Croatia Trip Report and The Story of the Electronics Genius Waiter
 

Thanks to everyone who has posted here, my wife and I had an absolutely wonderful September trip to Croatia. I'm going to file my trip report in bits and pieces, so please be patient.

First, a few generalities ...

We stayed in apartments everywhere, booking them in advance in Trogir and Dubrovnik (the beginning and end of our trip) and winging it everywhere else. For us, it is a luxury to eat breakfast on apartment terraces rather than having to start the morning at a restaurant or cafe. Making picnic lunches in the kitchen before heading out for the day is a snap, as is the alternative of returning to the apartment for a casual lunch on the terrace. The only meals we ate in restaurants were usually evening meals, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Being able to end the day by sipping a glass of wine in our living room while we relived each day's special moments is pure heaven to us, and well worth giving up the amenities of a hotel.

We used an itinerary of about 8 days (not including flying there and back.) We began with a half day in Trogir and a half day in Split before spending a couple days in Hvar. We then went back to Trogir for another half day, spent two days driving to Dubrovnik with major stops in Omis and Markaska, and finished the trip with a couple days in Dubrovnik. For us, The schedule worked perfectly.

The late September weather was drop-dead beautiful -- not too hot and not too cool. The only rain we encountered was at night and that was only twice. We had one day of mostly cloudy skies. The rest of the time they were oh-so-beautifully blue.

I'm an avid travel photog, so I'll post links to photos that correlate with various parts of my trip report. Once I get all of the photos uploaded and the trip report completed, I'll post a link for easy access to all of the pictures.

Trogir
Photos at http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/trogir

My wife and I have been traveling for 25 years and Trogir might be the most interesting town, block-for-block, than any we've visited. Yes, it's tiny. But we absolutely loved exploring every nook and cranny and took our time doing it.

For us, the fascination of Trogir is in the little things: The alleys that twist and turn in every direction. The dead ends. The interesting balconies and stairs. Add to that the beauty of the main cathedral and the vistas from the top of the bell tower, and life really doesn't get much better.

RESTAURANTS
We aren't pizza fans, but I had read so much about Top Balloon that we just had to try it. The pizza was great! Ours had a thin crust, very little cheese, even less tomatoe sauce, and lots of goodies. Great service, too! (Top Balloon is immediately behind Fontana Restaurant, which is on the waterfront.)

I agree with tripgirl that the food is terrific at Karmelengo Restaurant. We began with complimentary fish pate (more like mousse than pate), followed by sliced tomatoes lightly enhanced with oil and vinegar. Our squid and sea bass were cooked to perfection on the grill immediately next to us. (The grill is among my photos.) We finished off the meal with pancakes sinfully topped with chocolate. We were surprised to see that the meal including a very nice bottle of wine cost only about 400 kunas, including the tip.

Despite my raving about the quality and price of the food, I wouldn't return. I wouldn't bore you with the details, but we suffered from arrogantly bad service from three waiters. The people at the table next to us obviously had a similar experience. It was our only negative experience in a Croatian restaurant.

APARTMENTS
I had pre-booked the yellow apartment at Aparments Kasalo. Yvanne, the very nice young woman, upgraded us to the larger blue apartment to allow a guest to stay unexpectedly in the yellow apartment. It was ideal: right, shiny and only two years old, and with a terrace that has a good view of old town.

When we returned a few days later expecting to be placed in the yellow apartment, it was still occupied by the same guest. With no other apartment available, Yvanna hooked us up with Apartmani Bakica just steps away. Though it wasn't as nice (I had actually rejected it in my Internet search while planning the trip), it was only for one evening. Yvanna was so nice that I just couldn't get upset with her.

Next segment: Hvar

The Internet gremlins erased comments in my previous post about a restaurant in Trogir -- The End Restaurant. It is so-named because of its location at the end of an alley.

I'm grateful that the waiter taught me to eat medium-size sardines whole by crunching the bones with my teeth. (For photos, see http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/image/68702510 and the next one.)

My wife and I shared lasagna and seafood pasta. The lasagna was ordinary if not too heavy but the pasta's light cream and tomato sauce was both distinctive and flavorful. Portions were so large that we left half of the food on our plate.

Lunch at The End Restaurant was also the end of our fabulous visit to Trogir. As I mentioned in my previous post ...

Next segment: Hvar

Great report so far, Mike! And wonderful photos! Can't wait to read about Hvar....

Love the report Mike! I was in Croatia in September too and have not gotten around to posting a trip report. But I am loving reading about your trip, I can't get enough of Croatia...Love the Place....please continue! :)

I really enjoyed your photos. What kind of camera/lens do you use?

Thanks to everyone for the initial reaction to the trip report.

One of you asked about my camera equipment. All of the pictures posted (so far) on the Internet were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5700. It's a relatively old though high-end point-and-shoot camera with a terrific 8X zoom lens (though point-and-shoot cameras are no where nearly as good as DSLR cameras that are otherwise comparable). Most of the outdoor shots were taken using a warming polarizer, a must for the off-white walls and clay roofs of Croatia's old towns.

I very carefully process the files before posting them. That involves cropping and very subtly adjusting the contrast, saturation, and sharpness. The most important part is correcting the many mistakes I make taking the pictures.

I also use a film-based SLR to take slides. Depending on the situation, I might scan a slide or two and add them to the digital pictures. Considering that I haven't even mailed my slide film to get it processed, that'll have to wait.

Before discussing Hvar, I'll use this post to mention the logistics of getting from Trogir to Hvar and to describe a rarely mentioned sight-seeing possibility in Split.

Thanks to a couple people here at Fodor's, I ignored the locals including the attendant at the bus station who recommend taking the #37 bus to Split. You need to ask about the express bus, whichleaves about every half hour from Platform 9. Platform 9 is at the bus station, but it's not one of the regular platforms that the busses pull into. Instead, it's simply the covered bus stop (like any bus stop in any city) on the bus lot. It's faintly labeled Platform 9 on the end, and you have to look for the label to notice it. You pay for your ticket on the bus.

The bus drops you off at the bus station in Split, which is conveniently at the harbor. You can leave your bags there if you decide to wander around or grab a bite to eat. And you'll be perfectly situated to take a ferry or catamaran to one of the islands.

We used most of our very limited time in Split walking through Veli Varos. I mention it because I hadn't read about it in any guide books (though I only bought two) and don't remember it being mentioned here at Fodor's. I learned about it from a Croatian Airlines magazine that a friend gave me just one week before our trip.

Veli Varos is located above Split on the side of Marjan mountain, just minutes away from Split's harbor. It's a residential district, which in the past is where the poorest laborers lived. Today apparently all of the homes are not inhabitated, but on the weekend day that we visited it was teeming with family activities. Unlike the other old towns we visited, there was absolutely no commercialism (no restaurants, cafes or shops) except in the street that joins Split. For those who like the feel of Croatian old towns, Veli Varos is somewhat different and well worth an hour's stroll.

We ate lunch in the outdoor area at Hotel Adriana. We enjoyed a fabulous octopus salad (nothing but tiny bits of octopus flavored with oil and seasoning) and our first course of Dalmatian ham. Yummy!

To catch the catamaran to Hvar, we had to go to the Jadrolinja (sp?) kiosk a few blocks away from the main Jandrolinja ticket office. Jad's kiosk is immediately adjacent to another kiosk that sells catamaran tickets to islands other than Hvar, if that's your interest. By the way, if you take the express bus from Trogir to Split, the bus passes the kiosk, making it especially easy to find when you're told at the main ticket office that you have to go to the kiosk.

OK, I promise that my next post will be about Hvar, or at least about Hvar Town.

<b>Hvar Town</b>
Photos at http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/hvar_town

Not having booked a place to stay, we made a point of talking to landlords promoting their apartments as we exited the catamaran. My guess is that regulations prohibit the vendors from showing photographs. Otherwise, why would they not show them? (Does anyone know about that?)

We visited two apartments owned by one of the women. She swore that we would only have to drag our luggage over 5 or 6 steps to get to her apartment. 30 steps later, we were disappointed in the apartment. So she took us up the hill (truly no steps) to another apartment that she swore had a separate living room. Somewhat true, but she forgot to tell us that it is a shared dining room rather than a private living room. Her command of English was very good, so I don't think the language barrier was the cause.

So, back we tracked to the main square, knowing that showing up with no place to stay is also part of the adventure. We dropped our baggage off at the left-baggage place to make it easier to look for a suitable apartment. (Note to self: Next time, drop your baggage off immediately after getting off the catamaran.) The attendant at the left-baggage station called a guy who showed up 30 seconds later and took us to us a perfect apartment three or four doors away from the left-baggage place, which was also directly across the narrow part of the main square from the cathedral. We could easily see the bell clappers from our apartment terrace! This was a perfect apartment in a perfect location, and proved to be the most ideal situation of all our Croatian apartments, including the apartments that we booked well in advance. If you're interested, contact Navigare, the rental agency.

As we were settling into the apartment and thinking about where we might go for our evening meal, we suddenly heard a rousing male chorus in the streets singing three-part harmony. We looked out our window and saw a parade of people walking toward the main square. They were being led by the chorus and a flag bearer waving a large flag of Croatia. It was a wedding!

While the bride, groom and wedding party were inside the cathedral, many of the attendees waited outside. About 30 minutes later the bride and groom emerged to everyone's delight, not to mention lots of rice and a couple fireworks set off in the main square. After the bride and groom kissed everyone in sight, the groom joined the male chorus in a rousing tune. Awhile later everyone departed just as they had arrived, casually strolling to the Croatian folk song of the male chorus and ofcourse the gyrations of the happy flag bearer.

We spent our first morning in Hvar Town mostly walking the alleys of old town that are situated above the harbor and beneath the fort. We covered the alleys on the opposite side of the main square in the afternoon. In late afternoon when the sun was just perfect, we ascended to the fort for spectacular views of Hvar Town far below.

That night we were captivated by a terrific concert in the cloisters of the Franciscan monastery presented by Klappa Kamen. This is also a male chorus, though this one was well trained. Though they are not professionals, I've heard less enjoyable professional performances in the 25 or so classical music concerts I attend each year. My wife, who sings professionally, was amazed. The 8 or 9 men sang old and modern Croatian folk songs, usually unaccompanied though one of the singers also played acoustical guitar for a few of the pieces.

It was truly an enchanting evening! Unwilling to let it end so soon, we returned to our apartment and finished off a bottle of wine, some cheese and bread, despite that they had been reserved for a picnic the next day.

<b>Hvar Island</b>
Photos at http://www.pbase.com/mike_buckley/hvar_island

The next day we rented a car from the same agency that provided our apartment. The car itself was an interesting experience. It had 168,000 kilometers (104,000 miles) of wear and it showed. The passenger seat was in an unalterable position that was more like a lounge than a seat. The handle of the right side mirror was broken. But the other mechanics were fine. Best yet, it was a convertible and the weather was beautiful.

We took the old road that crosses the mountains. We love mountain roads, so the situation was ideal for us.

One of the first villages we came to is Brusje, which is economically very depressed and ridden with uninhabited buildings that are no longer maintained. The good news is that it was concrete day in Brusje! Narrow trenches in the streets had apparently been torn up to allow installation of what appeared to be fire hydrants, and the concrete was needed to fill in the gaps in the streets and alleys. The operator of the concrete mixer allowed the villagers to take as much concrete as they wanted to patch anything that needed patching, even (especially?!) if it had absolutely nothing to do with the new fire hydrants. The hydrants, by the way, are are skinny, tall and brilliant blue rather than short, squat and bright red. Watching the villagers get excited about the concrete is the sort of thing that we relished, realizing that we probably wouldn't take the time to notice that sort of thing while coping with the normal hustle and bustle of our lives back home. I enjoyed taking pictures of the villagers, realizing how important the concrete was to them.

We arrived in Stari Grad late morning and thoroughly enjoyed walking its alleys. As tripgirl mentioned, Croatia is not the sort of place you visit to see specific &quot;things.&quot; Instead, we soaked in the atmosphere of Stari Grad's old town and delighted in the tranquility that comes with talking to the fruit vendor, strolling through a neighborhood, and enjoying a picnic lunch at the harbor, followed up of course by my wife and I sharing the world's largest chocolate chip cookie purchased at the local bakery.

We drove to Verboska and Jelsa but didn't get out of the car. So we drove back across the mountain, but this time crossed over to the new coastal highway. I had hoped to see the winery where Zlatan Plavac is made but we learned later that we crossed the mountain at the wrong place.

After returning home, I also learned that a winery (presumably the same one) has the wine stored in a cellar that is actually in the sea. You apparently descend a staircase to the cellar and watch the fish swim by a window in the wall. I remember that one of our fellow Fodorites went to the Zlatan Plavac winery and hope he or she can describe the window. Has anyone else been there?

Though my wife and I aren't sun worshippers, we stopped for an hour or so at Milna Beach. I and others enjoyed the September water but I knew it would be too cold for her. It was a lot of fun watching the men pulling the boats onto the shore for the evening. Since that was obviously hard work, I decided to instead flex my finger muscles taking pictures of them.

We got back to Hvar town at about 4:30, having had a relaxing day but wishing we had spent some extra time finding the winery.

We thoroughly loved everything about Hvar Town and our day touring the island. We only wish the Arsenal and its theatre had been open.

HVAR TOWN RESTAURANTS

We got off to a GREAT start in Hvar Town by enjoying our first evening meal at Yaksa, a restaurant that was equalled only by only one other restaurant in Dubrovnik. (Wanna guess which one? :) It was truly one of the best meals we've had. We would recommend it to anyone.

Yaksa is in the restaurant alley where the Golden Shell and others are. There are three seating areas -- an elegant interior dining room. an open-air square, and seating in the covered alley.

Our meal began with smoked, marinated salmon accompanied by a cucumber salad. Unlike lox, the salmon wasn't oily or salty. My main course was octupus with huge tentacles that were deliciously tender, not at all chewy, served over a corn cake (similar to a potato cake but made of corn) and tomatoes. Judging the by the charred look and taste of the octopus, it was probably cooked over an open flame. My wife's main course was risotto melanese parmigiano, which was deliciously rich. We were too stuffed to order dessert.

This was the only Croatian restuarant that we remember that had an ample wine list. Most restaurants we ate at provide only a dozen or fewer wines, all made in Croatia. Our waiter was especially knowledgeable and helpful about the wine, and steered us to a varietal we had never heard of, much less enjoyed. (If you're a wine buff, look for my upcoming post devoted exclusively to wine.)

The next night we dined at Luna. It happily filled our needs as we weren't up for a big meal. The food was good, but not great. The complimentary marinated anchovies, the three kinds of fish pate, and the egg plant marinated in oil and balsamic vinegar are worth mentioning. Avoid the clams and mussels.

Our last evening in Hvar Town was unusual by design. We decided to go to the pizza place the locals attend. When referring to locals, I'm not thinking of the people that flood Hvar Town to provide services to tourists during the summer season. Instead, I'm referring to the locals that live there year-round, when only three or four of the 70 restaurants stay open. Indeed, this particular restaurant -- Alviz -- was scheduled to be open only on the weekends beginning in October. The service and pzza were great, and we enjoyed an informative chat with the owner.

But the highlight of the evening was yet to come, by design. After pizza, we strolled over to the wine bar that is adjacent to Yaksa. For that experience, you'll need to look for my special post about wine.

Next segment: Not sure. Stay tuned!

Really enjoying seeing Croatia through other peoples' eyes. . Great report so far. Oh, I was drooling remembering Top Balloon pizza as you described it. YUM. Two of our 4 meals in Trogir was that pizza!

Great report MikeBuckley.

Here are some klapa recordings to take you back (mpeg files):

http://public.srce.hr/dalmatia/mpeg/
Dalmatino_poviscu_pritrujena.mp3


http://public.srce.hr/dalmatia/mpeg/...voj_obrati.mp3


This one accompanied by traditional Croatian instruments:

http://public.srce.hr/dalmatia/mpeg/...n_ti_prosa.mp3

Sorry, you'll have to copy the first lik into your browser.

Great trip report! Sounds like you had a great time. I missed passed references to that winery you were looking for on Hvar - it sounds really interesting. I hope someone who's been there responds. Speaking of wine, that's a good point about Yaksa's wine list. We're not big drinkers and usually only have a glass or two which made it a challenge to get something drinkable (by the glass) at most resturants. Yaksa's wines even by the glass were fantastic and I bought three bottles of what we drank there to take home.

Jana

Mike: Welcome home!

Sooo glad you have a great time!!!

You are very kind to make references to my suggestions and I hope my thoughts helped you along your journey.

Anxious to read more and again, it sounds like you had a marvelous time!!!!

Hi Mike,
Thanks for posting, LOVE the photographs! The green shutters photograph is my favorite... you captured the colors so perfectly.

Wow Mike, you are good. I have some decent shots at Hvar Town but you put me to shame.

Thanks for the links to the music, callalilli.

Janaturner, when I post my wine report, please make a point of sharing information. When you were at Yaksa, was your waiter an average-built man with blondish hair? The reason I ask is that he was particularly knowledgeable and interested in talking about wine.

tripgirl, yes, your trip report was very helpful. I took notes with us, gleaned from dozens of trip reports that I researched during a six-month period. And I carried about six reports including yours during our trip, referring to them every evening to help us plan the next day. So, once again, thank you to you and everyone who contributes here. In fact, the reason I'm writing such an extensive report is hoping that one or two details might some day help make somebody's trip easier or more enjoyable in some small way.

TexasAggie, thanks for the nod about the pictures. Glad you like the green shutters in Busje, one of my favorites too.

Mike,
I love your photos.We fell in love with Hvar.What a lovely island.You mention Vreboska &amp; I smile.While driving through on the way from Jelsa (took a catamaran to Zlatni Rat for the day),we stopped in a local restaurant for dinner.The owner, who looked exactly like Tony Soprano, was celebrating the christening of a baby with his family &amp; friends.There were musicians &amp; everyone was singing &amp; dancing.We were invited to join the group as we dined, drank &amp; danced together with the locals.They welcomed us as their Canadian friends with hugs &amp; kisses.What wonderfully, warm people on a piece of Shangrila.

Yes, the man with the blondish hair was our waiter for lunch. We had a different waiter for dinner (but as soon as he saw us he came over to say to say hi) and they were both very friendly and helpful with wines and the menu. I'll be looking for your wine report.

Bob, glad you like the pics!

Syl, that's a fabulous story about your evening with the locals celebrating the christening.

Jana, it's good to know that it's not just one person at Yaksa who is so helpful and knowledgeable.

ttt for the afternoon crowd