Today we had a ‘holiday’ day. We walked along the shore towards the city of Split then stopped at a lovely beach to enjoy the warmth of the sun and take our first swim of the trip. We had a good view of the large island of Brac to the west.

After a late lunch one of us walked and swam some more; the other had their toe nails painted a bright red!

A great conversation with a Croatian millennial helped us understand the energetic and ‘can do’ attitude of those in their 20’s and 30’s we have met or witnessed on this trip.

There appears to be such a desire to create a greater sense of integration in society of those from divergent backgrounds, and in so doing, build a better world for their country, their families as well as for their own personal lives.

Despite sometimes despairing of the old themes being played out within their Parliament, the Sabor, the open and generous way of thinking and being of this age group seems to hold greater hope for the future.

(We realise how little we appreciate the issues concerning the millennials, here or back home. There is much for us to ponder).

Tomorrow we intend to do more walking, swimming and relaxing. There may even be the opportunity to create a labyrinth in the very pebbly beach to walk.

Who knows?

In April 2011 we watched the wedding of William and Kate crowded around a television in a B&B in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Today we watched Harry and Megan’s extraordinarily powerful ceremony from our holiday apartment in Split, Croatia.

In the way that many institutions are brought kicking and screaming into the 17th century by particular events, today’s wedding marks an inclusiveness, a joyousness and a hopefulness that could, if there is the will and the love, afford some small but positive change in society.

“If human beings ever harness the energies of love, then for the second time in history, we will have discovered fire.”

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The question of how to live a life of love in the situations we find ourselves in is a beautiful challenge.

Yesterday was international museum day so we got into the Arheološki Muzej (Archeological Museum) and the Muzej Za Umjetnost I Obrt (Arts and Crafts Museum) free. In the latter the photograph of a hand slamming down on a wooden table entitled ‘Revolt’ caught my imagination.

It was much later when we were on our final train journey from Zagreb to Split that I realised why the image had stayed with me. After a six and a half hour journey during which we travelled through hundreds of kilometres of farmland, forest and mountains, we witnessed for at least an hour, the desolation of a vast area centred around Knin.

Here, in the early 90’s, the Yugoslav People’s Army had evicted Croats from their homes in what became known as ethnic cleansing. All that is left now is kilometre after kilometre of empty, broken buildings and deserted fields.

We both sensed the sadness of that war and it’s legacy in the lives of ordinary people.

This morning we wandered the streets and steps of the upper town coming across fascinating graffiti, joyful posters of Croatian naive art and stunning stained glass in the Franciscan Church.

After a picnic, bought in the vast Dolac market, we headed for the Meštrović Atelier, a wonderful building, originally the home of the internationally renowned Croatian sculptor, Ivan Meštrović, and now a Museum housing many of his works.

The face of the woman in his sculpture ‘Resting’ (1933) is as peaceful as his ink on paper of the Archangel Gabriel’s face (1917) is serious. As in these two pieces, much of his work appears to express the prevailing signs of the times.

We left Munich at 7.51 in the first class carriage of a great train which took us imperceptibly over the border and on through the rain soaked Austrian Alps. Not a lot to see except the neat, steep roofed houses climbing the green hillsides, the odd vista of snow on the tops and a meadow of monochrome kids of the goat species.

We changed at Villach for a considerably older train which made its way through Slovenia and over the border into Croatia. Our carriage this time had separate compartments of six very soft seats with a corridor running the length of the side. The windows and doors opened manually which was a great joy and reminded us of the trains of our childhood. The red engine pulled us along rather slowly but with a pleasingly noisy dee dum dee dum sound.

Finally, three days after we left home and seven trains later, we arrived in Zagreb at 17.25 just 15 minutes late.

We wandered around the centre of Munich eventually entering the inner courtyard of the Neues Rathaus. As we walked I suddenly realised we were on a labyrinth which was partly hidden by many small tables and chairs.

We set off to find a high enough place from which to photograph and ended up on the ninth floor of the Rathaus’s tower from which we had a wonderful view of the labyrinth as well as the city and its environs for miles around.

It was such a gift to discover a beautifully constructed labyrinth so unexpectedly. It drew me down to walk the path, squeezing past the odd chair and table as I walked.

Leaving the courtyard we enjoyed the extremely funny gargoyle at the side of an arched stone doorway.

We lingered the rest of the afternoon in Marienplatz listening to a jazz trio, whilst sipping a German beer. We caught the last warmth of the sun as we headed back to where we were staying.

An early start from Paris de l’Est took us through countryside swathed in mist which rose as voile curtains of steam as we crossed the Rhine into Germany.

Crossing rivers somehow captures a spirituality of threshold and new possibilities. All my life I have longed to see the Rhine, and more especially, the Danube. Passing Ulm Minster’s lacy, airy, light spire I sense in the architecture an icon for our times; as I write, the Danube is flowing beneath us, the bridge linking Baden-Wurttemberg with Bavaria.

Bridges as thresholds of openness, connection and engagement with ‘the other’ feel to speak to our planet’s international relations at this moment in history.