A 27-day adventure by Diane
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  • 979miles
  • Day 1

    Zagreb: First Day in Croatia

    June 22, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    It is hot in Europe this week--it was 90 in London for our half-day layover yesterday and the same here in Zagreb. Nevertheless, we walked all around the old town. Today is a national holiday--Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Google it). So all museums were closed. Our taxi driver gave us the names of some traditional foods, so we were able to order a regional lunch and dinner. We heard a great singer at a park as part of today's celebration and then some street musicians right outside our hotel. One way we stayed cool was to walk through the 350 foot long Gric Tunnel, built as a bomb shelter in WWII and also used as a shelter during the Croatian War of Independence (1990s). We saw posters left from what looked just like one of Erin's architecture school reviews, so it is in active use for cultural events. The city was pretty quiet during the heat of the day but came alive as the sun set.Read more

  • Day 2

    Museum Day in Zagreb

    June 23, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    With everything being closed yesterday we kind of packed today with museums. We started off with the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art. Most of the paintings were done on glass, and even though these are untrained painters, they were very skilled in figuring out how to paint from the foreground to the background.

    Next we went to the Croatian History Museum with an exhibit focused on Dubrovnik during the war in the 1990s. At the time it was thought that Dubrovnik's cultural significance would spare it from the bombing and also it wasn't of strategic importance to the aggressors. Instead it ended up being one of the main targets, possibly just to crush the spirit of the people.

    Finally, we went to the Archaeological Museum with extensive Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections. We finished off with a walk around the botanical garden where we saw 4-foot diameter water lily pads.

    We met our tour guide and fellow travelers this evening--3 other couples. Seems like a good group and we're looking forward to setting off tomorrow!
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  • Day 3

    Plitviče Lakes National Park

    June 24, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Today we left Zagreb and drove 3 hours to Croatia's oldest and most popular park. It is a chain of 16 terraced lakes, connected by waterfalls, surrounded by forest. We walked among the turquoise lakes on wooden boardwalks, which allowed us to get very close. We took an 8-mile mike, most of the time accompanied by a portion of the 1 million visitors the park gets each year--think some of Yosemite's popular trails.

    From there we went to stay overnight at Korana Village, population 15. The entire village, which is in the boundaries of the national park, was destroyed in the war, but is now rebuilt. Our group is staying in two cabins on the banks of a clear, cool river--perfect for cooling off after another 95 degree day. We have our own cook who has prepared fantastic regional cuisine for our meals, which we eat on a covered porch next to her herb garden. The evening found us sitting creekside sampling the local beer, wine and their equivalent of grappa.
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  • Day 4

    Biking the villages around Plitviče

    June 25, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    We set off from Korana village on hybrid mountain bikes to cycle rolling backroads through small farms and villages. At one point we were around 6 miles from Bosnia-Herzegovina. After about 10 miles we stopped to tour one of the approximately 10,000 caves in Croatia. Our young, but obviously knowledgeable and very enthusiastic guide told us the cave is 60-65 million years old and that there is evidence of use during the Ottoman Empire, and remains of a prehistoric bear and other animal bones have been found, as well as a 3,000-year old bronze bracelet. It takes 100 years to grow a centimeter of stalagtite.

    We carried on with our 20+ mile ride, occasionally seeing bombed out homes, but mostly fairly newly-built alpine-style homes--many for rent because it is so near the park. Micha, our REI guide, told us the homes not reconstructed were because the owners don't have paperwork to show ownership and so they were not able to get government aid.

    Again, many home cooked meals, including Trahana a Bosnian soup.
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  • Day 5

    Kayaking the Zrmanja River

    June 26, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Kayaking the Zrmanja River

    We said our farewells to Korana Village and our excellent cook, Mariana, and set off for the river kayaking adventure with planned stops along the way.

    The first stop was an overlook of Plitvice, which was great to see where we'd been walking 2 days before. The next stop was a coffee and rest stop in a village that showed more evidence of war destruction than we'd seen before. Apparently this was a town that was not as high a priority for rebuilding as our previous two destinations.

    Our REI guide, Micha, was 9 years old when the family was evacuated from Croatia to Bosnia, then to Syria (strange to hear that now). Micha and his family returned about 9 years later, after he finished high school. A lot of the things he tells us about life in Croatia is amended with "after" or "before" the war. Like how the village in the distance where we stopped for an overview of the Velebit mountains used to have 5,000 people, factories, a high school, and now it has 300 people, mostly retired, farming goats and small gardens.

    Still, things aren't all doom and gloom. He loves sharing the natural beauty of his country, and our group gets along fantastically, with lots of fun and jokes.

    Also on the drive to the river we stopped at a 700-year-old Russian Orthodox monastery. Micha knows the priest and arranged for him to explain about the history of the building and its artifacts. Like how Interpol found their lost/stolen icons in 1984 in Amsterdam and returned them to the church. We also heard Gregorian-type chanting/singing in the distance.

    Now, on to the kayaking: we were on the river for about 3-1/2 hours, paddling through green-blue water with occasional small rapids and a few small waterfalls we could go over for some low-stress fun. Darryl got to go down a 6-8 foot waterfall at one point because only one person from each double kayak could go safely. The rest of us walked around and took pictures of the daredevils. And none of us went over the 40-ft waterfall shown in our pictures. We were the only people on the river the whole time. This is really a beautiful country with very friendly people.

    We ended the day in Novigrad, a small town on the Adriatic Sea on the Dalmatian Coast. We had an open-air dinner of sea bass and calamari as the sun set and the large crescent moon began to rise.
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  • Day 6

    Hiking in Paklenica National Park

    June 27, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Today we hiked about 10 miles in another of Croatia's national parks--a river canyon in the Velebit mountains. The trail was rocky and steep for 5 miles--about an 1,800 foot elevation gain--but always wide and safe with no threats of slipping off cliff edges. Much of the trail was wooded and shady, a relief from the continued heat. The views up the limestone cliff faces were spectacular, and it is a popular area for rock climbers.

    There is no camping in the park, but there are several mountain huts where climbers or visitors can stay the night and get a meal. We stopped at one of the huts perched high on the mountain with spectacular views. We were greeted with a table full of a variety of flavored homemade grappa--all very smooth, not like the firewater we'd had before. It seems strange to drink hard liquor in the middle of the day after a strenuous hike, but that's what they do here!

    On the porch overlooking the valley, we were served a special traditional lunch--Peka, which translates to "under the bell." It was prepared in a smokehouse they call a black kitchen (because of the soot-covered walls). On a raised platform is a tiled pizza-oven-like surface. This is where they would prepare their own prosciutto and other smoked meats. Peka is a way of slow-cooking: chicken and veal pieces are placed on the hot surface and covered with vegetables, herbs, wine, and some bacon, then covered with a heavy flat-topped metal dome, and coals placed on top of the "bell." Midway through, the meat is switched to the top of the vegetables and cooked until tender. It is served with homemade bread (all the baked goods here are freshly baked and delicious!) and salad with vinegar and delicious local olive oil.

    Somehow after that wonderful lunch we kept hiking higher up the mountain until we reached a 400 year old homestead. The overhanging cliff provided part of the roof and all of the back wall of the stone home.

    Back in Novigrad, we enjoyed a late dinner of risotto with mussels--a local specialty. We had seen the muscle "farms" in the sea on our drive earlier.
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  • Day 7

    Krka National Park

    June 28, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    After leaving our harborside town of Novigrad, we drove south past an agricultural area with olives, nectarines, grapes, cherries and a field of yellow Chamomile flowers for making massage oils. This was a mainly Serbian area, and again there was evidence of bullet-riddled homes and some vacant ruined stone homes. These days they are rebuilding with red brick-like cinder blocks, then covering with stucco. The stucco is painted with earth tones or white, which fits in with the limestone surroundings. Roofs are always red clay tiles. There are signs of rebuilding everywhere, with the aid of EU grants. Also along the drive we passed some 15th century castles from the time of the Ottoman Empire.

    When we got to Krka National Park, we could see why it, too, attracts 1 million visitors a year. Similar to Plitviče, it has a series of lakes connected by waterfalls. It was very beautiful, but so much more crowded because all these visitors had to fit into a smaller area. One of the highlights was an "ethno-village," which was less crowded. A woman was weaving on a loom (sheep wool), there was a blacksmith forge, and we walked through a reconstructed hydroelectric plant and grain mill. This was the second hydroelectric plant to come online in the world, just two days after the first one--on Niagara Falls--in 1895. Both plants were based on the designs of Nikola Tesla, born in Croatia. The Krka plant was in operation until WWI, when it was dismantled for armaments. Only in 2006 did they do archival research to reconstruct it.

    Another delicious traditional lunch was enjoyed by a rushing river: prosciutto and something that was like thin bacon that they called ham, local cheese, salad and bread, and wine or beer (grappa at the beginning of course). There was plenty of time for a relaxing swim in the cool river.

    We ended the day at Skradin, a harborside town with pedestrian-only streets. We hiked a short distance to the remains of a 14th century fortress (about the size of our house). Nice cool breeze and beautiful views from there.
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  • Day 8

    Kayaking to Zlarin Island

    June 29, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Today we drove about an hour south to the open sea side of Šibenik, where we picked up kayaks and paddled about 45 minutes to a small car-free island. The water was clear blue-green, and the wind and current were very light, making for easy going. On the mainland side we could see a 14th century fortress for guarding the Šibenik harbor and city from the Turks. We beached the kayaks at a cove on Zlarin island and Micha left us to swim while he went off to organize lunch plans. When he returned, he'd brought fruit and a really unique chocolate bar--filled with something creamy and something crunchy. Micha was often surprising us with little touches like that--a special food or viewpoint. We then strolled around the narrow village walkways together. We passed the large estate of the inventor of the Mag-lite, and shopped for coral jewelry (earrings for Diane). Only five people are licensed to collect coral and only in a specified area off the coast.

    Lunch was at an old olive-pressing tavern, which still had the wooden presses for us to see. We were served whole grilled Dorado whitefish (really moist!) and sheep cheese from the island of Pag, which tasted a lot like Manchego. No grappa this time (thankfully), but really good iced tea and some local white wine.
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  • Day 8

    Farewell evening in Trogir

    June 29, 2017 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    After paddling back from Zlarin island we had just a short drive to our hotel at Trogir, a UNESCO-protected city. The city was founded by the Greeks around the 3rd century BC. The oldest structures there now date to the 13th century, and some parts of the medieval city walls are still there, along with its fortress and a beautiful church. We gathered together for our last group dinner at the open air restaurant at our hotel.Read more

  • Day 9

    Bus ride to Dubrovnik

    June 30, 2017 in Bosnia and Herzegovina ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    We were a bit sad to move on from our new friends and wonderful guide, but excited about what lay ahead for us.

    We'd reserved seats on Croatia's equivalent of Greyhound (with a little city bus parentage). But the price and the views were totally worth it.

    The first half of ride had the tall white mountains on our left--just like our hike at Paklenica--and the sea with its turquoise coves on our right. The best of both worlds.

    Near the Bosnian border, the land became much more agricultural--figs, olives, cherries, and other fruit trees. The plots of crops were separated by waterways/canals and were relatively small and slightly haphazardly placed. Not like the large organized farms in California. Soon the terrain gave way to larger plots for vineyards, on hillside slopes. Then we reached the border of Bosnia--the country has a 12-mile coastline that cuts into Croatia. The ticket agent on the bus gathered up all of our passports to show at a border crossing gate, that looked much like our agricultural inspection stations in California. We can officially say we were in Bosnia because the bus stopped for a 15-minute break and we got out for a piece of pizza at their cafeteria to take in the road. Road-stop Bosnian pizza isn't anything to rush out for.

    Leaving Bosnia, there were so many floating mussels lines in the water. The road gradually climbed into the mountains, giving us panoramic views of the winding coastline and the many, many islands of all sizes.

    We arrived in Dubrovnik in the late afternoon and were met at one of the city gates by our Airbnb hostess. She is from Vancouver, Canada, living and working in Croatia now.
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