Korčula

Korčula town 

Croatia has over 1,000 islands off its eastern coast, although most are small an uninhabited. Korčula is one of the largest and most inhabited of these islands, and it did not disappoint.  We spent our Wednesday driving two hours up the coast, onto the Pelješac peninsula to the town of Orebić, where we caught the car ferry to the island. Korčula town is the historic port of the island and where we started and finished our day.  It is frequently referred to as "little Dubrovnik" because it is also a walled city on a peninsula jutting out into the Adriatic Sea, though significant smaller in size.  Korčula claims to be the home of the explorer Marco Polo, but that may be more legend than fact.  It certainly makes for a good story.

Vela Luka cave

We drove the length of the island to the town of Vela Luka to see a unique cave that has evidence of human existence dating back to 10,000 B.C.  It is still an active archaeological site trying to learn more about the earliest inhabitants of this part of Europe.  It was not a typical cave in that it has several "skylights" which gives it its unique appearance.

Pupnatska Luka

After Vela Luka, we meandered back across the island, visiting the small town of Brna and spending time on the beach in Pupnatska Luka.  Pupnatska Luka is a little cove that has some of the clearest water we've ever experienced, especially for being at the beach.  Croatia is known for having some of the most blue and turquoise water when you look from afar, but up close, is extremely clear.  We could see all the way to the bottom while we were swimming.

Super clear water

  A lot of the beaches here, Pupnatska Luka included, are pebbly/rocky beaches and not the nice sandy beaches we are accustomed to in America.

We finished our day back in Korčula town where we had drinks at Cocktail Bar Massimo, which is located in one of the towers that makes up the town's wall and fortifications.  It was nearing sunset, and we were on the roof soaking up the views and enjoying our drinks.  

It's an adventurous setting to get to, as you must climb a ladder through a hole cut through the thick stone in order to access.  The drinks were great, but the views were even better.  The tower in the lower left corner of the picture above is where it's located.

We made it back to Dubrovnik a little after 10:00pm, a full day's adventure exploring on of Croatia's most beautiful islands.

Walking Dubrovnik's Walls

For centuries, Dubrovnik was an independent city-state and a major maritime power.  At one point, it had the third largest navy in the Mediterranean and relished its liberty.  Even today, the theme of "Libertas" is prevalent throughout Dubrovnik and you see that phrase virtually everywhere.  Dubrovnik has certainly expanded through the years, but the core city from its seafaring dominance in the 15th and 16th centuries is completely walled much like a castle would be surrounded by a moat.  However, this isn't a historical reenactment with architectural charm, it is still a vibrant part of the City where many citizens still live, worship, and shop -- albeit with a lot of tourists walking through each day.

The walls date back to the 15th century as fortifications against invaders.  At various times, Dubrovnik was surrounded by either the Venetians, Hungarians, or Ottoman empires, and its wealth as a major maritime power necessitated protections.  It also used its wealth to pay "tribute" to its neighbors thus helping to ensure its independence.

One of the must-dos in Dubrovnik is to walk the City walls.  This provides you with the best views of the City as well as out over the Adriatic Sea.  We spent our first morning here walking the walls and soaking in the atmosphere.  We were on the walls by 9am in order to beat the heat and the crowds.  Because it does get crowded and the width is very narrow in places, people are

The Stradun -- the Main Street of Dubrovnik

 only allowed to walk in one direction.  There are three places to access the walls, so once you start, you're committed at least for part of the way around.

The views did not disappoint.  Seeing all of the tiled rooftops from above is quintessential Dubrovnik and is frequently features in photos and paintings.  Even though I like all of the photos I took, it is still difficult to accurately capture all the beauty I was seeing.

Soaking in the view from Minceta Tower -- tallest point along the walls

Šibenik

We've said goodbye to Zagreb for now and will return at the end of the trip.  We checked out of our apartment and picked up our rental car for the trip, an Opel Grandland.  Today we drove 6 1/2 hours, through mountains, numerous tunnels, and finally along the Dalmatian coast to Dubrovnik.  About halfway, we stopped along the coast in the city of Šibenik.

Cathedral of St. James

The main reason for stopping in Šibenik was to see the Cathedral of St. James.  This is one of several UNESCO Heritage sites in Croatia.  The cathedral was built between 1431 and 1536 and consecrated in 1555.  There were renovations taking place in the interior and scaffolding that covered up the rose window.  However, in spite of the current construction, it is still a lovely cathedral to see but much smaller than your typical European cathedral.  We strolled through a portion of the historic center of town before driving to a different part of Šibenik to see St. Nicholas Fortress.

St. Nicholas Fortress

We didn't have time to actually visit the fortress, but it allowed me the opportunity to fly my drone for the first tine on this trip to get nice pictures and video from above.  I was also able to take drone footage of the historic center from the perspective of the water.  There are many areas I won't be able to fly, but I hope to use it as much as possible.  Fingers crossed this isn't the only time.

Šibenik - with Fort of St. Michael top left and
the Cathedral on the lower right.

Street Art

One of the non-traditional touristy things to do in Zagreb is to check out some of the street art around the city.  While we've seen cool street art in other places we have traveled, Zagreb is the first place we've been where it is actually featured in one of its city parks.  Ribnjak Park, which runs behind the cathedral, is definitely a locals' park where families come to picnic and stroll through this green oasis with lots of mature trees.  It's here we found the Art Park which has a concentration of street art in addition to the random street art seen strolling through the City.  We love admiring the creativity of these artists -- a talent we don't have, but one we certainly appreciate.  

Zagreb

Zagreb has long been the commercial and cultural center of Croatia, but it wasn't until Croatia declared its independence in 1991 that it officially became the capital.  Croatia was part of Yugoslavia -- formed after the end of World War I -- and before that a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  It has only been a sovereign nation for a few decades. Today, one in six Croats live in Zagreb.

World's Shortest Funicular

Zagreb was formed in 1850 by the merger of two hill towns, Gradec and Kaptol, and continued to grow and flourish when the railroad came through.  Because of the topography and elevation change, central Zagreb is divided into Upper Town and Lower Town.  A funicular train still transports people between Upper and Lower Town, just as it has since the late 19th century.  It's billed as the shortest funicular in the world.

We spent the day walking and exploring the Upper Town area.  We had hoped to go to the church service at the Cathedral, but it has been closed to the public since it was damaged in a 5.4 magnitude earthquake in March 2020.  Significant damage is being repaired including the top of one of its spires that collapsed.

Our day in pictures:

St. Mark's Church has the crests of Croatia and Zagreb as part of its tile roof.  It sits in the middle of St. Mark's square and is surrounded by the seat of the Croatian government, including the parliament building and the constitutional court.

The Gric Tunnel runs underneath a portion of the Upper Town.  It was built as a bomb shelter in World War II.  Now it's a great shortcut as well as a much cooler area to escape the heat.

On Sundays, there is a local flea market at Britanski Square. Definitely a locals' experience. Lots of great deals on books, many by American authors we knew except the book was translated in Croatian.

A "postcard" view of the Zagreb Cathedral.  This was set up as a picture-taking spot at a local festival currently taking place.

The interior of the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius

The Croatian National Theater

We saw and experienced so much it's hard to capture everything well.  My watch says I walked 10.1 miles today.  It was worth it.

Dobar don Croatia!

We've made it safely to Croatia and to the capital Zagreb.  We flew Turkish Airlines for the first time, changing planes in Istanbul.  It was our first time flying with Turkish and it was great.  We weren't able to travel for Bryan's 50th birthday because of the pandemic, so we splurged for business class seats.  One of the perks of business class is the ability to use the airport lounge.  The business class lounge at Istanbul is huge.  It's on the second level overlooking the main terminal so Mona enjoyed people watching. There's lots of food and drink to enjoy as well.  Let's just say we'll be a little sad going back to coach.

Our Apartment is the top corner with all the windows

We're staying in an apartment overlooking Ban Josip Jelačić Square.  This is the hub of Zagreb, much like Times Square is to New York City.  It's fun looking out the window, watching the trams come and go and seeing such a whirlwind of activity.  It's been a long day of travel and we're looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow. Now....time to crash and catch up on sleep.

And We're Off.......to Croatia

After the pandemic of the past two-plus years, our ability to travel has been significantly curtailed, especially internationally.  Things have finally opened enough that we're on our way to Croatia for two weeks and I'm not sure we could be more excited.  We're vaccinated and double-boosted so we feel we're as safe as we can be in addition to taking all of the normal precautions.  There are no testing or quarantine requirements where we're headed and the US just eliminated the requirement for reentry into the country which eliminates the hassle of doing testing before coming home.

When we say Croatia in response to the question as to where we're going, we're either met with "that's so awesome, I'm jealous" or "why Croatia?"  We've been to both Italy and Greece and Croatia is sort of right between the two along the Adriatic Sea with a mediterranean climate.  People we know who have been talk about how awesome it is and the pictures we've seen have been incredible.  We'll be on the coast a lot, so I know we'll hit multiple beaches, but we will also do several of their national parks.  Plitvice Lakes National Park, the oldest in Croatia, is a series of 16 lakes connected by waterfalls.  I hope my photos will do it justice.

One of the most recent claims to fame for Croatia is that much of Game of Thrones was filmed there.  Have to admit we've not seen a single episode, so no Game of Thrones tour for us.  That's ok, as I think given the choice, Mona would rather maximize her beach time.