Croatia and Vermont Bicycling Tours (VBT)

Croatia in September is warm, mostly dry (though we had one diluge that was quickly over)and beautiful. For the first weeks of the journey we were in the good hands of VBT and guides Marko and Mattej. We can't say enough about how much Marko and Mattej enriched our experience. Not only did we do a lot besides biking, but we were wonderfully supported every step of the way. Both of us feel that we want to do another tour with VBT -- maybe Vietnam?

The other part of the happy equation was the 16 people with whom we toured. A brighter, more engaged, fun loving, compatible group I could not imagine. We enjoyed them to a one.

Interestingly, not very many Americans travel to Croatia. A conversation we had with two American's on leave from Iraq (one a doctor, the other a therapist) is telling. Upon hearing that her daughter was taking her leave in Croatia, the mother said, "Croatia. Is that safe?" Amusing, given that her daughter was stationed in Baghdad. So there is the perception that hostilities exist and they do but now they are in the form of disparaging comments.

Okay, now for some quick impressions of Croatia:
Rocks -- it's a very rocky place, that is, the islands are;
Vineyards being harvest by friends and family and carted away bags at a time to be pressed -- someone said that Croatia is like Italy was 40 years ago and I agree;
Fig trees -- everywhere and in addition, carob, pomegranate, quince, walnuts and somewhere orange, as candied orange slices are ubiquitous;
Homemade grappa -- herbal, walnut, everything that grows seems to make its way into grappa;
Water -- clear, green to deep blue;
Donkeys -- a smart means of getting around the rocky, steep slopes;
Kunas, Tito, grilled squid, octopus, gigantic yachts, boats of all sizes, rivas, pizza, pasticada and gnocchi.
Lasting evidence of war -- from the new brick roofs of Dubrovnik to the holes in roofs, lot's of people still talking about it and thinly veiled hostility.

Photos and more follows.

Seven hours in Zagreb

A long delay sitting on the Frankfurt runway caused us to miss our connecting flight from Zagreb to Dubrovnik. Faced with seven boring hours at the really small Zagreb "international" airport, we hopped a taxi to the old town of Zagreb, ate dinner, visited a jeweler, walked all around the streets, and then took in a traditional singing group and dancers. The outdoor performance was part of the festivities opening the town's annual international footrace through the wooded hills surrounding Zagreb. We spoke with runners from the U.S., New Zealand, Britain and elsewhere who had journeyed many hours to race.

I wasn't expecting Zagreb to be so charming but if we had more time in our stay, I would have loved to return.

Dubrovnik - Pearl of the Adriatic

We took the VBT trip extension to Dubrovnik at the start of our trip. So happy we did because Dubrovnik is beautiful, lively (well, full of tourists from everywhere) and a little like Disneyland's main street in its perfection. Limestone streets meet limestone walls with the effect that it really does seem like one giant pearl of a city -- smooth, polished and white. But Dubrovnik also has the distinction of having had 80 percent of its roofs destroyed from relentless bombing by Serbs who bombed the city from Montenegro southeast of the city. Isolated from the rest of Croatia by 11 km of highway belonging to Bosnia-Herzogovina, Dubrovnik was an easy and useful target during the Balkan War. But the roofs have since been restored and the tourists have returned in droves. It felt and is relatively prosperous.

We stayed in the Hotel Zagreb, set on a pedestrian-only promenade with a walking path that encircles the penninsula, it was a pretty terrific introduction to Croatia. Along the promenade are restaurants and cafes with chair swings. A nice place to people watch and wile the night away. Along the trail are numerous places to drop down to swimming rocks where its easy to jump in for a swim and return back to the trail. Sturdy swimming ladders can be found the entire route. We loved it and it ended all too fast.






Views from the wall. Tom, Bridgit and Bill on the wall.






An ancient water fountain in the middle of old town. A walk on the wall that almost encircles the town.

Split - where it all began

On our way to the ferry to Brac, Mattej took us on a tour of the remains of Diocletian's palace. Diocletian has the distinction as the only Roman emperor to actually retire from the job (the rest suffered from untimely deaths). What is remarkable about the old town of Split (of which the palace is at its center) is that it is used and enjoyed. Where Diocletian once held court, you find accapelo groups singing in the acoustically perfect room (albeit, with a large round opening in its ceiling) and in the courtyard entrance people sit on the steps and listen to musicians. Split grows on you. After being in Dubrovnik, it seemed a bit seedy. But with its wide promenade on the riva, its interesting old city streets, the beautiful Marjan Penninsula and great swimming, I grew to really like Split. Split is the transportation hub for the Dalmatian coast and you can get everywhere from here with its efficient system of buses, ferries and roads.

The Island of Rock - Brac

While all of the Dalmatian islands we visited or passed by have piles and piles of rock on them, Brac stood out in this regard. Passing by rock piles, walls and buildings one understands how hard won islanders existence really is. Among the rocks are fields of lavendar, vineyards, and olive, fig and pomegranate trees. It's hard to understand how so much grows so well in this landscape, but it does. Of course, this would be the place of a thriving stone cutters school and, famously, the source of some of the stone that went into building our White House.

Our group poses in the lobby of the Hotel Postira before going to dinner.


On our last day on Brac we are taken to the top of Vidova gora and bike down to the town of Bol for a swim at Croatia's most famous beach, Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn) with smooth, beige stones that we saw nowhere else. From here we depart by private boat to Jelsa. Family home of Mattej, which we visit and have a chance to see inside a traditional home on the riva.









Lunch break of lamb and vegetables cooked under a Peka.










Mario (white shirt) below is the informal restaurant's proprietor and we all decided to eat here together on our free night. Mario had introduced himself to us when we biked past his home/restaurant on our first test ride up the hill from our hotel and he invited us to have some homemade grappa and beer free. About half of us took him up on the offer. We decided to thank him with a roasted lamb dinner at his restaurant. At this time of year, many establishments are closed and we were lucky. We all lots of homemade wine to drink and it's surprising that we all made it to our 8:30 a.m. briefing the next morning.













Our large group split up to make it easier on our hosts to fit us at their dining table for an authentic Croatian dinner in the village of Postira. Our host had just returned to her grandmother's home having gone to Canada during the Balkan War. We had a simple dinner for stuffed bell peppers and a dessert of custard, homemade walnut grappa, and other Croatian foods.











A stop at a hilltop village for homemade herb grappa, wine and olive oil.




Stonecutters schoolin the village of Skrip.






A much deserved view after climbing a long hill and a even better deserved cool beer as reward.






First day biking and after a briefing with Marko and Mattej, we're off to try our bikes in the hills above Postira. View from hotel room at the Hotel Pastura.