Heavenly Horvátország: Spring Break 2006 CROATIA!

My favorite posts are ones that involve the recount of an incredible vacation in that post-holiday daze that makes me feel like clawing for the past in order to re-live it again. So, inevitably, I need some amazing tunes to get me through. Today it's my new favorite, "Naive," by the Kooks.

Wednesday, April 12th: Budapest, HU to Zagreb, CROATIA (HR)

Wednesday was a rush of teaching flurried lessons, attempting to solve the issue of my troublesome train pass, packing, and organizing last minute rental car information. As soon as I sped walked onto my 1:37 train to Budapest, I breathed a mammoth sigh and melted back into my seat. From here on out, it was SPRING BREAK!

Liz joined my train car after it had stopped in Miskolc. We were both aglow with anticipatory excitement, but also exhausted from our mornings. Upon arrival to Keleti pu., we headed for a local pizza joint to get some grub and met up with Jeremy and finally Janos who came fully equipped with a “sack” of clothing slung over his shoulder.

Miracles happen and our beautiful black Ford rental car was delivered to us at the Golden Park Hotel just across from the train station without any sort of problem. We were like kids in a candy store when the man handed over the keys and we were let loose on the Hungarian highways. Driving over Erzsébet híd in your very own rental car is an entirely different experience than hopping on a tram and doing the same thing. We were ON FIRE!! Enthusiasm abound! Let the journey begin…

Adding to the excitement even more was the fact that we had absolutely no idea where we were going that night or where we were going to sleep. We had one destination in mind: WEST. Slovenia? Croatia? Istria Peninsula? Zagreb? Finally settling on Zagreb, Croatia’s “well taken care of” capital (as many brochures and magazines pronounced) we found one of Croatia’s six hostels to rest our weary heads that night. At first, I didn’t believe Jeremy’s announcement about Croatia’s limited hostel selection, but after getting to know the country a little more, we all learned that most hostels among other buildings had been destroyed in war.

After arrival to our hostel in what “Let’s Go Eastern Europe” described as reminiscent of a Stephen King novel, I promptly passed out to a light strumming from a smoking man playing the guitar in the corridor. The pillows were a bit strange and I couldn’t sleep due to someone retching in the bathroom down the hall. Surprisingly, I think I actually preferred it to the persistent screaming dogs in Szerencs.

Thursday, April 13th: Zagreb, HR to Plitvice National Park, HR

Although I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep, Jeremy and I set out to explore Zagreb fairly early in the morning. We learned a few things on our stroll: 1.Croatians are tall, hence their contribution to many basketball teams (much to my amusement: I finally fit in!!) 2. The word for “thank you” in Croatian is “Hvala,” the same as in Serbian (I love little linguistic surprises like that!) 3. Croatia has wonderful “pekarna” or bakeries that served us hot salty bread sticks and fruit/cheese pastries in the morning 4. Zagreb has trams that are brand spankin’ new, but old ones as well, that cross over the road so many times, it makes you wonder how there aren’t many car/tram collisions.

We all hopped in the car that morning with our sights set on Plitvice National Park. Being an outdoorsy person, I was anxious to do some hiking and spend the day in the fresh air. NOTHING could have prepared me for what we saw at this park. I can’t do the place justice by trying to describe it, but I’ll try. Our drive to the park was certainly easy on the eyes as we stumbled into rolling hills with simple villages perched on them. No restrictive gates and fences, like many Hungarian villages we all know. Much to Janos’ liking, we sped past many little restaurants along the road that boasted spits that turned roasting pigs and lamb…and also what Jer thought was a dog. “It’s got the same build as my dog,” he said, describing the spinning, roasting corpse.

…And suddenly, we turned the corner and BAM, off to the left hand side was a fairy tale waterfall village with hundreds of working wells, tiny houses, with bridges as sidewalks. Tiny streams spewed over cliffs and bigger falls churned into the river below which soaked this utopia in a misty ambiance. We had to stop and have a look…meanwhile thanking our lucky stars for having the option to do that in our lovely rental car. A little white cat followed us around and Janos proclaimed, “even the cats here are nice” coming to the conclusion that, even a day into the trip, Croatia kicks Hungary’s ass.

After a few more hours, we finally reached Plitvice National Park. We had to take a bus to the beginning of the trail. Usually, one considers a trail to be a dirt path that cuts through a forest, meadow, or mountains. This trail was a little different. It was a “floating” bridge trail that consistently led you over a huge lake. We spent a good three or four hours marveling at the several falls that snaked over mountains and rocks, making the formation appear like a road map.

The water was of a color I’ve never before seen in water…and in a good way. At some points, the lake water was a crisp sapphire blue and at others, it turned into a majestic sea green. Towards the end of our hike, we stumbled onto a part of the trail that led us to the biggest waterfalls in the park. These wooden trails looked like they could have been swept away by the angry rapids pouring below and onto them. Water bubbled up from between the planks and the steady vibration of water just beneath our feet made me realize its natural power.


On the way out of the parks, we finally satisfied Janos’ craving for spit-roasted meat by stopping at a little joint that looked out onto jagged Croatian mountains. The sky was blue and all of our cheeks were rosy from a combination of sun, waterfall mist, and hiking up through a cave on the way back to the car. Liz and Janos shared the lamb, although it seemed as though Janos went at the meat with the mindset of the Native Americans when they used every single part of the buffalo. Jer had some grilled trout and I settled for a siskebab that had sausages and slabs of pure fat.

That afternoon, we rolled on to Split…

Late at night, we arrived in Split, a bustling coastal town with a long promenade along the sea, several tiny alleys with the shiniest and slipperiest squares of tile you’ll ever see (clean enough to sport any pair of new shoes without concern of ruining them J), and Diocletian’s palace. We had a little trouble finding a place to stay at first, and after coincidentally running into new CETP member, Ivan in the waiting room of attempt number one, we managed to find a wonderful deal for two nights in a private “sobe.” Our private rooms were like small hotel rooms, equipped with fridges, TV, private bathroom, and breezy curtains J

Not yet wanting to succumb to our incredibly comfortable beds, we set out in the city to find a local watering hole. We found a little place tucked in an alley and threw our anchor there for the night, until it closed.

Friday April 14th: Split, HR

Some of us had struggled through the previous night: Liz had caught a bout of food poisoning from either water or lamb or something else she had consumed the day before. All four of us had packed ourselves into the two twin sized beds in the room and as a result, I pulled my neck and part of my back, preventing me from bending over or raising my arms or turning my neck in any way.

The next morning, we slowly moved to a pizza place to re-fuel. Liz had decided it would be best to nap off her “demon” in the sobe, while Jer, Janos, and I walked along the coast, attempting to catch every ray of light that bounced off the sea water. We checked out the digs of late Roman emperor, Diocletian and ascended the bell tower, fairly reminiscent, but not as scary as climbing the Minaret in Eger. At the top, we were treated to a sea of orange roof-tops, laundry lines strung every which way creating a sort of spiderweb, and of course, the bright Adriatic Sea. Oh, and there was the bottomless hole at the bottom of the tower, into which Janos believed Diocletian threw his unnecessary wives.

We caught up with Liz later that afternoon and wandered in a different direction. We ran into a beach without any bathers. Contrary to my optimistic hopes, it was certainly not warm enough to swim, BUT certainly warm enough to have more than one ice cream cone a day.

That night, we had a very memorable dinner just outside of the touristy, beachy area. Courtesy of Janos’ eye, we wandered down into a quaint seafood hole that served just about every creature in the Adriatic. We sat down to a round table dressed in a classic red and white checkered cloth and faster than we could scoot our chairs in comfortably, our waiter brought us a bottle of liquor on the house. We started our meal with a shot from the house. Next, a carafe of red wine was delivered to the table with bread.

Living in the Midwest my entire life has not allowed me to be exposed to much seafood, and therefore, I have never really had a taste for it. But when it came to this restaurant, I developed the attitude I like to call…”When in Rome.” Just like going to Beale Street in Memphis last summer and eating all the barbecued ribs I could stomach, I indulged in an entire sardine soaked in an oniony marinade, tiny battered fish with actual eyes (!) (of which Jer proclaimed tasting like French fries), and bluefish fresh from the Adriatic. The food was delicious and I even picked the fish bones out of my mouth with pride. I was eating seafood! To make the evening even more authentic, we gawked at the real “sea man” sitting in the corner with white facial hair and enjoyed the musical crooning of six old Croatian men at the table next to us. They were regulars here and drunk. We sat at our table for about four hours, but the time had flown.

Saturday April 15th: Split, HR to Dubrovnik, HR

Split delivered splendid weather the next morning so Jer and I went out walking once again. We agreed that you could probably walk around this town forever…too much to explore. We stumbled upon the Saturday morning market, containing:

Bunnies in boxes
Nuts
Painted Eggs
Steaming chicken rotisseries
Green lettuce, freshly sprayed by the vendor
Oranges
Bananas
Cheese wheels
Hunks and chops of meat

And much more…the smells, sights, and sounds overwhelmed me at one point and I cursed my sore neck and back muscles that I had pulled the night before, because I couldn’t look around as easily. I felt completely satisfied just walking through the maze of vendors and absorbing the environment. To the right, Jer is hooked on Split.
When we retrieved our car, about five or so blocks away, Janos was happy to show off his slammin’ parallel park from the day before. We left Split and moved on southward. All smiles in the car, because we were driving south, driving along the coast, and because we found a stand selling oranges, the best sugary coated almonds I have ever tasted, some black olives, and later on, an actual honeycomb in a jar (a must have for Janos). The man at the stand gave both Liz and I red-painted hard-boiled eggs in honor of Easter the next day. I ate mine immediately as I’ve developed an obsession for hard-boiled eggs in Hungary.

Then came Bosnia. Who knew we’d have to drive through it to get to our final destination, Dubrovnik? Jer was at the wheel and we were cruising. The vast sea and ubiquitous mountain frame captivated us for hours. We drove on faster, singing along to Liz’s I-Pod…until the police waved us into a little parking area. Windows were rolled down, papers were asked for, Wisconsin driving license presented, license laughed at by policeman, and eventually Jer was summoned out of the car, leaving us with a nervous but bemused, “talk to you guys later!” Liz, Janos, and I all watched from the car anxious to see what would happen. When he got back in the car, he proudly stated that he had “talked the guy down” from 26 to 16 Euro for the ticket. His strategy being: Stand there until the cops get another call, a more urgent call and have to leave, not having the time to deal with a group of foreigners speeding along the coast.
Surprisingly, Bosnia let us and our rental car past the border without more than a wave. No passport stamps or stopping involved. It was only a twenty-minute jaunt and soon enough we were back in Croatia; a country with a landscape that we tried to describe using as many U.S. states as possible. We came up with the Appalachian stretch of Tennessee, the deserts of Arizona, the rolling hilliness of Missouri, the coniferous regions of Northern California, with another alien state thrown in. We were dumbfounded by small rectangular islands holding trees that were set up in a farming grid of some sort. Surrounding us were the rocky mountains from which sparse greenery sprouted from its crevices. Adding to the element of danger, we learned about several landmines that are still prevalent in Croatia, left behind from warring Serbians. Most will go off with the slightest pressure and have caused casualty in the country. We were advised to stay on paths and roads. Luckily, none of us blew up.

Very soon, we landed in Dubrovnik, described as the “pearl of the Adriatic.” Dubrovnik has many islands off of its coast, however we ended up staying on mainland, because of a lack of time. We found hostel number 2 of the six in the country and unloaded. From there, we found drinks and headed out to the terrace to meet the characters staying in the hostel with us. Turns out, there were plenty. The cast included two Norwegians, a couple Aussies, an Irish/Brit (still not really sure, because I didn’t have enough time to talk), two Germans, a handful of French, one of whom was a math teacher from Paris who kept trying to convince me that the city of light is really NOT that big. Darkness had settled in and some us of decided to grab some food. We walked to the ancient city-state where the walls and towers were ablaze with decorative light…nonetheless touristy. We ended the night at a bar called Fuego with our international friends.

Sunday April 16th EASTER: Dubrovnik, HR

The Easter Bunny (aka Liz) presented all of us with Kinder chocolate eggs in the morning and we put together the toys that come inside of them. I ended up with a tree figure (who I used in my lessons today! Some of my students had the same toy.)

Jer and I trekked back out to the fortress/city-state to see it in daylight and to venture up onto its walls. The entire journey took about 2 hours to hike around and we experienced a variety of weather while we were up there. Interestingly enough, the Croatians needed their ancient fortress in 1991 when Serbs attacked. Good reason for preserving monuments/fortresses, eh? Unfortunately, this beautiful city-state sits on the edge of the Adriatic Sea and directly next to a line of mountains, from which Serbians could launch attack from above. Nowadays, it’s breathtakingly scenic: visuals include bell towers, cathedral domes, monasteries, orange tiled roofs, laundry lines, stray cats, sailboats, fishing boats, beaches, towers, islands in the distance, and of course, the sea.

We napped by the sea that day, ate gigantic pizzas, had another meal with Jer’s friend, Emma, and eventually reached a block of cement near our hostel where we gazed at the white shimmery path that the moon created on the sea while listening to Liz’s I-Pod. Even though we had only been in Croatia for four full days, I felt that pang of sadness enter my stomach, as I do with most vacations as they come to end. Good-bye to the Mediterranean architecture, good-bye to the tall Croatians, good-bye to small winding streets, good-bye to palm trees, and the gentle sea breeze…

Monday April 17th: Dubrovnik, HR to Zagreb, HR

Wow what a drive. We set off fairly early from Dubrovnik, by vacation standards. Our one MUST was to stop at a beach off of the highway and take a dip, as we hadn’t had the chance before. We pulled to the side of the road at Last Chance Saloon (aka: our last opportunity to swim in the Adriatic). It was a fairly quaint beach, mostly rocky, and surrounded by a forested area. I was only mildly concerned about landmines as we trekked down to the beach, off the beaten path. The water was so clean and enticing that I immediately wandered in only to receive a shocking cold bite. Liz and I soldiered on into the peaceful waters. You could see absolutely everything and eventually we dove in. It was so cold that it took my breath away and my hands became slightly numb. We were in the water for about 5 minutes. Farther down the beach, Jer splashed around and much later, Janos rigged up a wooden raft and floated around in the water observing sea life underwater. We all lounged on the beach and drifted off into sleep. I woke up feeling more relaxed than I have in a long time and started hunting for sea glass.

Just before we left, I laid down on a piece of driftwood and tried to soak up as much energy from the sun as possible before we left this beautiful country. I think we all spent more time at that beach than we thought we would, but we all seemed to need it.

At a scenic town just outside of Split, we had our last group sit-down dinner. That night, we spent our last night in Croatia back in our Stephen King hostel in Zagreb.

Tuesday April 18th: Zagreb, HR to Budapest, HU

The drive home had us all summarizing the trip. Jer flipped to the page in his journal where I had previously written predictions of all that might happen on our Croatia trip. We had some pretty creative answers to those predictions. On the drive back to Budapest, I realized that not only had the sun soaked my core, but also the transformations that occurred with my travel buddies as a result of unforgettable shared experiences in a foreign land.

One thing’s for sure: “Love Generation” and the lyrics “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier…” will forever bring back images of running around in this former Yugoslavian territory!
Thanks again to Jer and Janos for taking over driving responsibilities!
Kudos to Liz for her eagle eye and her mad DJing skills!