EnjoyingDubrovnickWithGrandma

Time to pack and get ready for an early wake up call tomorrow for the trip to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and then on to the country of Slovenia for several days and then 2 final days in Venice. I invite you to come along as we welcome in the New Year together. Best wishes from Ranbiljn Mej in Croatia!

OldTownDubrovnikInhabitants

The "Old Town" within the fortress walls of Dubrovnik number about 700. The older people can no longer deal with the steep winding stairs that lead up to their tiny flats - so they have mostly sold out to younger,more stylish folks. It looks a little like a models convention to walk around the city and watch the locals. This is one advantage of seeing the town at this time of year. We saw only one other tour bus so we could watch the locals in their element. In the summer, we would be there with 6 cruise ships at a time and pushing shoulder to shoulder with the other tourists trying to get a look at this magnificent city.

MyCatsCroatianCousin

This is an exact duplicate of my cat and cats roam free everywhere throughout Dubrovnik. Also, they are fat, as all the restaurants seem to feed them. The local dogs, on the other hand, are very sleek, expensive designer dogs - exotic breeds - and all dressed to the teeth. I still can't arrange my scarf in that very trendy European way, but I was passed by a little dog that was wearing a perfectly tied designer scarf.

RedRoofsOfDubrovnik

You can tell which roofs have been bombed out and replaced. The dull roof to the right is an original. The brighter red ones are newer.

DubrovnikFortressWalls

Despite all the shelling during the last war, Dubrovnik still has the best preserved fortress found anywhere in Europe. We drove in at night and the bus driver took us through the incredibly narrow street that used to be the moat of the fortress. It is lit at night and the trip was magical.The next day a local guide took us up to the highest point of the walls and you can see the city, surrounding mountains and sea from this spectacular viewpoint.

DubrovnikTheJewelOfCroatia

If there is one city in Croatia that everyone knows about - it is Dubrovnik. I have wanted to visit here since I first saw a photo several decades ago. My heart broke when I heard that wars were ravaging the city. The General shelling the city at the time was asked if he felt bad that we was destroying one of the world's most beautiful historical sites and he replied that he would just build it back even better. As part of the tour you can see a map dotted with Xs that show the hundreds of bombs that fell on the city. Today, other than some walls that have bullet holes. most of the city has come back. It is breathtaking.

OurTourGroup

This is our group of 18 listening attentively to Kristijen. The last 3 arrived a day late because of the terrible weather and one person still hasn't received her luggage. It is a really good group of very well traveled folks. They are from Chicago, Atlanta, Florida, Canada, Texas, New York, and, of course, New Mexico.

RecyclingInSplit

The cars and palm trees in the foreground are fairly new. The yellow building closest was built in the 1400s. The back wall of the yellow building is the Palace, built 2000 years ago. You can actually walk into some of the shops and see the exposed back wall that is the wall of the palace!

SplitIsAFlowerNotADessert

Our guide in Split reminded us that the city was named after a flower, not the American dessert, the banana split. It is most famous for being the retirement home of the Roman Emporer Diocletians, who ruled 2000 years ago. Many of the buildings in the town have simply been added on to the existing structure of the emporer's retirment palace. The first recycling?? In the photo, he is standing in front of a diagram showing how the palace would have looked.

ItNeverSnowsInSplit

As we headed down the length of Croatia, Kristijen, our guide told us that the weather would get warmer as we headed south. "It hasn't snowed in Split in my lifetime." Well there is always a first, because it was snowing as we entered Split!

WineTastingInCroatia

The wines we sampled at the Festgia Winery were excellent and of course, I did my share to support the local economy. In the photo to the left is Kristijen (pronounced Christian), our brilliant guide and part-time male model.The woman on the right was a rep from the winery.In addition to wines, the winery makes olive oil and the area is known for its excellent truffles. We were treated to both along with cheeses and 3 of their wines.I wanted to live there, but they made me get on the bus.

LastStopOnTheIstrianPeninsula

A few months Before leaving Santa Fe, I visited a local winery, the Malagro Vineyard. They had won a prize for the best Chardonnay in the US. They produce about 2000 bottles a year. Our last stop on the Peninsula Tour was to Festigia Winery where they produce 12 million bottles a year.

BoxingDayInCroatia

In England and Australia the day after Christmas Day is called Boxing Day and no one can explain why. Those of us celebrating it here were drenched with cold rain. It was only 50 degrees Fahrenheit (7 C ?), but the local version of the Northeaster was rolling in. It sounds like "Boolia," so forgive the spelling. It usuually lasts 3-4 days and can reach up to 100 mph. With the windchill, it was well below freezing, so please forgive the shakey photos.My waterproof shoes failed miserably and by the end of the day, I found one tiny shoe store that sold me a pair of all weather boots for $20. It's a little like wearing my Dad's shoes when I was a kid - so I can't sneak up on anyone.

ReligionInCroatia

Croatia is strongly Roman Catholic.When Pope John Paul II visited Croatia, 2 million people showed up tp hear him. The country has only 4.5 million, so that is quite a turn out. The Croatian language is Slavic the family of languages including Russia and Eastern Europe. The alphabet used is determined mostly by which religion converted which area. All those converted to Greek Orthodox use the cyrillic alphabet like Russia uses.(This is why I spent most of my time in Moscow completely lost.) All those converted by Roman Catholics use the same alphabet as Europe and the US.

CroatianFacts

More than 80% of Croatians own their own homes. With the fall of communism, they were offered the chance to buy their homes at 10% of the market price. Universities are free and entry into a particular field is decided by standardized test scores. Your test score determines if you are good enough to go to medical school, law school. etc. Interstingly, the highest scores are required to attend universities specializing in psychology and also languages.

Croatia

About 4.5 million people live in Croatia with 1 million living in Zagreb, its capital. An equal 4.5 million have left the country because of wars and the economy, and are now living in the US and Australia.I laughed when I read the Lonely Planet line that Croatia is known for "neck ties, war, and Tito," but as it turns out, Croatia is a variation of the French word cravat, meaning necktie. The war part is evident wherever you go, as so much is being rebuilt on an ongoing basis. Tito is a bit more controversial as some feel he was a positive influence on the country with his "softer" brand of communism, while some call him "The Butcher." You will have to read the history and decide for yourself.

WondersOfCroatia

Sadly, I have to admit that I knew almost nothing about Eastern Europe before this trip and probably even less about Croatia, I've learned that it has survived a millenium of occupiers including the Romans, Ventians, Austrians, Hungarians, and Italians and today's culture reflects the hodge podge of these influences. It declared its independence from Yugolslavia in the early 90s and has applied for entry into the European Common Market. I've been told that the time to buy anything is now, becuse once accepted, everything in the country will go up 20%.

DayOnTheIstrianPeninsula

The Istrian Peninsula is the jutting "V" section of land closest to Italy and on this tour, we visited Pula, Rovinj, and Porec, as well as an amazing winery - all along the west coat of the peninsula.The Roman Ampitheater in the photo is one of the largest and best preserved in Europe. You can actually walk through a tunnel that runs under the grounds, that was used by gladiators and animals for entering the arena.

OpatijaDriveBy

You will have to take my word that Opatija is a charming town on the sea. I arrived late at night and the bus pulled out early the next morning for the next stop on the tour. The town is named after the abbey upon which the town was founded. Before World War I, royalty (Hapsburgs, tsars, etc) and celebrities of the day traveled to this town to "take the waters" for their health.It remains a charming town, even though you are seeing only the coffee shop in my hotel in the photo.

WelcomeToCroatia

No expense was spared taking a photo of this free map lying on my hotel floor. The dark "C" shaped country is Croatia.The sea on the left of the country is the Adriatic and directly across the Adriatic is Italy. I flew into Venice Italy to start this tour of Croatia, Slovenia, and Venice. Venice is located directly across from the little crook on the back of the "C". It seemed like an easy boat ride straight across the Adriatic, but it took 2.5 hours by van to travel to my hotel in Opatija (nesr Rijeka).