Reflections of Croatia

So many new experiences, so many new things to see. Croatia has so much to offer from its history, to its food and wine, outdoor and water activities, to sites to see. This was a very memorable trip, not only because it was the first time we ever had to experience delayed luggage, but we also got to experience a culture that is about enjoying life to its fullest. Seeing the sheer beauty of the coastline on one side with mountainous ranges on the other and valleys between never grew old and looked different from one day to the next. Seeing the long lasting damage of war was eye opening and gave me pause. 

We are blessed beyond anyone's imagination and have been provided with great opportunity to experience all the fabulous things Croatia has to offer. Being able to travel with such an awesome partner made this trip all that more special, knowing that this is probably the last major trip for the next couple years as I embark on a continuous learning journey. 

Croatia has so much to do for any style of traveller; and I don't think anyone would be disappointed with a visit! 

To travel is to live....until next time....life is good! 

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik certainly lives up to all its hype of being one of the most popular tourist destinations. Approaching the city from the Adriatic Sea is most impressive as you gaze upon the massive city wall rising up out of the ocean. We stayed just outside Dubrovnik at the Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel, mostly to avoid the crowds in the city. Our hotel was fabulous and was perfectly situated right on the water in a small cove. Along the boardwalk were a few restaurants where enjoying an outdoor meal was the thing to do. The beach was directly across the boardwalk and was a rocky beach, but once you got into the water the ocean floor was sand which was a treat. The water again was super refreshing and did not get deep very quickly making it ideal for playing around in. One thing we noticed around Croatian beaches is they often have fresh water showers and changing booths - what a great concept! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay on the Dubrovnik Riviera. 

From here we could take a water taxi directly to Dubrovnik or other nearby islands. We had an amazingly spacious room with balcony overlooking the pool and ocean. Surprisingly even with facing the pool, you couldn't hear the typical noise you'd expect from a pool view room. The hotel appears to have been recently upgraded and had some modern environmentally friendly touches added like the hallway lighting being on a sensor. Our stay included the daily breakfast buffet which had a very diverse spread of foods that the only challenge you had was not overeating. It was here that I tried several different varieties of local honey and each had it own unique taste and consistency. They must have a controlled environment somewhere so they can establish which flower or tree the bees pollinated; I found it incredibly fascinating that there was such honey diversity. 

The walled-city of Dubrovnik proper is not that big and it is a very popular destination for cruise ships. Given we were in high season, we thought it prudent to try and figure out what days would have the most cruise ships in port. We found a great website (wish I could remember it's name), that showed us exactly how many cruise ships would be in port on which days and at what times. This aided us tremendously in determining which day we were going to visit. We chose Friday afternoon because there was only 1 cruise ship in port that day and by the afternoon all those cruise ship passengers would be on their merry way to their buffet dinner lineups on the ship. In our haste to catch the water taxi though we got on the wrong boat and took the very long way over. Unfortunately we figured it out too late and we ended up heading the opposite direction which increased our travel time by an hour instead of the 20 minutes it should have taken if we had gotten on the correct boat. It was all part of the journey, I guess. When we finally arrived in Dubrovnik, we made our way up to tour the city walls. Walking the city walls requires some stamina in parts because there are many stairs you need to climb to get up there. After all the walls surround the city and are high enough, some parts are up to 25 meters in height, to be used to protect the city from attack. The wall is about a 2km walk all around. The views from atop are spectacular. You can gaze out on the horizon of the Adriatic Sea, you can get incredible views of the city below and at

times into people's residences. There are four towers remaining from when the walls were actively fortified for protection and you can still see the cannons pointing out to sea. It was surreal to be standing atop the city and looking down at the clay rood shingles, knowing that most had been replaced not too long ago thanks to the war. Dubrovnik was shelled quite badly in 1991 despite it being a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was badly damaged and reconstruction reportedly cost upwards of $10million USD. There is a hotel just outside of the city on the hillside which still shows the scars of its heavy bombing. It remains empty, hasn't been reconstructed and I have to wonder if it remains there as a reminder of that dark time. 

We decided to visit the War Photo museum inside the city. This museum displays so many real life raw photos, regardless of how disturbing the photo is, captured by photojournalists who were on the ground during the war. It was chilling seeing some of those photos, but it was a stark reminder of how fortunate we are and that we must do all we can to promote peace and understanding of each other's differences. 

Not only is Dubrovnik used as a filming location for the popular series Game of Thrones, but we also discovered that some of the scenes of an upcoming Star Wars movie were filmed here. Can't wait to see if I can pick them out! We capped our visit off with a lovely outdoor patio dinner at Klarisa restaurant. We dined on tomato soup with fresh basil for me, and lamb chops for Z and of course with a couple glasses of local wine. We finished our meal with the waiter's recommendation of Dubrovnik cheesecake and we also ordered a panna cotta; the cheesecake was hands down the winner of those two. This entire experience was accompanied by some very entertaining local, live music. 

We took a side trip to Cavtat for a half day. It's about s 20 minute drive and is more of a locals town without a flood of tourists. It sits right on the harbour, as such there are massive yachts moored in the harbour along the seawall; massive actually might be an understatement for some of these yachts. The weather turned on us during our visit so we found a seafront restaurant and enjoyed lunch until the rain subsided.  

For our final evening in the area, we discovered an off the beaten track area called Konavle. This town is know for its lush fields and vineyards with the mountains in the background. This area is known for an endemic grass which produces a very pleasant white wine. In the village of Gruda, we found the quaintest of quaint restaurants called Konoba Karaceva Kuca. The restaurant is popular with the locals, and I think we were the only tourists there. The restaurant is in a 300-year old house and they also have five rooms you can rent. With the weather being as awesome and warm as it was, we sat on the terrace overlooking the landscape filled with vineyards. The chef/owner was extremely pleasant and between him and the wait staff made sure we had a most enjoyable evening. This restaurant is known for a traditional dish called peka and we had called ahead to see if we could order it (as recommended) but unfortunately they require a minimum number of orders for this dish before they make it because as the chef explained to us it takes most of the day to prepare. The menu is ever changing based on ingredients in season, which were mostly grown on the property and were so incredibly fresh. For any dishes containing meat, the chef had a BBQ station outside where the meat is cooked on open flame. Once again we were given great recommendations for local wines, which did not disappoint. We dined on a three course meal that started with some freshly baked bread. I started with a squash soup while Z had a cucumber salad. But even before our meal was served, we were provided with a complimentary pre-meal drink, a shot of sherry for me and a shot of brandy for Z. Our main meal was veal for me, and lamb for Z accompanied with a fresh garden salad. To top off this fabulous meal, for dessert I enjoyed a very tasty walnut cake with lavender ice cream while Z devoured a salted chocolate cake. I'd say by far this was one of the best meals we had on our entire trip. I loved the intimate setting, the fact it was off the beaten track and the service was so very friendly. 

Bosnia & Herzegovina

From our base just outside Dubrovnik, we drove into Bosnia & Herzegovina for a day trip. We planned to see the historic town of Mostar. We read that the border lineup could be very long and slow so we left earlyish. On the way out, the border wasn’t too bad considering they only had one lane leaving Croatia and one lane entering Bosnia & Herzegovina. Yup, we had to go through two border controls each way. The drive to the border was quite nice, on the non-freeway roads, we passed a lot of fresh fruit and honey stands. Not knowing whether picking up some fresh fruit would be a problem entering into Bosnia & Herzegovina, we decided to play it safe and skip. We got through the border without any issue and off we were to explore Mostar. There are a lot of similarities driving through both countries. We continued to see a lot of abandoned and dilapidated homes. Another sign of the not so long ago distance war and the exodus of people trying to escape the conflict. 

Mostar is best known for "Stari Most", the bridge spanning the Neretva River. This attraction is what draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to this city each year. The bridge is an impressive piece of architecture originally constructed in the 16th century. It was destroyed in 1993 during the Croat-Bosnik war but was subsequently reconstructed to replicate the original bridge and reopened in 2004. Today on either side of the bridge, there are small shops lining the streets where you can find anything from intrinsic tea sets, to artwork, to scarves, to souvenirs and plenty of restaurants. Walking over the bridge can be a little tricky as it is quite slopped and the stones used to build the bridge can be a little slippery. An old tradition has once again started at the bridge....diving. While we did not have the opportunity to actually witness this event, locals will dive from the highest point of the bridge's arch, some 79 feet above the river below. It is said that local youths dive from the bridge as a sign of their transition into manhood. 


What may not be as common knowledge is the city remains somewhat ethnically divided between Muslims and Christians. It is pretty evident when you walk from one side of the city over the bridge to the other side. There are mosques and women dressed in traditional Muslim garb on one side, while the other side has churches. Reading about the city it appears as though full healing from the conflict is still in the works. 

We plan was to head down to Počitelj, a town about 30 minutes south of Mostar. We were going to have lunch there and check out their medieval fortress. All was going according to our plan until an intense thunder and lightening storm changed those plans. We had just arrived in Počitelj and were driving up the road to find the entrance to walk up to the fortress. A few rain drops started and we thought, no big deal it will pass quickly. Except that these few rain drops intensified to the point where we no longer felt safe driving on the road. We pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant and sat there awhile contemplating whether we wanted to risk exiting the car to head into the restaurant. Then the hail started and the lightening lit up the sky with very regular flashes with not a lot of time in between. The thunder cracked through the sky very quickly after the lightening; I barely got to "2 mississippi's" after the lightening which meant the storm was pretty much right over us. We felt safest sitting in the car because the second we got out, we'd be soaked to the bone and it would be a very uncomfortable lunch. Others had the same idea and pulled off the side of the road and sat waiting out the storm. After what seemed like forever, but was probably about 15-20 minutes, the rain lightened up to the point where we felt comfortable driving again. 

We came across a hotel and restaurant called Storia and by this time we were both really hungry so we decided to stop to eat. The place had the best sign ever to describe the restaurant. It said: "Probably the last chance for a good meal today." The sign did not lie. Our lunch was incredibly good, made with fresh ingredients and had that home cooked feel to it. The portions were quite generous too. I ordered a garden salad and tomato soup. When both arrived, I was unsure how I'd finish. The salad itself was enough to satisfy my appetite. And then add the soup, which normally when you order soup in a restaurant, you get a standard bowl sided serving. My soup came in a serving bowl with a ladle and another bowl for me to eat from. The portion was enough to feed a family. I think the chef prepared a pot of soup and I was served that entire pot. I have to say it was very tasty and was definitely home made. Z ordered the cevapi which too was a very generous portion and came with pita bread and french fries. I don't think we had a big supper that evening. This was a good day trip despite the monsoon. 

Islands of Croatia

Croatia has roughly 1000 islands off its coast. We chose to explore three of these islands. The first was Brać, a ferry ride from both Split and Markaska. We thought it smart to drive to Markaska and try and catch the ferry from there with the car. We quickly found out this wasn’t the best idea because the ferry only accommodated about 25 cars and we did not arrive early enough. Instead we found parking for the day and were walk on passengers. The ferry configuration was such that the cars were loaded by driving on forwards, but when they unloaded at Brać the had to disembark driving backwards. A pleasant 30 minute ferry ride and were docked at Brać. It was once again a very hot day and we had a 15 minute walk to the beach we planned to hang out at. Walking through town was pleasant with very nice buildings to look at and an abundance of olive trees to see.

The beach again was a rocky beach and was quite packed, but we found a great spot on a large flat rock. We quickly jumped into the water to cool off and enjoy the day sunbathing and swimming. We had a quick bit to eat on our way back to the ferry and the entire time I was pacnicked that we could miss the ferry because well food service isn’t the quickest here. In the end it all worked out and my panicking was pointless. Returning back to the mainland, we walked around Markaska for a bit and checked out its market and beach. At one of the shops, one of th locals working said to us, “why would you come to Markaska? There’s nothing to do here.” We thought that pretty funny. Just as we finished our shopping and we’re heading back to our cars, a rainstorm started and the skies opened up with a deluge of rain. We were going to wait it out under a small awning outside the grocery store but decided it better to make a run for it and got rather soaked instead. To cap off the day trip, we bought some of the best tasting gelato so far on the trip.

Our second island adventure was to the island of Solata, also off the coast by Split. Learning from our last ferry experience we decided that we’d walk on as passengers this time. Funny thing is the ferry was much larger this time and we could probably have driven on. It didn’t really matter because greeting us on our arrival to Solata were our Croatian neighbours who happen to also be in Croatia. They invited us over to their place and we ended up visiting with them and their youngest daughter and her family for the day. We were greeted by Joseph at the ferry and driven to the family home which has been in his family for some 500 years. Here we picked up Lily and they took us swimming at a locals hangout. We would never have known of its existence had we travelled to this island on our own. The water was once again so crystal clear and so refreshing. We spent some time snorkelling and swam a distance in search for some narrow shells that grow vertically out of the ocean floor. We had never seen anything like that before. For some strange reason, the water here seemed a little different in that Z was actually able to float on his back. Usually his feet start to sink and he can’t stay afloat properly, but only here that didn’t happen. After swimming for about an hour we drove Lily back to the house and she started on lunch while Joseph took us on a driving tour of his home island. There is a homely feeling on this island; everyone seems to know everyone. There are so many beautiful coves and outcropping where you can take a refreshing dip in the ocean. The road are some of the most narrow I’ve seen and Joseph navigated them like an expert. After our island tour, we enjoyed a very tasty home cooked meal with the family and enjoyed great conversation. We felt very welcome and appreciated the invitation. After a lengthy lunch and some down time we went back to the swimming place for an after dinner cool off dip. This capped off a most enjoyable day and before we knew it, it was time to hear back on the last ferry for the night. We enjoyed sitting outside on the upper deck and took in the brilliant sunset. 

Our last island adventure took us to Lokrum, an island off Dubrovnik. This island is famous for not only being a Nature Reserve, but also as a filming location for the series Game of

Thrones. We took a boat from the town of Mlini, a short 15 minute walk from our hotel in Dubrovnik. The boat ride took about an hour with its stops along the way. There is an entry fee to access the island, which is likely meant to help preserve the island. The sites to see on the island are the monestary (filiming location for Game of Thrones), the botantical gardens, the fort, a lake called the Dead Sea and off course the cliffs and various rock formations. We found our way to a popular swimming area where access to the water was either climbing down a ladder, or cliff jumping. Most choose the cliff jumping route. There were several different heights where people were jumping and the higher up, the more time it took some to muster the courage to jump. I had no courage and chose the ladder route. Z on the other hand went the jumping route and enjoyed the thrill. After drying off, we enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Lacroma where we were entertained by some live music. The island is k on for its wild peacocks and wild rabbits. As we were finishing off our meal, a bunny hopped around the restaurant in search of food. Several of the patrons gave it some bread and for a wild rabbit, it was very comfortable engaging with people. 

Split

We continued on south from the lakes to Split as our next stop. Driving in Croatia has been great. The major highways are in excellent condition with regular rest stops. While the highways are tolled, the rates we paid were rather reasonable depending on the distance we drove. They ranged from $6 Kuna to $61 Kuna, which when converted ranged from $1-$12CAD. Not unreasonable in my opinion considering the roads were not congested, well maintained and easy to naviagate. There are many tunnels through the mountains as well and the longest one we drove through was roughly 5km. The city road conditions were also quite good, though a little more congested particularly when trying to access the centre of town. The coastal roads were one land each way and st time rather narrow. Cities and roads were built hundreds of years before the invention of cars and buildings and houses are literally built all the way to the property line leaving little room to expand roadways or even have adequate sidewalks. The coastline drive has incredibly breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea below.

You could really see the distinguishing colours of the ocean with pockets of brilliant light blue surrounded by dark navy. In each of the many coves you could see people swimming. The road twists and turns require you to be alert because when heading south the right side of the road is usually a sheer cliff drop off. There are signs posted along the road that say, “ if you are tired, please stop”. 

We were based in the Split area for five nights and stayed at Le Meridien right on the water. We decided to stay just outside of Split in Lav to avoid some of the major crowds. The hotel was incredible. We got upgraded to a sea and marina view room situated right along the promenade in front of the hotel. The staff at the hotel were very friendly and our check-in was one of the most memorable because it included a glass of champagne; Z’s frequent status had a little something to do with this. Our room was well appointed with a king size bed, full bathroom, two closets, a sitting area and balcony. Our stay included breakfast each morning and the restaurant had a fantastic patio overlooking the pool and sea. This was a great way to start each day. The selection of food was vast and included fresh fruit, pastries, breads, warm items like waffles, pancakes, French toast, an omelette station and cheese and cold cuts. The coffee was very tasty and the freshly squeezed juice was a must. The hotel was newly renovated and had a great gym and spa area. The plan had been to get a run in, but the mornings were already quite hot, around 25-27C, by the time we got up and an Achilles injury I’d been ignoring was acting up with all the walking we were doing. We decided to treat ourselves instead to a massage at the spa. The hotel pool and beach area had plenty of loungers and some umbrellas to protect from the blistering sun. The beach itself was rocky, which is common in Croatia, so watershoes are recommended. The water was ever so refreshing though and usually very calm. 

There were many large yachts docked in the marina with most staying out throughout our stay. Most everywhere along the coast yachts were docked or anchored and some were so large you could probably fit 100 people on them. The wealth required to purchase and maintain one of these is staggering. 

We were able to book a walking tour last minute thanks to a cancellation. Our guide was Joško of Walking Tour of Split and by far he is the best tour guide we’ve ever experienced. We chose his four hour Grand History tour for a cost of $60Euro per person. We can’t rave enough about how incredible Joško was. He is full of passion for his city and country, extremely knowledgeable and engaging. He is personable and is able to carry the tour conversation in any direction as questions come up. We met in old town Split in Diocletian's palace. From there we started with a walk through the daily farmer’s market just outside the palace walls. He bought a couple fresh figs for us to try; I don’t really like figs, but tried a bite anyway and found it to be very juicy and sweet. Not anything

like back home. The market is the place to buy your daily fruits, vegetables, and flowers. From here we walked to the promenade where we learned a little more about life in Split during the Romans’ rule and Diocletian’s time. An interesting fact about the palace is that this was Diocletian’s retirement palace and he moved there at roughly the age of 60 which was almost unheard of living to age age in his time. We toured inside the basement of the palace which is said to be a direct replication of the upper living quarters of Diocletian. There were many different rooms including a theatre, sleeping quarters and hallways guarded by military personnel separating the living quarters from any visitors. Today the palace is buzzing with commerce activities and is filled with a bunch of shops, hotels, and restaurants. Roughly 2000 people actually live inside apartments within the palace walls. We learned many interesting facts about Croats including that they have two religions, Catholicism and football. Croatia has a rich history and has been ruled under many different empires including the Romans, Greeks and Austrians. There is a square in the palace, by the main cathedral built by Christians over top the original musuliem as a revenge on Diocletian’s treatment of a Christians in his final days as emperor, that showcases the architecture of all three empires. The palace itself is very well kept considering it was built in the 3rd century. The walls were all built with limestone rocks and were stacked to prescision requiring no

mortar to keep them together. The palace even had a sewer system which was incredibly advanced for that time. The roads were all made from limestones and over the years have become so well worn that they appear to be marble instead. Diocletian’s rule was actually quite progression in that he introduced a taxation system and split the Roman empire into four regions each with its own emperor. 

After about four hours, we all had lunch together and this is where we learned more about the recent history of Croatia and its fight for independence as communism under Yugoslavia started to crumble in the area. Joško grew up under communism and lived through the Homeland War of 1991-1995. His story was heartbreaking but one of survival and hope. He is roughly our age and rightly so says he will never forget what happened and is working on forgiving. Many people fled during this war. We could see evidence of this as we drove through the country by the number of abandoned houses in delapitated state. You could see where bombs hit buildings and have never been repaired. Twenty-three years after the war ended, the country is beginning to thrive again. Tourist visits are back up to the levels of the early ‘90’s. The downside is that since the war ended and Croatia has joined the EU, the general population continues to decline as young people migrate to places like Germany and Ireland where they can make a lot more money. All the while during this conversation, we enjoyed a very tasty lunch where I had a traditional beef stew dish and Z enjoyed a lamb dish and tried a slice of cuttlefish pizza. All in all our tour lasted about five hours and I’m pretty sure that Joško would have been prepared to continue if we wanted to. But alas we parted ways, filled with a good appreciation for Croatia. We spent the remainder of the day into the evening walking around old town Split some more before taking an Uber back to the hotel. Cool thing about Uber here is that the drivers double as taxi drivers too, so that gives them plenty of customers. Seems like forward thinking to me.  

We finished our evening by driving to a pizza festival that our morning Uber driver recommended to us. We had no clue what this was about but thought we’d go anyway. It was pretty late already and after being on our feet all day, I was getting to my max limit. It

was definitely a locals festival. We watched with interest how they made and then baked these pizzas on bricks which were heated by burning twigs directly on the bricks.  Not being versed in Croatian resulted in us really not understanding how we might be able to buy a couple slices and so as my max was reached we left empty handed and hungry. We discovered very quickly that no food establishments are open at midnight. I guess the 24-hour food culture of North America hasn’t thankfully made its way here. We had to resort to ordering room service and ended up not really enjoying our overpriced meal. 

Before leaving the beautiful city of Split, we drove to see the nearby Roman ruins in Salona. Here you can find extremely well preserved, extensive ruins of this ancient city. The amphitheatre ruins are impressive and standing a top provides you with an appreciation just how large the amphitheatre was and the significance of it within the Roman empire. It held upwards of 17,000 people in its day. Your imagination can just run wild thinking of the vast amounts of events held within the walls and the numbers of lives and animals that were brutally sacrificed all in the name of entertainment. 


The amphitheatre is about a 15 minute walk from the rest of the city ruins, but the intense heat of the day helped in our decision to drive over instead. Walking around the city ruins, you can see memorial chapel and the importance of providing ornate tombs for the deceased. A short walk from here you come across the city walls that stand towering over the ancient city ruins. Again, the imagination can run wild to think of what life might have been like to live in that city in that time. Discovery of ruins continues today and while there we saw some archeologists working at uncovering further remains within the city walls. 

Plitvička Lakes National Park

About 130km south of Zagreb is Croatia’s largest national park. On our way, we stopped for lunch in a quaint little town called Rastoké. This little town is known for its waterfalls and got us set up for what was to come at Plitvička Lakes. It was a sweltering hot day, and we parked about a 10 minute walk from the restaurant where we had lunch and given the heat it jst seemed so far. We enjoyed a great lunch and Z had fresh trout caught from the Korana River. At one point during lunch it started to rain and it lasted for about 10 minutes. It was very refreshing and funny to see everyone scurry for cover. We had an umbrella over our table and managed to stay relatively dry. Enjoyable stop to break up the lengthy drive.

Plitvička Lakes National Park is by far one of the world’s most outstanding natural phenomenons that are a must see for anyone visiting Croatia. The park is 295 square metres and is world famous for its 16 lakes, which are separated as the upper lakes and lower lakes. What’s unique with the lakes is they are interconnected by waterfalls and cascade into what looks like “steps” of lakes. The water colour ranges from clear, crystal blue to green depending on the angle of the sunlight. There are 7 different hiking trails around the park ranging from a short 2 hours to a 6-8 hour hike that covers all the lakes, waterfalls, and part of the surrounding forest. There is a vast variety of different vegetation and an abundance of fauna. It is so incredibly scenic, it is really difficult to describe its beauty in words. The lakes are filled with fish that enjoy their ability to swim in unpolluted waters because they do not allow gas-powered boats on the lakes. The park is so very well preserved and prestine it almost feels wrong hiking around admiring the natural beauty. The park was included in the list of UNESCO’s World Natural Heritage Sites in 1979.

We stayed overnight in one of the park’s hotels which was a good idea because the park gets packed during the day with 15-16 thousand guests per day. The other advantage of staying there was that we arrived in the early evening which gave us time to hike around the upper lakes and take in the magnificent waterfalls there at a reduced evening entry rate and with less crowds. The added bonus was our hotel extended our entry ticket for the next day for no charge. That was a great deal!! In the morning we hiked around the lower lakes with the culmination of the hike arriving at the big waterfall. This waterfall is 78 metres in height and truly magnificent. The hiking trails are well maintained being either natural dirt or wooden planks. The trails are well signed and there are a couple stations within the park and each provides transportation back to the other station. 

This was a worthwhile stop along our journey down to Split. Recommend either visiting in the evening or first thing when it opens to avoid the major crowds.   

Zagreb

First impressions of the city is that it’s a very clean city and a relatively walkable city. Perhaps the later part is because our hotel was well located to the areas that we ended up spending all our time in. Even if that wasn’t the case, the city has a tram system, plenty of taxis and even Uber. We discovered very quickly that Croats enjoy smoking. No matter where we were, we could not escape the stench. We came up with a code word “smokevich” which we used often to alert each other that we might want to consider moving from an area. 

Our first night in Zagreb had us stopping at the Laundry Room so that Z could get his clothes washed because his suitcase was still MIA. He found a place that had a drop off service so while we waited we ended up at a park which was set up for a summer festival which had either music or dancing performances every night. We find ourselves some dinner and while we were sitting there eating our traditional Croatian stew, a TV reporter approached us and did a short little interview of us. We later learned, from our Croatians neighbours from back home that our interview actually made it on TV. 

To get our bearings we decided to take a free walking tour by Free Spirit Walking Tours. Our guide Luca was a very good story teller and very informative about the history of Zagreb and how the city came to be. The city is the merger of two medieval settlements, Kaptol and Gradec, that occurred in 1850. Both settlements were situated a top a hill that faced each other with a valley and river between them. Often tension arose between these two and battles ensued on what was known as the “Bloody Bridge”. Today this bridge is a cobblestone street and the river has been diverted and no longer runs through the valley. The valley is now home to shops, bars, and houses. We briefly learned about the war of 1991-1995 and Croatia’s independence. We heard about how the President at the time narrowly escaped an assignation attempt when the centre courtyard of the parliament building where he was having lunch was bombed only a few minutes after he and other high ranking government officials moved. While up on the Gradec hill of the city, we stopped by a large tower and waited until noon, which is when someone fires a canon every day signifying that it is mid day. This is followed by all the churches in the city ringing their bells. It’s very loud when you stand right underneath it, but it’s a great way to synchronize your watch! Story goes this canon was fired at 9pm as a signal for the workers in the fields to return to the city because the gate was being locked for the night. If you didn’t make it in on time, you were left stranded on the outside of the city for the night and that wasn’t a good thing because wild animals or thieves could attack you. Another interesting attraction in this area is the Museum of Broken Relationships. We didn’t go on, but were told that in here you can find artifacts from people whose relationship has ended. The museum still gets new items donated today and if they like the story behind the broken relationship, will put the item on display along with the story. Gotta say that’s definitely a new concept for a museum, but it’s apparently very popular. After the tour ended, we had some lunch at a restaurant called Kitchen & Grill just down the steps from the city’s daily farmer’s market, Dolac. We dined on some very tasty, flavourful minced meat dishes, called čevapčić, before heading out to explore more of the city ourselves. 

The city has a lot of green spaces and plenty of pedestrian friendly streets lined with cafes and restaurants. The Croats are very social people and one of their favourite pass times is people watching while sipping on their coffee or beer at a street side cafe. We enjoyed our people watching experience at Cotigo Coffee Shop which had amazing coffee, so much so

that we ended up buying some of their coffee beans. Ice cream (gelato) is very popular here and is probably some of the best tasting gelato outside of Italy. Croatia is also becoming known for their wine and we decided to sample several different wines. I took a liking to their Chardonnays. Seems as though baked goods are also very popular in Croatia given the number of bakeries we’ve seen. One of the traditional pastry dishes is called štrukli which is a filo pastry filled with cream cheese. We tried this twice, once cold and once warm. Both are very tasty, but the warm version has the slight edge. 

We spent some time wandering through the botanical garden. There is a wide variety of native plant species in the garden as well some some foreign species brought in from South American (water lilies) and Australia (Wollemi pine). The city has quite a few squares as well, but the

main one is Ban Jelačić Square. This square is part of a large pedestrian zone and the common meeting place for people. When the Croatian football team returned from their second place finish in the World Cup, 550,000 people had gathered in this square to welcome them back. That would have been a sight to see and an incredible experience to feel the pride of a nation come together to celebrate their accomplishment. There are shops all around and the prices are quite reasonable. 

We’ve had no shortage of great tasting food so far. Most restaurants serve dishes with in season ingredients. Z has set his goal of having fish every day and will have no problems with that. Fish dishes are in abundance here. The great thing about being here during the summer is the weather is hot and restaurants here all have outdoor seating which is a huge treat for us. 

This was a great first couple days of our trip that got us climatized and have us a good sense of what to expect in Croatia. And finally after many frustrating phone calls with no answers to where Z’s luggage was, we got news that it was en route to Croatia by its lonely self. What an annoying three days that added unnecessary stress. Z’s luggage arrived the morning we were going to depart Zagreb for our next stop. Thankfully everything was accounted for, and the luggage arrived in good shape. We could now fully enjoy the rest of our vacation. 

                                                                Parliament building

                                                              St. Mark's Church

                                                    Museum holding private art collection

                                                        Lanterns hanging in a park 

                                                     National Theatre in Zagreb