Dobar dan Hrvatska...........Hvala!!!

Dobar dan Hrvatska...........Hvala!!!

Hello Croatia........Thank you !!!

Wonderful! Beautiful! Oh my God! Magnificent! Fantastic!
Since the last few days I have been using these words many times. In fact I felt that I have fallen short of adjectives/superlatives.
Yes! We have been to Croatia last week.

Beautiful would be an understatement to describe Croatia. And mind you I am not even referring to the Put-the-Photoshop-to-shame National park and Plitvicka Lake.
Croatia is so much more than the National Parks and Almost Out-of-the -World Lakes!

The thing that most appealed to me in my entire Croatia tour, was not just the natural beauty, nobody can dispute that, it was the splendid hospitality of the Croats! No unlike George W Bush, I would not refer to Croats as Croissants ;-)
Yes, Tourism is a very big thing in Croatia, but I do not think the hospitality of the Croats is just an extension of the business activity. We experienced many such instances.

We arrived late afternoon in Zagreb. In the airport I had a feeling of Déjà Vu, Not because I have some previous birth connection with Croatia, but because it reminded me of the Begum pet Airport in Hyderabad. Hope you get the point! Yes, Yes, "that" plus the Hyderabadi warmth of affection! Even the immigration officials were happy to see us there!!! (OR was it all my imagination?) Whatever!!!

Here I learnt that superstition is not just the stronghold of Indians, it can be seen everywhere. In this walled city in one of the entry gates there is a small picture of Mary holding the baby Jesus. I believe there was once a huge fire in the city and it burned for three days. But miraculously this painting was not destroyed. From that time on, the residents of this city never forget to thank the virgin and her baby for any good thing in their life. Though it was described as superstition to us by the local guide, I would rather call it faith.

In the city of Zadar the thing that most appealed to me was the 'Sea Organ’; it is just like the musical instrument 'organ', which you usually find in churches. By the sea side long pipes/Holes are drilled into the stone on the shore, parallel to each other, of various depths. The other end opening into the sea. As the force of the waves hitting the shore increases and decreases the water entering the pipes increases or decreases the length of the air column in the pipes and because of resonance we hear beautiful music emanating out of the pipes. What a wonderful idea!!!

Split is such a city that you immediately travel back in time in modern day comfort. The lovely port and small beaches apart, the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian itself is so lovely. Thanks to our local guide Iviza, we learnt the lovely stories surrounding the fort and the small , very narrow lanes in it. Oh yes! We also saw the grandeur of the Roam Empire when actually the guards made an announcement in the palace that the Emperor is coming with his wife to grace the citizenry in the palace balcony. All hail the emperor ‘Ave! Ave! Ave!!!
Lovely way to entertain the tourists and preserve the history-while making a LOT OF MONEY out of it!

We also rubbed the Toe of the Statue of bishop Gregory of Nin. It is believed to bring good luck!
OK, maybe it is superstition, but trying out was no harm, moreover no body charged us anything extra for trying it out! 'Phukat mein kismat khulri to nakko kaiku bolna'

Maine is desh ka Namak khaaya hai !
This dialogue is so famous in India. Croats have gone a step further. In the city of Ston, they used to make salt. Salt was a very precious commodity. So much so that the soldiers got a part of their salary paid in SALT! hence the word SAL-ary for remuneration. To protect the salt there is a fort and a wall built around the city of Ston. This is to be seen to be believed. A stroll around the very small city of Ston was so wonderful, and add to that an ice-cream on a sunny afternoon and the beautiful streets of Ston!

The drive along the Adriatic coast from Split to Dubrovnik, along the Ghats and stony beaches, colourful pebbles and blue / Green water....hmmm...no words! Experience it.
Thanks to Martina we got to see some hidden beaches in small villages on the way and even play in the waters for brief stops and lovely viewing points. No tourism promotion can do real justice to this lovely drive.

Even the kids loved the journey. Sneha, as is her wont, sings out her feelings. She did that in the whole journey. When it started becoming cloudy and started drizzling, she started singing 'Rain rain go away, little Sneha, Little Shashank, Baba-Aai-Tina want to play'! and Lo-and-behold the weather gods listened to the little one. Thanks Sneha darling!
Not to forget the 'Cookie jar games’ which Sneha made us all play along the drive’!
What more can a parent ask! Shashank was all the time excited about the Jungles, Ships and the long tunnels we were crossing. Also the Bears and Wolves in the forest. We got a chance to see some animals, of course secured.

Along the route passed on a road which had a fresh water lake on one side and salty sea on the other.

Dubrovnik was the highlight of our tour. The location of our apartment was excellent. It was like living in a picture postcard location. You feel like you are a part of the most beautiful creation of God. The Turquoise blue coloured water surrounded by pebbled beaches and green palms and beautiful flowers- Mind blowing! Shashank and Sneha never tired of playing in the sea!

The owner of our holiday home, Mirjana was such a gentle lady. People like her add the extra sweetness to the memories of such vacations. She liked the kids so much that she made cake for them and when the kids liked it, the next day she brought another cake with cherries and fruits. We loved her small kitchen garden and know what!, she even packed some fresh cut Spinach from her garden on the day of our return. Kids still remember her and her dog-Charlie and her pet rabbit-Panda! Another wonderful example of superb hospitality of the Croats!

The tour around the old Dalmatian city is an experience in itself. Thanks to our local guide Nina, we had a fair share of fun. Marin Držić was the most famous playwright of Croatia. he was banished from Dubrovnik and lived his life in Venice because of his criticism of local politicians. but now there is a statue of him just in front of the city office. There is a belief that if you rub the nose of this statue, which is incidentally very long, luck shines on you! Again, we did this happily!

There is an aqua duct all along the old city, like a small canal running across the entire old city. There is a belief that if a maiden steps into it she will never get married! Nina was careful enough to avoid stepping into it. We told Sneha the exact opposite of it. She was jumping all along the way across the canals, the whole day! Shashank was teasing her that she has already stepped into it and that she will be married off now. She was crying all along that she does not want to get married, not now, not in Dubrovnik, not in Germany, not in India, never. But she has stepped into it and she should now get married!

Since it was Whit Sunday (the day when, Christians believe, the Holy Spirit showered its blessings onto all Christians) and the Dalmatian city has both orthodox as well as Catholic churches, we got to see their traditions in both the churches. Adding an ethnic tough to our splendid tour.

Our guide Nina loved the kids so much that long after her tour ended, she came back with her mother, just to meet us and the kids! - love you Croats! You sure know how to add that special touch to the memories.

Remember the lovely looking Dalmatian dogs made famous as cute creatures by Disney, they are natives of this place. In fact, I was told, they are actually not as cute as depicted by Disney, they are in fact very ferocious. Bred by the natives to scare away or fight the invading Ottoman Turks' horses.

Talk about the Balkan states and discussion is sure to steer to the politics and war. There are still minor remnants of the unfortunate war. But Croats have sure overcome it, and done it mighty impressively!

Thanks to Jeronim, Martina for making this a very memorable trip.

Thanks Croatia for the beautiful holiday and lovely tiny little things for memory like the
Lavender, Olives, Blue-Green-Turquoise water, the submarine trip for kids, The Bear crossing, the sunsets.....many many more!

-Sandeep Kulkarni