WOOHOO we made it.....then had to line up with our passports for another hour before we got in there....but all good..we are still excited to be there...and looking forward to finding and checking out our hotel and discovering venice. We ended up agreeing, that with all our luggage, we would pay the extra for a water taxi and get there asap! This cost us about 70 euros ($90 au)
On the water taxi...eager beavers!
Our first glimpse of Venice....
Oh Venice....what a beautiful city....so romantic and historic! We were dropped off, supposedly near where our hotel was.....only we didn't know where that was...let me tell ya...travel light....we dragged 2 suitcases and bags over about 4 bridges and cobblestone paths...not an easy effort....will NOT do it again....one bag..that's it! But we eventually found our hotel and were wrapped it was so lovely and the people so friendly....These Europeans know how to look after guests...a free drink that night in the bar as a welcome, free wifi in the lobby and free hot breakfasts every morning! Lush!
So off we went adventuring.... Venice is so beautiful....it sort of reminded me of France...very provincial and even the street names....which are bricked in on the sides of the houses....I fell in love with Venice the first moment we stepped foot there....sigh.......
The next day we had organised our cruise with Royal Caribbean Cruises to Greece.....So off we went after a delicious breakfast of bacon (the best bacon I have possibly EVER eaten), eggs, croissants and hot chocolate.....Again we paid for a water taxi (!!) this one cost 80 Euro...they seem to charge what they want and let me tell ya its only 15 Euro to take the public ferry....we learnt the hard way haha) But it was cruise time and we were excited as buggery!
The cruise was amazing....we went to Bari Italy first and pre arranged our onshore activities (much better and easier way to organise your holiday....they pick you up and take your there and return you....an easy option when you don't know your way around and the guides are wonderful!!) Bari Italy has the REAL St Nikolai church...the actual "Santa" (and his remains I might add in a crypt *shudders* it was incredibly creepy.... But a really beautiful town and some wonderful sights to see....
It was a great day...we really enjoyed it and the tour was fantastic... Then it was back on the ship destined for Corfu the next day....But first there was a TOGA party on board...so we got amongst it OF COURSE!
What a hoot!
Next up was Corfu....I fell in love with Corfu...it was so beautiful and our first Greek Island....Took a panoramic tour this day and drove up tiny mountain streets in a bus that just scraped past walls of houses on the way....The tour guide was awesome....and I got to try Limoncello for the first time....
Back on board we went again and it was a formal night on the Ship..so we all dollied up and had an amazing silver service dinner.... nom nom nom (being a lapbander with all her fill out I was looking forward to this steak...unfortunately my band had other ideas..bugger it!)
nom nom nom.....easy to see how I gained 5kg....
Next day was Mykonos...OMFG how pretty are those white washed houses....The Greeks have such pride in their environments....no graffiti...just idealic....went to the Island of Delos...
The island of Delos, isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean.
Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek Mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
Now Apollo is my sorta God....God of Dance, Music and Life...Oh yeah...he's the man! Bought myself a statue of this dude!
What an amazing place....thousands of years old...was incredible! Went back to Mykonos for some shopping and a few drinks waterside to watch the sun set over the Aegean Sea....blissful!!
Hows that for beautiful eh? Loved Mykonos....then back on board bound for Athens.....Now, Athens I'm afraid I wasn't impressed with at all.....it was the largest city I have EVER seen.....lots of graffiti but then you saw it....The Acropolis! Man oh Man...mind blowing enormity....to see the first "university" that Socrates sat upon and pondered....Oh I was in ruins heaven!!
Amazing...no other words for it.....
Birthplace of the Olympics!
Another formal night on board and this time we opted for the Japanese Hot Rock experience....cook your own tucker....I thought....I am gunna be starving after this little feed but I was full as a goog! So delicious! Last cruise stop was Dubrovnik Croatia....My fav place of all....Its like stepping back in time...the "Old" city of Dubrovnik is a walled city...complete with moat....and I found myself thinking of knights and dragons and all things mythological....breathtaking! If (and I know its a big IF) I ever get married this is where I would come to honeymoon....We also went to Dalmatia (home of the dalmatian dog breed) and it was so peaceful and the people are so laid back and relaxed....work starts at around 9....there is only one road in and out....and a very narrow road it is....but of course there is coffee to be had before work...a small coffee means your in a hurry to get to work and they only charge 1 euro...a larger coffee means....lets catch up on the gossip of the town and have a chat....work can wait hahahaha.....there is an island just off the ancient city and the legend goes like this:
Legend of the Lokrum Curse:
The legend is associated with the founding of the Benedictine monastery
on the island of Lokrum. According to this legend, a great fire erupted
in Dubrovnik somewhere around the year 1023. The inhabitants of Dubrovnik
made a vow to Saint Benedict that they would construct a monastery in
his name if the city would be spared. The fire was extinguished instantly,
and the thankful citizens of Dubrovnik then built a Benedictine monastery
and church on Lokrum, which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In reality, the fact remains that the Benedictine monastery
was founded in the year 1023, for real copies of the original documents
dating to the 13th century do exist. Further, the fact remains that in
1023, and precisely on the Day of St. Benedict, most of Dubrovnik was
consumed by fire, as it was mostly constructed out of wood. Some even
insist that the archbishop's palace was also destroyed.
The establishment of the monastery and the donation of
the land on Lokrum were decided on by the Dubrovnik archbishop Vital
and by the preses, the latin term for the head of the city of Dubrovnik,
Lampridija, together with all the aristocracy. The Benedictine founders
were the monk Peter from St. Mary's Monastery in Tremit near Puglia,
and the Dubrovnik priest Leo, who took the vows of a Benedictine
monk at this time. A direct link was established with the Benedictine
seat in Monte Cassino, immediately after the establishment of the
monastery.
The Benedictines also had a monastery and church in Rožat
in Rijeka Dubrovaèka by either the end of the 11th or the beginning of
the 12th century. Desideria (1058-1087), the Abbot of the Benedictine
monastery in Monte Cassino, ordered the fabrication of the church doors
for the monastery in 1066. The door posts were covered with silver plaques
that depicted the names of all the churches belonging to the monastery.
Later, the Abbot Oderizia II (1121-1126) added on sixteen more plaques
with the names of new churches, which also lists St. Mary's Church in
Rožat. The Benedictines abandoned the monastery during the 12th century.
The descendants of Count Savin in Dubrovnik took advantage of this and
appropriated the monastery with its entire property. The Lokrum monks
protested sharply against this move, as Savin's bequest indicated that
the monastery would belong to the monks if there were no Benedictines
from Monte Cassino in the regional monastery in Rožat. On this basis,
the Dubrovnik consuls passed a decision on April 09, 1198, whereby the
monastery with its church and property in Rožat became the property
of the Benedictine monastery on Lokrum. The Pope's legate, Ivan, who was
the curate of the Apostolic Succession, threatened anyone who would oppose
this with a curse.
However, from 1295 to 1321, the Benedictine's gradually
abandoned Rožat, moving completely to Lokrum. In the Dubrovnik region,
there was one more male Benedictine monastery, the "St. Andrew of
the open seas" (in pelago). In the 12th century, they owned the entire
island of Mljet with its monastery and the Church of St. Mary. Mention
should be made of the notable cultural workers in the Benedictine order,
the poets Mavra Vetranoviæ and Ignjat Ðurdeviæ, as well as the historian
Mavra Orbin.
The legend of the Lokrum curse originated when a French
army general ordered the closure of the monastery and the expulsion of
the Benedictines. The Dubrovnik aristocratic families Gozze, Pozza and
Sorgo were chosen to convey these orders s to the monks.
According to legend, the monks were aghast with the French
general's order and did all they could to remain where they had resided
for centuries. When all else failed, one night they went to the Church
of St. Mary to serve one last mass to God on the island. The monks donned
their hooded cloaks and proceeded to circumnavigate the island in a long
and solemn, single-file procession. Symbolically, as a curse, they turned
their lighted candles upside-down towards the earth, so that the flame
licked the wax, which left a melted trail.
They went around the island this way three times, which
took the entire night, ceremoniously chanting the terrible and harsh words
of the curse:
"Whosoever claims Lokrum for his own personal pleasure
shall be damned!"
At dawn, dead-tired, they embarked on a boat and left the island, never
once looking back. And, nevermore did they return.
The legend says that the curse laid on the island soon
began to take effect. One of the three Dubrovnik aristocrats jumped out
of a window, the other drowned in the sea on the way to Lokrum, and a
servant killed the third.
Captain Tomaševic became the owner of the island
following the fall of the Republic. He was an extremely wealthy man, but
he suddenly became bankrupt soon after having purchased the island, which
forced him to sell Lokrum. It was sold to the archduke Maximilian, the
younger brother of the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph I.
Maximilian discovered Lokrum by chance in 1859 when the ship "Triton",
following an explosion, sank in front of Lokrum. As Navy Commander of
the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, he had to honor the dead seamen. On this
occasion, Maximilian set foot on the island for the first time. He saw
the ancient Benedictine monastery from the 11th century, which had been
damaged in the earthquake of 1667. After the whirlwind of Schonbrunn,
he was impressed by the silence of the thick aromatic forest. He decided
to purchase the island and to turn it into his summer manor already during
the first night that he spent in a monk's cell of the old monastery. He
added on a belvedere, placing his initials everywhere, even on locks and
keys, so as to emphasize his ownership of Lokrum. He had no idea that
his actions only further provoked the curse that was directed against
the personal ownership of Lokrum. Maximilian, as the owner of a paradise,
enjoyed marking pathways throughout the forests of pine, bay, palm, cypress,
aloja, oleander, orange, lemon, lilies and roses, all around the island
and up to its peak, to the fortress "Fort Royal" built by Marmont
in 1806, when his troops entered in Dubrovnik. He settled colonies of
canaries, parrots and peacocks on the island. He planted vanilla and Indian
fig trees. Here, he read verses by Heine out loud, while his Belgian wife,
princess Charlotte, embroidered silk pillows. So close, yet so far from
Europe and court scandals, they thought themselves to be the happiest
married couple on earth. Looking on all of this intoxicating and moving
beauty, Charlotte would write letters to her cousins and friends about
the happiness that she and Maximilian enjoyed, after having spent hours
playing the piano long into the night.
Then, duty, or most probably the Benedictine curse, took
him to Mexico, where he was chosen emperor in 1864. After only three years,
he was taken prisoner by the soldiers of the rebellious general Juarez.
He was shot in Quereteri on June 19, 1867.
The island was then offered for sale to the Dubrovnik
County. Legend says it would not buy it even for the trifle sum of 20,000
silver coins. Awhile later, it was bought by Dujmovic from Poljica, who
originated from a family that had once received the title "conte
de Polisa" from Venice. He also met with quick and complete financial
disaster. The island was then purchased by the lawyer Dr. Jakopovic from
Budapest, who was renowned for managing some of the business affairs of
the emperor Francis Joseph I. However, shortly after having purchased
the island, it was discovered that he had quite illegally assigned himself
the title of Doctor of Legal Sciences, and that he was in fact - a barber!
The investigation, which had caused a huge scandal in Viennese and Budapest
societies, revealed that he adopted this title from a dead soldier following
the revolution in 1848. His property was not confiscated, thanks to the
Emperor's intervention, in an effort to lessen his own personal shame,
but he was totally ruined morally. Thrown out of the society that he was
accustomed to, he died shortly, unappeased and shamed.
His nephew, a young Hussar officer, inherited the island.
Already on the first day of his arrival, a very strong wind overturned
his boat between Dubrovnik and the island, and he drowned. The Habsburg's
then reappeared as the owners again. Rudolf, the heir to the throne and
the only son of the emperor Francis Joseph I, and the empress Elisabeth
of Bavaria, took a liking to Lokrum. He invited his wife, Stefanie, to
Lokrum. They stayed there for a time, adding exotic plants to the island's
park. However, Rudolf soon fell in love with the beautiful mistress Maria
Vecer. Together, in the Mayerling palace, they committed the sensational
double suicide, which was never quite explained.
The empress Elisabeth (1837-1898), prompted by stories
of the curse, decided that the royal family had to rid itself of this
island. Before leaving for Corfu, she offered it to the Benedictines,
in the hope that the curse would thereby be lifted. However, they remained
faithful to the vow made by their brothers previously that they would
never return to this island and turned down the offer from the royal court.
The emperor's family, obsessed with the fear of losing yet another member,
after having already lost two, gave its money to the Dubrovnik Dominicans
for them to purchase the island as the new owners, under the condition
that any of the Habsburg's could re-purchase the island when and if they
so desired.
And so, there really was a femme fatale found to do this.
At the auction that was announced for the sale of Lokrum, the bishop Josip
Juraj Strossmayer appeared with an offer of 30,000 forinths through an
intermediary, Mihovil Pavlinovic. However, a telegram ordered the auction
to be stopped. The assumption that "someone from the emperor's household
wished to buy Lokrum" proved to be true. It was the granddaughter
of Francis Joseph I, Princess Elizabeth Windischgratz, who was the
daughter of Rudolph, the heir to the throne. She persuaded him to buy
Lokrum, which he did on October 01, 1879. Five years later, on May 27,
1888, he registered the island under his name. Shortly after her grandmother,
the empress Elisabeth, returned to Geneva from Corfu in 1898, she was
killed by the Italian anarchist Lucceni, in a case of mistaken identity.
And... the end of the Habsburg's is well-known. The eldest
son of the archduke Francis Ferdinand who was killed in Sarajevo on June
18, 1914, finished as an agronomist: The princess Windischgratz fired
shots in a nightclub in Prague at some dancer who was the mistress of
her husband, and was then disinherited by her royal parents. Finally,
in 1918, after exactly 700 years, the Habsburg's lost their crown as well.
But, this is not the end. The above-mentioned constitutes
only a part of the story that ties the Lokrum curse to historically renowned
persons. However, superstition also surrounded Lokrum. It expanded the
legend of the Lokrum curse with countless stories and tales that were
colored by metaphysics to such an extent that the historically true events,
which were further warped and twisted by superstition over the centuries,
resulted in a certain inexplicableness known as - the mystery of Lokrum.
The superstition became so widespread that no one could
be found to live on Lokrum for a very long time. The palace servants would
not on their life venture into the palace gardens at night, for demons
would cut off the heads of their lovers in a dark erotic rage, and would
sew their hearts onto their dresses. Stylish aristocrats, seeking change,
loved to mix even with their male servants, so that they very carefully
kept up this legend. Under its protection, they could rendez-vous freely
at night in the garden of love.
Fantasy wove a number of mysterious stories around the
Lokrum caves as well, where the seas rage during storms. Its echo resounds
as earth's harsh blow to the cover of a coffin. According to old documents
in the Dubrovnik archives, criminals were cast into the sea from the steep
Lokrum cliffs during the Middle Ages, otherwise famous for its cruel punishments.
A well-known legend describes how the ship of the English king, Richard
the Lion-hearted, was cast upon the Lokrum cliffs during a fierce storm.
The legend says the Bosnian king, Tvrtko, also found sanctuary amid the
walls of the Benedictine monastery. But, Lokrum knew how to be merciful
towards the unfortunate as well. In 1859, the Austrian ship "Triton"
exploded in the Lokrum canal. Only one survivor remained after the tragedy
- a prisoner who was imprisoned in the bowels of the war ship for some
crime. The whirlwind of the fierce explosion expelled the unfortunate
wretch with remnants of the chain onto the shore, completely unharmed,
while the rest of the crew perished. The Austrian Admirality entrusted
the investigation of this catastrophe to a commander of the imperial fleet
- Maximilian. He fell in love with Lokrum, purchased it and so started
the wheel of fortune that led him to such a tragic end. During his stay
on Lokrum with his wife Charlotte, the enamored Maximilian engraved a
heart containing the first letters of his and Charlotte's name into a
huge oak dating to the 14th century, located next to the palace. According
to romantic legend, he thereby incurred hostility, as it was a historical
oak, under which the Dubrovnik Senate met frequently. A storm appeared
before he returned to the shores of Lokrum. Lightning struck this oak
tree and the engraved monograms disappeared, leaving only the heart. This
was considered as a sign of impending disaster.
After Maximilian's death, Charlotte visited Lokrum in
the company of a count - her admirer. On approaching the island, she barely
managed to avoid death, as her yacht overturned inexplicably, sinking
quickly. Coral hunters saved her. According to legend, the same ones that
cursed her while Maximilian was still alive. Legend has it that she experienced
this misfortune because she was wearing a necklace made of the coral taken
from the sea depths near Lokrum. According to tradition, the poor coral
hunters had for centuries followed the perilous trade of their fathers
in the hope that they would eventually come across a secret underwater
cavern with a reef containing beautiful coral, and so become rich. After
a long time, one day they really did find this reef, but it contained
only one coral. Disappointed, they then cursed the aristocrat that would
wear it.
The new owner of Lokrum became Rudolf, the heir to the
throne. He spent his honeymoon here with his Stefanie. The story goes
that Mount Srd shook when the young couple disembarked on the island shore.
This small earthquake, it is said, was a forewarning of the misfortune
to follow at Mayerling.
Queen Elisabeth, wife of the emperor Francis Joseph I,
once visited the island. However, due to superstition, she refused to
spend the night there. The archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophia
intended to spend the summer of 1914 on the island, but were prevented
by an assassin's bullets in Sarajevo.
Today, Lokrum is a quiet excursion site for tourists,
and all these legends have contributed perhaps to the steadfastness of
the citizens of the ancient Republic in keeping true to their own motto
- famous and free.
Source: "Dubrovnik - between history
and legend"
Author: Dr. Marko Margaritoni
Apparently there is a ferry that leaves the island at 8pm - No-one has ever missed it LOL
Arty Farty shot in Dalmatia lol
Croatia was our last stop on the cruise...plain sailing back to Venice for another week in Italy! But that is another story and the next blog LOL
Stay tuned......
Meeg :)
