Michele and Marlene's visit 17-23 October

A guest post by Michele Munski - Mari Lutz copy-editor.

After 3 days of living large in London, Marlene and Michele arrived by bus from the airport in Čilipi.  There was an embarrassing incident when Michele asked the bus driver if he stopped at “Pile Gate” (pronounced it “pile”) in Dubrovnik, and he corrected the pronunciation twice, saying "pee-leh". Thankfully, Pile Gate was the first stop, and we skulked away before he could remember our American pronunciation.

When we debussed, we found Mari right away, and found out that Mari and Mike’s apartment was just about 20 steps from the bus stop, and about a football field from The Old Town and the Stradun, or main walkway in Dubrovnik. So after a sumptuous snack of local and Mari foods (great cheeses, olives, grapes, pumpkin spice bread) we sashayed off to see the sights.

Walking along the Stradun, we saw bouncing spring toys everywhere, and Croatian soccer team shirts and hats.  Restaurants, large and small are tucked into every corner, and some even spilled out onto the Stradun.  There are churches everywhere, mostly Catholic as Croatia is a Catholic country. There were nuns in full habits and priests in collars walking the streets. We also saw Orthodox (Greek, Bosnian, Eastern Rite) Churches and there was a very old synagogue in Dubrovnik. We later learned it is the second longest operating synagogue in Europe.

The ice cream vendors tried to lure us in as it was about 75 degrees and sunny. The ice cream was sculpted into mountains resembling Mt. Srd (pronounced <surge>)which overlooks Dubrovnik.

Old Town is really the strip of land between Mt. Srd and the Adriatic Sea. It’s surrounded by an ancient stone wall, built 2-3 stories high, and about 4-6 feet thick. Some of the towers on the outside corners of the wall are even higher. Once inside the walls, it’s pretty much wall-to-wall stone walkways and buildings with red tile roofs.

Most amazing was the ever-present Adriatic Sea, a dark turquoise blue, with black undertones. Mari led us to the Buza which is an outlet through the wall to the sea. We walked on stone steps and rocks to reach the charming outdoor bar, high above the Adriatic. It was full, as it was now near sunset. We quickly departed to a second Buza for an even more stunning view of the sunset.

We were lucky to find an empty table on the rocky ledge, so we enjoyed liquid refreshments and settled in to watch other guests jumping off the rocks into the Adriatic Sea. Marlene was busy getting shots of our first sunset in Dubrovnik. When Michele went to pay the tab, the bartender said we owed 122 kunas, and she made her second Croatian faux pas, by remarking “122 kunas!” The barkeeper replied, “Madame, you pay for the view.” Later I discovered that it was about 21 American dollars, really not that bad for 2 wines and a Sprite.

On the way home, we stopped at the Konzum, the local grocery store, about 10 steps from Mari and Mike’s apartment. Marlene took some photos. Michele picked up a cute guy while waiting outside the Konzum. His name was Mike, and it was difficult to tell if he was a student or a professor. We had our first Croatian pizza that night. Yum-so fresh!

By now, you may be seeing a pattern here – everything is just a few steps from Mari and Mike’s apartment – location, location, location!

Day 2 we walked 5 minutes from the apartment to meet our guide and driver, Goga, and left Dubrovnik for Mostar, a city in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On the way we saw peninsulas, a river and a river delta where mussels and tangerines are cultivated. We were surprised to see pomegranates growing wild.

Goga drove us through a border crossing where we crossed from Croatia to Bosnia, and back to Croatia – the result of negotiations which stipulated that Bosnia have access to the coastline. Later, we crossed out of Croatia and into Bosnia-Herzegovina again to continue our journey to Mostar, a larger city with Islamic influences. It boasts a high arched bridge built over the Neretva River in the 16^th century, which was destroyed during the Bosnian War. Fortunately, the bridge was rebuilt.

The streets of the Old Town in Mostar are polished worn rock, lined with shops selling needlework, scarves, copper and metal bracelets and cups. Sometimes, the artists sat out in front of the shops, creating their art. We entered a museum which showed a video of the approximately 60 shells hitting the Mostar bridge until it finally fell in 1993.

We also were able to enter a mosque that was open to the public, going up to the second floor where women were able to worship. At 1 PM we heard the call to prayer from the minarets high above the city.

One of the things we learned was that there are few public restrooms. It costs 1-2 Euros to use the facilities. Our guide was willing to foot the bill, saying. “It’s included,” a phrase we heard throughout our days with Goga.

After a quick trip to the Konzum, Mari rustled up some chicken and potatoes for supper.

Day 3 was a Sunday, so we slept in really late. Mari walked the 10 steps to the Konzum and brought us delicious strudel for breakfast. Baked goods in Croatia are scrumptious.

Since it was a beautiful warm day, Mike and Michele walked up the switchback path up to Mt Srd, about 1500 hard-earned feet above sea level. Marlene and Mari rode the cable car and met us there. We lunched with a view of the Dinaric Mountain Range on one side and Dubrovnik and the Adriatic Sea on the other. Afterwards, we visited the mountaintop museum commemorating the Serbia-Montenegro war against Croatia in 1991. 92 people were killed in the attacks on Dubrovnik.  There is a monument on view near Pile Gate outside Old Town, commemorating the bravery and victims of the 1991 war. It is visible from Mari and Mike’s apartment.

All four of us rode the cable car down the mountain, which takes only 3 minutes to descend. Mike had work to do so the rest of the group took a bus ride to Copacabana Beach, our first dip into the Adriatic! We swam with the fishies. No one wanted supper so we had Croatian ice cream for supper with Mah Jongg for dessert!

Day 4 found all of us up early to meet Goga once again, this time traveling in the opposite direction to Kotor and Budva, Montenegro. Goga explained to us that former Yugoslavia was divided into 5 new countries, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia and Montenegro. The ride to Montenegro was mostly rural with many small towns.

We noticed the wild boar signs and watched hopefully. On arrival at the Bay of Kotor Goga arranged for Sasha to boat us out to an island church, Our Lady of the Rocks. It’s said to be constructed on some miraculous rocks which protected sailors during a storm. The construction of the homes lining the bay was Venetian in style as the Venetians were here for about 300 years. Kotor has a smaller, and not as pretty version of Dubrovnik’s Old Town. We saw another walled city in Budva. These people were serious about protecting themselves. Based on recent wars in this area, they had good reason.

We were surprised to see a cruise ship anchored in the Bay of Kotor. It didn’t look deep enough to accommodate such a large ship. Tourism is crucial to this area’s economy.

We stopped to look at an exclusive island resort, Sveti Stefan (St Stephen’s) just to look. Goga told us that tennis champ Novak Djokovik was married there July 9^th.  Cost per night can be as high as 7,000 Euros!

To shorten our drive back to Dubrovnik, we planned to take a ferry across the Bay of Kotor. In a stroke of bad luck, our car was the one they stopped, as the ferry was full! Luckily, the wait for the next ferry wasn’t too long. Goga channeled her inner New Yorker, and made sure there was room for us.

The tired travelers returned to 9 Tiha, where we had a delicious meal of čevapčići, a Croatian sausage, and spaghetti with that wonderful bread served everywhere in Croatia.

Day 5 we slept in again. Goga is young enough to be one of our daughters, and she tires us out!

Mari, Marlene and Michele decided that there were possibly a few stairs in Dubrovnik we hadn’t yet climbed, so we decided to walk on top of the Old Town Walls in Dubrovnik. There are stairs everywhere in Croatia!

We spent a leisurely 3 hours walking the entire perimeter of Old Town, (Marlene says we did 1400 steps that day!) climbing to the tops of each fort in each corner of the wall. At the end of the walk, we agreed that we had seen Dubrovnik from every angle. Marlene had about 4,000 photos of Dubrovnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. But we pressed on and climbed the final fort, Fortress Lovrijenac (Fort Lawrence) after a light lunch.  Then we hiked over to the beautifully renovated building that is RIT Croatia. It is impressive.

That night, we attended a concert performed by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra in the atrium of The Rector’s Palace. We heard a movement by a Croatian composer, L. Sorkočević , and pieces by Mozart and Schubert. The ceiling is open, and Marlene spied a pigeon perched above a door, listening intently. What goes better after a concert than Croatian ice cream? We had to have some!

Day 6 was cooler and rainy. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. We shopped like it was our job.

We also were treated to a tour of the Dubrovnik Synagogue which has been an active synagogue since the 16^th century. The temple is upstairs, and it was beautifully kept. Changes have been made over time. The first level housed a museum that held memorabilia from the years the synagogue has prospered. We saw primary documents directing Jews to cease business, and wear arm bands, as well as an actual arm band.  The saddest display was a list of Dubrovnik Jews who were Holocaust victims.

The weather deteriorated, so we sought out a nearby restaurant, The Dubravka, which has its business office next door to Mari and Mike’s apartment. We were seated outdoors, but – no worries, as there was a red blanket on the back of each seat. In addition, there were portable heaters available. We wasted no time in having one moved over to our table, and enjoyed a delicious meal of seafood and risotto. There was a delicious walnut chocolate cake available for dessert. It was the perfect way to end our stay.

Petar was our dutiful driver who picked us up @ 5:30AM for our adventure return trip. (Goga told us that she is not a taxi driver!) We weren’t sure our plane would arrive at the Dubrovnik Airport or fly us to Frankfurt, Germany because it was quite windy. We did fly out, and it was a little scary. We were served delicious bread sandwiches spread with a local treat, cream cheese and chives for our breakfast. Once in the air in Frankfurt, we were served 2 more meals, Thai chicken and later, warmed gouda sandwiches on pretzel rolls. Marlene and Michele lost track of how many meals they ate during the 20 ½ hour trip home. We arrived in Rochester about 8PM EDT, tired but happy to be home safely. Our leg muscles have never been this toned from walking up so many steps!

Mostar

Mostar street

Old bridge in Mostar

a street view in Mostar.

mosque with minaret in Mostar

View of the protective wall at Kotor

mosque we were allowed to visit

Mari  and Goga in serious conversation

Mari and Goga in Mostar

Group in Native Croation costumes walking down the street

croa

beautiful display of produce at roadside stand in Bosnia
Tangerine season

Goga treated us to fresh tangerines and pomegranites

Crossing the Croatian/Bosnia border

Marlene captures the color from Buza 2

sunset from Buza 2

Modern bridge to Split and points west

The Jadrolinija ships took people out of Dubrovnik during the shelling of the city
People in Dubrovnik were not protected during the war.
The UNESCO designation of their city was not honored.

In the kitchen/dining room.
Mike's Croatian soccer shirt showing his allegiance
The male of the species dresses to attract the female.

Shell damage on the left of the doorway to our home 

This musician was always inside the Pile gate
and was usually accompanied by his drummer companion

view from cable car as it starts ascent up Mt. Srd.

Mike and Michele climbed the switchbacks
They are out there somewhere 

View from top of the cable car platform with umbrellas
of the Panorama Restaurant on the lower level

Marlene and a view of Lokrum on her left elbow

The ladies at the restaurant

Marlene enjoying the view and toasting with Croatian beer

War museum atop Mt. Srd

these alpine flowers do well on the stone walls of the fort

Descending
View of Lokrum and  the old harbor

Bougainvillea are common all over this area. This was at the bottom of the cable car ride.

The four Ms at the wall in Budva

Inside the Orthodox church in Kotor

Inside the Orthodox church with the priest

Flag of Montenegro

Crossing Bay of  Kotor by ferry

Michele and Marlene out of the car stretching legs on the ferry

If only we had we seen one! 

The best ice cream shop in the old city

St. Stephen's island in Bosnia. $$$$

Mari's Postscript

Let me add that Mike and I were thrilled to have visitors from home willing to share this grand adventure. Thanks Michele and Marlene for deciding to come to this little corner of the Adriatic. Also, thanks to Michele for writing this blog entry and to Marlene for her great pictures. This small sampling is just a taste of her album. They are not in chronological order since my skills are very limited. Also, some are not captioned to allow you to use your imagination. Maybe Marlene, Michele and I can download more pictures when we get together again.

teaser: Australian friends, Michele and Marlene, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Montenegro...

We hope to update soon.

Comments Fixed (I Think)

I know there are thousands of readers who want to comment on the informative and entertaining posts Mari and I have written. Up until now some of you have been unable to do so, but I think I fixed the problem. If you try to comment and can't, drop me a note and I'll look into it.

Toilets

Mari has been doing most of the heavy lifting on the blog lately - my days are split between teaching and sight-seeing, without much time for blogging. Still, I have to hold up my end of the conversation, so today I'll turn to a subject of great significance but mundane appeal - toilets.

In the States we're used to robust, manly toilets that flush with confidence and authority. Whatever is in the bowl when you hit the handle is unceremoniously pushed with great force through the pipes. Croatian toilets, even in new buildings, are much less assertive. They flush, but it's more like they are encouraging (rather than requiring) the bowl contents be on their way. For instance, even as water swirls around and out the bottom, there is always a small pool in the bowl.

So what, you say? Well normally it would be no big deal, but Wednesday night and Thursday were not normal. I contracted a case of the green apple two-step, so efficient and effective flushing became a high priority for me. You can imagine - NO! DON'T IMAGINE THAT! - my dismay with the Croatian system. However, I have come away with much greater appreciation for the U.S. plumbing industry.

UPDATE: Here's the guilty party!

9 October 2014 first blog from Zagreb

October 7 saw Mike and me out in the dark morning at 0500 to catch the RIT cab to the Dubrovnik airport for our 6 day stay in Zagreb. You may remember that Mike's classes are half  students in Zagreb and half in Dubrovnik. The class is linked by computer and small camera. The Zagreb students see him in a postage stamp size shot. Since the connection is suboptimal for both sides, he volunteered to teach in Zagreb a couple of the weeks during his stay. Of course I tagged along for the first trip and we added 3 days to the trip for sightseeing.

RIT had arranged the travel and hotel and we were promptly picked up at Zagreb airport and taken to Centar Antunovic, a beautiful modern amenity-packed conference center. Just as I was thinking, I was a little underdressed, the receptionist alarmed us saying there were no reservations for us. After feeling like babes lost in the woods, we were able to sort out that we were at the wrong hotel. Villa Antunovac is our home for the stay. No pool. Very close to the center of the city with about 10 guest rooms. RIT has used this hotel for several years and in the beginning it was a five-minute walk to RIT Zagreb. They have a new campus farther away  and now it's a tram ride with bus transfer. Mike is taking advantage of very reasonable taxi rates since he only has 2 round trips to RIT while we're here.

So you ask, "What is there to do in Zagreb?"
Our hotel is across the street from a large brewery that reminds me of High Falls.

brewery in the daylight

It has a great restaurant associated with it. At the recommendation of our hotel desk, we gave it a try after Mike returned home late from his first day of teaching. (Mike says the students actually appreciate his jokes. I chuckle at that.)

Apparently, every Tuesday night at the brewery restaurant is a planned special meeting of a local dance club. We were surprised to see senior citizens waltzing to national favorites and frugging and getting down with a little Elvis thrown in. The music was provided by one man singing. He accompanied himself on an electric keyboard set to sound like an accordion. (That's right, he actually wanted the accordion sound.) Everybody was dancing and when he started belting out Blue Suede Shoes in Croatian I had to join in. Turns out they appreciated my effort and many came over to greet us, grabbing an English speaking friend on the way to translate. The manager of the dance club has a daughter who also teaches at RIT in Zagreb and hugged and kissed us just because. We felt like celebs. This was the Zagreb we were looking for.

Still relatively unknown, enjoying a late dinner with Mike

Dancers waiting for the music to restart

"Blue Suede Shoes" and I blow my cover

One enthusiastic dance partner

Delicious grilled bacon, sausage, bacon wrapped chicken and
cevapcici  (little mixed meat sausages) with potatoes

70,00 kunas is about $12 dollars, great price

The arch over the entrance outside

8 October was a national holiday.
We heard that many businesses would be closed and Mike felt he needed to do more prep for his classes so that we would have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to enjoy. With a little apprehension, I took off on my own. I decided to walk to the old city center down Ilica Street and not try the tram. It was a 30 minute walk through a dark old section of town with 3-5 story stone and concrete buildings painted dark colors and stained by the air pollution from the frequent tram traffic. Ilica street is the most famous shopping street in Zagreb but from where I started walking it was not attractive, had some vacant store fronts and much grafitti. There were many single women walking and I felt very safe. I looked at the architecture and despite the paint and soot  noticed most buildings were decorated with stone statues, carved corbels and trim work. Yup, just needs a little scrub so the original architecture can be appreciated.  As I approached the city square named after a beloved governor, Josip Jelacic, the architecture changed and building upkeep improved. This part of the city design is more open and inviting.

Another corner with statue
on my way down Ilica street to the square

tram traveling down Ilica street

Josip Jelacic statue in the square

Some beautiful buildings facing the square

 What contrast to the first part of my walk!  The magnificent twin spires of the cathedral can be seen from all over Zagreb.

the Cathedral with some repairs going on.
Note the size of the people in front of the cathedral.

 Many sites were tributes to the area's history.

St. Mark's  Church  with gaudy roof

Stone Gate was turned into a makeshift chapel
to honor Mary the official patron saint of Zagreb since 1990 

Citizens were out in good numbers with kids and dogs. Street venders were selling roasted chestnuts and corn on the cob. Mike and I will take this walking tour Friday and visit some of the museums that Zagreb is noted for. I am especially looking forward to the Museum of Naive Art. Much naive art was painted on glass by northern Croatians when they had a break from their farming. These untrained artists had a natural feel for color and balance.

   The remainder of the day was a walking tour of the old upper town, a drink break was followed by a walk through the lower town. Lower town is very green and somewhat newer. It has many beautiful public parks arranged in an horse shoe pattern. In lower town you start to see modern architecture mixed with the old.

This was a beautiful building with shops along the ground floor. 

High end shopping

center of the building with glass domed ceiling
and 4 long halls of shops meet at the center

Some new  mixed architecture

H&M left Eastview Mall but is big here

A corner building with a corner entrance is very common

We were fascinated by the title "The Museum of Broken Relationships." True to its name there were numerous simple exhibits submitted by heartbroken men and women. Each exhibit included a short story of the heartache and a touching peculiar memento from the relationship. Many sweet young loves, or jilted lovers, many two-timers, many short or long term affairs that ended in disappointment for any reason were painfully preserved here. Dear Abby could have predicted many of the doomed relationships. This is a touring exhibit and there were some entries from the US. Each broken heart entry would live on in this museum for all eternity.

The October weather here is sunny and warm. Leaves, if they intend to be, are not colorful yet.
That's it for tonight. Stay safe and be good to those you love.

1 October 2014 Update Croatia

Patient readers:

Let's get you up to date on the great adventures.
Mike added the pictures to Maggie and Nora's blog.
The Smiths arrived home safely on schedule. I understand Andy greeted them with surprises to the house which qualifies him for husband of the year including hiring an electrician, plumber, housekeeper, just to name a few. Go Andy!!

Saturday 27 Sept. was a bit gusty! We sat outside and had a delicious dinner at Porta Restaurant.

The shrimp with truffles and noodles was outstanding. MJ had fresh trout without the head/face. Kevin and Mike had chicken and steak. The Wine and Jazz Festival is held here every year. So after dinner we went to the outdoor concert to hear Jose Feliciano and the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Kissinger. The acoustics were amazing especially since the wind was really blowing down the street. When I say street I mean the marble block paved road flanked by hundreds years old stone buildings, with porticos and carved columns, survivors of earthquakes, infernos, bombings and tourists. Behind Jose and the stage was the Cathedral which provided a humble backdrop.

Jose with Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Kissinger

Concert with light show on the Cathedral "screen"

When we first arrived in Dubrovnik I kept thinking of  Epcot at Disney World or The Bellagio in Vegas. However this place is the real thing and was the inspiration for what Disney and Vegas tried to capture.

Sunday 28 Sept. was another exceptional day.
Luci, our landlady and now good friend drove Mary Jo, Mike and me out past the airport to sightsee. We first stopped at the town of Gruda to pick up her niece, a recent college grad, who is living here volunteering for 5 months. She was visiting her grandmother and had locked her keys in the car. (been there). The five of us stopped to see Restaurant Konavoski Dvori. This is a rather large indoor/outdoor restaurant with many tables set among trees
Fresh water rushes down from the mountain in a river and some of it has been diverted through here on the way to the Adriatic. The town had used the creeks to run their grain mills in the past. These creeks and water wheels were incorporated into the outdoor seating of the restaurant and there was even a trout bed where the restaurant grew their own dinner trout. We saw a staff member come out with a net to scoop up someone's dinner.

Classy ladies room with water wheel

Back up on the road

We dropped Luci's niece (also named Luci) off at her family home so she could get her keys. Luci, MJ, Mike and I drove up to Sokol Grad a fortified city in the mountains. Patiently restored to preserve its history, it was a treasure of stone and another breathtaking view. It is worth a Google look.

Entrance to Sokol Grad, fortified city

Soldier statue with a crossbow defending the fort

View from the upper parapet at the fort

View from the top of the fort

We drove back to pick up niece Luci at her family home and she had graciously prepared tastings of grappa, rose liqueur, sage liqueurs. These were made by her uncle who has a shop in Gruda, her grandmother's town. These were very interesting. MJ's favorite was the grappa. The alcohol content is so high, it seems the grappa evaporates in your mouth. I loved the aroma and tastes of the rose and sage liqueurs. We would love to go back to the store in Gruda to purchase some to bring home for all to try. Packing wines and liqueurs in checked baggage is always a delicate matter.

Luci and her niece at the liqueur tasting

entering back of Luci's brother's house

Niece Luci in dining room of her family home
showing the back balcony with view.

This had been a wonderful day but was still not over. Luci drove us down to the coast to the town park built by the residents. It was a steep slope/cliff which had been fitted with a long staircase built into the cliff side Thestairs led down to a platform with a shelter and covered outdoor firepit. Luci's relatives and friends were already there. They had set the outdoor table and dinner was ready.
Bottles of their homemade wine were on the table.  Our hosts had prepared appetizers of salted sardines which had been previously caught, layered with salt and weighted down to preserve. These were served with olive oil, sliced raw onions and fresh bread.
The second course was a light fish bouillon with rice and bread for dipping.

going down steps to dinner

Dining table waiting for us all

another view of the dining area with column rail
All the concrete work was completed on site with materials carried down from the top.

Table with guests and covered grill in the distance

Not your ordinary wood fired grill

beautiful shoreline

This is part of the walk down to the sea.
See the steps in the foreground leading to the rocks.
The little fishing boat is the dot off to the left

The local town built all this to enjoy the cliff and seaside

Looking upwards at the rocks

The men had gone out in a boat to catch fish by net in the early morning. The fish had been cleaned and were cooking as we arrived. It is an old saying here that fish should swim three times, that is, once in the ocean, once in olive oil and once in wine. Arugula salad, fresh tomato salad, grilled vegetables (eggplant, peppers, squash) completed the main course. There was a variety of fish including our first taste of baracuda and all were delicious. Mike remarked that if I could cook fish like this, he would eat it every day. If he could catch fish like this, I would cook it everyday.

After dinner, led by Mary Jo of course, we gingerly followed the steps farther along the cliff down to the water, or rather down to boulders. Niece Luci and her cousin climbed over the rocks and went for a swim. We watched the men who had fished earlier hop from rock to rock, dive in and swim out to their boat, tow it in and carry it out ot the water to a secure place in the rocks.

We timed our ascent just right. Our hostesses had cleaned up and were preparing coffee to go with a delicious sponge cake that Luci had baked. Sponge cake is a specialty here and Luci's was perfect.
We took some pictures of all of us, thanked them all and were driven home after this master class of Croatian hospitality.
What else is there to say.

We wish everyone could have this experience.

Mari