Croatia, Part 2

Continue on Susan and Michael's Croatian adventure down the Dalmatian coast to Split, where the Roman Emperor Diocletian, son of Jupiter the God, build the first summer palace 1700 years ago. Learn about Split's strategic port and enjoy a "virtual feast" at Sperun trattoria. Then it's on to the walled city of Dubrovnik. In the Middle Ages it was the only city-state in the Adriatic to rival Venice; it is also home to the second-oldest synagogue in Europe. Finally, Michael recounts some of his special Croatian adventures.


To view the official tourism site of the Croatian National
Tourism Board, visit www.croatia.hr







Where we'll be exploring

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Croatia

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. Croatia borders with Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, and Montenegro to the far southeast. Its southern and western flanks border the Adriatic Sea.

Croatia is a member of United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Council of Europe, is a candidate for membership of the European Union and received a NATO membership invitation on April 3, 2008. On October 17, 2007, Croatia became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term.



To view a more detailed map of Croatia, click here






A summary of our visit

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By Michael Zufolo



Water, Water, Everywhere!


Perhaps one of the best kept secrets about Croatia, in addition to its diverse regional cuisine, thematic paintings by native artists, and storied 18th and 19th century architecture, is the quality of its air and the quality of its water. Yes, water, everywhere, particularly in the region of Lika where a natural phenomenon takes place every day. To get you there your first stop in Croatia by air is Zagreb, the country's capital city, and like the rest of the country, it's been relatively undiscovered, at least from this side of the Atlantic, and this after the shadow left by the recent conflict with Bosnia and Serbia, 1991-95. So on a recent trip, we enrolled in class "101" as given by our guides over the next 7 days.

Croatia has since pressed on in terms of its economic stability, and now with a presence in the commonwealth of nations, having recently applied to the ECU for a nameplate, it is ready to take its place among the leading nations of Europe. It has been pleading for recognition ever since. The population of the country is less than 5,000,000 while Zagreb's population is nearing 800,000 and growing.

Historically, the nation served as a flank for the Roman Empire to the West and the pervasive Catholic Byzantine Empire to the East by the 5th century. Its' legendary founders, King Ladislav (1040-1095), and King Bella IV (1206-1270) who founded the Bishopric of Zagreb and the settlement of Gradec respectively, formed the capital city in 1242.

The country measures approximately 34,000 square miles in total including 1,185 islands in the Adriatic and Dalmatian coastal areas. It has three climate zones. Croatia physically lies on the eastern edge of the Austrian Alps to the northwest, and extends to the Pannonian peninsula, to the banks of the Danube River to the east, and south and southeast to the Dalmatian coast and the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by Bosnia, Herezegovina, and Slovenia and Montenegro, in the mid-south plane of Europe. First settled by the Croats, a fierce Indo-European tribal society in the 7th century, the country has been pillaged by a succession of invaders from adjoining lands. These have included the Ottoman Turks in the 15th-19th century, the Venetians in the 15th-18th century, the armies of Napoleon in the late 18th and early 19th century, the Austro-Hungarians in the 15th-19th century, the German forces in the Second World War, the Communist regime of Marshall Tito in the post-war years, and finally the insurgents from Kosovo, Bosnia and Serbia in the last part of the 20th. To say the least, Croatia and the city of Zagreb have had its fill of spoilers. It is now an independent republic with its own flag, constitution, and rule of law. This was officially achieved in 1991.

Starting off in Zagreb, a city known for its historic character, and the hub of political life since the 7th century, we discovered its subtle charm, its lively life-style, and noble bearing. Zagreb is a city that is well polished culturally and has a lot to offer. It's been termed the "ideal 19th century city". In addition to a number of 5-star hotels, including the recently renovated Regent-Esplanade, a 1925 historical property with a dazzling oriental theme formerly managed by Orient Express Hotels, there's the Palazzo, the city's oldest, the Sheraton, the Hilton and the Westin where President George W. Bush recently stayed, and a bevy of 3 and 4-star properties as well as smaller hostelries competing for the Euro. At present there are over 40 properties to choose from including B&B's, apartments, private dwellings and campsites. Then there's the public parks-seven of them in all and set in a horseshoe pattern where the city's festivals abound twelve months a year. Here you find unobstructed paths and walkways festooned with colorful flower-beds, each providing a staging area for a concerts, dance, theatrical performance, or oratory.

Zagreb is also a city of churches, and like the rest of the country since the 9th century is more than 80% Roman Catholic. While Christianity was introduced in the West by the 5th and 6th century, the early church firmly took root by the 8th and 9th century through the efforts of Christian missionaries foremost of which were those led by the Byzantine Catholic brothers, St. Cyril and St. Methodius from Greece.

Visit the city's main church, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a 13th century monument, rebuilt in 1888 after a destructive earthquake leveled it in 1881. Its twin towers, the city's highest, can be seen for miles. The cathedral contains a world-class organ built in the last quarter of the 19th century, an assembly of 6600 musical pipes. The late Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960), a thorn in Marshall Tito's side, and staunch supporter of democratic principles and a stern anti-Communist himself, is buried here. The cathedral is one of the finest examples of gothic reconstruction in Europe today. Across the plaza of the church, and past the city's "green" market or Dolac which is open daily, sits St. Mary's, a smaller yet very distinctive church complete with its recently restored copula, painted in 14k gold leaf. The church and its onion-shaped dome are a tribute to the Austo-Hungarian builders who labored here in the 19th century. Then there's the Miragoj Cemetery which rivals Paris' Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Built in 1880, at the height of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, it also has had extensive restoration. Monuments of local noblemen and city councilors are buried here, with some stones dating back 200 years.

The cemetery's gardens were vividly planned as an English park. The city also heralds its museums. There are more than 30 of them. One, the Museum of St. George, the city's patron saint, is located on the far side of the city, and is set inside a stone cave where a statue of the saint with his sword extended is openly visited. Adjacent to St. George, and located on a public street nearby is the chapel of Our Lady of the Stone, also referred to as the patroness of the city. Another museum is the Museum of Naive Art, popularized by local artists whose genre is reflected in colorful native themes. It has been referred to as the world's first museum of peasant art. Opened in 1952 it holds more than 1700 works. Early artists include Ivan Generalic (1914-1992), the first master of the so-called Hlebine School, with his The Requisition (1934) and The Death of Virius (1959), his benefactor, Mirko Virius (1889-1943), with his Harvest (1938), Ivan Vecenaj (1920) with Goiterous Jana (1962), and Mijo Kovacic (1935) with The Evangelist on Calvary (1966). The paintings are more politically inspired and are often comically presented. Address: www.hmnu.org

There's also the Mimara Museum, perhaps the city's most renowned art center for antiquity to modern, the creation of Ante Topic Mimara, a powerful international post-war collector and native of Dalmatia. It contains 3,750 pieces of mixed art from the last 2,500 years. Here you'll find an extensive exhibition of glass and ceramics from Egypt, the Middle East, Greece and Rome, and from Spain, Italy, England, Germany, and the Netherlands. In 42 salons, the building, a stunning example of classical architecture in the neo-renaissance style was opened in 1987. It provides a comfortable experience to see some great art without the usual bustling crowds of the larger European capitals.



Food

You won't be disappointed. We counted over 200 restaurants of every flavor and stripe, from native Croatian cuisine, Macrobiotic and Vegetarian, and with a fair number of pastry shops, wine cellars, coffee house and tavernas thrown in. Owing in part to the first cookbook on Zagreb cooking by Marija Kumicic, a serviceable text on what there is to know about food and wine in the city we selected a handful of dishes that are still going strong.



Soup

Flour soup is an everyday starter. Good and hearty, and served usually with homemade bread. Whole grains of wheat and flower with spices thrown in.



Pastry

Strudel in every variety, especially kremsnite (custard), and paprenjak (gingerbread). Also gingerbread hearts with medica or gvirc (liquor or honey).



Meat

Zagreb steak (veal/w local cheese & ham), gablec (wine goulash), sarma (stuffed cabbage), krpice (square pasta w/ roasted cabbage & sausage), turkey w/ mlinci (turkey w/ potatoes, minced veal, mushrooms, and rolls), kotlovina (fried pork chops and sausage w/ onions, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes), and zagorski strukli (salty dumplings of pumpkin, poppy, apples, served as an accompaniment) are the leading dishes of the day.



Fish

Anything that swims from local streams, rivers and lakes, though trout is a favorite.



As an aside we're told that there are 267 gas lamps in the city which are lighted every evening before dusk by hand by an official lamplighter. They are also caped before sunrise every morning. This is a sight to behold.



For more info e-mail: info@zagreb-touristinfo.hr or visit www.zagreb-convention.hr for special trade events and exhibitions.



Now the Water


Less than two hours by car or by express auto-bus from Zagreb you can visit one of the world's natural wonders. This is Plitvica Jezera National Park, the country's largest and arguably the country's most beautiful. It is in fact the second largest park in Europe and is located in Lika, or lake region, between Zagreb and Zadar on the eastern shoulder of the country. It was established in 1947. Open 12 months a year, it has been recording record numbers of visitors over the past five years. In 2007, 960,000 visitors passed through its gates. In Summer the average daily number of visitors reaches 11,000. Japanese, English and German citizens have traditionally lead the pack, however.

The park produces nine programs and has been a hot ticket ever since. It has a surface of 2,000 sq. miles and is a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site.

E-mail: info@np-plitvice.com or visit www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr



Since there's a total absence of industry in the park there's relatively no pollution. "Corkova Uvala", a term for the virgin beach forests that abound in the park has been described as one of the most significant and most appealing in Europe. It contains 1,267 types of plants including 75 endemic plants, 55 species of orchids, 321 species of butterflies, 161 species of birds, and is abundant with wildlife including the European brown bear (Ursus Artos), red fox and deer, rabbit and wolf. According to Ivo Pevalick, a noted 20th century Croatian academic, "there are water, lakes, waterfalls and forests everywhere (in Croatia) but Plitvice Lakes are unique." At last count there were more than 100 waterfalls and 18 lakes throughout the park depending on the season. One at 260' is the country's highest. The lake terrain is divided between upper and lower lakes. Cascades of water come from the Bijela and Crna Rivers which in the south of the park join with Proscansko Lake which flows into the Korana River close to Sastavci Falls. And because algae and bacteria cross pollinate vigorously here, plant and mineral life are so abundant. This you'll notice as you walk through the park using a number of wood-slate bridges and stone-cut stairs. These invariably end up at the lakeside of one of the mini-ports located throughout the park From here you can hop on an electric ferry for a short ride across. Or if speed is your game there's a battery of small vans that leave every quarter hour from the main gate. But before you leave, though, taste the water. It's crystal clear and icy-cold. Thanks to our able guide Helena, who has been with the park for 27 years, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and were fascinated on what we found. In fact, we booked a local hotel for the night for a return visit the following day. This was the Hotel Jezero, a 3-star property located inside the park and directly across Licka Kuca.

After a long day our first choice for a traditional Croatian dinner was Lika Kuca. And it was a good one. This native restaurant across from the main entrance of the park is noted for its djuvec, a native dish of rice, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and onions and is served in a pot. Six of us shared this hearty dish that was offered with local home-made bread and butter. My own choice, however, was the sizzling broiled meats, a potpourri of wild turkey, roast loin of pork and lamb which was prepared under a hot metal bell-jar studded with fire-red coals from an assembly of large oak logs placed in an upright vertical formation. As the oak timbers break down into searing briquettes, the pit boss takes a large coal shovel and pours them onto the head of the bell jar. He then takes a long metal rod and lifts the bell cap to check on the readiness of the meats under cover. This takes no more than 30 minutes. The result is an extraordinary plate of char-broiling served scalding-hot with an accompaniment of fresh stewed vegetables and salad. The taste was unforgettable. I was surprised to see one of the proprietors personally serve us. You can't beat that.



More Water


Less than one hour away in the same mountain region of Lika we found the charming village of Otacac/Mlinice, a hamlet really of less than 500 people. Originally a mill site, the people here are entirely self-sufficient. Each household, in fact, cures its own swine, produces the country's freshest creamy-white spoon cheese, which is prepared daily, with dairy-fresh milk from local herds, bake their own bread, comb their own wild-honey, and provide an amazing variety of grappas and home-made wines, from Dinjac, Teran,Opolo, Plavac, and Zlathina, all made from local vines, to fruity liquors including sljivovica, travarica, lozovaca, and brandies or rakija which are made from tree-ripened plum fruit, grape varietals and herbs. It is an area abundant with mature fruit trees, livestock, and field produce to say the least. And the waters that run through this area have been adjudged by a team of Swedish hydrologists in 1963-67 to be of the highest quality in the world. Again, like the park in Plitvice Lakes, and since there's no industry in these parts to speak of, the water from its mountain streams and rivers is so biologically pure that you can take it right from the ground. Cascades of water run throughout the hamlet, in fact. This is evident everywhere you go. Otacac/ Mlinice is actually an agricultural community, where every service you can imagine is so personal. It has only one church, which was tarnished somewhat by canon fire from the war in 1999.

An old farmer my driver Mladen and I met on the way into the village was Simatic Juraj, who at 78 years was one of the youngest in the area. "Here", he said, "they live to be 100." He showed us his prized cat, a small Caterpillar tractor which was his baby, his stock of crocking hens and pullets, his herd of sheep and young lambs, his orchids, his wine-making apparatus, and his country house where we were treated to a glass of his own grappa before leaving. Yet only a few steps away were the hamlet's only restaurant, Vrilo Gracke, which sits between two small rivers. Here the proprietor of the place greeted us warmly and proceeded to serve us, a party of six, with a board of his own Skpripvas-the creamy pot cheese that so easily spreads on home-made bread, along with his brand of local wild honey and fresh fruit. Added to this was a full plate of chacuterie/home-made salami or Slovenian style kulen, and garlic sausage or cesnjovka, with a field of greens and farm-fresh soft-ripened tomatoes. The beer-Velebitsko, made by Licanka, a regional producer, added a nice touch and was ice-cold. This late afternoon repast was indeed a joyful experience for us.

Upon finishing our early supper you could hear the river Gacka, the principal river flowing quietly. The river is a karst-10 miles in length. It too is a natural phenomenon containing 25 different water plants and 19 groups of macra fauna. At 12 centigrade, the water that runs through the terrain is extremely rich in oxygen and is one of the world's best tasting we were told.

Our last stop before heading south to the historical cities of Split and Dubrovnik was the village of Obrovac on the river Zrmanja and nearer to the city of Zadar. Unfortunately we were too tired to pause but assured the locals there that we would come another day to spend more time with them in their charming little hamlet.

In brief, we owed a depth of gratitude to the local people in this region who offered us their wisdom, their history, their pride, but most of all for allowing us into their homes to talk about the country that they were so proud of. For us this was a discovery and we were most grateful.





For more information on visiting Croatia contact the local Croatian Tourist Office in your area. Croatia Airlines is the national airline. In New York you can email cntony@earthlink.net or you can call 800.829.4416, fax 212.279.8683 or visit www.croatia.hr


All photos by Susan Raphael.