Ugljan, the "Olive Island"

Halfway around St. Michael's Fort, Ugljan, Dalmatia

Day trip to St. Mihovil's (St. Michael's) Fort, Ugljan

The island of Ugljan (pronounced "oog-li-yan") is an easy 20-minute ferry ride across the Zadar channel. Whenever the bustle of town life got to be too much, I'd hop on the next ferry to spend a few hours hiking and exploring this lovely Dalmatian island. The Jadrolinja ferry from Zadar arrives in the port of Preko, where there are a grocery store and a couple of cafes / taverns, as well as bus service to other towns on the island.

Hiking trail on Ugljan, springtime blooms

On one day trip I determined to make it all the way from Preko to St. Mihovil's fort, formerly a Roman depot and later a Venetian fortress, on the top of the island's highest peak. The hike leads from the port through a small residential area, climbing steadily upwards through 2,000-year-old olive groves tended by local families. The local residents also harvest grapes and make wine, for family consumption. It's absolutely lovely, especially in spring when all the wildflowers are in bloom. My lunch spot above was reached after about 2 hours of steady walking. The rest of the way around the mountain was a bit of a scramble over limestone boulders on the cliff face, aided only by a few cables attached to the rock face. It was exhilarating and not too difficult, well worth the views.

Visit the Preko Tourism Ugljan Island website for information and advice on what to see, how to get there, and the natural and cultural history of the island.

Rain shelter in an olive grove

Lunch with an island family

One of my husband's students, Ivan, lives on the island with his wife Suzy and their daughter, Marie. They invited us over to their home for lunch to sample some of the fish from Ivan's aquaculture operation on the remote western side of the island.

Lunch with Ivan's family. The fish are from
Ivan's aquaculture farm on the western side of Ugljan.

Like her mother, Suzy was born on the island. She and Ivan are starting an aquaculture business so they can stay on the island and make a life for themselves and their daughter. Fresh fish are in high demand as wild supplies are being depleted throughout the Mediterranean. The fish were harvested that morning and by noon we were feasting on the freshest, most delicious grilled seafood I've had in ages. The entire day was spent hiking, eating, and drinking endless rounds of homemade wine and local cherry brandy (Maraschino). Such a treat!

Two Months in Zadar

little Zadarski girl, rockin' out

NEW!! Croatia Travel Tips Magazine 2016

For the last 2 months we've been living in a rented apartment in the middle of Zadar's historic old town.  Zadar is an ancient port city in the central part of Croatia's Adriatic coast in an area known as Dalmatia. It's a small, friendly and cozy place, where you can easily fall into the local groove and get to know your neighbors. We are loving it here.

Old Town Zadar occupies a small peninsula off the mainland coast of Croatia. The city is surrounded by tall limestone walls built by the Venetians in the 1500's to successfully defend against the invading Ottoman Turks. At the southern end the walls are breached by the "Lion's Gate" affording passage to and from the city and the mainland. Zadar is thus surrounded on three sides by walls and water, and has a very active harbor with ferry service to the nearby islands (Ugljan, Dugi Otok, Iz, Olib, and Silba to name a few). I'll post an entry later with some photos so you can see how beautiful these islands are.

Cafe Toni, right below our apartment.

A typical day in Zadar

Our routine is to wake up around 9 or 10, eat a small breakfast of bread and cheese or jam, get dressed, head downstairs to the main square for a "bijela kava" (latte), take a walk around the city walls, shop for groceries at the market, then have lunch at one of the dozens of konobas (taverns) or grab a "pizza cut" (slice) to go. The bulk of the afternoon is spent sitting at a cafe just watching the local fashion parade go by. People here do this cafe sitting thing for hours every single day, nursing an espresso or macchiato and chain smoking....Lots of chain smoking. Croatian "Dead Zone" is from 3-6, when nearly everything shuts down while people recover from lunch and get ready for dinner and drinking late into the night.  The day is not complete without an evening stroll down the waterfront to listen to the Sea Organ, and watch the Sun Salutation's trippy solar-powered LED light show. (More on those later!) It's not entirely clear if people have jobs to go to. I can't see how they'd fit it in. It's a good life.

Roman column at Trg 5 Bunara (Five Wells)

Some Observations on Croatian culture:

1. Everyone smokes, everywhere. 
2. Both men and women tend to stare. Good, solid eye contact with random strangers while walking down the street. It's not offensive to stare back.
3. Everyone minds their own business (except for the staring). No one is going to bother you. But if you need help and ask for it, they will go far, far out of their way to help you. If they can't help you they will hand you off to someone who can.
4. Women dress to the nines. We're talking catwalk-quality fashion dressing and full makeup to go to the corner cafe, complete with 5" stiletto heels, at 10 am.
5. You are not Croatian if you do not own at least one pair of designer sunglasses. Preferably several pairs, and in this year's style, not last year's.

Next: Day Trip to the Island of Ugljan

Pongo in his native habitat 

6. Fun fact: Dalmatian dogs are actually quite popular in Dalmatia. For some reason I thought seeing Dalmatians here would be a naive cliche, like seeing parades of Pugs in Beijing or German Shepards in Frankfurt. But it's far from a cliche, this is their home and people love the breed. Plus there is the whole fashion thing - Croatians are all about looking good, so of course they have polka-dotted dogs.

Sarajevo, city of hope

 Assassination site of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria, whose death in 1914 triggered WWI

Sarajevo is an enigma. The city today is warm, welcoming, safe, and pleasantly multicultural, yet reminders of its turbulent history are hard to miss.

The city is nestled in a mountain valley, surrounded on all sides by rugged terrain. In winter there is usually snow (Sarajevo hosted the 1976 Winter Olympics) but this year, in March, what snow had fallen was long gone, and the hills were brilliantly green. Except, that is, for large white patches on all sides... no matter which direction you look, you see the green interrupted by white. It isn't snow. It's gravestones. Thousands of gravestones. The modern capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina is surrounded by the victims of the Yugoslav civil war, a constant reminder of the atrocities committed here and throughout Bosnia as the former communist nation was torn apart by separatists. In some parts of town, most buildings more than 3 stories tall are pock-marked with holes from mortar shells and artillery fire. It's quite sobering, yet hope is also everywhere evident... in the artwork, sculptures, monuments, and memorials found throughout the city encouraging remembrance, forgiveness, and vigilance against hate.

Hotel VIP, Sarajevo....

My return flight is out of Sarajevo; I look forward to coming back to learn more about this fascinating city. I hope to join one of the organized walking tours about the lives of citizens during the civil war, when the locals were essentially trapped in the city by Yugoslav-Serbian forces in the surrounding hills. I remember back in the early 90's, seeing footage of people pinned down by sniper fire ("Sniper Alley" was infamous for fatalities, as it's orientation afforded the Serbian snipers a clear shot of anyone on the street), running for their lives. As a traveler, I like to think that people are essentially good-- and my faith is not yet shaken, but one gift from Sarajevo is knowing that people can overcome even the worst of human nature.

A day in Sarajevo

Springtime in old town Sarajevo

Arrived at the Sarajevo airport in good shape after a 20+ hour trip to witness a minor miracle - my checked bag appeared in the carousel. Before leaving San Diego I'd decided to chuck my carry-on only rule and packed a sacrificial bag full of warm but expendable clothing that I wouldn't fret over if never seen again (I had two extremely tight connections in SFO and Istanbul and doubted I would make it through both, let alone a checked bag.) Kudos, Turkish Airlines! It's cold here in March and I am grateful for the extra layers.

There are numerous outdoor cafes, all with wifi

Joy of joys, the owner of my hotel was waiting for me right at the exit. We sped down the highway and arrived at my home for the next two nights: Hotel VIP. When checking in I mentioned I'd like to take a walk to shake off the flight, and maybe have a glass of wine. The owner's daughter took me by the arm and walked with me across the street to show me Bašcaršija, or old town Sarajevo, explaining that it was perfectly safe for a lone woman to be out and about late at night. At 10:00 pm the streets were full of people, shops and cafes were open, and the vibe was happy and energetic. She pointed out some of the sights and then I was off on my own. I felt extremely safe and enjoyed exploring the winding, narrow pedestrian alleyways. When I returned to the hotel, the owner's daughter greeted me and said she'd left a little gift in my room. It was a small bottle of local red wine. So very sweet.

Ottoman period fireplace, Svrzo House

View from Svrzo House to old town

I love to visit museum homes - private residues that have been turned into museums showcasing how life was lived by ordinary people in the past. One such home is the Svrzo House, located just a few minutes walk from old town. Svrzo House offers an intimate view into the daily life of a wealthy Muslim family in the late 18th century, when the Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkans. On the morning I visited, I was the sole guest. There is no tour or pamphlet to guide you, but there are interpretive signs explaining the functions of each room in English as well as Bosnian. I spent a very enjoyable hour exploring the home, imagining the family at home. My favorite memories are of the "Girls' Room" upstairs, protected by a heavy and onately carved wood door sheathed in iron, and the bathroom, complete with a hot water shower. The ornate fireplaces are ingeniously designed, studded with colorful round ceramic tiles (also ornately detailed) which would absorb the heat from the fire within and radiate it slowly to warm the room. 

Bosnia or Bust!

Lovely Zadar, on the Adriatic Sea

I'm off to Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Sarajevo was the most affordable destination landing me within a reasonable traveling distance of Zadar, Croatia (winner, European Best Destination 2016), where my wonderful husband will be teaching this spring at the University of Zadar. The general plan is to arrive safely (that's on you, Turkish Airlines!), stay a few nights to explore Sarajevo, then make my way solo to Croatia, stopping in Mostar and Split on the way, and up the coast to Zadar to an eventual happy reunion with Rob at our AirBnB apartment in the center of the old city.

They said I could bring a backpack..

I'm a little nervous about this trip. Not that I'm going solo; I've done plenty of solo trips before. It's silly, but I have never flown Turkish Airlines and I made the mistake of googling and reading some scathing reviews from travelers who have had the misfortune of having things go wrong. Now, most people have wonderful things to say about Turkish, but the unfortunate souls who get bumped, have luggage misdirected (permanently), or get stuck in the Istanbul airport overnight tell piteous tales of woe, describing a supremely uncaring customer service culture that apparently hasn't changed much since the Seljuk Empire. 

Due to the scary reviews and my tight connection time in Istanbul (barely 90 minutes to catch the last flight of the day to Sarajevo), I'm once again going carry on only. The carry on limit for Turkish Airlines is 1 overhead item at 8 kilos, roughly 17.6 pounds. My carry on bag weighs at least 5 pounds.

This should be interesting...
Next post, Sarajevo!

Budva: Mega-Yachts and Madonna

Lonely Planet gives an excellent introduction to Budva:

Hotel Meridian on the Budva Riviera

The poster child of Montenegrin tourism, Budva – with its atmospheric Stari Grad (Old Town) and numerous beaches – certainly has a lot to offer. Yet the child has moved into a difficult adolescence, fuelled by rampant development that has leeched much of the charm from the place. In the height of the season the sands are blanketed with package holidaymakers from Russia and Ukraine, while the nouveau riche park their multimillion-dollar yachts in the town’s guarded marina. By night you’ll run a gauntlet of scantily clad women attempting to cajole you into the beachside bars. It’s the buzziest place on the coast so if you’re in the mood to party, this is the place to be.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/montenegro/coastal-montenegro/budva#ixzz3w15uzEDE

Budva itself is functional, plain and uninteresting. The real draws are the lovely walled Old Town (Stari Grad, worth a half day) and the beaches of the Budva Riviera, which stretches for 22 miles along Montenegro's Adriatic coast. We decided to splurge on a reservation for 2 nights at Hotel Meridian, located at the far southern end of the Riviera on Bečići beach. At $50 a night, it was an affordable luxury.


The biggest hotel on Bečići beach is the Hotel Splendid, a luxurious five-star resort that cost 70 million euros to build. It was the choice of The Rolling Stones and Madonna as well as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie during their stay in Montenegro.


There are numerous cafes, bars, and restaurants along the extensive beachfront promenade. We had a lovely swim off the beach and a delicious fresh seafood lunch at Tri Ribari (the 3 Fishermen). Afterward we enjoyed a long stroll south along the walkway past some interesting people (most were Russian tourists from Moscow, an easy 3-hour flight away) and some interesting geologic formations - highly folded and warped layers of light and dark metamorphic rock are exposed by weathering along the coast here.

Lunch at Tri Ribari (Three Fishermen), Bečići

Bevare!

Motor Yacht A

Gazing out at the Adriatic, we couldn't help but notice a large, strange-looking vessel several hundred meters offshore. It looked like an evil genius' submarine, something out of a James Bond movie. It was pure white, and more than anything else resembled an intergallatic battle cruiser. Asking around, we were told it was "Motor Yacht A", the ultra-luxurious mega-yacht built by French designer Phillipe Starck and owned by Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko, who spent over $300 million on the ship's construction. This is the same guy who had both Whitney Houston and Christina Aguillera perform at his wedding to Serbian model Aleksandra Nikolic in 2005. His other yacht, also designed by Phillipe Starck, is nearing completion and will be the largest sailing yacht in the world -- "Sailing Yacht A," nicknamed "The White Pearl".

Seriously, these mega-yachts are ridiculously lavish. Once I started researching them it was hard to stop. The technology going into these ships is quite impressive, perhaps justifying some of the outlandish amount of money involved. The article below gives a good sneak-peak. Or, just Google "white pearl sailing yacht":

"Baccarat Meets Bomb-Proof Glass on the High Seas" - WSJ story on Motor Yacht A, w/ photos