Hungary & Croatia -- Day 13 (Travel and Home)

The flights went as well as one could hope for, given that every seat was full and we had three different flights: Dubrovnik to Munich, Munich to Chicago, Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Security at the Dubrovnik airport was easy: no concern about liquids and gels, no taking the computer out of carry-on baggage, no emptying of pockets or removal of belts or shoes. Munich more than made up for that as we went through two different security stations, one when we entered the terminal building and one when entered the concourse. Both were thorough but the second involved hand checking all bags after they had gone through the machine and wanding the people after we had passed through the machine. I don’t know if 100% of everyone got this thorough examination, but I and everyone around me did.

Flew Munich to Chicago where we had to get our luggage and go through passport and customs control. The passport control line was incredibly long; clearly insufficient personnel to handle the crowds. It was just as well that the flight from Chicago to the Twin Cities was half an hour late; probably would have made the on-time flight, but maybe not.

Arrived at MSP at 10 p.m., after about 21 hours of traveling. Cab home, a little cat cuddling with Jackson, and to bed at 1 a.m.

It was a great trip, but as always I’m glad to be home.

This is the last post until I'm on my next trip. Normal life isn't exciting enough to justify blogging!

Hungary & Croatia -- Day 12

Helen and I were picked up by a small bus at 9:45 and driven to a different harbor to get the boat for our day’s cruising tour. It was exciting making a right turn out of the hotel instead of the usual left toward the Old City.

We decided that we should have a fairly low-key final day in Croatia and that we needed to do something that related to the Adriatic since there it was – and so were we. We elected to take the all-day tour to the Elephiti Islands which included stops at 3 islands and an on-board lunch.

While we didn’t have the maximum 48 passengers allowed, the small boat was still rather full when all the tourists and the three crew members were aboard.

As we left the harbor we had a great view of the most interesting bridge on which we had driven into Dubrovnik 3 days ago.

The first stop was at Kolocep Island for 45 minutes.

I walked around the harbor area a bit and then went up (literally) toward the center of the island. Reached St. Nicholas Church in the Cemetery (the name on the sign) where I took a quick picture and hurried back. I don’t think this tour waits for latecomers.

As we headed toward the next island, one of the crew was grilling the fish and chicken (ordered ahead) we would be served for lunch.

When we reached Sipan Island, the second stop, half the passengers went onto the island while half stayed to eat. We had 45 minutes for each part of the activity. Helen and I ate in the first group.

When the meal was completed, we went onshore.

I had a couple of take-out coffees, bought three postcards, and took several pictures. There wasn’t a lot to see/do on this island given less than 45 minutes ashore.

Apparently people play water polo while vacationing; several places had “courts” set up.

Throughout the day we kept seeing this “pirate” ship. It does the same three-island tour we were on, except that no lunch is provided, and the cost is higher. Helen and I agreed we could live without the ambience of the special boat.

Sipan is the largest of the three islands and has roads and cars as indicated by the fact it is served by a ferry.

Arrived about 2 p.m. at the last and smallest island, Lopud, which was our longest stop – 3 hours.

I had taken my swimming suit along, although I doubted I’d actually swim. I prefer the water in which I immerse myself to be warmer than the Adriatic seemed to be, even along the beaches. I did walk through the water at this beach, getting wet to my knees

and dangled my feet into the water to wash off sand at this lovely rocky area. So I can honestly say I’ve been in the Adriatic Sea.

I also found a shady bench right in the middle of the semi-circular edge of the harbor and happily sat, staring out at the water, enjoying the beauty and people watching: tourists of various nationalities strolling by.

I especially enjoyed seeing a man in a white shirt adorned with a red cross and the word “ambulance” pushing his way along on a scooter. It was fun envisioning how they’d transport an injured person – four ambulance men on scooters, each holding onto the corner of a stretcher, pushing vigorously and making siren noises?! Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough with the camera to get a picture of him.

Walked all along the harbor and found the church of St. Mary of Spilica. It was part of a Franciscan monastery complex started in 1483. In 1516 the whole block of buildings was surrounded by a high wall as the monastery not only provided a home for the monks but served as a shelter fort for the islanders against hostile attacks. In 1808 during the Napoleonic conquests, the monks were forced to abandon the monastery. The church is still used for services.

Walked back slowly toward the boat, looking in souvenir shops along the way and checking at every restaurant to see if it accepted credit cards. I was down to my last 20 kunas (about $5.00) and didn’t want to get more at an ATM. I was finally successful at the fancy hotel near where the boat was docked. For the second time in Croatia I ordered iced coffee only to be served this fancy coffee, ice cream, and whipped cream concoction. It was very good but not the low-calorie coffee drink I’d had in mind.

The boat left Lopud Island at 5, arriving back at the Dubrovnik dock at 6:15.

Entering the harbor there was what looked to be a small lighthouse and a harbor entry signal

The boat crew wasn’t shy about requesting tips.

Ours was the first hotel on the drop-off schedule so were back at 6:30. I spent the evening downloading pictures and working on the blog, had a late dinner at the taverna at the hotel, and then packed.

Tomorrow we’re off for the airport at 9 a.m. for a LONG day of travelling.

Hungary & Croatia -- Day 11

At 8:15 a.m. Helen and I were picked up by the tour company for our half-day tour to Cilippi. This community is near the airport, about 15 miles from Dubrovnik, and is a very traditional Croatian farming community. On Sundays they invite tourists to pay to enter their village, view their museum, have a wine tasting, attend mass at their church, and attend a performance of traditional music and dance. They have done this for many years, but it has become especially significant in the last 15 years as they try to accumulate sufficient funds to repair all the damage incurred during the war. They are making excellent progress.

On the way to the village we stopped at a scenic overlook from where we could look back at the walled city and Lokrum Island. A lovely view – even if our heads got in the way!

As soon as we arrived, I looked around at the crafts being offered for sale. I’d hoped to find a blouse with some traditional Croatian embroidery, but none was on offer. I did buy an embroidered belt that I think will be fun to wear.

This is the picture of the young woman who made the belt.

She is wearing the traditional dress of women in this region; her hat shows that she is unmarried.

Women who are married wear the same outfit but a different headdress. Women who are widows wear the same headdress but with a cross embroidered on the back.

They had demonstrations of some of their crafts (a woman weaving, a man making wood pieces for baskets), exhibits of a variety of clothing, a DVD about everyday life with some scenes from the war years, and traditional music instruments which one could try, as Helen did.

We then went to the church service. Helen stayed for the entire mass; I left partway through although had endured a 15-minute sermon of which I understood not one word.

The church was erected in 1853 replacing a smaller Renaissance church. The tower was erected in 1925. The church was heavily damaged in 1991 but appears to have been fully repaired.

I left early in part to get a good seat for the performance of traditional music and dance. The band was quite fun, and the young woman serving as announcer was amazing as she moved from Croatian to English to German to French – all sounding quite fluent.

The dancers did several different dances which were fun.

There was an enactment of a marriage grouping with bride, groom, and mother-in-law. She threw candy to the crowd which pleased the kids. I enjoyed my piece. . . .

A special musician played this instrument which, I gather, is quite unusual and difficult to play well. I guess he was good; an expert I’m not.

The performance ended at noon, and we returned to the mini-bus for the drive back.

While on the bus I chatted with a young American on her own sitting across the aisle. It turned out that she’s part of a research project on malaria and is based in Tororo, Uganda, where I was last January. She was amazed I knew where Uganda was, had heard of Tororo, and, incredibly, had been there. It is a small world.

While Helen continued on to the hotel, I asked to be let off at the Old City so I could get some lunch and spend a little more time looking around. Entered by the Ploce Gate, a new gate for me.

Mass was just ending at the Cathedral so I had a chance to go in and look around as well as view the exterior up close (rather than just from the walls as I’d previously done). The statue on top is even more impressive from a closer vantage point.

Then had lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the cathedral square just in front of the church.

Wandered through the city and exited by the Pile Gate. Decided to walk back to the hotel and was glad I had since I saw some lovely scenery along the way.

And by following my nose and walking down 218 (!!) steps, I found the “Club Boninivo.” I’m not sure exactly what it was/who created it, but it seemed a bit tongue in cheek. There were a couple of flat terraces that a couple of sun bathers/swimmers were occupying, a metal ladder attached to the rock which could be used for climbing out of the water, and a somewhat tattered awning which provided some protection from the sun. Sitting under the awning reading was a young Asian woman. As I walked by her, she noticed the small Korean drums I use as zipper pulls on my purse and looked questioningly. When I asked, she confirmed that she was Korean, on vacation and returning to Pusan the next day. I told her I was in a Korean drumming group and that our leader was from Pusan. We had a pleasant, if brief, chat and I continued on my way (and back up those 218 steps).

Relaxed around the pool for an hour plus then got ready for a 5:30 p.m. departure on the bus for our farewell group dinner. Most of the group will be leaving tomorrow although a few of us will be in Dubrovnik for one additional day. The dinner was at a lovely restaurant out in the country even farther than Cilippi. Helen and I took that road twice today and will be on it again when we go to the airport.

The restaurant, Konovoski, is located on a stream beside which we sat to eat. The food was grilled on a nearby fire. A good time was had by all.

Back at the hotel about 9:30.

Hungary & Croatia -- Day 10

After making reservations for tours for the next two days, we were given a ride on our bus to the Old City of Dubrovnik which is completely walled as shown in this photo taken from the hill above.

The Pile (pronounced Peelay) Gate which we entered is the main entrance. The stone bridge leading to the gate is from 1537

After entering, the first thing one sees is the Great Fountain of Onofrio, built in 1428 -44. People were filling their water bottles from the water flowing out.

Immediately I set out to walk the walls – SPECTACULAR! The walls were built in the 10^th century with modifications in the 13^th. The walls and ramparts are 6363 feet long and in some parts reach a height of 82 feet. In addition there is an outer wall with ten semicircular bastions. .

The Mincenta Tower was completed in 1464. It is a semicircular tower with a second tower on top, probably the most visited and most photographed part of the Old City.

The views, into the walled city and out to the rest of the city and to the sea were wonderful.

People really do live here as the laundry, satellite dishes, gardens, and recreational space indicate.

The walls provide all amenities. I had a café latte looking down to the harbor. A couple from New Zealand and a young woman from Chicago who were in town from a cruise ship shared my table and provided interesting conversation.

It was amazing to realize how badly damaged the city had been in the 1991-2 attacks by Serbian and Montenegran forces. Shells stuck 68% of the 824 buildings in the Old City; there were holes in two of three tiled roofs. Nine historic palaces were completely gutted by fire and others suffered major damage. Repairs and rebuilding are being done with traditional techniques and traditional materials where possible. The city walls are again intact and other repairs are occurring as quickly as possible, although some unrepaired buildings remain. In 1995 after a peace agreement was reached, UNESCO and the European Union set up a special commission for reconstruction of the city which helped a lot.

After circling the walls I descended to street level and wandered a bit through the city. Bought a t-shirt, which I definitely don’t need, and a couple of other small souvenirs and enjoyed seeing interesting buildings along the narrow streets. Along one of the small streets there was the reconstructed building housing the work of local artist Ivo Grbic and posters discussing the destruction of his studio and house in the first bombardment on Dec. 6, 1991.

It was fascinating reading about what happened from his perspective, and I was taking pictures of the posters when the artist himself appeared at the doorway, pointing to a 1991 picture of him and at himself noting the picture was of a younger person. I asked if I could take his picture; he seemed to understand and graciously agreed.

Reached the harbor and had a sandwich for lunch at an outdoor café before catching the 2 p.m. ferry to Lokrum Island, a nature reserve and botanical garden which is a 15-minute boat ride from Dubrovnik.

The name “Lokrum” comes from the Latin for “bitter fruit,” a reference to the many orange and lemon trees. In 1991 the island suffered more than 50 direct artillery hits which damaged many plants and resulted in the loss of the library’s collection of botanical treatises and research files.

I spent a couple of hours exploring the forested area, the botanical garden, the “dead sea” (a lake of seawater), and monastery ruins. Note that "up" on this map is west. I confidently headed the wrong direction to start with.

There were a number of peacocks on the island.

This is the lake, trapped sea water.

Many walking paths

On the 4:15 boat back to the Old City I met an English couple touring on a sailing ship (about 190 passengers) and three English women on holiday. Interesting conversation made the short cruise time go very fast.

As I was walking through the Old City to return to the Pile Gate and exit, I saw two of the Star of the North Band group and stopped to chat. They were on their way to take the cable car up the mountain to see the view of the city, and I decided to join them. We walked up 113 steps to the Buza Gate and exited the walled city in order to get to the cable car starting point. After waiting half an hour we finally headed up. Unfortunately, it had clouded over. We could see everything fine, but the views were not in sparkling sunshine. Another problem was that the view down at the city was marred by the cable for the cable car running through the middle of it! Unintended consequences – able to get easily to the top, the view damaged. However, as the pictures of the city and Lokrum Island earlier in the blog show, one could manuever around and take reasonably good photos from the side and with judicious cropping.

I returned to the city, down the 113 steps, and walked to the Pile Gate. Waited a few minutes for the No. 4 city bus and returned to the hotel about 7:30. Had been touring for 10 hours so was legitimately tired. Ate dinner at the hotel, too exhausted to go anywhere else, returned to the room, and worked on my blog until 11:15.