Croatia (and Venice) on Our Mind

 Dober dan (good morning)..... from the Wandering Berkmans!

As our 2 months in Split, Croatia come to a close next week and we head off to see our dear friends the Wornings in Denmark, we did a "Thanks for the Memories" tour through the pics of our time here and in the surrounding area.  We hope you get a kick out of these highlights!

Krka National Park, where we took in a beautiful waterfall and learned a little about Croatian drinking utensils from our always entertaining guide Iva

When a half liter of wine just isn't enough.  This drinking trough, the bukara, rests on the shoulder- one just tips it toward the mouth when you're in need of a swig.  oh my...

Solin was a wonder-- an ancient Roman settlement which includes the ruins of an amphitheater destroyed in 639.  To walk through there by ourselves, no other tourists and without restriction, was a unique experience.  Here's Don channeling his inner gladiator.

We visited nearby Trogir three times- a UNESCO World Heritage City with Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture that wowed us, a picturesque promenade with terrific restaurants and the opportunity to see a classic rock concert in the Fortress Kamerlengo featuring the Zagreb Symphony Orchestra.

 

This is one of the city gates into center Trogir from the 17th century.  Back in the day the gates were closed at night.  If you arrived after the closing of the gates, the small building to the right served as your Motel 6 until the gates opened again in the morning.    

We rented a car and made a visit to the capital of Croatia-- Zagreb! They don't call it Little Vienna for nothing-- the Austrian-inspired architecture is everywhere.  

Croatian National Theatre, where we saw a live opera performance outside. 

We were treated to a great tour of the city by our new friends Olya, Goran and Viktor, the most adorable baby this side of the Adriatic Sea.  

The main square featured Pride flags! Nice!

The spire on the left fell off the Zagreb Cathedral during one of the many earthquakes the city has suffered from.  The spire on the right is a replica  replacement-- it's amazing what the environment will do to stone over hundreds of years

Saint Mark's Church, the oldest building in Zagreb, from the 13th century.  We like to call it the Necco wafer (or Lego) church

On a stop in Otočac along the way to Zagreb we had a delicious meal of grilled trout and Don found his new favorite soup at Bistro Ribič!  Prežgana juha, a traditional Slovenian soup made from flour and eggs, was to DB liquid Fritos in a bowl and he was loving it.  (note the recipe linked includes cumin.  For those of you who know Don well, the soup he sampled absolutely must not have included that dreaded hard "C" spice)

Also of interest in Otočac-- many houses with these tremendous piles of firewood outside.  Most homes in this area don't have heating so in the heat of the summer residents are gathering their needed supply of firewood for the winter.

And of course, Venice.  

One of the wonderful things about being on "the continent" is that travel to different European countries is largely inexpensive.  With limited tourism to Europe these days, we reasoned there was no better time to visit Venice, the first time for both of us.  And oy... what a city.  We could fill a blog post with just pictures of this stunning and unusual place where cars, bikes and scooters are not allowed in the historic center.   

The Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal Guidecca

Just another beautiful building on a canal- someone's baby palace, no doubt.  We were told the bottom floor was traditionally used for storage with easy access for delivery by boat, the next two floors were for the residents and the top and hottest floors for the servants.  Now these top floors are hot in a new way and the most sought after with the amazing views.  Gentrification in a single house.

A bride getting her Insta moment by the Bridge of Sighs.  Read about the bridge's history here-- it's not as romantic as this picture suggests. Or maybe that's the bride's subtle message hm.......

Our picturesque street, Garibaldi, in the Castello section of the city, looked like something out of a Fellini film shoot.  Cue Sofia Loren!

I just loved this sliver of a building on the canal.

St Mark's Square is probably never this empty, even at 9am.  And, yes, the bell tower really leans that much.  We didn't stand in line for an hour to enter the cathedral.  We are those impatient people.

Doorways often include this permanent, extra level of flood protection, especially in the rainy winter.  Step up!  

Cicchetti are our new fav finger food!  Starting bottom left and going clockwise: baccala fritter, crostini of prosciutto with burrata cheese,  zucchini flower fritter, and lastly, and dear to my heart, a crostini of baccala mantecato.  Heaven on a crusty slice of bread. A number of these and dinner done!  Served with a local brew and the preferred local version of the Venetian Spritz with Select instead of Aperol and a large, skewered green olive.   

And, of course, the requisite gondola ride.  The smaller canals were so quiet we whispered as if we were in a library.  Lovely-- play the videos below and come along!

Who knew the feet of the gondolier were so important in guiding the boat! 

As of August 1, Venice will no longer allow the largest of cruise ships to enter the Guidecca canal.  Until the new port is finished nearby, the tourism industry will continue to take a hit.  But with the smaller crowds we saw already, we can't even imagine how the city could handle thousands of more visitors a day.  It's a delicate balance.  We felt fortunate to see the city in a slightly calmer fashion and now have it on our list for a longer stay in the future, in the more residential area of the city.  

Off now to the land of Gammel Dansk, Smørrebrød, Koldskål med kammerjunker and other food names we can't pronounce!  Stay tuned! 

Until then, here's this posting's Slice Of Life--  our breakfast routine in  Zagreb.   We would bring yogurt and bread to the cafe just outside the daily market (they let you do that if the cafe doesn't offer food), we would buy some fruit at the market, and enjoy an espresso (or two) as we took in the sights and sounds. (When we ordered espresso #2 our server agreed with us when we said we Americans like a lot of coffee.  Her assessment-- "Americans drink a liter of coffee!")  Most mornings the cafes were filled with older men reading the paper and debating the ways of the world.  Grab your liter of coffee and click on the video below to enjoy the sights and sounds of our morning routine.  

And finally, Donald and our downstairs neighbor Vladmir wish you a good day!  (could Angela  and Emmanuel be living around the corner??)

Be well and thanks for following along! 

Don and Monica

italy