This is the money shot in Corfu. We traveled 20+ minutes in an oversized bus up narrow, congested, mountain roads, to a restaurant-laden overlook filled with 10-15 similar buses. The buses were parked three across and all but blocked the thoroughfare. Meanwhile industrial-sized trucks and everyday traffic tried to wend their way through the vehicular melee without hitting the tourists who wandered along the roadway, oblivious to danger. The American way. All for this once-in-a-lifetime photographic “opportunity.” That is Corfu in a nutshell! Emphasis on the nuts. Why bother?! 

Back in the heart of the old town (which is within walking distance of the port) there are many, many shops catering to the tourist hoards. There is also the Old Fortress (Fortezza Vecchia) which most of the cruise ship tourists avoided. Bart, Vonnie, Betty and I decided to visit the fort rather than wandering aimlessly through the old town. 

Fortunately, we were well rewarded for our effort. Our goal was the small lighthouse at the top of the fort. We had seen it earlier from sea level. The 200 year old lighthouse is a new addition to the fort, which dates back to the 5th century. While not spectacular in and of itself the lighthouse encourages visitors to climb to the top of the fort. From the top the views are spectacular. The city center of Corfu, the moat surrounding the fort, and the port of Corfu all easily visible from above. We could see the Viking Star and her sister ship, the Viking Jupiter, moored side-by-side in the port. 

After climbing to the lighthouse, we relaxed for a bit and had drinks at an outdoor osteria just below the summit. Bart, Vonnie and I decided to walk back to the ship. Betty opted for the shuttle. 

Our second day brought us to the port city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, or as it is better known in the parlance of Game of Thrones, King’s Landing. Once again GoT notoriety has had a substantial impact on tourism in Croatia. According to our guide special GoT tours are quite popular with the tourists now – many of whom visit Dubrovnik for that reason alone. Our Viking tour guide pointed out a few of the most notable sites including the Red Keep and the “walk of shame.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would like to return to Dubrovnik for a longer visit. Much of the city exists inside the old city walls. There are many quiet, out of the way corners to explore. There are steep stairway streets that rise from the plaza level of the old city four and even five levels. It is as if the plaza level was the stage of an amphitheater while the residential and commercial areas ascend to the top of the town walls. The walls themselves are as much as 18 feet thick on the land side – less so on the port side. Impenetrable to the slings and arrows of the barbarians of the Middle Ages. Dubrovnik is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

There is a walkway atop the city walls. The entire circuit is over a mile in length and involves some 700 stairs. We did not rise to that challenge although I hope to do so some day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were treated to lunch in the city center by Keith and Joanne. I had the Croatian national dish of black risotto with cuttle fish accompanied by a local beer. The risotto is blackened with squid ink. It was quite tasty.

The Animals of Dubrovnik

These 2 photos are for my siblings. Dave, who patiently and spectacularly photographs birds, will not be impressed by my photo of the pigeons of Dubrovnik. But I don’t have his patience or skill. As our tour progressed, hundreds of pigeons suddenly and frantically took flight in response to the shrill scream of some passing falcon or hawk. I heard the scream, looked skyward and fired off a couple of shots. The blue sky is spectacular. The birds – not so much. The pigeons circled the square 5 or 6 times before re-settling on the roofs of the square.

The cats of Dubrovnik are for Anne. Like the cat of Venice, these two were completely oblivious to the entreaties of the passing tourist hoards. I need to start traveling with a can of tuna to see if I can coax a better response from my feline subjects.

I have been playing “post catch up” today. This is our only full day at sea. No ports of call. Tonight around 10:00p (4:00p EDT US) we will pass through the Strait of Messina – the narrow gap between the tip of the boot of Italy and island of Sicily. The distance between the two shores is less than 2 miles. Again our ship will be attached to a guide boat to help us navigate the channel between Sicily and Italy.

I have been blogging today from the Explorer’s Lounge at the front go the ship and on our veranda while watching the open sea. Right now the coastline at the bottom of the boot of Italy (location noted on map above) is visible. The ship’s captain, Martin Birkeland, announced this morning that Mount Stromboli would be visible (possibly showing signs of activity) after we pass through the Strait of Messina. Given the distance (15-20 miles), I think a visual sighting would only be possible with an eruption. A small flash of fire and brimstone would be exciting, but no more than that. Please! Our stateroom faces the Italian side of the strait and Mount Stromboli is on the Sicilian side. So we’ll have to watch from the deck. 

Update 9:24pm – 3:24 EDT-US

OK, I admit I was a skeptic. The captain set course for Mount Stromboli and we passed within a mile or two of the volcano. And the view of the volcano was on our side of the ship. As promised, Stromboli delivered. I missed a larger eruption. That’s what skepticism will do for you. Never ready when you need to be. But I managed to catch a small flare up. The almost full moon helped define the outlines of the volcano. If you dial in, you can even glimpse Venus between the moon and the mountain. All visible from our stateroom veranda. Can Betty plan a trip or what!

We sailed all night from Venice to Split, Croatia. We woke to this view of Split off of our veranda. The tower on the right is part of Diocletian’s Palace. Diocletian was the Roman emperor from 284 to 305. He was born in Dalmatia (now Croatia). The palace here in Split was his retirement home. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site – one of several that we will visit during this cruise.

More recently Diocletian’s Palace served as one of the filming sites for Game of Thrones (GoT). For fans of GoT, the subterranean level of the palace is where Daenerys Targaryen trained her dragons. The citizens of Split will be forever grateful for the notoriety and tourism generated by GoT. I doubt that Split would have been include on Viking’s cruise agenda without the cachet of GoT. We thought it was especially appropriate that when we return to the states the final season of GoT will be available.

Split also afforded us our first experience with Viking’s port excursions. In each port Viking offers a free included excursions and multiple optional excursions (read “additional fee required”). In Split we opted for the included tour. Our tour was led by a local school teacher who tried to herd 32 tourists of varying levels of interest in Split’s 1700 year history without losing them to Daenerys’ dragons. The GoT connection was clearly on the minds of most participants. 

Old Town Split exists inside the walls of the palace. Many of the rooms of the palace are now occupied by residents of Split who lack the financial resources to live elsewhere. As you can see from the photos, living inside the palace walls presents an almost insurmountable challenge for those with limited mobility. However with assistance from Keith and others, Joanne managed to see most of the palace despite the many steps and uneven surfaces. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenic Split

As we approached the port in the water taxi we got our first view of the Viking Star through the water spotted windows of the taxi. This picture gives a sense of the relative size of the cruise ship compared to the water taxi in the foreground. 

We made our way toward the departure terminal, but not before stopping to take a group picture at the rear of the ship. Viking is very organized. Staff were stationed at every point to direct the way forward as we made our way through Italian departure procedures. 

We finally made our way to the ship where we were greeted on board with glasses of champagne. 

 

 

After we settled into our stateroom we took a tour through the ship to learn our way around. There are 6 restaurants and more bars than I can count. We are never more than a few steps away from food and drink. And of course there is always room service. Finally, at 5:00p we officially set sail departing Venice via the Giudecca Canal.  A Venetian guide boat assured that our ship stayed its course while our captain navigated the canal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the advantages of the Palazzo Abadessa was the beautiful courtyard garden. You can visit a previous post from our 2015 visit to Venice to see more about The Gardens of Venice. Gardens in Venice are rare and often secreted away behind gated palazzo walls. It was a real treat to have our own secret garden at the Palazzo.

We did not leave Venice without a stroll down the Strada Nuova which is typically jammed with tourists. A few souvenirs here and there, a little coffee, a little cicchetti and then we were off via water taxi to join our cruise. 

This charming dog, gracing the entrance to the Palazzo Abadessa, proudly and succinctly expresses the perspective of many Venetians. Everything is good, until you start thinking. Or in the even more succinct parlance of Bob Marley “Don’t worry, be happy.” The perfect mantra for the casual traveler.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of walking through Venice is the likelihood that you will happen upon some whimsically adorned door, wall, balustrade, etc. The Venetians fill even the smallest, most out-of-the-way places with beauty.

As we walked the narrow walkways we kept our eyes open for unique treasures that Venice offers visitors who wander off of the tourist beaten paths. These walkways are veritable urban canyons, often less than 6 feet wide, that weave through buildings rising 3 to 5 stories on either side. 

While the trip from the U.S. to Venice went smoothly for Betty and me, Keith and Joanne’s trip was more eventful. When their plane arrived in London from Dallas no gates were available. That delay led to a missed flight from London to Venice. While they waited for the next flight to Venice they made the best use of their extra 8 hours at Heathrow. 

Keith was especially impressed with the amenities of the Priority Lounge. Free food and free alcohol make many travel problems seem small. Meanwhile, in Venice, Betty coordinated with Lucca, our host at Palazzo Abadessa, to make sure that when Keith and Joanne arrived at 11:30pm they would not have to negotiate an unfamiliar city while jet-lagged. 

They were greeted as they got off the plane by a gentleman holding an iPad with their names and a Welcome to Venice message. He helped them with their luggage into a black Mercedes which whisked them off to Piazzale Roma. Piazzale Roma is the closest point to Venice accessible by land. From there they were personally escorted to a polished mahogany water taxi for the trip into Venice. Because it was low tide at the time of their arrival it was not possible to deliver them directly to the Palazzo’s water gate. Instead they were offloaded at one of the public docks where they were met by staff from the Palazzo who ushered them through the dark walkways of Venice to the Palazzo. By 12:45am they were settled and ready for a thorough night’s sleep.

Despite their long, jet-lagged day Keith and Joanne were up and ready to go early. We were met by Sabrina, our tour guide for the morning at 10:00. Sabrina’s assigned task was to show us Venice with as few bridges as possible. She did a remarkable job, ending our tour around 1:30 with a water taxi tour of the significant sights along the Grand Canal.

The room that we are staying in at the Pallazzo Abadessa has a unique feature. It is a well that dates back to 1511. Yes, a water well! In fact our host warned us that we should avoid falling into the well. Duly noted! But it didn’t stop me from pulling back the brocade doily and peering down into the well. Of course, I first had to move aside the complementary bottle of Prosecco and the ancient key to the door. The palazzo itself, while not quite as old as the well, dates from late 1500’s.

The Viking Mediterranean Cruise begins in Venice and ends 14 days later in Barcelona. We fell in love with Venice in 2015 and wanted to re-visit the city. So we’ll spend a few days in Venice before joining the cruise.

All told we will visit 6 countries. Obviously we will only get a small taste of any of the host countries, but we’re hoping to get a sense of what cities and countries we might like to consider for longer visits. I am particularly looking forward to Barcelona and Dubrovnik.

Date	Port	Activity
4/11	Venice, Italy	Arrive around noon. Settle in to hotel Palazzo Abadessa.
4/12	Venice, Italy	10:00 to 1:00 Privately arranged tour.
4/13	Venice, Italy	Board ship around noon. Meet up with Bart and Vonnie. Ship in port overnight.
4/14	Venice, Italy	Morning – Tour Venice on our own. Ship departs at 3:00 pm.
4/15	Split, Croatia	10:45 to 12:45 – Viking sponsored tour.
4/16	Dubrovnik, Croatia	9:45 to 1:15 – Viking sponsored tour. Ship departs 5:30 pm
4/17	Corfu, Greece	10:30 to 1:30 – Viking sponsored tour. Ship departs 10:30 pm.
4/18	No port of call	Leisurely day at sea. Drinks, food, camaraderie, blogging.
4/19	Naples, Italy	9:00 to Noon – Privately arranged tour of Herculaneum. 1:15 to 4:45 – Viking sponsored tour.Ship departs 5:30 pm.
4/20	Rome, Italy	8:00 to 5:00 – Privately arranged tour of Vatican & Rome. Ship departs 11:00 pm.
4/21	Florence/Pisa, Italy	10:00 to 2:00 – Viking sponsored tour of Pisa. Ship departs 8:00 pm.
4/22	Monte-Carlo, Monaco	9:45 to 12:45 – Viking sponsored tour. Ship departs 8:30 pm.
4/23	Marseille, France	9:45 to 12:45 – Viking sponsored tour. Ship departs 6:00 pm.
4/24	Barcelona, Spain	Privately arranged tour of city highlights and Gaudi architecture. Ship in port overnight.
4/25	Barcelona, Spain	Disembark at 4:00 am to make 7:00 am flight home.