(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Scenes Of Croatia

Who needs a lot of words when pictures say so much?

The newest member of the EU family

An iconic  church

Many signs yet no sightings

Classic Mediterranean red tiled roofs

Church bells

Viewed from the sea

And viewed from the land

A pre-dawn alley

Greeting the day before the tourists descend

Drying laundry

The harbor at sunset

The Walled City Of Dubrovnik

A bird's eye view 

As a last hurrah to summer, we spent the long Labor Day weekend in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We've visited before, three times in fact, but love this beautiful walled city so much that we keep returning.  Like so many places here in the Balkans, Dubrovnik is just a few hours away from Tirana but culturally, socially, and economically is a world away.  A unique combination of Central and Western Europe with a smattering of Venetian and Balkan influence thrown in for good measure, Dubrovnik itself is just downright beautiful.  Add in the food, people, and culture and you have a dream vacation spot.

Croatia may be the newest member of the European Union, but her history runs deep.  Dubrovnik is located on the Adriatic Sea at the southern end of the fabled Dalmatian Coast.  (The old town is actually located atop the sea with the ebb and flow of the sea affecting her stability).  Since 1979 the walled city has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and as such receives millions of visitors each year.  The city has a long and varied past.  Her modern history is tragic.  A part of former Yugoslav Republic, the city was bombed in 1991 by Serb-Montenegrin forces and suffered significant damage before being liberated the following year by the Croatian Army.  (A solemn museum inside the city pays homage to the young men who lost their lives during this modern war).  The city was first settled in the 7th Century then later came under the protection of the Byzantine Empire.  During the 11th Century Dubrovnik fell under the sovereignty of Venice and the Venetian influences are readily apparent today.  After the Venetians came the Ottomans then Napoleon's Army followed by the Austria-Hungarian Empire before finally becoming a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.   From ancient Byzantine churches to marbled alleys the past is still alive in Dubrovnik.  Yet the city is quite modern.

The view from the water

This visit to Dubrovnik was a bit different from previous ones.  We were traveling with friends so instead of booking our usual hotel we reserved a series of small rental apartments which allowed us to accommodate all of our sleeping preferences and budgets.  I know people who swear by vacation rentals but we've always stuck with hotels.  I like their one stop convenience that includes parking, fresh linens daily, and room service and coffee on demand.  Our Dubrovnik apartment, however, might have made me a convert.  Tucked away in the old city but away from the hustle and bustle of the main street, our accommodations were both spacious and homey.  Sure we had to lug our bags up a lot of steep steps to get there and we had to go out to get our morning coffee, but our little stone apartment was like a slice of heaven.  I actually found myself fantasizing about what it would be like to live there all of the time!  The other major difference about this trip was the season.  We'd visited the city during both the Christmas season

The marbled streets in the pre-dawn hours

and late spring and loved the sleepy feel of the city.  This was definitely not the case this time around.  The Dalmatian Coast is in the midst of peak tourist season and the streets, restaurants, and shops were bursting with tourists.  As if there weren't already enough people there, each day two or three mega-sized cruise ships offloaded their passengers for a day of exploring on shore.  At times wading through the crowds of map holding, sun hat wearing and shopping bag totting tourists was too much to bear.  But when that was the case we could retreat back up the stairs to our shading hide-away and wait for the crowds to thin.

But some things don't change regardless of the amount of people there.  The old city is just plain beautiful.  Whether viewed in the early morning light, the blazing midday sun, or after dark Dubrovnik is breathtaking.  The pedestrian-only white marble streets and alley ways of Stari Grad are a maze of  dead end paths providing the perfect opportunity for the three little boys in our group to run, explore, and chase pigeons to their heart's content.  Yes there were crowds but knowing that they weren't in danger of getting run down by a scooter or speeding car made gave all of the parents in a group a sense of relief.  Inside the city walls are numerous shops, restaurants, and outdoor cafes so

Every time I see this I think of a pirate's lair

despite the crowds finding an empty table was never a problem.  My favorite spot was actually a tiny bar perched on the outside of the wall overlooking the Adriatic Sea.  With the boys under the "supervision" of their father's, us girls retreated to this little piece of heaven without worrying about small children falling over the side of the cliffs.  However brief, this respite was priceless.  As is the case with any tourist destination, the prices are steep.  A part of the sticker shock comes from living in Albania where food and drink is ridiculously inexpensive.  In Dubrovnik, single meals cost more than a week's worth of groceries in Albania but the food was so fresh and delicious and the atmosphere so unbeatable that we just went with the flow.  After all, we were on vacation.

As our days in Tirana wind down, I realize that opportunities like this are indeed numbered.  We've visited many places over the past two years but very few compare to the beauty of Dubrovnik. Perhaps that is why it is one of the few places we've returned to again and again.  And because we enjoy it so much, it is likely that we will return here yet again long after we've moved out of the Balkans.  I just can't get enough of it.

A Christmas Road Trip Through the Former Yugoslav Republic

For Christmas we decided to get out of Albania and get out we did.  After consulting our master destination wish list, maps, and the weather we decided to head to Ljubljana, Slovenia.  Logistics (i.e. a small child with lots of paraphernalia) made it easier to drive so we planned a route that meandered up the Adriatic Coast from Albania to Slovenia via Montenegro, Croatia, and for a very brief time, Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

Covering just over 600 miles each way, the trip proved to be an amazing contrast of geography, western development, and cultures and was just what we needed to unwind.  Highlights included:

Montenegro:

·         The Albania-Montenegro border crossings.  One lane dirt roads manned by chain smoking border police made us feel like we had gone back in time to old Eastern European stereotypes.  These roads (both of them!) are the main north-south routes through the Balkans and drive home just how inaccessible Albania still is.  If one doesn't want to feel welcome in a country, trying to drive across the Albanian border from the north is the way to go.

·         The breath taking views of the snow covered mountains as we drove the hairpin turns from Budva to Podgorica.  The Albanian translation for “Montenegro” is “black mountains” and the views left us speechless.

·         The rocky and rough landscapes that seemed to perfectly illustrate the country’s history.

·         Taking the car ferry across the Bay of Kotor.  A quick, 4 € trip saved us over an hour of driving time and provided Sidney with the opportunity to gaze at his beloved uji (water).

Croatia:

·         An overnight in each direction in Dubrovnik where we chased Sidney through kilometers of pedestrian only marbled streets and alleyways in the City’s  walled Old Town.

·         The Pucić Palace Hotel, the only hotel located in the Old Town and in the heart of all of Dubrovnik’s action.

·         Dinner at an Italian restaurant where we had a lively conversation with a Canadian and an Australian who were in law school in Paris (now that’s international).

·         Driving along the Dalmatian Coast.  The pictures I took just don’t do it justice.  Between the cloudless blue sky and the translucent water I think this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. 

·         The numerous tunnels along the interstate.  Not only was the new highway perfectly maintained and traffic free (maybe I’ve been living in Albania too long), but the tunnels carved through the mountains transported us from one weather zone and into another.

·         Croatia’s varied geography.   The shape of Croatia results in numerous topographic and weather zones with each being more impressive than the last.

Bosnia-Herzgovina:

·         We blinked and we almost missed it.  We were there such a short period of time that we never received stamps in our passports.  Once you looked past the tacky tourist hotels clustered around the beach town of Neum, the short stretch of coastline is classically beautiful.

Slovenia:

·         The old European feel of Ljubljana that couldn’t be farther from what we had experienced along the Adriatic Coast.  It is hard to believe that just twenty years ago all of these countries had co-existed under the single identity of Yugoslavia. 

·         The magical lights and festive atmosphere that continued past Christmas day.

·         The street musicians, Christmas markets, and food vendors that lined the pedestrian zoned Ljubljanica River.   Every evening brought about a live musical performance along the river.  Traditional Slovenian folk music, church choirs, American cover bands, Sidney enjoyed dancing to them all.

·         Our suite at the Antiq Palace Hotel.  Our temporary living space was larger, and better appointed, than our apartment back in D.C.

·         Eating street food (Slovenian sausages with red pepper relish were a favorite) and drinking lots of Kuhino Vino (mulled wine).

·         A smoke free atmosphere that was truly smoke free.  It was so nice to sit in a restaurant and not be surrounded by toxic clouds of tobacco.

·         Hiking up to the frosty Ljubljana Castle then taking the tram down.

·         Food, food, and more food.  Our taste buds were reawakened as we ate Mexican, Indian (some of the best I have ever had), and Slovenian foods.  You don’t realize what you are missing until it is gone. 

·         The family friendly atmosphere that was pervasive throughout the entire City.  Restaurants provided high chairs - in Albania we are so used to them not being available that we now travel with our own booster seat in the back of the car.  Every evening children of all ages were out and about on the streets with their families.

The best thing about the entire trip, however, was that we got to spend time together as a nuclear family.  For the first time since we’ve been married, we were able to spend the holidays together without being pulled between conflicting family obligations.  Phone calls and texts from the Embassy were kept to a minimum and we spent several blissful days without any buzzing from Glenn’s Blackberry.  I loved it.  Glenn loved it.  And Sidney loved it- or so he told us in his two-year old ‘s vocabulary.  And that is what the Christmas season should be about.