Blogs from Croatia, Europe - page 179

Sarah and I are now on an island called Brac in a town named Bol, there is a beach of sorts but there is no sand. We found a hotel that is almost in our budget (it is if we dont indulge in other things such as wine, which we actually have been... , and is three times cheaper than it is in tourist season), comes with breakfast and dinner and we have taken a break for 3 days to rest and relax in luxury. We had massages the other day and have enjoyed having no new bug bites while in the rooms (we had a couple in Zadar and Split that have still not dissapeared). We are also both more tanned then when we got here, and it is easy to watch the planes fly ... read more

Hace mucho tiempo que quería visitar la ciudad de Dubrovnik. Descubrí su existencia mirando las rutas de una línea aérea alemana de bajo coste. Apenas leer el nombre de esta ciudad, me pareció encantador. Pero aún más lo fue cuando buscando información sobre ella y, al ver, imágenes de la ciudad, en seguida decidí que era un lugar que tendría que visitar un día..... read more

We spent 23 relaxing days in Croatia. First stop, the tiny village of Beli on the island of Cres. The perfect escape from civilization. Croatia had just entered the "off season", but it was totally on for us! We stayed in the idyllic Tramontana Pension, where our two lovely hostesses, Nina and Anna, served us nightly meals and served us cold beer. Our only choices were "meats, fich, or squids", all fresh and local...the way we should all eat! We were the only ones staying in the pension, so Dave was able to beat his tabla to his heart's content. We rented out the only apartment, which was great as it had a kitchen. We gathered groceries in the nearby Cres Town, and we were set. The best thing about Beli were the abundant hiking trails ... read more

I got a ride back to Slavonski Brod this morning with Vesna. It was a bright day with a crisp breeze, perfect for strolling through the vineyards. I wished I had another day to spend there but I was keen to move on. Vesnja arrived in a dark suit. She on her way to a funeral in Slavonski Brod and I felt a little guilty for bumming a ride. We listened to a radio program about an international cooking competition that a Croatian chef had just won which, frankly, shocked the hell out of me. I felt a little uncomfortable alone in the car with her. She had a way, like so many other Croatian women, of looking at me like she didn’t trust me. Like she could see right through any smiling bullshit I gave ... read more

Read this article on EuropeUpClose at http://www.europeupclose.com/in-search-of-croatia%e2%80%99s-first-wine-hotel/ The bus driver pulled over on the side of a long road. We hadn’t passed anything that looked alive in the past fifteen minutes. I could see nothing but empty vineyards and empty houses ahead. He looked at me through the rear view mirror to tell me it was my stop. I bumped several unsuspecting Croatian ladies with my backpack as I exited the bus, and it pulled away. Outside, a cold drizzle was just starting to make the situation even less pleasant. I was on my way to Croatia’s first wine hotel. It was located in Brodski Stupnik, a small town in the middle of Slavonia. In many books about the Balkans, authors have described their fabulous train journeys across this region in eastern Croatia, so I was ... read more