Paul’s 60th in Croatia

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Trip start
September 12, 2024
Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
Estepona to Zagreb
September 12, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
Today was a travel day… Croatia here we come!

Curtis, Alex, and their partners are meeting us in Zadar next Thursday for three days of birthday celebrations! In choosing a place for this 60th birthday “surprise” (more on this later 🤣), Curtis, Alex and I wanted:
1) somewhere Paul has never been
2) the mountains
3) the sea
4) easy travel from London, Utrecht, and Estepona.

Paul’s actual birthday isn’t until 11/23, but the weather in Europe in November is unpredictable at best.

Speaking of unpredictability, the forecast for our time in Zagreb looked dire! After three months of no rain in Estepona, the idea of pouring rain and 50 degrees (10 C) was a shock!
We packed accordingly, and I researched alternative indoor plans… we have cribbage and cards, and will hope for the best!

Croatia is a country of 4 million people, with 800,000 living around the capital of Zagreb. The coast is famous for hundreds of beautiful islands. I decided to spend a week traveling (just the two of us) and split up our time—spending four days in the Northeast, then three days in Split before meeting everyone in Zadar. Trip planning has had me WAY out of my comfort zone! It’s been like a second job (I now have a much greater appreciation for all of Paul’s planning for previous trips!)Read more
Have a great trip! I’ll look forward to hearing about it. And I’ll be able to say Happy Birthday to Paul in November! [Joyce Hulm]
9/14/24Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
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Dodging raindrops in Zagreb!
September 13, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
It’s Friday the 13th! I’m not superstitious but was extra careful about my peanut allergy at the cute bakery we went to for coffee and pastries this morning. (Unfortunately the only thing they deemed safe was a croissant.)

Despite the rain, we decided to meet up with the walking tour I had booked to learn more about the city. We were surprised by how many other tourists showed up (enough to warrant two tour groups, one in Spanish and one in English).

History, culture, politics, a live canon shot, and humor were all on the menu and our guide kept us entertained for two hours. Croatia's history dates back to ancient times, with early inhabitants falling under Roman rule. The Croats arrived in the 7th century, forming a kingdom by the 10th century, which later became part of the Hapsburg dynasty. The VERY short version of Croatia’s recent history is as follows: After centuries under various empires, including Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rule, Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. (These transfers of power were not peaceful.) More on Croatian history can be found here https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17217954

Needing to warm up after our tour, we made a beeline for Vinodol, a well reviewed restaurant. It didn’t disappoint—we enjoyed a local white wine, a craft beer and some homemade soup.

We tried to visit a couple of art museums but both were closed. We had high hopes for The Chocolate Museum but it screamed “tourist trap” at the entrance, so we bailed!

All over Zagreb there are major renovations taking place due to recent earthquakes and gentrification. This city feels poised to rival other European capitals at some point in the future but is having some growing pains (most visibly in the form of graffiti).

Our favorite type of restaurant is a small bistro with a modern twist on traditional cuisine. The oxtail risotto and rabbit lasagna at Pod Zidom were delicious! https://podzidom.hr/bistro/ [Post Trip Reflection: This was our favorite restaurant from the entire trip!]

Tomorrow we are renting a car and making our way to “the Lake District” (our term). We are excited to get out into nature.Read more
Traveler Breakfast cafe
9/14/24Reply
looks like annapolis! [gburg]
8/12/25Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
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Zagreb to Grabovac
September 14, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ 🌧 50 °F
Something we both love to do is explore new places under our own steam! So we picked up a rental car at the Zagreb airport and headed inland.

The weather was still pretty horrible but we made the best of it, taking our time to wander through a couple of cute villages on the way to our next base for two days!

Our first stop was Samobor, about 20 minutes outside of Zagreb. We could imagine how beautiful this little village would be if the sun was shining. Hot chocolate helped power us through this charming village with a river running through it!

Our next stop (Karlovac) was nothing to write about, but the castle just outside town was a fun stop and we loved the special glass exhibition.

Due to the weather, we skipped other possible stops and navigated the maze of speed traps (we’d been warned about this) to get to Restaurant Ámbar in Rastoke for a late lunch.

I had high hopes for the historic village of Rastoke but it was very touristy. Here’s why: waterfalls and rivers! Rastoke is located where the Slunjčica River flows into the Korana River, creating a series of cascades. The wooden village itself is built on a series of small islands formed by the crisscrossing of these rivers and waterfalls. This creates a fairy-tale-like atmosphere (even in the rain) so hence, a big tourist draw!

At 5 pm we reached Grabovac and checked into our guest house. We were treated to the best of Croatian hospitality with tea and two delicious slices of cake!

Despite the rain, we are smiling and off to a good start here in the Plitvice Lake district!Read more
Hi there both of you - looks lovely but wet 👍. Thx for sharing - and hope it’ll clear up quickly. Enjoy the coming days with family 🤗. Best wishes Peter [Peter]
9/15/24Reply
Traveler Idyllic Rastoke!
9/18/24Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
Plitvice Lakes National Park
September 15, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of Croatia’s most famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites so I wanted to make sure this was on our itinerary. And yes, it’s still raining but with water everywhere in this park, what’s a little more?

The sinking feeling began when we saw the signs for bus parking. Without a doubt, waterfalls and emerald lakes have mass appeal. But we weren’t prepared for the hordes at the beginning of the trail (and in the rain)! The guidebook and a friend had insisted this was a "must-do"...

Thankfully, we’d opted for the 6.5-mile loop and were able to leave the crowds behind after the first hour. The electric boat ride across one of the lakes was fun and my watch clocked 28 flights of stairs!

Paul’s high was spotting a spotted fire salamander. They’re toxic but only if you eat them!

The photos don’t do the natural beauty justice. Even in the rain, it was magical once we left the crowds behind!Read more
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Grabovac to Split
September 16, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ 🌧 55 °F
We were sad to say goodbye to our lovely hosts in Grabovac. The mother-daughter team at Zrinka Guest House run an exceptional business. We were spoiled!

Heading back to Zagreb airport, we navigated through some crazy Monday morning driving. Rattled, but thankfully unscathed, we dropped off our rental car and took the short flight to Split–the forecast was for sun so we were smiling.

And the sun *was* shining, as if it had something to brag about! 🎉 After checking in to our apartment, our afternoon involved a leisurely stroll along the waterfront and some next-phase trip planning. Dinner with live music at an Italian restaurant (Zinfandel’s) was a nice way to spend the evening.

My children tease me about my blog posts because they always involve food. For me, a huge part of the travel experience involves sampling the local cuisine; Croatian food has not let us down! Our goat cheese and fig ravioli starter had just the right amount of truffle flavor without overpowering the dish. I had the slow-cooked lamb and Paul opted for the duck. The deconstructed cheesecake was a perfect ending!

We are going to take a walking tour tomorrow to learn more about the history of this area (and burn off those dessert calories!)Read more
Traveler Waterfront sculpture
9/17/24Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
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Exploring Split
September 17, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
So I mentioned returning to talk about this “surprise” birthday event. Here’s the first of three installments…

Fact: Curtis and I have trouble keeping secrets and back in June, shortly after we decided on Zadar, Croatia as the surprise meeting place, he slipped on a family call and mentioned “Zadar”. Not missing a beat, Alex covered for him and said, you know, “zaatar”, the spice! Paul seemed confused. I took this a step further and made a big deal of cooking a new recipe with Zaatar a week later (we all get A+ for improv…yes?) This salmon recipe *is* delicious https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/zaatar-s…

I have a separate office at home and did all this trip planning from my desk on my non-work days (again, WAY out of my comfort zone with trip planning–that has always been Paul's area of expertise). One day, while reading the Lonely Planet guidebook to Croatia, I heard Paul coming down the hallway. Not wanting him to see the book, I shoved it under a pillow on the couch/bed next to my desk. Remember this detail… it’s going to come back into this story which I’ll continue later.

Blue sky and sunshine greeted us this morning (finally!) Breakfast today included burek, a traditional cheese pie that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. https://www.chasingthedonkey.com/croatian-burek… We had a plain cheese version, but it can come with spinach, meat, or apples (anything really).

We took another Free Spirit walking tour to kick off our visit and like our guide in Zagreb, this one was also excellent.

I have to admit, it’s very crowded here (even though it’s late September). We can’t imagine it in the heat of the summer. Tourism in Split took off in the late 1980s but was boosted more recently by its UNESCO status and popularity as a cruise ship port of call.

There’s a strong Venetian influence here in the architecture which is not surprising, as Split was under Venetian rule for nearly four centuries, from 1420 until 1797.

Diocletian’s Palace (and ruins) take up most of the old town and is the main draw. There are people and businesses still living in the palace grounds.

This city actually began as the site for a quiet, seaside, retirement villa for the Roman Emperor Diocletian when he became ill (there are nearby sulfur springs).
He clearly had no idea his little vacation home would one day be overrun by selfie-snapping tourists!Read more
Traveler Sitting on the Iron Throne!
9/17/24Reply
The King Paul 🤴 [Vibeke]
9/18/24Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
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A Day Trip to Brac
September 18, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
The Croatian archipelago lies along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and has 1,244 natural formations, of which 78 qualify as “islands”, 524 are deemed islets, and 642 are cliffs and reefs. Forty-nine of the islands are permanently inhabited, and these are relatively close to the mainland.

We wanted to explore as many as possible off the coast of Split…but how to narrow this down for one day? After some online sleuthing, ChatGPT Q&A, and Paul’s travel guide expertise we decided on quality over quantity—a day on Brac.

Brac is a large island so after taking a ferry to Supetar, we rented a small convertible (for a brief time we considered an ATV but in the end we opted for comfort!) Our stops included: Splitska (the smallest town but definitely our favorite), Pučišca, Bol (beautiful…this was our lunch spot—see food pics), and Milna.

We stopped to swim in Pučišca, the water was wonderful… and we agreed that this was our “high”. We could have spent the entire day on the small swimming platform at the entrance to the harbor. Paradise!

Pučišca was relatively deserted except for visitors to the stone masonry school. https://klesarskaskola.hr/en/ (I was scolded for looking in and taking the photo!)
There’s a rumor that the pillars of the White House were made here. We have yet to confirm this!

We crossed the island to have lunch in Bol…settling on an octopus burger (Paul) and salmon salad at a funky fish bar.

Milna was our last stop, it’s is a popular anchorage for sailboats and we arrived to watch them all docking (~4:30). We didn’t stay long… this town had a semi-abandoned feeling to it. We weren’t sure if this was due to the end-of-season ‘blues’ or the fact that most people arrive by boat and only spend the night in the harbor.

We had a nice dinner back in Split at Fantazija Kitchen where we sampled pickled motar http://freshadriaticfish.blogspot.com/2007/09/l…

Life is good 💕Read more
Beautiful!! [Joyce]
9/20/24Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
Split to Zadar & Family Reunion!
September 19, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
So returning to the “surprise” story… Paul got back from his trip to visit his parents on the Cape on the 2nd of September. A few days after he got back, (early morning—before coffee) I commented, “You know, you should get your haircut before we leave so you don’t have to suffer at the hands of a Croatian barber.” (See the photo of the barbershop on the streets of Split, lol!)

Yup, just like that I slipped (like Curtis on our call) and there was no one around to ad-lib and cover this time. The surprise was out of the bag…I had to confirm that we were going to Croatia for his birthday. However, that's not the end of the story. Remember that guidebook hidden under the pillow in my office?

Paul sat on it that day and when I wasn’t looking, dug it out to see what was under the pillow. So way back in June, he discovered the destination and he'd been playing along for ages (knowing full well that Croatia was the destination!) I wouldn’t even tell our good friends where we were headed in case someone slipped! So much for a secret destination!

Today we woke to thunderstorms and pouring rain…not a good omen. Things deteriorated at the airport when the “7-seater plus 2 large bags” rental turned out to have two children’s jump seats!! Ugh! False advertising by Booking.com? Some “fudging/dishonesty” on the part of the rental company? Who knows… in the end, after an hour and long calls to Booking.com we took it because there were no other options. Someone will have to be squished for segments of our road trip on Saturday. Travel can definitely be stressful and unpredictable…

The car rental delay and rain prompted us to drive straight to Zadar (skipping Trogir and other cute towns along the coast). Of course, this just means we’ll have to come back!

We’re happy with our accommodation in the old town of Zadar (a studio apartment with a kitchenette/living space/ bedroom, and 2 spacious rooms) all on one floor. The open plan means all six of us can sit around the kitchen table for a birthday toast and cribbage!

Due to a delay in Amsterdam, Alex and Yana missed their connection in Zagreb and didn’t arrive until 11 pm; we will officially start the celebrations tomorrow!Read more
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
Zadar and Uglijan
September 20, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
Today was a 10/10. We enjoyed a walking tour that steeped us in the history of Zadar (along with a social and cultural commentary… our guide didn’t hide her opinions).

After lunch, we caught a ferry to the island of Uglijan. We ambled down the coast to an idyllic swimming spot. It was fun to swim across to another tiny island. Mojitos at a beachside cafe were the icing on the cake.

We made it back in time for showers, a champagne toast to the birthday boy, the famous sunset by the sea organ, and dinner at a popular Italian restaurant!!Read more
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
Coastal towns north of Zadar
September 21, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
After coffee and some pastries (yes, we’ve been walking a lot but we are going to need to diet after this trip!) we squeezed into the rental car to explore a few villages north of Zadar. Everyone was great about taking turns in the awful jump seat that really wasn't a seat at all.

After wandering around the cute town of Nin we found an outdoor restaurant and shared salads and a ginormous meat platter (traditional Croatian sausages, grilled chicken/pork, and ribs presented with a mountain of French fries).

Balkan cuisine is noted for its diversity and strong intense flavors. Pickled vegetables, small hot peppers, and feta cheese (Balkan cheese) are common ingredients. The bureks we’ve had have had great feta fillings! I’m definitely going to try to make some at Christmas this year (adding spinach and sun-dried tomatoes!)

Ajvar is one of the most popular condiments in the Balkans. It’s a smokey relish made with roasted red bell peppers, eggplant, and olive oil. Interestingly, the name ajvar stems from the Turkish word havyar, meaning “caviar”. Before the 20th century, a significant amount of sturgeon was produced in the waters of the Danube. During that time, ajvar referred to caviar and was widely consumed in Belgrade. When caviar production declined, a red pepper relish was offered as a substitute under the name red ajvar or Serbian ajvar. Today, it’s one of the most commonly paired condiments with many Balkan foods. It’s typically used as a spread and was a yummy part of our “meat feast” today!!

Next, we stopped to swim at Queen’s Beach, 10 minutes from Nin. Maybe “wade” is a better verb here since the shallows went on and on and on (we never did find out where it started to get deep enough to tread water).

This beach is famous for its “medicinal mud” and many folks were running around slathered in this fine black goo. To us, it looked like the smelly organic gunk from childhood capers at low tide–no thanks!

We got back to town and had some downtime, and a little wine before wandering out for pizza (mainly because we couldn’t figure out how to have it delivered to our rental 🤣). No one should have been hungry after that "meat feast" but, well...Read more
Hi Sarah, fine to Know about you. Do you remember me? Best regards [Marta Vega]
9/24/24Reply
TravelerYes! I hope you are well (and still swimming!) We are happily settled here in Estepona! Please write to me if you are ever down this way!
10/20/24Reply
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Paul’s 60th in Croatia Traveler
Last day in Zadar!
September 22, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
Alex and Yana had an early fight but the rest of us had time to further explore Zadar!

Thanks to Alex’s sleuthing, we enjoyed a wonderful brunch in a charming hotel courtyard garden (at the time, when I had assigned him this research task, I didn’t realize he wouldn’t be there to enjoy it!)

Afterwards, Marc suggested a walk along the pedestrianized city walls which serve as a reminder of the city’s rich history, with roots in Roman times and expansions during the Venetian era. While much of the original fortifications have been lost, key sections remain, such as the iconic Land Gate with its Venetian lion (see photo!) Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017, the walls offered us an additional glimpse into Zadar’s past.

Along the route we stumbled upon the ancient glass museum (which had been one of my intended destinations but had fallen off the radar). It's baffling that a medium as delicate as glass could survive the earthquakes and wars that have plagued this region, but this museum boasts thousands of objects on display: goblets, jars, vials, jewellery and amulets.

All in all, it was a good trip—our time on the coast was our favorite part and we have talked about returning sometime in the future to further explore other islands!Read more
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Trip end
September 22, 2024