 edwis' Croatia Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | Croatia Trips | July, 2006 | |
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| Page Views: 206 Last Visit to Croatia: July, 2006 | Croatia Trips by edwis - last update: Jul 30, 2009 |
Croatia in 2002 /2003 /2004/ 2005/ 2006/ 2009 “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home” James Michener
This is really one of those places where the old saying of ‘you can't get there from here’ applies. It was always pretty easy to setup flights to and from Europe and in and out of various cities. But when trying to work in side trip to Croatia, your creativity can be challenged. Because of limited air flight access to Dubrovnik or Zagreb, and there are no train options in the country, your choices of how to get there are very limited. The good news is that as Croatia is working to join the EU in the next few years, and little by little, more of the discount airlines are adding Croatia to their schedules. Both Aer Lingus and British Airways now have regularly scheduled flights to Croatia and more will come quickly I am sure.
Using Croatia Air is always a fun and interesting experience. On one year’s trip, I know we actually rode on 3 of their 10 aircraft they have in their fleet.
Once when leaving Croatia for Paris, we had to do a connection in Zagreb, the capital and their main hub city. First while they are x-raying all our bags at the ticket check-in counter, they rejected my big suitcase. It came backwards on the automatic conveyor belt and red lights were flashing. The clerk quietly informed me that I had 3 extra camera batteries in it. They gave it back to me and I had to open it up and dig them out while on my knees right on the floor in front of the ticket counter. Then as we do our walk through the security gate, it seems that I had a little beard trimming scissors in my toiletries bag which I have carried for several years, but it was quickly confiscated. Another time, our flight into Zagreb to make a connection was delayed about an hour due to fog somewhere.
So when we arrived in Zagreb, our connecting flight was just about ready to go; we have several airline staff using walkie-talkies and escorting us through the customs area, terminals, and holding up the plane for the ‘Wisniewskis’. Hey, that’s us! Talk about receiving great service on an airline. The flights always include the pilots who chat about every detail of the flight for about 10 minutes in several languages, food that is served with real silverware, and of course free wine with all the food. All these experiences happened before 930 in the morning.
When boarding a plane at Croatian airports, there is none of that having to use a Jetway to enter the plane business. You go right outside on the tarmac, and either walk as a group to the waiting plane, or are bused over. Then you use the mobile stairs to get up into the aircraft.
Dubrovnik is just across the Adriatic Sea from about Bari, in southern Italy. Flying time coast to coast is about 30 minutes and a1 hour flight from Roma.
On our first trip overseas coming into Croatia, the first thing we hear at the Dubrovnik airport after deplaning from Rome, coming from a visually armed customs agent is “What is in your suitcase”? Of course I knew he was referring to the 10 bottles of wine that we so carefully packed amongst my socks and underwear, items that we deemed great bargains that we found during our first wonderful week in Southern Italy.
I tried to look bewildered and answered “just socks, underwear and clothes, sir” As he began mentioning what about the several bottles of wine, his uniformed superior said something in Croatian to him, he stop speaking and just waved us through. Oh my god! Welcome to Croatia.
Thank goodness our son, “J” and his wife “C” were waiting for us outside the customs waiting room. I quickly gathered and pulled our luggage towards their car. Actually their car was really their neighbors who graciously let them borrow it for this event. And the wine was NOT so carefully packed, as we found out upon opening the suitcase, one bottle broke its neck and red liquid was all over my best khaki pants and several white jockey shorts were permanently discolored. |
Boat Trips Because “J” and “C”’s place is right on the shore, and the roads are dangerous at best due to all the curves along the sea coast, most of the day trips are always done by using “J’s” boat if possible.
One day’s boat ride took us to the Island of Lopud for snorkeling in some of the cleanest water you ever saw; you can clearly see the bottom at 15-20 feet. The scenes here were so beautiful that Joan considers this event one of her highlights of visiting Croatia.
A trip to get boat gas is never simple chore. We pull into a marina /club in Dubrovnik, leave the boat with a dock boy to take care of business, and we spend an hour or so swimming and lounging at the beautiful pool deck area which is for the yacht people. We end up spending a couple of hours hanging around this place. We find a little tennis club, some historic mansion with gardens, a restaurant, and a park area with outdoor internet sites which we accessed. Went we got back to the house and were asked were we went, the answer was “Just went to get some gas, dear”.
Once for an evening meal, we did a little ride out to one of the nearby islands. “J” knew of a restaurant there which is only accessible by boat. We find it and pull the boat up to its’ dock. The place has 3 picnic tables at waterside. It was owned by a member of the Croatian Olympic ‘water polo’ team and his mother. We are the only people there. “J” does the meal negotiating in Croatian language with the young stud fellow and soon thereafter a very large platter arrives. The giant prawns came with their heads still on, of course, and are sautéed in olive oil, herbs and garlic. This was served with some bread and wine and thus began another Croatian coastal meal. The waiter (owner) tells us what he has in fresh fish that were caught today and that will be our meal. He then told us it will take a while to prepare, and that we should walk over to the swimming beach about 20 yards away for about 45 minutes while he and his mother prepare the meal. So the six of us leave our table after finishing our appetizer course, and go swimming for awhile. I am thinking, “What the hell kind of meal place is this?” Talk about giving new meaning to the term ‘casual dining’. When we get back to the meal picnic table (after the mid meal swim) he brings out a special bottle of wine that was ”blessed by the Pope”, for this happened only a few months after Pope John Paul II visited Croatia (2003). The wine label actually had some special logo of the pope on it. This was the pope’s third visit to Croatia, which is a very old-time catholic and religious country (99% Catholics). We were told that it is second only to Poland in being catholic. Meanwhile neighboring Serbia is almost all Eastern Orthodox religion.
Another boat trip for dinner found a dockside mom and pop place in Zaton. Our tied up boat was literally 5 feet away from our table. The son waited on us, brought out today’s catch to choose from while the mom grilled all the fish (grouper and orata) on an outdoor grill behind a shack. We had black risotto which is made with the black ink from squid and was served with shrimp, mussels and clams again. When we were finished, our teeth, fingers, and tablecloth were all black from the messy squid ink. I got so tan doing all these boat trips and beach time that it looked like I’d never been in Florida. |
Ston One day we needed car gas, so the men drove to the close by town of Ston, where the closest gas station is located. A little kid comes out and washes the windshield and we give him 2 kunas for a tip. A gas fill was nearly $90 (US$) for “J’s” mini Opel car. The town of Ston is also where we drove to another time to procure some fresh mussels for a dinner. We drive down to the water and find an actual mussel-growing farm located at the water’s edge. Evidently due to the high salt content of this local water, the mussels grown here affixed to the wooden docks and sticks are some of the finest there are. We acquired a burlap bag full and later spent an hour or so back home drinking wine and cleaning mussels as preparation for our night’s dinner.
One of our exciting evening boat trips we had was over to the city of Ston, where the 2nd largest stone wall outside of China is located. It was built to protect the villagers “from outsiders” and also to protect the local salt works. As this is the sea salt capital area; we had a whole fish dinner completely baked under a dome of sea salt. We arrived by boat at the littler town Mali Ston and then called the restaurant and they sent a van over to pick us up at the docks. They say that the best seafood meals in all Croatia are served in Mali Ston and Ston. Choosing fish for dinner was interesting in that the males at the table go up to see all the fresh fish that is laid on the ice case, and then choose which fish from today’s catch that they want to eat. Then they bring that fish out to the table to show everyone and then the cook came out and discussed how she would be preparing it. Waiters in Croatia (Eastern Europe) are very particular about how they place each piece of silverware, where the glasses are set, etc. We just loved it. After dinner, we were offered our first ‘grappa’ of our lives; a horrible after-dinner drink, again, ‘to aid digestion’. The women are automatically given walnut flavored, while the men are given what seemed like grass/weed flavored. Yuk. Then after dinner, it is very dark of course and we have to take a boat ride back with very few lights visible and I kept imagining that I see storm clouds appearing very close by. Land Ho was my favorite moment and recital. |
Life in Slano Bay $s4“J” and “C”’s place is in a little town in a secluded bay area called Slano, about 35 miles from Dubrovnik, Croatia’s popular tourist and main historic city. Slano is a sleepy little town of about 200 people and it is like going back in time. Croatia (and Slano) is still the country where the little old ladies come to the market each morning with their woven baskets for their daily staples. This was fun to watch as I sipped my morning cappuccino in ‘downtown’ Slano. Some days we had the ever popular meat/cheese in a warm freshly baked flaky crust ‘burek’, for a late morning snack. They usually come in a brown wrapping paper and you find somewhere to sit and eat it. This is always a creative and messy proposition no matter how you try to eat one.
Their house in Slano, which is always in a state of restoration, started out from a war damaged bombed out shell with its block and stone walls. Of course now has turned into be quite the place. It is only about 4000 sq ft! - Complete with marble floors and terraces overlooking the water. The harbor never has a wave because it is in a sheltered bay, so it is like a giant lake. The water there is the clearest and most colorful we have ever seen. A local guy was telling us about the stonework used on “J’s” house. It came from some famous island / area near there (briach?) and it is the same stone that was used building the American White House. Their kitchen which was finished on the year two visit is a work of art.
One of “C”’s cousins is a wood worker, and he hand made cherry wood cabinets which includes a spectacular floor to ceiling wine rack. We learned one side was to be used for the whites and the other for reds. They got a great European washing machine, nicknamed the ‘boiler’, for it takes about 2 ½ hours of time and it just boils out those white clothes, and never a stain remains.
The routine at “J”s is always great – so relaxing and peaceful. We’d wake each day and walk about 3 blocks along the beach/water into “downtown” Slano (which is about 6 shops together); have a morning cappuccino, then go buy bread, cheese, meats, for the mid day snack. Then walk over to the big resort and do beach stuff. Later we’d do some boat activity trip to an island, the city, etc. “J” has fishing cages out in the bay and checks those each day. He also does a lot of spear gun fishing about 20 feet underwater. He wears a weighted belt and hopefully brings home fresh squid and fishes. Sometimes he goes our alone in the boat for one of his fishing events and even I find that a little worrisome.
Quiet time around their house is so pleasant and to be cherished. There is a sea view from all the rooms and just to spend some time reading or sitting outdoors is quite peaceful. Most meals are on the outdoor second floor terrace overlooking the few sailboats in the bay. We were taught that when toasting a round of drinks (salute), you always look at each and every person directly in the eyes as you toast. As “C” would say often, “it’s an old Croatian custom”. She always liked to tell me something goofy and then tell me it’s an old Croatian custom.
Each year there seem to be more cars and more tourists than before. The Italians are everywhere on holiday during the summer months. With resort being about 1 mile down the shoreline, the summer months in Slano are quite busy by their standards. “J” & “C”’s homestead comes develops a little better with each year’s new projects; some new landscaping happening on our last visit including some new fragrant lavender plantings taking hold. We enjoy the quiet and peaceful living that Slano presents each day. |
Slano recently opened a little office called the tourist office recently. After a morning cappuccino in the next door café one day, I stopped in and a young lady was staffing the place. There was a very artsy multi-colored poster in the window that caught my eye. She didn’t speak any English but somehow I convinced her to give me the poster, which she did. We I got back to “J” and “C”’s place and showed them the great memento I acquired, “J” immediately took a walk into ‘downtown’ Slano and went to the tourist office. He asked the girl for a poster speaking Croatian, and she replied that “oh no, we don’t give those out to anyone”.
Now there was a business man standing around in front and we figured that he must have been the office supervisor and she was not going to get into any trouble. Jay couldn’t believe I secured a poster and he struck out
On one trip, “J” picks us up at the Dubrovnik airport around 7:00 am. We head to the city outdoor market where we secured fresh fish and veggies for the night’s meal. The daily market is quite a special event. There is an ocean of red and white umbrellas over all the various individual vendor’s stands, producing a very colorful scene. All the little old bubba ladies, some in old traditional outfits, are selling their fresh produce and wares, many are calling out to you as you pass by, “try this, try this”. You can sample their olive oil by tasting a spoonful. We made many trips to the market, both for whole fish and produce items.
Everything in Croatia is always so fresh. They take pride in not using preservatives and the resulting taste of peaches, plums, and other items is just wonderful. Imagine tomatoes that taste full of flavor just like when we were young kids. The olive oils are locally grown and produced. When they bring them to the processor, they are given an official ‘certification’ and number ranking of quality, by the state. They always refer to what we call the state as ‘the ministry’. It took me quite a while to catch the meaning of this term ‘ministry’.
“J” would grilled the fish whole, using olive wood, mixed with special charcoal dug out from the hills in nearby Bosnia. I think we had grilled whole fish, with heads and tails, almost every day in Croatia and while around the Adriatic coast. Joan finally learned the proper filleting method along the way. Out of our 12 days in Europe that summer, we ate indoors only once during the entire trip. I think we adjusted quite well to the coastal life. |
Dubrovnik / Old Town Dubrovnik is the centerpiece of the area known as the Dubrovnik Riviera. This area shares the cypresses and soft light of neighboring Italy, but not the swarms of tourists. The climate is Mediterranean, and the long, warm days of sunshine result in lush vegetation. Dubrovnik is the most southern city in Croatia, and the most practical way to reach the city is to do so by air. The city of Dubrovnik was laid out in 1292 and the city has become famous for its beautiful walls and streets which remains virtually unchanged to the present day. In the 15th to 17th century the city was a center for intellectuals, writers and thinkers. Tall ramparts surround it and there are only two entrances to the old town which lead to the Stradun, the city's promenade. One of the greatest pleasures for many visitors is to have a drink in one of the nearby cafes and watch the world go by, whilst they themselves are being watched by the city patron, St. Blaise, or Sveti Vlaho as the locals call him. In 1991-1992, the Serbs shelled the city causing considerable damage, but thanks to a massive rebuilding effort has all but erased the visible scars of the war and the old town has been restored to its former beauty.
You can get to Dubrovnik from “J”s either by car 45 min, or 20 min by boat. The whole time there one year, we never even got into “J’s” old Russian car. We went everywhere by boat. The trips into the Dubrovnik for the daily fresh outdoor market were mostly always done via boat. They even took us to town with our luggage and then we took a taxi to the airport from there. The early morning cab ride out to the airport was certainly interesting; the guy pulls up in a Mercedes and opens his trunk, and pulls out a taxi sign and secures it on the roof. On the way to the airport, he pulls off onto a scenic overlook (I thought for sure we were going to get mugged), but he wanted to show us the beautiful views of his city. He talked all about the war damage, and how this building and that one went ‘kaput’. Everything was "kaput". You could just sense that he was so very proud of his area.
There certainly still a lot of reminders of the war about ten years ago that Croatia went through. Many of the buildings in Slano have shrapnel holes and several are still just a fired out shell only. The sentiment in the local people will keep these memories alive for many years to come.
Dubrovnik as a trading city was especially flourishing from the 15th to the 18th century, and was the chief rival to Venice. They say that Dubrovnik had a fleet of 300 ships as late as the 18th century. Many of the achievements and monuments reflect a pretty developed city back into the 1200s.
Dubrovnik has the famous ‘old town’ section which is a city completely enclosed by a circular wall, no autos allowed. The main streets in old town Dubrovnik have marble tiles; they look like polished floors in an old church. The streets are full of locals and tourists amongst the shops, restaurants, markets, and street musicians. It’s a big tour bus and cruise ship stop. Within the walls of old town there is an old monastery that houses the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in Europe which has been operating since 1317. It is run by the church nuns whose convent is just about that old too. We liked the place for they don’t seem to worry about having a doctor’s prescription all that much. Since the old town is a contained within old stone walls, they have made it possible to walk around the whole circumference up on the top of the walls. Not a walking adventure for the timid, but for a few coins, one can have very nice views of the sea on one side, and the old city’s roof tops on the other.
The last time there, they had “guards” standing at the gates entering the old town. These were little 16-17 year old guys all dressed up in the old time costumes. You knew they were there really just to check out the pretty babes coming and going. I messed around with one and got him smiling pretty good, which I think was against the rules of his position. |
Jay and Christine took us to outdoor restaurant in the middle of the woods, which operates out of an old converted mill on a flowing stream. You eat on picnic tables and are served by older women wearing the traditional old country outfits, of colorful and lacy dresses. Our friends from Madison Wisconsin joined us in visiting Croatia that trip and we all had such a great time in the woods. This is where we were introduced to the famous Croatian meal served ‘under the bell’. This is unbelievable. A mixture of beef, veal and lamb, surrounded by potatoes and vegetables prepared in a large iron skillet pan covered with an iron bell top. Then this is placed buried in charcoals and slowly roasted for hours. It is served with an iron bell over it and some places just transferred to a large serving dish. Every time we have ordered it, it is a specialty at restaurants serving traditional Croatian food, there has always been portions left over. More than us ‘good eaters’ could even handle. In the woods, we were served a bowl of figs as the appetizer. I will tell you, it was a long way from the chicken wings appetizers at our local sports bar back home
One Croat saw “C” with her backpack on the way to our next walking adventure and asked her in Croatian if she ‘was going parachuting today?’ We walked the tops of the walls which circle the old town. It was very hot and I overdid that adventure. It took some recovery time and refreshing water from the fountain.
We saw some bars / stores where they had giant 12 foot high silver tanks, with a spigot where you bring your own bottles and fill them with wine for 90 cents a liter. We didn’t try it this time. In all three countries, we drank wine as part of the normal daily routine. Usually there was a ½ pitcher for lunch and a full liter for the evening meal. Seemed like the normal routine to follow.
Meals and drink stops in old town were good. I ordered a fish soup Croatian style from the menu. The bowl of broth arrived with a giant prawn with its far reaching antlers reaching out of the bowl which also contained some mussels. WOW!
We sat in one of the sidewalk cafes and had wine spritzers and watched all the stylish and fashionable Italians walking the old town streets. They were always easy to identify. The people walking the streets of Dubrovnik range from the tourists to the highly fashionable younger crowd. A lot of pretty young women all dressed up hang out there, for this is where the social life is good. At evening time, it is not unusual for a couple hundred people to be milling about and walking the marbles streets of old town. |
Lapad Park / Beach Down by the beach area in Dubrovnik is a nice little rehabbed neighborhood called Lapad, where we found a park that had about a dozen computers setup outdoors on various tables and it was an outdoor internet park. One day "J" and "C" went to hit some tennis balls in the afternoon and I took little Luca to the park there. They had air inflated jumping houses, a giant inflated slide (his favorite) and lots of climbing things for the kids. By the beach area, they recently installed little changing huts. These are pretty neat for they look like advertising shields, but are shaped as such to allow beach goers to slip between them and change out of their suits. Voila! I was wondering if so many of them are topless anyways, what’s there to hide?
One evening we took the boat for an outing to a jazz club in old town Dubrovnik. It was so pleasant, sitting outdoors with about 200 people at tables, surrounded by old historic and war damaged buildings, listening to live jazz music and just enjoying the simple life. Later we are walking around old town and see a couple of those motorized Segways high tech machines scooting around the marbled streets.
In the city of Dubrovnik, we rode the old city buses to an open market where all the local farmer ladies yell at you as you pass by, to “try this”, “try this”. The bus had pressed wood seats, much unlike the leather seats in Rome. We read in the paper the week after we left that Tom Cruise, actor, came for a surprise visit to Dubrovnik while he was at the Venice Film Festival promoting some film.
Croats have some strong opinions on others. I figure it must be some kind of identity complex going on. When a fisherman comes in without any catch, he blames the ‘damn Italians’ for coming over and robbing all the fish out of their waters; the Czechs and Hungarians are the worst tourists – they are poor and dopey peasants, for they bring all their own food, and meat, and then park in front of restaurants eating out of their trunks of the cars. But they all do seem to get along with the many German tourists quite well.
Once while walking the old town walls, a lady bumps into “C” knocking a package out from her arm. The lady says something to “C” and “C” responds by calling her a ‘Pollack’. I found that quite amusing. According the Croatians, the French only use one bar of soap, per person, per year (that one may be true). If you mention the Bosnians, you spit as you say it. And then if anything goes wrong; you can always say, “It’s the Italians fault”.
One night there was big soccer match between the two rival sections of the country, all day long everyone was talking about the big game that night. The 30,000 seat stadium was completely sold out. Everyone there is so trusting, house doors being unlocked and in the phone book, “J” said that there is even a listing for babysitters.
Along the way we learned a few basic words to help us get by: adio (bye); molim (please), Hvala (thank you), “Dobardan” (good day), “Dobra tek” (to your health) at meal times, “Pivo” (beer) and then there is “bog” = a Hi / Goodbye greeting to neighbors /family which is actually the same word for ‘god’ - some sort of good feeling greeting / blessings that you wish on your close people.
People would say ‘ya, ya, ya’, in all their conversations and then we started to say it all the time after becoming aware of it. It was always hard to leave such a wonderful, simple lifestyle as we come to love in Croatia; ya, ya, ya. |
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| edwis' Croatia Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | Croatia Trips | July, 2006 | |
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 Comments for edwis about Croatia | | | | |
dlandt Tue Jul 17, 2007 21:06 UTC
That was one of the best travelogues I've ever read. Much better than my ham tip :) | nichole_521 Sun Jul 1, 2007 18:54 UTC
I have loved reading about your time in Croaita. So fun. |
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