Vela Luka, Croatia

Travel was brutal! Let me start by saying this trip was thought out and planned around the idea of our primary mode of transportation being the train systems and our feet, so we knew we would face some challenges along the way.

The day started with us running behind schedule and possibly being late to the train. Seth carried Mabel and our biggest bag. Addy led the way with all her spunk. Demi and I carried the other bags. We ended up arriving with seven minutes to spare. Then, the train ended up being 25 minutes late. At least we got our morning exercise in and built a little grit. With the extra time Seth ran and grabbed fresh croissants.

We added a kid's sized bag for the girls to take turns carrying while in Erlangen. We are now a three bag family. They begged us for one. We now put their drawing supplies, tiny train toys and hiking water pouch in it. I hope we don't spoil them.

The Eurorail system that we have used in Croatia has been found lacking compared to the rest of Europe. Come to find out the region called the Balkans, which includes Croatia and other southeastern countries, is known for unreliable trains with irregular quality. We were on a train for six hours with seats facing a wall, instead of seats facing each other with a table in the center. No private cabin this time, so we had to keep kiddos normal quiet- ish. Our girls have started to say they prefer first class (which sounds snooty but it is usually so much cleaner and more spacious), but here this was first class. The off duty train conductor had a little compartment to rest in near us and smoked several times over the six hours. Demi and I were desperate for fresh air, but I'm sensitive to smoke. No one else seemed to mind. On the bright side, all the smoking we have encountered in Europe has caused the kids to ask lots of questions about cigarettes. The packs here show damage to all types of body parts, so hopefully they will be detoured from smoking for life.

The kids survived the trip on candy, cookies, bananas and pre-downloaded shows. This train had limited food, poor air conditioning, no wifi and no power outlets. Someone on the train mentioned the trains in Africa offer more amenities, which made me laugh. Now we know that quality and amenities vary drastically from country to country and we will be more prepared with extra snacks and such for the next time. Live and learn people. Live and learn. And as I say "nobody died," meaning we are all ok despite the challenge/issue.

After the late train, we needed to ferry to the island. We scheduled an hour between and cut it close. It was nice, clean and comfy with air conditioning! It was nearly three hours long and lulled two out of three little girls to sleep. It also offered nice views for us along the way. We finally got to Vela Luka island in Croatia after 10 hours of travel. Phew!

Now, for the half hour walk. Some luck, our host saw us walking and offered our bags, myself and the girls a ride. Thankful for that. Seth was left walking or jogging, but without a backpack and a Mabel. The girls were a little concerned about leaving him behind, but he caught up pretty soon. Enough about it crazy travel, for now.

It was almost Texas hot when we arrived with some humidity and mosquitoes. I guess God wanted us to feel at home here. Haha! The apartment has air conditioning. I'll take it and it works well. However, we mainly use it for sleeping and the evenings on the balcony with the cool sea breeze are really nice.

Everyone slept hard and late our first morning in Vela Luka, except me. I love the mornings and we had a nice large balcony that has an incredible view of the hills/mountains - not sure the correct term for them, but they would be intense to climb. I woke early to drink coffee, work out, read and get groceries before anyone woke up. The walk along the water to get groceries was quite peaceful! Quiet and efficient morning!

After everyone woke up, we got ready for our first beach day and oh my goodness the water is legit crystal clear here! The beaches here have smooth pebbles and rocks with basically no sand, which means as you walk through the water it remains clean and clear. It is recommended you wear water shoes because sea urchins move around on the sea floor and hurt to step on. We saw lots of sea urchins and were thankful we had shoes and vigilant young eyes.

This beach has just been perfect for our girls! Mabel can play safely with plenty of shallow water and minimal waves. Also, fun for the bigs since they can go out so far and still see to the Adriatic Sea floor (the Croatians really pride themselves in the fact that it's a sea). I have never seen water this beautiful in my life! No filters, it is just that beautiful all on its own.

Doing mostly regular life here. You know... getting in some school, eating oatmeal for breakfast, playing restaurant in the kitchen, cleaning snail shells with squirt guns and beaching most days with Chef Blancks cooking up some fish for us for dinner. It's a "hard knock life." The front balcony that overlooks the mountains/ hills begs us to stay out as the sun sets and mosquitoes attack. The breeze and view are so enticing that it is worth the mosquitoes bites!

When we pick places to stay we think about several things: budget goals to lengthen our travel, distance from train stations, and walking distance to the spots we stay in, as well as groceries, parks, site seeing and those six little legs that adventure with us. It takes quite some time to research and plan this out.

We are here for the rest of the week. Seth needs to stop by the embassy back in Zagreb next week. Addy's birthday is coming up. We are struggling to plan more than a week in advance. It is time to find our next place, plan Addy's birthday and which direction to head next. We could head South or East with the heat and hectic train system or head North and West to cooler weather and trains that are more consistent.

The adventure continues...Read more