Wrap Up for Croatia 2017

Time to wrap up everything and though I may not have the most comprehensive list of remembrances....here is what I've learned.

Best Wall

That's an easy one. Everyone whom I know who has visited Croatia has gone to Dubrovnik. I guess the Cruise Ships stop there and so it's popular ... And everyone said that I must walk the Ancient City Wall. They were right. It takes in a mile or more and is straight out of a Hollywood adventure movie.

Is that really the color of the Adriatic?  Yes it is...at least it is in Sobra on the Island of Mljet. Every morning we would see this very old couple get in this boat and go out to sea or some other island and return in the evening with fish.....and several bags of cut tree branches and logs. The bags would then set on the stairs near our house...and then disappear. It may have been mysterious or it may have been kindling for the wood fired ovens of the restaurants.

       

The above view from our Air BnB room in Sobra. Best view of the Adriatic to calm the soul. Really

Or maybe this view of the Sobra Bay on Mljet is THE view.

       

It might be this view which I experienced each morning .....though I did have to lean out of my second story window and snap the photo with one hand. 

By the way.....Sobra has two restaurants: "one fish and one meat." Though we suspected that they both used the same kitchen and bar tender. But they were popular with the sailing crowd and the little grocery next to our place would conveniently keep a bottle opener at the cash register so you could cash and carry and then drink by sitting in the doorway of the abandoned next door building.

Who would have thought......Best Lasagna on the whole trip.....At a National Park Snack Bar.

The national park on the island of Mljet (mee-yet) was quite nice. We rented a car and drove clear to the other end of the island (19 miles or so)...and took a ferry to the island in the middle of the park and walked the ancient monastery. They had a fancy white table clothed restaurant... I should say, "fancy" but we opted for the little snack bar. It was sit down. I ordered what I supposed to be a prepackaged lasagna. No, it was baked. It was wonderful. I'd return the island, to the whole country of Croatia alone...just for that lasagna.

     

I'd return to the entire country of Croatia just for the full moon rising over the mountain and the bay in Sobra on the island of Mljet.

Why DID they do this?  At the other end of Mljet Island we passed a small chapel near the road. And from that chapel there was a solitary path another 500 meters and there was another but smaller chapel. Was this the annex? The overflow? The special doner chapel. Both were kept in good shape. Still a mystery.

Makaila kept picking fruit from the trees. And lived to tell about it.

    

Technology....go figure.  Came across this isolated and picturesque old church on the island on a cloudy day. It was three o'clock and the bells rung out....shouldn't be hard to do...they had three bells. But wait, the bell we heard was an electronic bell which rang on the hour. Labor shortage; no bell ringer and so they went hi-tech. I guess.

      

Picture Postcard from my balcony in Korcula. And that phrase alone...picture postcard....dates me. Vendors and stores still sell postcards but am not sure if anyone is buying. Take a picture, text message with attachment back home or better still...use WhatsApp and mom and dad see it before you have time to find the nearest gelato stand. What's a postcard for? Tell Mom and Dad about WhatsApp, by the way.

If there is room....just make it your lunch counter. There was a gathering spot for tour guide in the Old City of Korcula...sort of in the town square. The guide would gather her group and go on and on and on about some of the fascinating points of the old town....we assume....the guides were always speaking Croatian or Italian or German. We never knew but their patrons were bored out of their minds by the 5th minute of historical detail. No one paid any attention to the Guide, nor to Makaila and I as we sat and talked.

Marco Polo's House.   Take it with a grain of salt....he lived a VERY long time ago...do they REALLY know his or his uncle's house?? Nevertheless....this rickety old recreation of a house of that era made me feel like a giant....it was rather cramped...and one look at the stairs of the house made me realize why Marco left the town and went to China.

Candles in the corner of the Church. It made for a cleaning problem I'm sure....but considering all the other more pressing needs for that church...it made little difference. Hvar City monastery....One of the countless monasteries on that island.

Props to the Chamber of Commerce of Hvar City on the Island of Hvar. This was THE best promanade around the bay...it went on for a mile or two. It also is where we were caught in a downpour. Umbrella and rain gear and we walked along in the rain as everyone else fled for drinks in the bars.

          

So busy watching the technology that we nearly missed the actual sunset....Split, Croatia.

They had a rather metro-park like thing going on in that city. The park was huge...only the locals seemed to go there. Walk for miles on the street/road. Joggers, families, babies, oldsters....trees, the Adriatic Sea. Great place. Tourists didn't bother...except for us. 

How to Re-Purpose your dead church.  A sushi and oyster bar in the remains of an ancient church across the alley from the ancient, shuttered monastery. The monastery property is a gold mine....probably a Hilton soon.  Hvar town on Hvar Island.

Best view for the money or anyone's money....Hvar Apartment....overlooking the Adriatic.

Kebab? Why not. Didn't see a lot of kebabs on this trip which we thought unusual. Nor did one see a lot of Burger Bars. This was a dive in the best sense of the word and the kebabs in a wrap form...were great. Hvar town.

The Air BnB's were not all this cool. Our place in Split was pretty cool. It was the second floor of an old and frankly creepy neighborhood...or so it seemed...then we realized the entire town was kinda creepy and then realized that the entire town was just freakin' old. Lots of old placed re-habbed for us tourists. Loved this place ... It was huge...this was just the breakfast nook.

Our neighborhood at rush hour. If you could get a car down there and figure out the maze of streets to get back out....you can park anywhere.

Best Farmers Market....Split. Went there several mornings for fruit and found a small cafe off in one corner and sat and watched everything. It was a pretty big market.

Can't read Croatian but....I'm pretty sure this means....in an Emergancy ....evaluate the place ....and run to the door. I like their logic and not sure if I would have thought about that had the sign not given instructions.

Diocletian's Palace Split.  Diocletian retired...but this marble relief tells the story of how most Emperors "retired"...and never lived to tell about it.

My place in Sibenik....this ancient town was just plain ancient. I would never have gone into this neighborhood had my reservation not said to do so. But....turns out the whole town looked like this and it was safe and very cool.

Towns people were the models.....The Cathedral on Sibenik had the images of 71 actual townspeople from the 15th century grace the outside wall of the church. I looked at them all! One of my favorite art discoveries during the trip.

What can you say....about St. Donatus' Church in Zadar. Love the name...Zadar and loved the 8th century church.

Sea Organ......this ALONE was worth the trip to Croatia. Sit and listen to the ocean wail and moan and sing....kinda like a whale's mournful cry. (It was an architecturally designed sea organ...not naturally occurring. Google it!)

Zadar also......had the Sun Salutation.... Far to complex to describe though some have used the word Disco.....Google this for sure. I must hand it to Zadar....the Sea Organ and Sun Salutation were a couple of the most creative uses of public money that I have ever seen. The locals came and brought drinks and watched the sun set every night listening to the Sea Organ and then they walked over to the Sun Salutation to experience the Suns rays stored on photo cells. Mesmerizing!

Roman Coliseum in Pula. Who KNEW?! Actually, I did and that is why I stopped for the night....though my hotel was straight out of a Hitchcock movie.

I can't even begin to recall the number of alleys and walkways and streets like this that I have walked down this past month. But, I have enjoyed them all.

Rovinj in the rain......

Rovinj in the sun.  I would go back without a second thought.

Gondoliers.....are you kidding me....who would do that? Seems that just about everyone in Europe and Asia are doing that! And great fun to watch.....much cheaper than taking the ride. $100 cheaper.

Here is my last stock tip.....Nutella This stuff is eaten all over the place. Croatia is nuts for it and so is Venice. Put it on toast in croissants and omelettes and on kebabs, rare fish and unpronounceable vegetables and the food is seemingly better for it.

Follow the guide books.....and you'll get this.....but it may not be up to the guide books rave reviews but it is worth the journey across Venice to try and find it. 

I underestimated the wonders of Venice. Granted, I got two and a half days and so I got a taste but a week would be better.

Sometimes it's best to leave...all the while wanting more.

Thank you all for coming along on the journey.

Peace,  Bob