This and That.

The Olympics…As the Olympics wrap up, it was fun watching them from the perspective of another country. While several TV stations in Croatia are broadcast in English (and dubbed in Croatian), we picked up the Olympics in three languages. We had an English station (from England), an Italian station and Croatian. Each country of course focuses on their own athletes and it’s rare to see the Americans. The broadcasts are a lot lower key, and for whatever reason, there are never any commercials around here.

You’ve been traveling too long when…The other day during a skype call with my folks, Grandpa asked Cole if he has been watching the Olympics. He then quizzed Cole on the swimmer that won 8 gold medals. Cole didn’t know, so Grandpa gave him a hint…Michael ________? Cole’s response…Angelo. Yes, the great Michelangelo!

Mia’s in the same boat. Grandpa sent her a postcard with a picture of her and Grandpa in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol. (If you’re not familiar with the Wisconsin State Capitol, it was modeled after the White House in Washington, with the big white dome.) Anyway, upon looking over the postcard, Mia asked…”Now which church was this?” That’s the Badger church I guess.

Anyway, after a month in Croatia, we’re off again. Tomorrow it’s on to Austria and Switzerland, before returning to Croatia to finish up where we left off. Thanks again for all your emails and we’ll touch base again soon. By the way, I updated a few photos in the kids albums too, if you care to take a look.

Ella getting ready for a night out.
This was our last sunset in Split.  Another beauty!

Soccer In Split

Split is definitely a big sports town, so of course we needed to check it out a little further. From our 7th floor apartment we can see numerous soccer fields (including the main stadium), sailing clubs, rowing clubs, water polo facilities, indoor and outdoor swimming training facilities, tennis courts, and the new pro basketball arena being built.
Directly across the street they had soccer training for kids going on every morning. When I inquired about Cole participating, they had him start the next morning, no charge. They had teams from Croatia and Slovenia working out and the skill level was impressive. While most of the kids can speak English here (they start learning in first grade), the coaches give instruction in Croatian. Cole’s nickname was “USA”, which was easy for all to remember. As usual, Cole loved running around with the other kids, but just as he starts to get comfortable with his new buddies, it’s time to move on to the next city.

100 yards down the street is the main soccer facility, Poljud Stadium. It was built in 1979 by the Yugoslavian government as a facility to host the Mediterranean Games. For being almost 30 years old, it’s a pretty impressive facility, even today. The HNK Hajduk Split team that plays there was formed in 1911 and today more than ever is famous not only for their high quality of play, but also for their insane fans. (HNK stands for hrvatski nogometni klub, which translates, to Croatian football club. The Hajduk nickname stems from “romanticized bandits that fought the Turks”. Kind of like the English legend of Robin Hood.) Fans here are beyond loyal and the team has repaid them by turning down lucrative offers to relocate elsewhere on more than one occasion. Furthering our European soccer itinerary, Cole and I took in a game last evening and saw Hajduk beat NK Slaven Belupo 3-1. Just as Cole and I arrived, the visiting fan buses pulled in, escorted by several police vehicles. As they unloaded the buses, the police, all decked out in riot gear, surrounded the area and ushered them into their "cage". It’s certainly safer in that cage though, than next to some of the Split fanatics. In soccer the clock doesn’t stop, and neither do the fans; from singing, jumping around, and lighting fireworks.

Besides soccer, numerous professional athletes call this city of 200,000 home. Amongst them are Toni Kukoc (Chicago Bulls) and several other NBA players, 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanesevic, and several Olympic gold medalists.

A look down on practice from our balcony.

Diocletian's Palace

This is the heart of Split and the building around which the city was created. Over 9 ½ acres, the palace is so large that it has four main entrances. It was built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in 305AD, and although extremely modified over the years, still remains in the center of the action. Born to slaves in 245AD, Diocletian ultimately climbed the army ranks to become Roman emperor in 284AD. Known for many victories during his reign, he put an end to 50 years of chaos in the Roman Empire. He reformed the financial system, rebuilt the army, secured the borders, and introduced rule by four men instead of one (tetrarchy). Then he did what no other emperor had even tried to do – he took voluntary retirement. He built this opulent palace as his retirement home and spent his golden years here tending to his garden. He even refused to return to government when begged by his failing successors. Over the years a city grew up around the palace with various authorities using it as a seat from which to rule; from Croatian kings, to Hungarians and of course the Venetians. What remains today is a mix of the old and new, as various additions and modifications have of course been made over the last 1700 years.
If you've ever been to Vegas, these guys made it feel like we were walking through Ceasar's Palace.


This shot is taken during our climb up the bell tower.  If you blow it up and look out the right arch you'll see our apartment way in the distance.

Split

This is definitely one of the harder posts I’ve had to write. I’m “Split” as to what the focus should be. Do I write about the cute old town and Marjan peninsula where all the tourists play? Do I talk about the not-so-cute city that lies behind it? Do I talk about the magic we encountered meeting locals on our evening strolls? Or do I talk about the very recent Homeland War that the people here endured a mere 12 years ago? To understand Split is really to touch on them all.

We definitely got a full dose of what Split had to offer, as this time we opted to stay with the locals instead of the tourists. Our apartment was on the 7th floor of a 15-story high-rise, common accommodations for most Split residents. Although only a 10-minute walk from the old town, it might as well have been an hour. Prior to World War II, Split was still a relatively small town, but after the war and the start of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, it grew extremely fast. During this communist rule, waves of people flooded in, including numerous war refugees, to fill the new jobs created by the Yugoslav government’s industrialization plans. What resulted was an uncontrolled jumble of concrete high-rises. But when the Homeland War broke out in 1991, a war Croatia fought against Yugoslavia to gain it’s independence, the factories were abandoned and the recession began. Only as recently as a few years ago have they been able to really turn the corner, now relying more on trade and tourism, we’re told. While the old town has always retained its many charms, the rest of the city is just starting to recover and build new projects with a more westernized architectural approach.

Amongst the twisted lanes of the old town you find Diocletian’s Palace (more on that in the next post), the Riva (a pedestrian promenade along the harbor), and the Marjan (a large wooded peninsula of parkland loaded with beaches and no cars). While we did spend most of our time here, we made it a point to really venture out and live within the bigger picture. For this we were richly rewarded.

As a side note, I must thank my friend Surge in the States, his mom who rented us her apartment, and his sister Julija who helped show us around town.
Cole on the Riva.
A look into "old town" from the bell tower.
Splashing around one of the many beaches on the Marjan.  Yes that's Cole.

The Riva lit up at night.
A palm tree along the harbor.
Some friends we met playing a serious game of Bocce.
A look out our back window across the skyline.
Our apartment building.
The view from our balcony during the day...
...and in the evening.

FULL!

We left Rovinj with 5 open days before our reservation in Split. Having had reservations most of the trip, we thought this would be a good spot to be spontaneous as we headed south. After driving for a few hours we were getting fairly close to Split and decided to find a place in Trogir (Troe-gear), a quaint walled town connected to the mainland by a bridge. It didn’t take long to figure out that this was not going to be as easy as we thought. Almost all the accommodations in Croatia (outside the major cities), are private apartments in buildings with around 4 units plus the owner. We made the mistake of taking high season in Croatia for granted and quickly found one full complex after another. After more than a dozen stops, the kids (and adults) were getting restless. Then we found a little German man (his units were full) who vowed to find us a place. He spoke no English but had a friend who helped translate. He told us to sit tight and relax while he worked the phones. He brought us complimentary beer and soda, and showed the kids his swing set. After at least an hour he said he found a place. He hopped in our car and said he would lead us there. We were hoping he would just give us directions so we could drive by before committing, but he wouldn’t have it. Luckily we pulled up to a brand new building right on the water, and quickly secured 2 nights with the owner (a German “comrade” as they called each other). I was anxious to relax for the night, but the two men basically required my presence for a beer. Neither spoke any English, but they tried there hardest to communicate with me, making sure all the while that my glass was filled to the top. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing, as I replayed the afternoon’s events in my head.
Still needing to fill three nights, we decided to continue further south along the coast. What we found was full little village after full little village. The door-to-door stuff was getting really old. Almost ready to discuss sleeping in the car, we decided to regroup over some pizza. The meal was good but the service was better. The waiter really took to the kids, bringing out all kinds of treats throughout the dinner. The kids were thrilled just to be out of the car, so I decided to search out the town on foot. I found a lady who knew of a place that was available for two nights, so we ended up in a little town, built on the side of a cliff, called Stanici. The owners, a nice Croatian couple, met us at the main road and led us down a series of steep alleys to a spot we could park. (It was so steep and narrow, that with my manual transmission rental car, we made no plans to drive anywhere until it was time to check out.) After helping me bring in the luggage and showing us around the apartment, they invited us over for drinks and treats. Angie and I were treated to some homemade moonshine (The waiter at lunch gave us Schnapps. This town is trying to get us drunk.), while the kids got juice and cookies. The apartment was large with incredible views, so we tried to block out the thought of having to find yet another apartment in a couple days.
After some fun on the beach we found ourselves packing again, ready to get an early start on our next hunt. After a couple hours of searching, we found a vacant hotel room and quickly snatched it up. It was time to celebrate Ella’s 4th birthday, in of all places Krilo, Croatia. After a little swim in the sea, we opened up some presents and had ice cream sundaes. We could now sleep easy because tomorrow we would be in Split with our reservation waiting. So in conclusion, if you want to visit the Dalmatia Coast in Croatia during high season, make a reservation! A head in the sand...I mean rocks.
Cole and Mia are always looking for critters.
The city of Split across the bay.
This is from our terrace in Stanici. It was 200 steps straight down to the beach.  The island of Brac is in the distance.
Cole was so into catching stuff we bought a little net.  He caught crabs, shrimp, fish, hermit crabs and snails.

When you're on a coast, sunsets abound. We've had one day of rain since the first of July.
The coast is littered with remnants of old castles. This one is watching over the coast in Omis.
Ella with some of her birthday goodies. The 100 kuna bill is about $23 US.
The sea here is always relatively calm.  This is the only time we've seen any wave action.  

Istria, Croatia

A quick 2-hour cruise and here we are in Croatia. We arrived Rovinj (Roe-veen) late at night, but we knew we found someplace special. Our apartment was right on the harbor and everything was bustling with activity. This is my new favorite city! The kids loved to walk around the edge of town because the water is like looking down into a big aquarium. Angie and I get a little nervous, but you can’t fault them for wanting to check out all the creatures. The water is crystal clear but we had to buy some water shoes for swimming, as everything here is rock.

It’s funny getting used to another new language. After being in Italy so long, I find myself still using a lot of Italian phrases when talking with people. Turns out English is fairly common here though, especially with the younger generation. A 30 year-old man working at the produce market asked us where we were from the other day. We told him “Minnesota”, but given his puzzled look, we thought he might know “Illinois”. His response to that was “Oh…Springfield, Illinois”. Now it was us with the puzzled look. How would he know Springfield, Illinois? He went on to explain his familiarity thanks to “The Simpsons”.

Later in the week we rented a car to explore the rest of the Istrian peninsula. Once a part of Italy, the area fell under communist rule after World War II. Now a vital part of Croatia, it’s famous for it’s truffles and beautiful coastline. We started in Pula located on the tip of the peninsula. We expected some more great sea views, but found the entire shoreline covered with massive ship building cranes. Apart from the Roman Coliseum in the middle of everything (the 6th largest ever built), the town was a bit disappointing. After that we headed to the interior to find Motovun, Mario Andretti’s hometown. While the surrounding landscape here is very different than Tuscany, this is definitely an Italian hill town. Beyond it though, it was a bit deserted until we found our way back to the coast.
All roads led skyward to St. Euphemia’s Church. All the lanes are lined with little shops and galleries which help you forget about the incline you’re climbing. Upon reaching the church, we decided to go higher and climbed the bell tower. “Nice and easy” was the motto, as we slowly made our way up the 200 year-old, half-worn away, 2x4’s. The next couple of photos are from the bell tower, looking back towards the mainland. The main harbor is off to the right.

Look real close and you'll see the kids lined up in the windows of our apartment.  In the next photo you can match up these buildings to find our place on right side.


Sunsets are easy to come by here.  Believe it or not, this photo has not been color enhanced.
At night many areas along the coast get illuminated underwater. Restaurants, bars, and swimming holes, take advantage of the unique setting.  We found a time to snap this photo with no one else around, but I had plenty of company jumping off the rocks.

One of the local fishing crews dividing up the catch.


Roman Coliseum, Pula
This shot may look familiar...it's the same viewpoint Angie used to paint one of her Mario Andretti paintings, depicting his hometown of Motovun.
The central building in this photo is where Mario grew up.  The house shares a private courtyard with the church on the right.