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Just a thought - different fields, different grasshoppers, different seas and different fish. Is that not what holidays are all about? Seeing the same thing but in a different light. Seeing new things as well.
Where is Suzy today? Sitting in the sun at Camping Krka in between Skradin and Sibernik. So it's Dobra Dosli to the blog today.
When we arrived we were greeted like old friends by the daughter of the campsite owner. My English is poor she said. Wow I wish my Croatian was that good. She asked if we wanted sun or shade. She laughed when we said sun and told us all British wanted sun. It appears that an English couple come here every year for a month at a time and want the same sunny spot.
We are now sitting in the sun warming up very nicely. The washing is done 30 kunas a load and is now drying in the sun. We are next to a German couple with two small children, a couple in a motorhome and some Germans in a caravan. We are the sole brits on site. Sibernik is a bus ride away 1 kuna 50 each one
way and the bus runs at 11 tomorrow . We had planned to go tomorrow to the Krka national park but its Labour Day and the park will be full to brimming so the nice young lady warned us off. Go another day she said . You will enjoy it more. All we could hear was birdsong from our site. Its rustic but peaceful and just what the doctor ordered.
However as always our happiness about the weather was shortlived. With just the merest hint of a tan it changed again. At 4 am the rain pounding on Suzy's roof woke us up. The washing was getting another rinsing free of charge courtesy of the heavy rain and I for one was not getting dressed to bring it in. What have we done so wrong to get this awful weather. We have had the odd day of rain or of thunder before but nothing like this which is constant. The good days are the exception this holiday. We have even heard that it has snowed in France , it has hailed golfballs in Spain and snow has fallen on Ljubliana. The work of fiction the weather forecast must be
having the devils own job getting it right these last few days.
We woke at 8 and the rain was still pounding down. It still rained an hour later at 9. The decision had to made on what to do. It looked as if the rain was set in for the day but by 9.30 the skies had cleared and that made the decision to go to Sibenik much easier. As we have the nasty habit of waiting for buses on the wrong side of the road my first job was to go and ask where the bus stop was. Son took me out and showed me. As I walked off the daughter chased me. She had told me that the bus would arrive at 11 but now she said make sure you are there quite a while before as it will come early. So we set off, the wind began to howl, the rain started again. We sheltered in an old tin shed which doubled up as the bus shelter. At 10.50 the Sibenik bus arrived. We paid our money and were treated to a ride round the houses and the national park , a trip down the
motorway and finally arrived in the city. It is not a huge place but still easy to get lost as we tried to find our way out of the modern stuff and into the old heart of the city. When we did find our way we found ourselves alongside medieval walls, in narrow grey streets with tall buildings crowding in. The place was lively for a Sunday. Worshippers in the churches and the many city bells clanging away on the hour. Sibernik is the 3rd largest city in the historic region of Dalmatia and the oldest native Croatian town on the shores of the sea. What a lovely setting.
The city had been Venetian, Byzantine and Hungarian run for many years and it was this different approach by each faction that gave it its character. In modern times after World War I, Šibenik was occupied by the Kingdom of Italy until as late as 1921. As a result of a treaty the Italians gave up their claim to the city and it became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the second world war Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany controlled it with a bit of
communism as the partisans entered the city in 1944. It became independent in 1991 but its troubles only just began again. It was heavily attacked by the Yugoslav National Army and the Serbian paramilitary. The battle of Sibenik lasted 6 days and the bombings damaged many of the cities buildings including the dome of the Cathedral.
Luckily for us the city buildings have been restored and returned to their former glory. Sibenik is an uphill sort of place with three forts lining the hillside. All Venetian. Limestone blackened with age. We headed up. Tiny alleyways led upwards. Some ended in dead ends. Some ended in people back gardens. We found our way up the marble steps to the Monastery garden of St Lawrence. We sat in a lovely garden quite small but full of medicinal plants ranging from mints and marigolds through to artichokes and lavender. Roses bloomed in the middle of the plots. It was a peaceful spot with a lovely view down to the city and the sea. Drinking our coffees we felt priviledged to be allowed this type of travel where we see how the inhabitants live and where we get off the beaten track.
Further up we climbed., The wind was now blowing a hoolie and it felt cold . We passed the closed gates of the Sveti Ana cemetery. Immaculate with its large ornate mausoleum tombs. Up and up until we reached the fort. Tvrdava Sveti Mihovila . Dark and dingy in parts. Houses empty and falling down. The lady on the gate had obviously got out of bed the wrong side . I offered a 500 kuna note about £50. The smallest denomination I thought I had in my purse. She grunted in English "Get your change down town". I almost felt like saying OK - and forget it we wont be coming back. However a quick look in my purse I found 200 kuna which she begrudgingly took. She proffered the tickets and told us that we could see the first fort, then walk 7 minutes to the second and another 15 to the third . To be honest once we had seen one fort in the blowing wind we had had enough.Tvrdava Sveti Ivana and the Fortress Barone would have to be missed . Another day perhaps we might have gone on walking but today it was too cold and
too wet.
Having done the fort we walked down to the centre to sort out where to have dinner. I found a restaurant which looked promising and earmarked it for later. The next stop was the church. At home churches generally are built of the stone of the area and of a steeple or tower variety. In Europe they vary so much from country to country and from region to region. From outside this church had the obligatory bronze looking door which was apparently modern. Statues adorned the walls. Adam and Eve clutching their bits having failed to find a suitable leaf for decoration. As we walked inside a man came out with a table . We didnt work out what it was for but did when we come to leave. Inside no photographs but to be honest it looked pretty dull and unimpressive. Tombs along the wall but nothing that excited us . As we turned to leave man with table dragged everyone going out by the scruff of their necks and demanded 1 kuna 50 entry fee. Some paid others just ignored him.
Lunch did not work. As we opened the doors the place was heaving.
The Japanese on the ship cruise had taken over. We would never have been served nor found a table in a month of Sundays. Eventually we did find a small cafe which served us with a pizza and spaghetti. We sat amongst Americans and a couple from Norway. Made a change from the endless Germans here. Nice to hear English spoken.
Our final thought was how to get home. It had to be taxi but we had dreadful trouble finding the taxi rank. When we did find it there was not a taxi in sight nor was there any number to ring. In the end by pure chance we came across a taxi standing at the end of the street. Are you for hire? Yes he said in perfect English. Where to? Camping Krka. I never get asked to go there he said. We feel into conversation. It felt rude to ask him what his job actually was. He seemed too educated to be just a taxi driver and we wondered if he had failed to find work and just took the taxi driving to make ends meet. He asked where we came from. Wales we said. Silence and in my head I was thinking the next thing he will say is Gareth Bale. He did and then mentioned Cardiff which he knew was our capital. He talked about rugby our national sport and knew that Wales had qualified for the Euros. He knew the last time Wales had qualified and knew our country was small with a population less than Croatia. Of course we talked EU. He hated it. He hated the way Croatia had to tow the line to Brussels, he hated being forced to fight in wars he did not agree with. He told us he was not racist but he worried about extremism and his Muslim neighbours in Bosnia. He worried for his future in an uncertain world. We felt for him as we felt the same. We shared the same issues and the same problems. What a lovely lad and he gave us a real insight in to what it is like living in Croatia with near neighbours who you dislike..
The evening ended with a meal in the restaurant on site. Glenn had chicken and I had psut a dalmation ham similar to Italian ham and home made cheese. Finished off with a free aperatif/digestif. Loved that site . Tomorrow we head for the Krka national park . You are coming on a trip with me.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
The clock is ticking
So many places to travel and so little time.