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Croatia

September – October 2024
  • BushRoos
This trip has been a long time coming and finally my sister and I have made it to mum and dad’s homeland. Our heritage, language and culture. Read more
  • BushRoos

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  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    1

    Zagreb

    September 5, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    My sister and I meet each other where else but the capital of Croatia, Zagreb. Here we enjoy catching up with Kostana ( her sister in law) and walk the historic streets of the old historic city. The architecture here is hundreds of years old and it’s great to see it being restored. What a magnificent traditional feast we had in downtown Zagreb complete with a celebratory rakija ( traditional drink made from plums)!Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    Only remains of Virgin Mary Chapel built 1192!
    Forests and parks surround this areaDowntown TopuskoThree cousins!Look closely and you will see the bullet holes which remain. Many of these all over this region.The well that Grandfather Mile built.The land where not so long ago a house stood. The place where dad grew up.Ponikvari is the village where our Teta Vicki's land is still held in Her name.The village of Ponikvari has many of these.Locals fill us in on who's who.

    Topusko

    September 6, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Dads region. Topusko dates back to Neolithic times. My father Milan was born in a village called Vranovina and the nearest town was Topusko. My sister and I are here to explore the footsteps of our father’s childhood. His old family home destroyed by Serbs in the 1989 war of independence. We have a cousin who is still living here and fills us in on some history. It’s a place of hot springs and lush green landscapes but 25 years after the war some parts still looked ravaged. There are bullet riddled facades on the mere shells of buildings where people once worked, farmed and lived with families. It seems as though time stopped in spaces and the picturesque countryside is only slowly returning to take over the past.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    1The glassy Adriatic
    1Swimming is divineEatsChic gardensThe Architecture is amazing here1Feeling faint? Take a seat my queen!2Buildings run into the sea here211Lady with a gull commemorates a lost ships captain1Me feeling rather unwell but soldiering on!Just another bar! There are so many.The ancient Abbey which Opatija is named after.2

    Opatija

    September 7, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Opatija known as the ‘great dame’ of Croatian tourism and the pearl of the Adriatic. Opatija translates to Abbey and it’s named after the Abbey built here some 1000 years ago! It’s set on the Istrian coast and has all the character and charm of grand sweeping promenades and architecture, set against the sparkling Adriatic. We walk through luscious landscaped parks and gardens into historic Abbeys with choirs and church bells ringing. On the ocean front swimming is pure magic in crystal clear calm seas. Beautiful amazing opulent Opatija.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    1

    Pula

    September 8, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Pula. The largest town on the Istrian peninsula and a true historic gem. Here we find a diversity of attractions and a rich three thousand year old history. With every step we take through the old town we find a landmark, a historic building, part of a temple or ruins and it all begins with the magnificent Roman amphitheatre. How fortunate for us that we got to see and experience the amphitheater in use during an evening world title fight ( not quite gladiatorial but spectacular)! We have traversed the cobbled streets and alleys all day fascinated by it all. The Fat Cat Historic walking tour was sensational. View from our room divine.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    1

    Fazan and Bale

    September 9, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Leaving beautiful historic nautical Pula we make our way up the western coast line of Istria. When we stop at the small seaside resort town of Fazan the sea has maintained its rich turquoise colours but today it’s a little wild and choppy. This town would be gorgeous for a swim on a calm weather day. We drive onto a tiny ancient town of Bale and fall in love with its sheer beauty. Bale is a picture of narrow and cobbled streets that surround the medieval, 15 th century castle belonging to the Bembo family , apparently hiding many unrevealed stories. Even before Roman times there was an old fortress here, and there are numerous historical documents and remains of buildings, which point to the town's turbulent past. We walk the ancient cobblestoned streets and find hidden walkways and doorways leading to fantastic views of gardens, olive groves and farmlets. As we explore we find hidden gems of bars , restaurants and coffee shops. Bale was not a planned stay but we love it so much we find a restored stone house and decide to stay at least a couple of nights. There is so much to see and do and explore here.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    11

    Motovun

    September 12, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ 🌩️ 19 °C

    Motovun is a colorful, vivid, medieval township set high up on a hill. It has had a turbulent history and dates back some 2000 years. Here we trekked from the bottom car park to the very top original town square. We walked the same cobbled meandering paths that those of ancient times trod. Around us through arches, steps and openings was the view of valley and forest below. It’s a gorgeous delightful place where we happily whiled away a few hours.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    A family run business
    Oil press relics from the pastPress from years agoCold press in actionThe queens of taste testing1This 500 year old olive tree still produces fruit.

    An Olive Oil Sensory Experience

    September 12, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    The Grubic Olive Grove is a small family run business. It’s set on 20 acres on the outskirts of our favourite little township of Bale. The Grubic family took over rebuilding this Grove and quietly and tastefully preserved all the original buildings, olive press and historical relics, whilst modernising olive oil production. We had the luxury of a personal and private tour and tasting session. Here we discovered how olives are picked by hand ( minimising damage) and then cold pressed to produce a world winning olive oil. In tasting we discovered what is involved in a sensory assessment and how to recognise the positive attributes of true quality cold pressed olive oil. Needless to say we’ve both purchased some and we are now thinking about buying another suitcase for home!!!!Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    Basket weaving begins with twisting corn sheathsThe sheaths are wetTook us hours to get this much done.Beginning to look like a basketThis gorgeous lady fed us cakes and taught us to weaveThese are the typical baskets mum would have weavedCane basket weavingWhere lovers walked, lay and talked1The background of our original photo1WorkshopWhat was the basket weaving factory where mum worked.

    From Pazin With Love

    September 13, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Our mum and dad worked and fell in love in the quaint township of Pazin in Istria some 68 years ago. Yesterday and today we followed their footsteps. Pazin is a small town in central Istria. The old part of the town is called Kastel ( Castle) which was built on a hill about 130 meters above the abyss called Jama. The only information we had about mum and dad was that they had told us they worked ( mum teaching basket weaving and dad an electrician) , lived and here, over the Pazinicka River they fell in love. We had a small black and white photo with us. After asking a few locals if they knew any information about these industries, we were pointed in the direction of the castle museum. Imagine our luck as we arrived to discover the museum was celebrating 70 years of Pazin history. From basket weaving, cooking, working and living. The exhibition was photographic and involved workshops. Of course we booked into the basket weaving workshop ( weaving with corn sheaths) and had a delightful couple of days chatting with locals and weaving small baskets. They were intrigued by our mum and dad’s story and immediately recognised where the photo had been taken and took us there. It was surreal to be in the same place where mum and dad lay basking in each others love on the banks of the Pazinicka River with the unmistakable white rocks which pepper the landscape here. We found the building of the old weaving factory too. Such a lovely way to spend days wondering what they wondered all those years ago.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    Old Church Grozjan
    1Love these creative drain covers. Each town has different symbolsChurches everywhere you cannot deny the architecture is divineShotsSo many quaint and kitsch shopsCats of Croatia everywhereOld grinding stoneNarrow streets and ally waysStone outdoor furniture with stone buildings and stone streets. Stone everywhereThe locks!! I love them.View from Mama Maria's600 year old tree still going strongishInto the town square

    Grozjan

    September 13, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The beautiful medieval town of Grozjan is also set high up in a hill. It’s the town of artists. From painters to musicians to chefs and sculptors. A fascinating place to tread the cobblestones. We finished with a glass of wine in Mama Maria’s overlooking the valley below. Silly us got chatting to the owners and promptly forgot to pay ( it’s becoming a habit)! Had to ring them when we got home and apologise. Generously they said “ it’s okay you were our guests”. Everyone we meet in Istria are incredibly friendly.Read more

  • BushRoosTravelerCroatia
    1Mon Perrin the little beach near Bale
    SAN POLCampground with private outdoor shower and cooking facilities right on the beach!1These twee trainsTrains are called Porto BusThe Adriatic calming down after wild Cyclone BorisCampground villasMeneghetti WineryGirls acting cool and our hostess RadanaMy skirt matches the pebble beaches today. Just sayin.Famous who?Crystal clear waters of the Adriatic1Sunsets on a brilliant dayMy sister telling the fishermen a thing or two.

    Mon Perrin

    September 15, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The most superb day. We are well known in our local town of Bale and meet for coffee and croissant in the town square each morning. Here we chat with locals. We share laughs, stories, wonders, jokes and plan which house we might buy! For, we have fallen in love with this place.
    Today our gorgeous hostess with the mostess takes US out for lunch. We go to the beachside at Mon Perrin and take lunch at San Pol. Just the smell of the food here makes you salivate. It is traditional and it is divine.
    From here we catch the twee little train along the beach roads then walk through camp grounds which are incredibly well designed keeping the natural surroundings in mind.
    There is an amazing local winery called Moneghetti where we stop to admire the vineyards, pools and surrounds. And of course we sample some wine. The price per glass is a small secret!!!
    Superb day out.    Read more

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