Croatia

We have just returned to work from a long vacation that afforded us some great travel experiences, as well as needed time with friends and family in the States. This year we had the opportunity to do something unprecedented for us... travel in Europe. Our first stop was Croatia.

We flew in to Dubrovnik. Neither of us realized how much we had missed greenery, mountains and rivers after spending most of a year in the desert. We were also struck by how old and quaint much of the country was. In the hilly coastal areas it was clear that the roads predated cars, and this created some nervous driving situations. Old stone houses were tucked into nooks and crannies in the rural areas and the cities still contain walled fortresses.

Old Dubrovnik was choked with tourists on the day day we visited. However, it was fun to drink from the city fountains. We also came across some locations we recognized from King's Landing in Game of Thrones. And like many of the other tourists who visit, we took advantage of some great seafood, wine, and even found some good craft beer.

The Fakin IPA was probably our favorite. Not only delicious, but features hipster chickens on the label. 









We spent most of our time in Croatia camping on the islands of Mljet and Korcula. Both places offered beautiful beaches, and lots of opportunity to explore villages which seemed to be tucked it to just about every flat coastal area on what were otherwise very hilly islands. Just about any road would lead to an enclave of a few old stone homes with vegetable gardens and a nearby church. Some had their own olive orchards and wine grapes. Others offered rooms for rent or had simple restaurants serving local seafood.

We realized that many parks and natural areas in Europe are integrated with civilization to a much greater degree that one would see in the states. Mljet National Park, where we spent a day hiking and canoeing, had modern residential areas committed to preserving their simple communities, and sustainable tourism alongside many structures which had stood for hundreds of years, some in disrepair, while others were still being used. This monastery on an island in one of the park's lakes was constructed in the 12th century and is now a restaurant. 

Hilltop church overlooking the village of Korita

Wild boar crossing and a day spent exploring little islands near Lumbarda on Korcula island.

Evidence of civilizations going back hundreds or thousands of years was apparent in many places. Some areas were protected sites with interpretive information explaining some history. More  often it was simply encountering an old structure while wandering the country side and being left to wonder who lived there and what their lives might have been like.

Sun set from our guest house balcony on Korcula Island. We did take some breaks from camping. Croatia has a long history of promoting tourism. We happened to visit before the height of tourist season. In many places people rent out rooms to travelers indicated by a sign saying "sobe". Air B&B and TripAdvisor have made finding lodging almost anywhere a snap. However, we had more interesting and affordable experiences by knocking on doors and asking if any rooms were available.  

We did spend a few days inland in Croatia and found it to be equally pleasant as the archipelago areas. This was the sunset we encountered driving towards Plitvice National Park.

Wine is an essential component life in Croatia. Most of the reds produced come from the same type of grape but take on different characteristics depending on where they are grown. Dingac a very full, dry, and somewhat affordable variety from the rocky, nutrient poor, coastal areas was our favorite wine not only in Croatia but, compares favorably to wines we like most from the States and South America. 

In the interior of the country it was also apparent that they had not fully recovered from war that took place after the fall of Yugoslavia. In areas that had not been widely rebuilt many buildings were missing roofs from shelling that took place or had walls wracked with bullet holes, like this abandoned school that seemed to serve as a hangout/playground area for the nearby town.

In an effort to save some money we mostly prepared our own food and did not get full experience of the local cuisine. Inland the food seemed to be largely limited to simple meat and vegetable dishes and pastas. Truffles are common in some areas and we did opt to spend some money one day on some amazing black truffle spread. 

 In the coastal areas it was hard to go wrong with fresh local seafood prepared simply with a slice of lemon and a generous amount of olive oil.