Croatian Travel Report Part 4
Oct 18th, 2004, 11:31 AM
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Croatian Travel Report Part 4
Croatian Trip Report Part 4
Up early in the morning to find our laundry dry enough to pack and be off for the bus station. The long haul bus station in Split is clockwise around the harbor from the place one takes the local busses, just past the train station, so we trundled our bags over the cobbles for about 500 meters. The ticket seller said you buy the ticket on the bus, at bay #2. We saw that there were three bays labeled #2, each with a bus in it labeled Makarska. Presumably some are long haul or express, and others just local. We asked the Drivers, ?Omis?? (pronounced: o-mish), and took the one that left first. You indicate your bags, and the ?conductor? guy opens the luggage bay and puts your cases inside. It cost 20 Kuna to Omis for two, and another 3 Kuna per bag.
It is only 25 kilometers to the town of Omis, and we had barely settled in on our right-hand seats to look at the spectacular coastal scenery, when we came down into a valley and across a bridge that gave a view of the castle guarding the town and the spectacular cliffs split by the Cetina River. We got off at the stop about 200 yards past the bridge and walked back to town to find the Tourist Office. Our thought was to get a cheap room, dump the bags and take a trip up the river. There apparently is no ?official? tourist office, so we walked into a regular travel agency. A chap sitting talking to agents said he could help with both things and led us through the back streets of the town to the river. He said he was an anesthesiologist in a Split hospital, but had business interests in Omis, including a couple of apartments in Brela to the south; which he would of course rent to us for a reasonable fee since the height of the season had past. He would even drive us down there to see them, he said.
He introduced us to a young lady who ran one of the boat excursion places along the river front, and she said we could leave our bags with her while we were gone. They had large boats, holding 15 ? 20 people going up river; a German party was going soon, but it looked full, and we preferred to have our own boat. They had a smaller outboard boat, with operator, that we could rent for three hours for 200 Kuna (~$35). Sounded good, so we loaded up and took off. The river and the scenery were simply splendid! The water was clear, and you could see fish swimming below us as the river wound its way past the city battlements on the tops of vertical cliffs. It was truly an idyllic interlude.
There was a road that wound along the south (right going upstream) side of the river, but it was usually out of sight as the stream wound its way beside seemingly untouched countryside. The river flows languidly in the lower reaches, though I understand one can white water raft further up. Our boat driver spoke some English and told us things about the history of Omis and of the river. He pointed out seemingly abandoned farmhouses back in the trees, that he said belonged to locals whose tradition was to use the places to bring the whole family to camp during the heat of the summer. They would party and feast and pretend it was ?The old days.?
We went up the river for about an hour until the stream narrowed and pulled into a bank at a place called Radonanove Mlinice. It was a place that had once been a mill, and had several buildings almost hidden in a glade of huge trees. There were a number of tables set up under the trees with paper tablecloths. Our guy told us we could stay for 45 minutes or an hour and have a meal if we wished, or just walk around. We opted to sit at a table and I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich (18 Kuna) and a beer. When the sandwich came it was huge, it had generous slices of Dalmatian ham and tasty cheese between thick slices of crusty bread that was still warm from the oven. Tammy had ?Pea Soup?, which appeared to be made from beans, as there were plenty of them, but not a pea to be seen. There was a lot of smoke coming from chimneys above the buildings, and a lot of smoke pouring out from under the eaves. Also, I noticed big round, dome-like things stacked in the windows. I walked up to see what was happening and saw that the cooking was done over hot coals in an open space inside a shed. There must have been an area of ten feet by ten feet covered with hot coals from wood fires. The coals were heaped over dome-shaped iron pots, called Peka, in which the huge crusty round loaves were baked, and meats were roasted on grills. Made me feel bad I had only had a sandwich.
After lunch we started back down the river. About half way down the outboard suddenly raced, and I knew we had broken a shear pin. We were in deep water, so I don?t know what happened, other than hitting a fish. Anyway, our boatman stood up and asked which side of the river would we prefer, the sunny side or the shady side? I told him to choose whichever side would be easiest for him, so he took out an oar and got us to the shady side. We held us into the bank by holding on to branches while he looked for a spare shear pin. No luck. He then found a length of wire that looked like thin galvanized bailing wire to me. Using his knife handle, he bent over a number of lengths of the wire to form a makeshift pin he pounded into the coupling. I held my breath as he pulled the starting cord, but it started right up and held the rest of the trip.
Back at the landing, I tipped our boatman well and then told our Doctor friend that we would not take up his offer of an apartment, but head down to Makarska, instead. He took this with good grace, and we trundled our bags down to the bus stop, where we had to wait only about ten minutes before a bus came along. It cost 34 Kuna, plus 6 Kuna for the bags for both of us.
The scenery on the trip was so spectacular, I am at a loss to add to what others have said. Its closest comparison to me was Big Sur, only with clear blue water, and inviting villages at the bottoms of the cliffs.
At the bus station in Makarska there were two ladies apparently selling rooms. Tammy chose one over the other as she resembled her mother, rather bent and quite old. The lady had almost no English but showed us a pad with the number 65 written on it. She pointed vaguely down the street when I asked her where the sobe was. She nodded vigorously when I pantomimed a shower, so we followed her. She led the way a couple of blocks further down the street from the bus station and then, rather than turning toward the town as we expected, turned left up the hill. Up the hill, and up the hill we trudged until I was about to call it quits. Just at that point she turned in at her gate to reveal yet another set of stairs to climb. We gasped into her kitchen, neat as a pin, and she sat us down at the table. She asked if we wanted coffee? We said only water, please, and she plopped two big glasses in front of us. Then she showed us our room down the hall. An older large room with two beds made up and pushed together, with another with just a spread. A large wardrobe to hang clothes, and a small balcony with clothes lines to hang our almost dry laundry from Split. The bathroom/shower was down the hall, but it seemed only we would be using it. We said we would take it.
Back to the kitchen where we went to talk, the landlady bustled to the fridge and got out a large bunch of white grapes and a bowl of fresh figs to put in front of us. She said she had to charge 70 Kuna per person because we were only staying the one night; total of 140 Kuna (~$24). We paid her and went to our room to unpack. She came right after us, concerned we had forgotten our grapes and figs, which she put on the dresser for us. Now she reminded me of my mother.
We wandered downtown and cruised the shops and galleries. We liked Makarska. Sort of standard Croatian coast town with a palm-tree-lined promenade along the clear water of the harbor, strolling people, yachts stern to, and lots of outdoor tables in front of cafes. We particularly like to sit in the evening in those cafes that have swings; side-by-side seating in a swinging bench under an umbrella. We have a drink, or a coffee, relax, read the Tribune or our novels as long as there is light, and talk about the day. Nice ?
We stopped at the Poste and made some calls home. I asked one of my daughters if she still wanted me to bring a Luka back for her from Croatia, referring to the Balkan hunk who plays a doctor on the TV series, ER. Not ten minutes later we found one, working in an art gallery on the front in Makarska. We had looked at the paintings and were leaving when Tammy whispered that the clerk was really a hottie. I hadn?t noticed, but when I looked I saw he was a cross between Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer. I went up to him and said we were taken by the paintings and might want to contact him later. Would he give us his name and contact information? Could we take a picture of him in front of one of the painting that had caught our eye? He said his name was Mario, and did as we had asked.
Now it is up to my daughter.
I also asked Mario for a recommendation for a modest Konoba to have a meal. He recommended one at which we later dined. The Restaurant Brela turned out to be one of the premier restaurants in all of Croatia, according to some of the literature we saw at the front desk. We can believe it, as the meal turned out to be superb! We ate lightly, but the meal was just wonderful. Only cost about $20 for the two of us.
I noticed that the prices at the cafes, restaurants, and even grocery stores seemed much less away from the big tourist centers. A coffee that would cost 12 to 15 Kuna in Hvar or Split would cost only 6 or 7 in Omis or Makarska. After dinner I had a gelato (4 Kuna) on the front, and back to the room, as we were really tired, and I was feeling unwell.
In the morning, just as we were leaving, our landlady came to the door with a tray with two cups of coffee. We went into the kitchen to drink them, and she plopped a glass in front of me and threw in a healthy dollop of rakija. She tried the same with Tammy, but she would have none of it. Just to be polite, I slugged the shot down, sort of as starter fluid in the morning. Gasp!
We trundled on down to the bus stop and waited for the first bus to Dubrovnik. It came along at 08:30 and we had the most WONDERFUL ride down the coast! The scenery was, if anything, even more spectacular than that between Split and Makarska.
I had better break this off and leave Dubrovnik and Montenegro until part 5 of this little saga.
Nukesafe
Up early in the morning to find our laundry dry enough to pack and be off for the bus station. The long haul bus station in Split is clockwise around the harbor from the place one takes the local busses, just past the train station, so we trundled our bags over the cobbles for about 500 meters. The ticket seller said you buy the ticket on the bus, at bay #2. We saw that there were three bays labeled #2, each with a bus in it labeled Makarska. Presumably some are long haul or express, and others just local. We asked the Drivers, ?Omis?? (pronounced: o-mish), and took the one that left first. You indicate your bags, and the ?conductor? guy opens the luggage bay and puts your cases inside. It cost 20 Kuna to Omis for two, and another 3 Kuna per bag.
It is only 25 kilometers to the town of Omis, and we had barely settled in on our right-hand seats to look at the spectacular coastal scenery, when we came down into a valley and across a bridge that gave a view of the castle guarding the town and the spectacular cliffs split by the Cetina River. We got off at the stop about 200 yards past the bridge and walked back to town to find the Tourist Office. Our thought was to get a cheap room, dump the bags and take a trip up the river. There apparently is no ?official? tourist office, so we walked into a regular travel agency. A chap sitting talking to agents said he could help with both things and led us through the back streets of the town to the river. He said he was an anesthesiologist in a Split hospital, but had business interests in Omis, including a couple of apartments in Brela to the south; which he would of course rent to us for a reasonable fee since the height of the season had past. He would even drive us down there to see them, he said.
He introduced us to a young lady who ran one of the boat excursion places along the river front, and she said we could leave our bags with her while we were gone. They had large boats, holding 15 ? 20 people going up river; a German party was going soon, but it looked full, and we preferred to have our own boat. They had a smaller outboard boat, with operator, that we could rent for three hours for 200 Kuna (~$35). Sounded good, so we loaded up and took off. The river and the scenery were simply splendid! The water was clear, and you could see fish swimming below us as the river wound its way past the city battlements on the tops of vertical cliffs. It was truly an idyllic interlude.
There was a road that wound along the south (right going upstream) side of the river, but it was usually out of sight as the stream wound its way beside seemingly untouched countryside. The river flows languidly in the lower reaches, though I understand one can white water raft further up. Our boat driver spoke some English and told us things about the history of Omis and of the river. He pointed out seemingly abandoned farmhouses back in the trees, that he said belonged to locals whose tradition was to use the places to bring the whole family to camp during the heat of the summer. They would party and feast and pretend it was ?The old days.?
We went up the river for about an hour until the stream narrowed and pulled into a bank at a place called Radonanove Mlinice. It was a place that had once been a mill, and had several buildings almost hidden in a glade of huge trees. There were a number of tables set up under the trees with paper tablecloths. Our guy told us we could stay for 45 minutes or an hour and have a meal if we wished, or just walk around. We opted to sit at a table and I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich (18 Kuna) and a beer. When the sandwich came it was huge, it had generous slices of Dalmatian ham and tasty cheese between thick slices of crusty bread that was still warm from the oven. Tammy had ?Pea Soup?, which appeared to be made from beans, as there were plenty of them, but not a pea to be seen. There was a lot of smoke coming from chimneys above the buildings, and a lot of smoke pouring out from under the eaves. Also, I noticed big round, dome-like things stacked in the windows. I walked up to see what was happening and saw that the cooking was done over hot coals in an open space inside a shed. There must have been an area of ten feet by ten feet covered with hot coals from wood fires. The coals were heaped over dome-shaped iron pots, called Peka, in which the huge crusty round loaves were baked, and meats were roasted on grills. Made me feel bad I had only had a sandwich.
After lunch we started back down the river. About half way down the outboard suddenly raced, and I knew we had broken a shear pin. We were in deep water, so I don?t know what happened, other than hitting a fish. Anyway, our boatman stood up and asked which side of the river would we prefer, the sunny side or the shady side? I told him to choose whichever side would be easiest for him, so he took out an oar and got us to the shady side. We held us into the bank by holding on to branches while he looked for a spare shear pin. No luck. He then found a length of wire that looked like thin galvanized bailing wire to me. Using his knife handle, he bent over a number of lengths of the wire to form a makeshift pin he pounded into the coupling. I held my breath as he pulled the starting cord, but it started right up and held the rest of the trip.
Back at the landing, I tipped our boatman well and then told our Doctor friend that we would not take up his offer of an apartment, but head down to Makarska, instead. He took this with good grace, and we trundled our bags down to the bus stop, where we had to wait only about ten minutes before a bus came along. It cost 34 Kuna, plus 6 Kuna for the bags for both of us.
The scenery on the trip was so spectacular, I am at a loss to add to what others have said. Its closest comparison to me was Big Sur, only with clear blue water, and inviting villages at the bottoms of the cliffs.
At the bus station in Makarska there were two ladies apparently selling rooms. Tammy chose one over the other as she resembled her mother, rather bent and quite old. The lady had almost no English but showed us a pad with the number 65 written on it. She pointed vaguely down the street when I asked her where the sobe was. She nodded vigorously when I pantomimed a shower, so we followed her. She led the way a couple of blocks further down the street from the bus station and then, rather than turning toward the town as we expected, turned left up the hill. Up the hill, and up the hill we trudged until I was about to call it quits. Just at that point she turned in at her gate to reveal yet another set of stairs to climb. We gasped into her kitchen, neat as a pin, and she sat us down at the table. She asked if we wanted coffee? We said only water, please, and she plopped two big glasses in front of us. Then she showed us our room down the hall. An older large room with two beds made up and pushed together, with another with just a spread. A large wardrobe to hang clothes, and a small balcony with clothes lines to hang our almost dry laundry from Split. The bathroom/shower was down the hall, but it seemed only we would be using it. We said we would take it.
Back to the kitchen where we went to talk, the landlady bustled to the fridge and got out a large bunch of white grapes and a bowl of fresh figs to put in front of us. She said she had to charge 70 Kuna per person because we were only staying the one night; total of 140 Kuna (~$24). We paid her and went to our room to unpack. She came right after us, concerned we had forgotten our grapes and figs, which she put on the dresser for us. Now she reminded me of my mother.
We wandered downtown and cruised the shops and galleries. We liked Makarska. Sort of standard Croatian coast town with a palm-tree-lined promenade along the clear water of the harbor, strolling people, yachts stern to, and lots of outdoor tables in front of cafes. We particularly like to sit in the evening in those cafes that have swings; side-by-side seating in a swinging bench under an umbrella. We have a drink, or a coffee, relax, read the Tribune or our novels as long as there is light, and talk about the day. Nice ?
We stopped at the Poste and made some calls home. I asked one of my daughters if she still wanted me to bring a Luka back for her from Croatia, referring to the Balkan hunk who plays a doctor on the TV series, ER. Not ten minutes later we found one, working in an art gallery on the front in Makarska. We had looked at the paintings and were leaving when Tammy whispered that the clerk was really a hottie. I hadn?t noticed, but when I looked I saw he was a cross between Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer. I went up to him and said we were taken by the paintings and might want to contact him later. Would he give us his name and contact information? Could we take a picture of him in front of one of the painting that had caught our eye? He said his name was Mario, and did as we had asked.
Now it is up to my daughter.
I also asked Mario for a recommendation for a modest Konoba to have a meal. He recommended one at which we later dined. The Restaurant Brela turned out to be one of the premier restaurants in all of Croatia, according to some of the literature we saw at the front desk. We can believe it, as the meal turned out to be superb! We ate lightly, but the meal was just wonderful. Only cost about $20 for the two of us.
I noticed that the prices at the cafes, restaurants, and even grocery stores seemed much less away from the big tourist centers. A coffee that would cost 12 to 15 Kuna in Hvar or Split would cost only 6 or 7 in Omis or Makarska. After dinner I had a gelato (4 Kuna) on the front, and back to the room, as we were really tired, and I was feeling unwell.
In the morning, just as we were leaving, our landlady came to the door with a tray with two cups of coffee. We went into the kitchen to drink them, and she plopped a glass in front of me and threw in a healthy dollop of rakija. She tried the same with Tammy, but she would have none of it. Just to be polite, I slugged the shot down, sort of as starter fluid in the morning. Gasp!
We trundled on down to the bus stop and waited for the first bus to Dubrovnik. It came along at 08:30 and we had the most WONDERFUL ride down the coast! The scenery was, if anything, even more spectacular than that between Split and Makarska.
I had better break this off and leave Dubrovnik and Montenegro until part 5 of this little saga.
Nukesafe
Oct 18th, 2004, 12:34 PM
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I'm really enjoying these reports. (What a great dad you are to bring your daughter the photo and contact info!)
Did you notice that they played loud music on the busses? I found that on each of my bus trips.
Did you notice that they played loud music on the busses? I found that on each of my bus trips.
Oct 18th, 2004, 01:15 PM
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Grasshopper,
No, I didn't notice the loud music on busses. I sometimes heard recorded music playing, but it wasn't loud. I'm a bit deaf, but even allowing for that it was not on every bus, and not obtrusive.
I did wonder how they could justify the expense of a separate fare collector guy on busses. Seems poor economics to me. City busses, perhaps, taking fares slows down the driver. Doesn't make as much sense on the long haul busses without many stops.
No, I didn't notice the loud music on busses. I sometimes heard recorded music playing, but it wasn't loud. I'm a bit deaf, but even allowing for that it was not on every bus, and not obtrusive.
I did wonder how they could justify the expense of a separate fare collector guy on busses. Seems poor economics to me. City busses, perhaps, taking fares slows down the driver. Doesn't make as much sense on the long haul busses without many stops.
Oct 18th, 2004, 02:39 PM
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What a fantastic trip report!!
Nukesafe, and any other of you who have been to Croatia, about 4 weeks after Sept. 11,2001 I received a postcard. I was totaly confused. Of course I am confused a lot but that is a whole different story.
This postcard had a photo of a beautiful marina on the front with the word "Vodice". On the back again it said "Vodice". And written words were "Saluti da Anka".
It was addressed to me Postage stamps read Republika Hrvatska". On bottom of address side it read "ADRIVAL.Split.Croatia.
I could not imagine who this was from.
I mean I was really really confused.
In an e-mail to my dear friend in Italy a couple of days later I mentioned this postcard.
She wrote back and said "well I know who it is from. Friends of mine in Croatia called me because they know you and I are like sisters. They were very worried about you. They asked for permission to get your address so that they could send you a postcard so that maybe you and all Americans would know the people of their country send their prayers and love"
Now keep in mind, these dear people in Crotia and I have never met.
I never thought a postcard would bring me to tears, but this one sure did.
So nukesafe, reading your beautiful trip report only confirms what I know in my heart, how caring and wonderful the people of Croatia are.
This is why your report is very extra special to me.
Nukesafe, and any other of you who have been to Croatia, about 4 weeks after Sept. 11,2001 I received a postcard. I was totaly confused. Of course I am confused a lot but that is a whole different story.
This postcard had a photo of a beautiful marina on the front with the word "Vodice". On the back again it said "Vodice". And written words were "Saluti da Anka".
It was addressed to me Postage stamps read Republika Hrvatska". On bottom of address side it read "ADRIVAL.Split.Croatia.
I could not imagine who this was from.
I mean I was really really confused.
In an e-mail to my dear friend in Italy a couple of days later I mentioned this postcard.
She wrote back and said "well I know who it is from. Friends of mine in Croatia called me because they know you and I are like sisters. They were very worried about you. They asked for permission to get your address so that they could send you a postcard so that maybe you and all Americans would know the people of their country send their prayers and love"
Now keep in mind, these dear people in Crotia and I have never met.
I never thought a postcard would bring me to tears, but this one sure did.
So nukesafe, reading your beautiful trip report only confirms what I know in my heart, how caring and wonderful the people of Croatia are.
This is why your report is very extra special to me.
Oct 18th, 2004, 04:18 PM
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LoveItaly,
Your reply moved me. I didn't put in a lot of the stuff in my reports that I got from the Croatian family we stayed with that showed just how outgoing and caring they can be as a people. The family in Korcula took in another large family from Dubrovnik during the time of the siege. They stayed with them for four months. Not only this family, but many, many families on the islands opened their homes and hearts to folks in danger from the war.
An open and loving people -- just don't ask them to befriend any Serbs.
Nukesafe
Your reply moved me. I didn't put in a lot of the stuff in my reports that I got from the Croatian family we stayed with that showed just how outgoing and caring they can be as a people. The family in Korcula took in another large family from Dubrovnik during the time of the siege. They stayed with them for four months. Not only this family, but many, many families on the islands opened their homes and hearts to folks in danger from the war.
An open and loving people -- just don't ask them to befriend any Serbs.
Nukesafe
Oct 18th, 2004, 04:29 PM
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LoveItaly,
No visa needed. Just go and enjoy.
You do need a passport, of course. This was demonstated (you will see in a later one of my reports) that one of our party lost hers between Dubrovnik and Zagreb, and missed her flight to Amsterdam with us.
No visa needed. Just go and enjoy.
You do need a passport, of course. This was demonstated (you will see in a later one of my reports) that one of our party lost hers between Dubrovnik and Zagreb, and missed her flight to Amsterdam with us.
Oct 18th, 2004, 05:06 PM
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nukesafe, thanks for the info about no visa needed. What made my ask is that my closet friend in Italy has not seen her dear friends in Crotia for quite awhile. Your report (and remembering the beautiful postcard I received from Crotia) got me thinking. My friend in Italy does so much for me when I am there. It is hard for me to do anything for her because everytime we travel to other parts of Italy her other family members take over and than do everything for me. In fact one of my first (or maybe the first) postings I did here was to ask for suggestions what I could do in return. Her son comes to visit me often, but it is not the same as doing something for her.
And so, thanks to your postings, remembering the postcard etc., I got to thinking that if she would like I could take her to see her friends in Crotia (not that far from Italy as you know), assuming of course this would please her. So not having to worry about a visa is wonderful.
Thanks again for your info and sure look forward to the rest of your report.
And so, thanks to your postings, remembering the postcard etc., I got to thinking that if she would like I could take her to see her friends in Crotia (not that far from Italy as you know), assuming of course this would please her. So not having to worry about a visa is wonderful.
Thanks again for your info and sure look forward to the rest of your report.
Oct 19th, 2004, 03:57 PM
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Added to your parts 1, 2 and 3 - - while I prefer trip reports all on the same thread, you are obviously getting a lot of positive feedback on your writing, so maybe this will help "newbies" to find the further installments...
=======================
For those less experienced on this forum who don't know about finding your additional "installments" by clicking on your name (and of course, that will be come less user-friendly in the future if you post here a lot) - - the fifth installment is at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34536103
Best wishes,
Rex
=======================
For those less experienced on this forum who don't know about finding your additional "installments" by clicking on your name (and of course, that will be come less user-friendly in the future if you post here a lot) - - the fifth installment is at http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34536103
Best wishes,
Rex
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