The Balkans

Boy, did I have a strange dream last night! Anyway, welcome back.

We have spent the last several days in the Balkans, a collection of counties in and around the Adriatic Sea in souther/Central Europe. While we are having a great time, I have to say that our agenda for the last week or two, and for the next month or so, it super hectic. We have excursions nearly every day, and today is our only day at sea for the next three weeks. Whew!

So, just a quick heads up, for at least for the next several weeks, our posts may be brief, and I will likely combine several destinations into a single post. Anyway, here is a bit about our recent stops overs.

Koper, Slovenia

On Saturday, we visited Slovenia, a small country of 1.7 million. It is heavily wooded, and looks a lot like Jemez Springs. Most people speak English here, but their local language is Slovene. (It bugs them that Americans refer to it as Slovenian…) The accent is really cool, and the folks are super friendly.

We are docked in the village of old town Koper. Very quaint here, with a small town square with a nice clock tower. Lots of winding streets. All only steps from the small cruise terminal. With temperatures in the upper 80°s, and our legs still in recovery mode from yesterday’s adventures, we skipped breakfast and headed out early, staying in the shade while wandering the town’s winding pathways. But it did not take long until we craved a cool drink in the shade of a cozy cafe. 

We were looking forward to the local dish that the town is know for, their famous seafood risotto. However, the first stop did not have this on the menu. It turns out this was great, because the little place has a different menu every day, and today’s was exceptional. We opted for a bowl of minestrone, and a scallop appetizer. These both turned out to be very different than the versions which we are accustomed to. Slovenia minestrone is what Americans would call pinto beans with Italian sausage. I have to say, it was excellent. They seemed like bowls of beans that you could have been served at any local NM restaurant. We really enjoyed them! Just like comfort food from home. Also, the scallops were something special too. They were a bit different than we have grown accustomed to. Each one is served in its own half shell, and they are broiled to buttery perfection. Equally good. 

Lastly, the wine was phenomenal. If you ever have the opportunity to try a glass of dry white wine from Slovenia, tell the server “Absolutely not! Bring me the whole bottle…” (You can thank me later.)

On the way out of the walled city, we stumbled across the real culinary star of the day, the local gelato place. (“Gelatotorium”? Hmmm…) The flavor was Crèma i Veneziani (Italian custard). Yum! And the cone was handmade and paper thin.  Really good stuff. 

After a casual lunch, we headed back early. Just outside of the walls of the town, the green hilltops and the traditional red tile rooftops made for a fabulous backdrop as we walked back to the ship for a relaxing afternoon at the pool.

Zadar, Croatia

The following day, I tackled Zadar, Croatia on my own. We had intended to go together, but the heat was overwhelming, so at the last minute, Karen opted to spend a day relaxing in the nice quiet air conditioned ship. Good for her! Me, I pulled up my big boy pants, and headed out into the inferno. 

So our travels will bless us with three stops along the beautiful Croatian coastline. This country has had a tumultuous history, stretching back to the sixth century. Although they didn’t have any defenses, during WWII, Germany regularly bombed Croatian cities on their way back to Germany for refueling. If they had any bombs left, this was where they dropped them. Unfortunately, this meant that many of their gothic ruins in the cities were destroyed. During the 1990s their Civil War also took its toll on the country as well. 

However, in the last twenty years, it has emerged as a leading Balkan travel destination. And it is nice! It has beautiful coastlines, modern cities, and our favorite, gothic walled towns with ruins, cathedrals, and pubs!

And the city of Zadar is no exceptions. The walled old town section is something. It has a unique beachfront artistic light show called The Greetings To The Sun.  It is a large outdoor solar powered light show integrated into the pier. (Of course, I was here during the day, so I missed the show, on the account of it is a nighttime thing…)

What I did not miss was the second half of the show, the Sea Organ. Under the pier, the local folks installed some sort of reeds. As the waves from the sea flow in and out under the cement steps of the pier, the reeds play random notes. Fabulous! 

Inside the old town city walls, the architecture was equally cool. As I photographed several from the outside, I could not figure out why none of the churches had lines to go inside. Then, mass ended, and the local folks poured out. Duh… (I think my power of deductive reasoning skills are becoming dulled. I suppose that is the risk when one escapes reality for six months. Hmmm…)

The city is known for its ancient water wells and a giant gardens at the far end of town. For the most part, I was able to cut down alleyways and skirt around the edges of the piazzas, in the pursuit of the coolness of the shade. But eventually, it happened again. There, in the corner, in the far corner of the corner, away from all of the other corners, was the inevitable local house of food and drink. Now, I’de like to say that my heart strings were pulling at me, but I think it was my tummy. You see, the only way that I have been able to keep up with this (pasta) pace, is by skipping breakfast and dinner. What I have learned from this is, I don’t mind fasting, as long as it goes by fast…
😉

Anyway, my buddy shared one of the best slices of pizza I have had thus far on the trip. Having already eaten a fabulous bowl of Carbonara Con Pancetta Croccante (breakfast pasta made with crispy bacon, and eggs in a white cream sauce) I kinda liked the idea of thinking of it as desert pizza!

On the way back, I had to laugh as my fellow travelers complained that the ship’s laundry was shrinking all of their clothes. I offered my theory that perhaps it was the water. (They assumed I was blaming it on the water temperature. I thought it better to keep it to myself that I referring to the water that the locals use to make the pasta…)

Oh well, you only live once.

Split, Croatia

We were very excited to visit the 1700 year old city of Split, home of more Olympic medalist (per capita) than anywhere else in the world. Also, the oldest coliseum in the world is located here. However, being the biggest city in the Adriatic Sea, the main city center and the coliseum were far from where we docked. However, right across the street was the walled in old town area.

Like many of the European cities, we had not made reservations, and were playing it by ear. We had really hoped to visit the many world renown beaches in the area, but it was much to hot, so we walked a few block to old town, did a bit of site seeing, and found a relaxing medieval square to have lunch.

Karen decided on another Mortadella with Pistachio Cream sandwich, and I was excited to partake in the decadence of a Croque Madame, which can only be described as “WOW”!

Afterwards, we found Mario, a quirky native fella with a Slovakian accent and an electric Tuc Tuc bicycle. He took us on an extended ride around the coast just outside the city walls, provided knowledgeable commentary along the way, in a uniquely comical fashion. We were able to stop at many beaches, overlooks, and places that are generally where the local hang out. Very enjoyable.

We especially enjoyed Mario’s tales of his life growing up in the area. He has a story for everything! Also, every time we would stop to admire the beauty from a particular spot, as we started out again, he would say in broken english “You like? Just wait. This nothing, what I am going to show you next my friends!” On occasion, when we would go over a bumpy surface for a moment, he would exclaim “I through in free massage for you, okay?” As the afternoon heated up a bit, he would peddle a little faster creating a bit of a breeze, and say “Here, I turn up the air condition for you!”

Supper likable guy, and the sites were fantastic. Wonderful way to spend the day!

Dubrovnik

While every morning is like Christmas, today was something special. Rolling over and opening the blinds revealed that we were docked in the picture-perfect port of Dubrovnik (pronounced duh · braav · nuhk). The view was breathtaking, demanding an hour on our balcony with Bailey’s laced cups of cappuccino and warm crescents. I can see why, from time to time, Mrs. Karen sometimes opts to spend the day on the balcony rather than exploring the local sites and sounds. 

A couple of hours later, as we wondered out into the cool morning breeze, I pondered what a lucky fellow I am. Spending another day in a beautiful village, with the prettiest girl in town on my arm.  Chin! Chin!

Like all of the Croatian towns visited thus far, the thick 500 year old stone walls provide a rampart against the onslaught of tourists. Luckily, today’s crowd was fairly light. 

Ahhh, the town of Dubrovnik!Its orange tile roofs reflect back the morning light, reminding me of some forgotten childhood memory. Or perhaps it is the remnants of more recent dreams, brought on by episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones, which was filmed here several years ago. 

In the distant waters, the Adriatic Sea shimmer in the sunlight. Perhaps they are warming up, for one final wave goodbye tomorrow, as we sail away from this paradise. 
{insert upside down smiley face here}…

The Gothic old town, with its limestones streets, lends to it standing out as a premiere quintessential renaissance destination. While Karen spent her hours enjoying the cool forest just outside of the city walls, I enjoyed taking photographs of the village inside the palisade. Meeting for a late lunch we ate the most beautiful Caprese Salad that I have ever seen. 

I have to say, Dubrovnik is one of my favorite medieval cities so far. 

Kotor Montenegro

The fortified Balkan town Kotor (pronounced ko · tor) was founded in 500 BC. The name means “place of springs” in the native Montenegrin language. 

Located on the Adriatic Sea, the town is built up the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. With mountain peaks on either side, the narrow water-passageways leading into the Bay of Kotor was spectacular. (So much so that we rose at sunrise to watch for several hours.) 

The mountainous country Montenegro is the size of Connecticut, but its population is less than 600,000. The name means “black mountain” but the mountains are not black. They are however home to an uncountable number of black pines. Up close, they appear to be much like a ponderosa pine, with perhaps a tad darker shade of needles. They do make the mountains appear black from afar though. 

Which is a good segue into today’s tour, which took us high into the mountains surrounding the town. The mountains were heavily forested and reminded me a lot of home.

The road to Kotor was only completed in the mid 1800s, so a steep mountain trail (visible from the winding paved road we were on) was used to transport the villages goods to their bayside neighborhoods. This must have been a grueling trip, especially considering that they presumably had to bring salt back with them in order to cure the ham. What a life. Thank goodness for minivans!

Our visit to the village Njeguši was interesting. They only make two products in this small mountain village, prosciutto and cheese. Both were excellent, and I learned that there are 7 areas in Europe that produce the world’s Prosciutto, and each one is unique. 

The hillsides and green valleys were dotted with cottages. More than half were actually smoke houses. They look the same as the other small houses but the stone walls are actually much thicker, lowering the temperatures inside, which is critical for the aging and drying processes used to produce the ham and cheese. Cool little place, and we really enjoyed looking around for a bit in the overcast cool weather. 

We enjoyed several other small villages on the way back, including Budva, which was a unique little walled village along the cliffs of the Montenegro coast. I liked that it was remote, and that there were virtually no other tourists there on the days of our visit. 

After a fabulous cool day in the green mountains, I arrived back at the ship refreshed and ready to bid farewell to the Balkans, and hello to Sicily. But you know what they say, that is a story for another day… 

Thank you for checking in amigos. 
– Mike
“Would you like an adventure now, or would like to have your tea first?” – J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan