Expectations are often wrong. That’s one major thing I have learned over the course of the past few weeks. Especially when I first came about Croatia.
Yes, I was told it was going to be beautiful.
Yes, I thought it was going to be cheap.
Yes, I thought that there wasn’t going to be a lot to do.
Boy was I wrong. Except for the first one. It was absolutely beautiful there. I mean whenever our ship pulls into a port, usually we’re met by a dank area that is clearly just meant to be a parking space. Not so in Croatia. All around us were picturesque houses, which in combination with the crystal clear blue of the water made for a spectacular sight. Everything about this place seemed magical and straight out of a story book. This is partially because of the history of the country. A great deal of it was rebuilt within the past few years since much was destroyed during the terrible war that occurred here in the 90s. We were constantly reminded of this war by guides, and pictures around the city. It was straight in your face at all times. Thus the people, whose city had greatly suffered during the bombings, were forced to rebuild their nation up again-and boy did they do a beautiful job. Although many of the buildings are no longer original, the way they were rebuilt definitely held onto that long-ago charm that made the country so incredibly lovely.
Now as to how I spent my days in this lovely country.
Day 1-
As you can probably tell by now, Liz and I had become great friends. And now my friend Eric was starting to become one too. We set out all three of us, a little after the ship cleared customs, to explore. In traditional Liz and Kristina fashion, we wandered around aimlessly, and Eric followed along. Of course in traditional Liz fashion we stopped in a cute little store. I didn’t buy anything but she found a great cheap top that looked spectacular on her. In traditional Eric fashion, he stopped in a little food place and grabbed some sort of traditional Croatian ham and cheese breakfast sandwich. Out came one of my lactase pills so I could try it, and eventually split it with him since it was that delicious!
We continued to wander with the hope of reaching the famous city walls. We walked through narrow pedestrian streets, up and down stairs and hills, always in search of the walls, as well as little views of the marvelous ocean below. By the time we did make it to the walls, it was time to hop on the bus back to the ship, since both Liz and I had trips, and Eric was hoping to hop onto the same trip I was doing. A rather uneventful bus ride later, we managed to drop off our purchases on the ship, and then hop onto our trips (Eric didn’t make it on since other people took the extra seats, but he went on a boat ride instead which kept him occupied).
My trip was one of my favorite experiences in Croatia. I even used it for an assignment here on the ship (which I may eventually post). It was to a local village called Osojnik, where I not only experienced this captivating village, but also got to partake in a traditional folk show.
Our trip began with a bus ride over a small, yet pretty suspension bridge, and then a trek up the mountainous countryside. Our quirky tour guide would often allow the bus to stop so we could capture photos of the country, and ask any questions we had. At one point we were dropped off by a river and were allowed to take a bundle of pictures. It was all very beautiful. Especially those views from further up the mountainside.
Eventually we arrived at the Osojnik village, where we were met by our host, as well as his wife and sister-in-law. He was dressed in traditional Croatian garb, made up primarily of the colors red, black, white and gold. I particularly liked his little red hat. You could tell he was a man of wisdom and generosity just by the way he stared at us and welcomed us. He was just as curious about us as we were him- though perhaps not as fascinated by our outfits. He welcomed us, and his wife told us in her limited English that she was awaiting our arrival over in her home. She, as well as her sister-in-law were dressed entirely in traditional clothing as well. Long black dresses with a white frock was their attire, and it along with their warm welcome told us that this would truly be an experience unlike any other.
We were told by our guide that we were a little early for dinner and show, so he decided to show us around the town a little longer. Of particular interest was when he showed us the local church. He discussed how it had been destroyed during the war, and that our host, who was a brick layer, along with the entire town rebuilt it from scratch. He took this time to also discuss the long lasting effect of the war on the people, and thoroughly showed how very nationalistic this fledgling country had become. After our visit to the church he showed us through other portions of the village. Many students, including myself, were particularly taken by the two donkeys held in by a stone fence. They along with the local chickens made for an interesting sight as we walked the village streets. It seemed so strange to see such quaint living next to new modern telephone wires and a random garden gnome that was definitely imported from china. Such a mixture of the modern and traditional would be a theme for the evening.
We eventually arrived at the house of our hosts, and boy did they give us a welcome that was right on code with American culture. As I have previously discussed, Americans don’t tend to dance easily. We need to warm up to an unfamiliar situation before we let ourselves loosen up. Well a surefire quick way to warm up American college students is through alcohol. Well, we were met with Croatian moonshine, and some fruits to chase the shots down. This was followed shortly after by some water and then some village wine, which was absolutely delicious. Thus by the time the folk show began we were all feeling rather loose and happy.
The show consisted of our host playing a tune on what I believe is called a lijera. This little instrument reminded me of a cross between a guitar and violin. Anyway, he played and his wife and sister-in-law danced traditionally before us for a few minutes, and then invited us all to join-which we did. I captured the scene on video before I jumped in, and now I love reflecting on it. The Croatian women kept picking out various boys to dance with, and they responded cheerfully by putting their hats and sunglasses on the women. It was an exchange of cultures and just a good time by all. After a bit of dancing we were handed skewers as a means to eat our appetizers-traditional ham and meat and bread. We roasted them over barbeques, and ate these along with the wine to our hearts content.
By the time dinner rolled around a number of us were feeling thoroughly at ease. Dinner consisted of a delicious salad as well as other traditional foods. Though I did not always know what it was that I was eating, I definitely tried all, and enjoyed most of it. The setting for our meal was equally interesting. It was set inside a cave-like structure, and had to very long table parallel to each other. The room felt more like a medieval banquet hall, rather than a person’s home.
After eating we wandered through the village for a little bit longer, and then departed back to the ship. All in all it was one of my favorite experiences this entire trip.
Shortly after my return from the trip, my friends and I decided it was time to explore the Croatian nightlife. So we ventured back to the very outskirts of the city walls via bus, and managed to arrive at a club called Fuego. We were a little early at first, yet this gave us time to talk to some of the other foreigners that were frequenting the place. My friends Liz and Katie particularly enjoyed talking with some lads visiting from London. Finally SASers began to arrive, and we had fun dancing the night away until late at night.
Day 2-
Sleepy and tired I left the ship the next morning around 9am. This time it was Liz, Katie, and me who ventured out on our own. We wandered the pier until we found a travel agency that was selling ferry tickets, and got a round-trip ticket to the island of Lokrum (I think that’s how it’s spelt). Our ferry left about 45 minutes after, and it took us about an hour to arrive. In the meantime I was pretty quiet since it seemed exhausting to even talk. Yet, I did manage to bond a little more with Katie, and our friendship really started to take off.
Essentially we spent our day on a beach relaxing, and swimming when the heat got too extreme. Yet we did enjoy some Croatian pizza, which was delicious. I also had some extremely fresh mussels for dinner that night. They were so fresh that there were still barnacles on them. Absolutely delicious! We were also glad that this was a relatively cheap day all in all, since for the most part Croatia had turned out to be super expensive. Yes the Kuna’s exchange rate was 5 kuna to a dollar, but this didn’t mean that goods were cheaper. In fact it was pretty much the opposite. But for the most part this day was very nice and not too expensive and just so simply relaxing.
I felt that Liz, Katie, and I absolutely required a day like this at this point in our trip since we were just so burnt out from all of the constant traveling and school work. And how could you not relax on this island!? It was simply so beautiful. The water was so clear that you could see your feet, and it had such slight waves that you could simply float in the waters for hours if you so chose. We opted instead for an occasional swim, sun soaking, and ball playing. We stayed until around six, and enjoyed every second of our lazy. Overall nothing consequential really happened. I did see a really cute yellow lab that was just hanging on the beach, and playing with anyone who would give him attention. I also saw tons of tourists from all over the world just catching some rays. I also saw people of all shapes and sizes rocking bikinis and speedos like there was nothing to it. They weren’t self conscious at all, even though people with their particular body shapes would usually never dare to wear anything like their attire in the states. Yet overall my observations were limited to such things.
Our ferry ride back was equally relaxing, and took relatively the same amount of time as did the arriving ferry. When we arrived back at the ship, Katie and Liz decided not to head out for the night and to keep inside. Yet I was ready to head out, but no one was around. Luckily I ran into my friend Brandon, and joined up with his group for night. We headed to a bar called Skybar, which was relatively low-key. There I tried the local Croatian beer, which was extremely good, and talked with a bunch of other SASers. Afterwards, we went to a club called East-West, which was extremely cool. Not many people were dancing, yet the atmosphere of this lounge/club was great. I especially loved the fact that there were tons of places to sit right next to the ocean. It was really beautiful. Once again I turned in relatively early, and slept so I would actually have energy for a more cultural exploration of this great nation.
Day 3
I had planned on exploring the city walls that day on my own, but lucky for me, but not so much for him, Eric ended up oversleeping for his trip to Montenegro. So, since he had nothing to do, he came with me to explore the famous City Walls of Dubrovnik.
We jumped on the bus to Old Town and shopped for a bit first. It was during our shopping excursion that we came across a few interesting things. For starters, Eric found a bathing suit shop and bought a European bathing suit that he plans to rock in Connecticut when he gets home. It’s not a speedo, but super duper short shorts. He was excited. Secondly, we passed by a gallery of a local artist. On the side of his studio he had pictures of the destruction of the Old Town that occurred during the war, as well as a description of what happened to him and his family during and after. This description was written in both English and Croatian. Eric and I took time out to read it, and peak into his store.
After we sufficiently wandered and shopped we made our way to the entrance for the walls. I loved walking all around them, even though it was plenty hot out. The walls were very very long, and rather high up, since they acted as a protective fortress for the Old Town. As you walked along them you were transported back to a time where cannons and guards walked these walls in armor. Eric and I took a few pictures with a couple of the old canons, and in a few of the lookout towers. We spent a good two hours just taking in the spectacular views from the walls. All around you were the beautiful Croatian old town homes, as well as other amazing scenery. I made sure to take extra pictures of the ocean, as well as a few people cliff jumping. Eventually we allowed ourselves a much needed rest, and visited a little cafe inside a part of the walls. There we treated ourselves to freshly squeezed orange juice. Now everyone back home knows how much I LOVE orange juice. But can I just say that this whole freshly squeezed orange thing that is so big in Europe should really catch on in the states, because my gosh is it good! I drank it much faster than I wished, but that was just because I couldn’t resist!
After our little orange juice break we wandered a little bit more, then headed back down and to the local bus. Both of us napped and then met up with some friends for dinner. Pretty much everyone we met was getting ready to go out and experience the fireworks and music festival going on in old town. So around 9pm we ventured off the boat once more, and realized that since the buses were free tonight for the festival, it was basically impossible to get on one. Thus a cab ride later, we found ourselves outside of old town once again (no cars are allowed inside). I entered with Eric, Liz, Katie, and a few other SASers. It was so incredibly beautiful. Imagine a medieval looking city with torches lit along the walls, and fireworks shooting off into the sky. Absolutely incredible to see. I loved it!
After the fireworks we decided to party like the Croatians that night, and have a great time. First we went to a popular local place-could you believe it’s called the Irish Pub? Well that’s where we went. At least for a little while. I was lucky enough to meet with my roommates there, and we had a great time chatting. We all wanted to go back to East-West that night, but heard that people were having trouble getting in, so off we went once more to skybar. Here I actually managed to meet some Croatian locals, and talked to them a little bit about New York, and they about Croatia. However, we didn’t stay there very long. Next we went off to Fuego once more where I unleashed a little of my Spanish heritage on the dance floor as I danced with Liz. Yet, the club was so packed that our group got split up. Eventually it was me, Eric, and our friend Ross. That’s until Eric saw his friend the Captain who had driven him around the first day. The Captain took us to a local Croatian bar (though Ross opted to just catch a bus back). There we talked with him and a few of his friends for a while. Such a long while that the sun began to rise, and I told Eric that it was probably best that we head back.
Now here is when one of the funniest moments of my trip occurred. Eric was a tad bit inebriated at the time. I mean the captain was a very good host! Anyway, we’re walking away from the bar and there is a little Pekingeses dog. A tiny little dog, and it growls and barks at Eric. Well he decides that this dog needs to quiet down, so with a flourish of his hand- and I mean an actual flourish- he pulls out a 5 kuna coin. Basically the equivalent of one American dollar, and places it with another flourish right in front of the dog and shushes at it. The dog just stared at him for a second and then continued to bark and growl, as Eric strutted away. I then yelled at him and told him we needed that kuna for the bus, but by the time he walked back to the dog, an old Croatian man next to the dog took it and said what kuna? No kuna. It was just such a funny moment that I just needed to record it for posterity’s sake. I guess you probably had to be there. But just imagine it. Here’s this tiny little dog no taller than a foot, growling and barking at a 6 foot 4 American. It’s a really funny image. Boy I wish I had it on tape. Oh well!
Anyway, we made it to the bus just as the sun was completely risen. Eric had another funny moment when he asked a Croatian girl, in front of 2 other SASers and 2 staff members, his now famous pick up line. How do you say bonita in Croatian? Obviously we all laughed and made fun of him. Yet, apparently bonita is a universal word according to him. With that line we got off the bus and made it back to the ship around 6am. A very fun yet random Croatian night.
Day 4
Suffice it to say we were all rather tired after such a crazy night. Thus our last day consisted mainly of souvenir shopping right near the port, as well as using internet at a local cafe to book our hotel for Greece. Katie, Liz, Eric, and I all met up mid-afternoon and booked the Holiday Beach Resort for two nights in Santorini, Greece. While doing so, we enjoyed a last bite of Croatian food, and I managed to find a few great souvenirs for family back home.
I also had a few extra kuna to spend so Eric and I ventured to the grocery store Konzum, right by the port, and I stocked up on a few necessities. Yet I still had the equivalent of American dollars left over, but since the line was so long I just passed those kuna back to other SASers, just as one had done for me right before we paid. It’s nice having a group around when you traveled. I know people sometimes think of semester at sea as a glorified cruise, but it really is so much more. We really do learn so much, and honestly I don’t know if I would have had the courage to travel as I have if I didn’t have the little bit of help Semester at Sea provided me at first. It’s just so nice to have that crutch to help you stand up originally. Then you can totally walk on your own. And it’s also great to travel with 700 other students since you know that even if you don’t know a person, if you really need help one of them will definitely step in to help you out. It’s like a big extended family.
Anyway, we got back on the ship around 17:30, just shy of the 18:00 on ship time. From there we studied and prepared for another 2 days of classes prior to arriving in Greece. I will be writing about Greece shortly! Once again thanks so much to everyone following my adventures! And thanks again for your patience with my postings! We will be arriving in Egypt in two days, and I have two papers due tomorrow, but hopefully I can at least post about Greece before getting to Egypt. Though let me just warn you, I have so much to write about for both Greece and Turkey already. Turkey is actually vying really strongly with Spain right now as my favorite stop on this trip. It was just so incredible. Anyway I really need to sleep now since its about 1am my time. So love to you all!
Ciao for now!
