CROATIA
June 27, 2015, Saturday | Budapest to Zagreb
We left Budapest early afternoon
for Zagreb. It’s become a first stop for us on trips south; an easy 3 ½ hour,
350-kilometer drive. We checked into The Esplanade, Zagreb’s nicest hotel; even
so, it is a tad bit shabby. Rain threatened all day and in fact we watched as a
wedding ceremony held on the hotel’s extensive terrace washed out during the young
couple’s vows. Our dinner was in the bistro; the risotto quite nice. After a
nightcap it was off to bed.
June 28, 2015, Sunday | Zagreb to Split
We were up early, had breakfast
and were off on the 4 hour, 410-kilometer drive to Split. The trip down the
very new and well constructed E71/A1 was very scenic, forested mountains with
numerous tunnels boring thorough the landscape. As we approached Novigrad and
the sea the terrain became more arid and flat; we paralleled the coast past
Šebinik, turning toward the sea and Split on the D1.
Our home for the next several
nights is the large, very modern Radisson Blu, on the coast, 20 minutes east of
the old city. We booked a nice suite on the sixth floor with terrace and views
to the Adriatic and Brač Island. The room wasn’t ready upon our arrival, so we
had lunch at the hotel’s terrace restaurant. There was a brief rain shower that
sent us under cover, but the sun quickly returned. By 2:30 pm we got to the
room and unpacked quickly.
The highlight of this area of
mainland is still clearly centered on Diocletian’s Palace. We drove to old
city, found good parking close by and set off to explore.
Split is on the map primarily because
one of its native sons “made it big.” Diocles (or possibly Diocles Valerius)
was born in Solin on the Dalmatian coast in 244. He was poor and most likely
the son of a slave. He rose in the military under Emperor Carus, eventually
becoming commander of his elite cavalry force – a post that earned him the
honor of a consulship in 283. After the death of Carus and his son, Diocles
became Emperor Diocletian in 284. He ruled until 305; then left the imperial
office, becoming the first Roman emperor to abdicate the position voluntarily;
how very democratic. Everything wasn’t perfect, under his rule it wasn’t a very
good time to be Christian, but I won’t get into that here.
In his retirement he moved back
to his Dalmatian birthplace and built a palace, Diocletian’s Palace to
be
specific. His seaside retirement “home” was ambitious and very big:
approximately 160 meters by 190 meters – about 7 ½ walled-in acres to you and
me. Think of a giant double Mac-mansion combined with a fortress and housing
for his retainers, staff and military guard; a temple here and there, and a
nice mausoleum thrown in for good measure. Fast forward and this is now the
center of Split, Croatia – thank you Diocletian.
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| Rendering - Diocletian's Palace |
The Palace today is anything but
a palace; it’s more a medieval maze of 220 buildings – currently housing about
3,000 Splicani (Split residents),
shops, cafes and restaurants. Four gates (named Gold, Iron, Silver and Bronze) located
midpoint on each wall create two bi-sectional passages, north-south and
east-west; with everything radiating out from one of these arteries. Originally
the southern half (facing the Adriatic) was the Emperor’s wing, and the
northern, home to guards, retainers and staff.
The anchor of the Palace remains
the Peristil, an impressive imperial square framed by two colonnades to the
east and west, a prothyron to
the south leading to the vestibule
and further to the imperial quarters. Most of the structure is made of white
stone from the nearby island of Brač; however; the columns are made of Italian
marble and there are other exquisite imports from all over the Roman world.
Our first stop was logically to the
Peristil; a bustle of tourists jostling with their cameras and selfy sticks
recording their personal moments. The octagonal shaped mausoleum had been
transformed by the early Christians into the Cathedral of St. Dominius. The 13th
century doors were marvelous, 28
panels of Romanesque miniatures; the altar,
magnificent. The exterior belfry is framed by two lion figures and there is a
beautifully preserved Egyptian black granite sphinx adorning the wall to the
right of the entrance.
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| St. Dominius |
We briefly stopped in the
Vestibule hall; an impromptu archapello group singing within the wonderful
acoustics of the dome. It was then down to the adjacent basement halls, exuding
a haunting timelessness amidst the dim light and moss laden walls.
We were back to the hotel by
six, drinks and then to our room. A late dinner was on the terrace and we were
quickly to bed.
6/29/2015 Monday | Split
We were up early to a hot, sunny,
breezy day. Parking in our spot, we walked up to Marjan, the hilly nature
reserve just to the west of the Palace. Hundreds, Judith would
say thousands,
of steps later; we reached the Vidilica Café with its wonderful views, and a
nearby Jewish cemetery. Staggering on in the heat, the little stone chapel of
St. Nikola came into our sight – reaching it we gave up and headed back down to
the sea.
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| St. Nikola |
Trudging back towards Diocletian
Palace’s northern gate (Golden Gate) we stopped for espressos at the shaded
café of Gallery of Fine Arts. Refreshed, we continued on to the massive Gregorius
of Nin statue, sculpted by Meštrović, just outside the walls; and then the
Temple of Jupiter, City Museum and the Synagogue, all within the Palace.
Lunch was an okay pizza on the
city’s seaside promenade, Obala Hrvatskog Narodnog Preporoda. Thankfully it is
commonly referred to as the “Riva,” so we didn’t need to pronounce this Croatian
mouthful of mismatched vowels and consonants. We were back to the hotel by
three and had a glass of wine at the beach.
It was a taxi to dinner at a
very nice spot, Dvor Restaurant, on Put Firula, 14. It had a lovely terrace
overlooking a tranquil bay; staff and food were excellent. Another taxi,
nightcap at the hotel and then it was quickly to sleep.
6/30/2015 Tuesday | Split
Eyes opened to another hot and
sunny morning. We were off to Solin (Roman Solona), about 15 kilometers
northeast of Split. This archaeological preserve was the former administrative
headquarters for Rome’s Dalmatian province, and established in 78 CE. The site
is massive; at the far end its amphitheatre, now in ruin, accommodated 18,000.
This was also an early Christian area and remains of the 3rd century
trench graves bear witness to Diocletian’s persecutions. The city was
eventually sacked and destroyed by the Avar and Slav invasions in the 7th
century.
It was then onto Trogir, 30
kilometers west. This tiny village is set within near perfectly restored
medieval walls, and is fronted by a beautiful seaside promenade. The highlight
was the Cathedral of St. Lovro, a 13th – 15th century
Venetian inspired Romanesque beauty. We had a seaside lunch at
Pizzeria Mirkec;
an adequate caprese salad. We returned to Split via local coastal route 409
passing through a series of seven small fortress towns, collectively the
Kaštela. Unfortunately, these beaches remain polluted from previous Communist-era
factories, and so are off limits to all but the most foolish bathers.
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| Trogir |
After our arrival back to the
Radisson Blu, we were down to the beach for a drink; eventually dinner was at
the hotel’s nondescript terrace restaurant.
7/01/2015 Wednesday | Split
It was another hot, sunny day,
so we decided to spend a few morning hours at the pool. Afterward, we returned to the city to see the
Gallery of Fine Arts collections and Ethnographic Museum. The
museum has an
interesting terrace; one is able to see into the Vestibule and the full expanse
of the Peristil.
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| Gallery of Fine Arts |
We had ice cream and espressos
for lunch, and then traveled back to the hotel. Dinner was at Hotel Vestibule
Palace in the old city and was quite good. During our meal we were serenaded by
a local concert in the adjacent Ethnographic Museum. A taxi back to the
Radisson Blu, a last glass of wine on terrace and then it was to to bed.
7/02/2015 Thursday | Split
Many do not realize that
Croatia’s Adriatic coast is dotted with over 1,200 islands; most small and
uninhabited. Through the hotel we hired a 34’ Sunseeker Superhawk with skipper
and mate for the day to explore. The skipper, Vinko Mariani, and his mate, also
Vinko, picked us up at the hotel pier at 9:30 and we were off on a cloudless
and beautiful morning. We had a full day planned, heading south through the
channel between Soltar and Brač Islands; our first port of call was Hvar about
1 ½ hours off the coast.
This island’s hub is Hvar Town,
a beautifully preserved 13th century walled town, ornamented with
Gothic palaces and glassy marble streets. Vinko arranged a taxi to take us up
to the Fortica, the citadel, originally a fortress defense against the Turks.
The view was magnificent. After this visit, the
driver dropped us back to the
promenade and St. Stephen’s Square, dominated by the cathedral. It was then a
short walk to the Franciscan Monastery with its elegant bell tower, adjoining
Church of Our Lady of Charity and a tranquil Renaissance cloister. There is a
cypress in the adjacent garden that is over 300 years old.
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| Hvar Town - View from Fortica |
Vinko was waiting for us with
the boat, and soon Hvar was fading into the horizon as we sped to our next
destination, the Devil’s Island chain; twenty-one in total, for our lunch. In
Croatian, these are actually the Pakleni Islands, named for the resin once used
to seal boats. We arrived to Sveti Klemant Island and Palmižana cove and
disembarked at Toto’s for a very pleasant lunch.
Continuing on after our meal we
stopped at Stari Grad, another town on Hvar Island and then to Bol on Brač
island’s southern coast – this place is a wind surfer’s dream with the breeze naturally
funneled west through the Hvarski Channel. Our final island town was Milna,
also on Brač, a former sardine canning hub and now a bucolic seaside port of
pleasure yachts.
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| Bol Beach - Wind Surfers |
As if we hadn’t seen enough,
Vinko showed us a decommissioned submarine installation on our way home, an
eerie Cold War throwback now a part time hideaway for fish poachers and other
miscreants. We were not back to the hotel until seven, a long but very
rewarding day. There is nothing like the perspective of the sea to make one
realize how small a place we occupy on this threatened planet of ours. I would
love to come back and sail these waters at a more leisurely pace. We had a lazy
dinner at the hotel and put our wind and sun bruised bodies quickly to bed.
7/03/2015 Friday | Split
We woke to another nice but hot
day and decided to be a bit lazy. We took a morning trip to Šibenik, 88
kilometers and about 1 ½ hours north of Split along the coast. It is unique in
that the city was founded by a Croatian, Petar Krešimer IV in the 11th
century; it is not an abandoned outpost of the Illyrians, Greeks or Romans.
Still, its ownership bounced around over the centuries among the Venetians,
Hungarians and Austrians.
The city’s steep medieval
streets are interesting, but the main attraction is St. James’ Cathedral. There
was much restoration work being done to this edifice, but the majesty shows
through, beginning with the graceful marble staircase leading up from the quay to Trg Republike. The cathedral was begun in 1431; the undisputed masterpiece of its designer, Juraj Dalmatinac. It is the largest church built completely of stone without brick or wooden supports – it truly deserves its status as a World Heritage site. The frieze has 71 heads; it is said that the stingier the 15th century donor was the more grotesque was his caricature. Lunch
was a very chic spot for the size of the city called “Pelegrini” – well worth a
stop.
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| St. James' Cathedral |
We were back to the hotel by
early afternoon; dinner was on the terrace with a very nice Croatian Pinot Noir:
2012 Pinot Crni (“black” in Croatian) from Korak. We decided to cut our stay in
Split by one day; so heading for Dubrovnik tomorrow.
7/04/2015 Saturday | Split to Dubrovnik
After breakfast and some
computer chores, we left for Dubrovnik at 11:30. It is 230 kilometers further
south and should take about three hours. The first part is along the modern A1,
but at Mali Prolog we transferred south on single lane Route 425 toward the
coastline, then along Route D8 and the Neretva River. Since the fragmentation of
Yugoslavia into six sovereign states in the late nineties (and later for
Montenegro, 2006) travel has become, pardon the pun, more “balkanized.” Croatia inherited most of the coastline, but
Bosnia-Herzegovina (“B-H” for short) held onto 24 ½ kilometers, centered on the
city of Neum. So in this little stretch of road we went through two immigration
crossings. We left Croatia, check point one (30 minute wait) drove 20 minutes,
and encountered check point two, B-H (50 minute wait) – all very frustrating.
Croatia has proposed building a bridge to span the one and a half miles from
the mainland before the Montenegrin boarder to the northern tip of the Pelješac
Peninsula, in its territory. Another option is a sealed transit road further
north of Neum. Momentum for the bridge ebbs and flows with elections, but has
gone nowhere since first proposed in 1997. I can only imagine the drag this must have on
both commerce and tourism. A bit more on this later, but by the end of the
drive I was willing Marshall Josip Tito from the grave to glue this fractious
land back together.
In spite of this, the coast
drive was indescribably beautiful. To our left, steep cliffs of gray stone and
scrub pine and to the right, the shimmering light blue and turquoise palette of
the Malo Sea, and the Adriatic; classic wooden oyster traps bobbing everywhere in
the water. Rounding a corner on the D8, the ultra modern Franjo Tuđman Bridge
appears, and around the next Dubrovnik’s iconic walls present themselves in all
their historical glory. We had arrived and our immigration frustrations melted
away.
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| View from Room #410 |
Our home for the next five days
was the Excelsior Hotel, east of the old city, but only a ten minute walk.
After a bit of room jockeying, we landed in suite 410; spacious with wonderful
views to the city’s Ploće Gate and the harbor. We had a late lunch on the hotel’s
sea breakwater/sundeck, unpacked and lazed around a bit; and had a sunset
bathed dinner of grilled tuna, also on the breakwater. Our waiter was a
wonderful young professional – marvelous!
7/5/2015 Sunday | Dubrovnik
After our Soviet inspired hotel
buffet breakfast we were off to the old city on a very warm morning.
Dubrovnik is a treasure; we last
visited over 30 years ago while I was working for Yugo America. In the 7th
century the Slavs finished off this part of the crumbling Roman Empire;
Epidaurum (present day Cavtat) was overrun, inhabitants escaped north to the
rocky islet of Ragusa and rushed the completion of defensive walls. Similarly,
locals were heading south from Zaton and by the 12th century these
communities merged into present day Dubrovnik, filling in the channel that
separated them.
Dubrovnik came under the thumbs
of Byzantine, Venetian and Hungarian rule, but by the 14th century
it was a self governing city state. In the 15th and 16th
centuries it flourished economically and artistically because of expansive
trade with the Ottomans. Much was destroyed in the 1667 earthquake; what is
seen presently is the rebuilding from that natural disaster. Now a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, the damage from the 1990s Serbian shelling has been artfully
restored. Still, you can see where the bombs fell; these sections of tile roofs
are orangey new compared to the original muted and sun baked mossy ones.
Walking down from the hotel we
entered through the eastern Ploče Gate and our first order of business was to
walk the perimeter walls, all 6,363 feet of them, plus innumerable stairs. The
views were well worth the perspiration. During this rampart trek we also
stopped into the Dulčić-Masle-Pulitika Gallery, exhibit space for these
interesting local artists; and the Maritime Museum.
The main street, Stradum, most times
called the Placa, is the major artery of the city, bisecting it east to west. Its
ancient marble pavement stone is polished to perfection, reflecting the light
and heat of July without mercy. There are too many beautiful things to fully
report on here; before lunch we took in the Sponza Palace with its clock tower
and the exterior of St. Blaise, closed for renovation. We
found a nice spot for
lunch, Gradska Kavana, and had a well prepared beef carpaccio.
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| Rector's Palace Staircase |
Refreshed, it was to the
Rector’s Palace and its Cultural Historical Museum. Judith posed for me on the palace’s gothic 1435 staircase – I have a photo of her in this exact spot from 1985 (maybe 1986). We continued down the Placa to the 15th century
Fountain of Onofrio, the Franciscan Monastery and the western Pile Gate.
Continuing our touring marathon, we swung south to the Orthodox Church.
Circling along the seaside wall we arrived to the Dubrovnik Cathedral and
Treasury, built right after the earthquake – magnificent. Still going, our last
stop was the War Photo Limited Museum, a gallery featuring intensely compelling
photography stressing the senseless human suffering of war – very powerful
stuff. The anguished faces of old women and the baffled stares of children were
haunting – the backdrop smoldering ruins of both buildings and lives.
Exiting through the port, we
dragged ourselves back to the hotel, both noting that trying to keep the pace
of twenty-something sightseers is rather foolish. We changed and had a
refreshing swim in the sea; dinner tonight was not very good. After a nightcap,
we crawled into bed.
7/06/2015 Monday | Dubrovnik
It was another beautiful 90⁰F
day; we decided to have an easier schedule. We took the Dubrovnik Cable Car to
the top of Mount Srdj. It began transporting passengers back in 1969, but was
completely destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence and not restored
until the summer of 2010. The panorama of the city was breathtaking.
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| Dubrovnik from Mount Srdj |
After this, we visited the small
synagogue, and travelling through the Pile Gate, viewed the detached Lovjenac
Fort which stood guard on Dubrovnik’s southwest flank. We retreated to another
nice lunch at Gradska Kavana and returned to the hotel for an afternoon of
swimming and sun. The Adriatic seemed perfect. Dinner was on the upper terrace,
still nothing special. We were quickly asleep.
7/07/2015 Tuesday | Dubrovnik
On yet another nice day we
ventured a drive up the Peljšac Peninsula, a 40 mile narrow finger stretching
north from Dubrovnik. Our first stop was at the start of the peninsula in Ston
and (“little”) Ston. There is a 3 ½ mile wall linking the towns, in the shape of an irregular pentangle and traversing up a steep mountainside. It was completed in the 15th century, along with its 40 towers (20 of which
have survived) and 5 fortresses that formed a part of Dubrovnik’s defenses.
Ston is still the home of a once thriving salt works; the salt pans stretching
as far as one could see.
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| Ston's Defensive Wall |
Back to the car, it was another
45 minutes up and down narrow winding roads with harrowing drop offs
(guardrails are for sissies) to Orebić, about ¾ of the way to the tip of
Peljšac. Here we parked and boarded a passenger ferry for the four mile
crossing to Korčula Island and its main town, Korčula. This is perhaps the
nicest walled city we have seen. Charming in scale, its 13th century
walls preserve a little jewel. The Cathedral of St. Mark in the main square,
Strossmayerov, is built of honey-colored stone
with an impressive bell tower.
The Land Gate (“Kopnena Vrata”) and its staircase exude the importance the
Venetian’s poured into this small settlement. Best of all, we had a fabulous
lunch overlooking the sea and nestled under an umbrella of pines at Lešic
Dimitri’s Relais & Chateaux restaurant.
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| Approaching Korčula by Ferry |
I was restless to get going so I
arranged what I thought was a private water taxi back to Orebić. Unfortunately
the skipper had other plans, and we waited for two ladies also travelling with
us. One was young, the other very, very rotund; wearing a too short whimsical
skirt and outlandishly large hat, even for her size. Throughout the journey
back, she posed for photographs taken by her mate on the afterdeck of our well
worn little boat – we both tried to look away! Needless to say, the public
ferry beat us back to the opposite shore by several minutes.
It was then backtracking along
miles of winding road to the hotel; about two hours total each way. Dinner was
on the terrace; not much else to tell.
7/08/2015 Wednesday | Dubrovnik
The weather remains divine;
breakfast less so. Today we were off to Cavtat, 12 miles south of Dubrovnik. It
is just far enough away that it misses the mainstream tourist flow so it has a bit
more of a peaceful, local feel.
The town sits in a beautiful bay
with a very nice seaside promenade, Put Ante Starčevića. There is a small
church, St. Blaise and a connected Franciscan monastery. On the far promontory
is the Račić Mausoleum, a Byzantine inspired domed structure by Meštrović – we
decided not to hike to it. Instead we had a nice lunch at “Bugenvila” on the
promenade; they had a caprese salad that was
topped with a heavenly tempura
zucchini flower. I persuaded the waiter to make us half dozen more! After lunch
we visited the museum and former home of Vlaho Bukovac, perhaps Croatia’s most
famous painter. The artist had a rich and varied life; some of his
impressionist paintings of his three daughters were ephemeral; love and
innocents delicately reflected.
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| My Zucchini Flowers! |
We were back to the hotel by
four; I got some work done. Dinner was in the old town at “Restaurant 360,” our
table perched up on the rampart. The food and wine were excellent, but toward
the end we were plagued by bugs. Greece and a market glitch on the NYSE sent
yet another shudder through the markets; we went to bed with our net worth
slightly dented.
7/09/2015 Thursday | Dubrovnik
It was another nice day and we
spent most of it at the seaside. Judith and I usually prefer pools to the sea,
but today could have changed our minds. The water was crystal clear, exposing a
rocky seabed. The temperature was a bit of a shock when first lowering yourself
down the ladder, but within seconds was perfectly refreshing. Lunch was at the
seaside.
In the late afternoon we visited
the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, founded in 1945. The building was
originally conceived and built (1935-1939) as the showcase residential mansion
of Dubrovnik ship owner Božo Banac, and in 1948 it was converted into
exhibition premises and museum. Works displayed are mostly classics of Croatian
modern painting. One of my real joys of travel is to be exposed to local Impressionist masters.In addition to Bukovac’s canvases; favorites included Ingjat Job’s “Olive Trees” and Vlasimir Becić’s “Siesta.”
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| "Olive Trees" by Ignjat Job |
Dinner was a return to Gradska
Kavana, with after dinner drinks at “Restaurant 360.” We had a very thoughtful
conversation with the restaurant’s manager. He relayed his sadness at what
Dubrovnik had become; too many cruise ships (712 disgorging in 2014!) and overall
crowding, a loss of the cultural connection to the past for many visitors.
Locals can no longer afford to live within the walls, so the authentic bohemian
nightlife of earlier times has vanished. With these thoughts on our minds, we
walked back to the hotel and were off to sleep.
MONTENEGRO
7/10/2015 Friday | Dubrovnik to Sveti Stefan
Overnight we had our first bad
weather; high wind, some rain and thunder. After packing and check out, we were
on our way to Montenegro. This turned out to be a tough drive; single lanes
most of the way; another customs nightmare leaving Croatia and entering
Montenegro. As we approached the Bay of Kotor I realized the NAV was sending us
onto a ferry; of course we didn’t have a ticket. Judith jumped from the car at
a brief stop, sprinted over to the booth, tossed some Euro and dashed back to
the Mercedes with our ticket as I was being flagged out of the cue. We did get
on the boat, but upon the ferry’s arrival at the opposite shore the car didn’t
want to restart – finally it sputtered to life and we disembarked. Something
seemed amiss with the “eco start-stop” so I disengaged it. Perhaps the high
heat was stressing the starter.
Traffic seemed to get worse; now
the NAV was trying to persuade me in her prissy English voice to turn right
onto what looked like a dirt road. On the NAV display, it looked so windy that
it could have been a medical diagram of the small intestine. So I declined to
follow and continued straight on, which was a terrible mistake. In about a
mile, traffic stopped and we dragged along (pedestrians were passing us on the
shoulder) until we were well through Budra. Dubrovnik was only 100 kilometers
away. The journey took us almost four hours; but we finally arrived in Sveti
Stefan and the Aman Resort.
A primary reason for taking this
trip was that we were attending friends Regine and François’ 50th
anniversary that was being held here. We had attended their 40th in
Marrakech and had had a great time. The Aman staff was helpful and they
directed us up to the Village’s Piazza restaurant where our hosts were waiting
for us to start a very late lunch. We met the two other partygoers; Jeffrey and
Andrew, friends of theirs from San Miguel de Allende. Afterward we were shown
to our cottage and unpacked.
Aman Sveti Stefan is located in
the centre of Montenegro’s Adriatic coastline, south of Budva and between the
villages of Pržno and Sveti Stefan. The site incorporates two kilometers of coastline
including the pebble beaches of Sveti Stefan, Miločer Beach and the Queen’s
Beach, behind which is the resort’s expansive spa facility. It’s connected to
the mainland by a narrow isthmus and enjoys breathtaking views of the sea,
across the bay and along Montenegro’s most renowned stretch of coastline. While
the historic exterior remains largely unchanged, the resort’s interiors have been
restored and updated and there is an assortment of 50 accommodations: rooms,
suites and cottages. The island itself measures a bit more than three acres;
beautiful plantings, low hanging scrub pine, stone walkways, two small churches
and two pools.
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| Aman Sveti Stefan |
The six of us met for dinner at
the island’s terraced Signature Restaurant, but a strong wind pushed us inside.
After dinner, tired, we dropped to bed at midnight.
7/11/2015 Saturday | Sveti Stefan
We decided to withdraw from the
professional sightseeing competition for the next few days. We woke up to a
beautiful morning and had breakfast at the signature Terrace. It was then onto
a lazy morning at the secluded Cliff Pool and an extended lunch with our
friends at the Villa Miločer
Restaurant on the mainland. We toured the
beautiful spa facilities and the rest of the afternoon floated away as we
lounged by the property’s other, larger pool. Dinner was outside at the
Signature Restaurant; a wonderful local lamb had by all. Judith and I also
received a late call with some good news from our friends in Bordeaux, Timea
and Dan. They had a healthy baby girl: Maeva Lilou.
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| Villa Miločer Spa |
It was then to bed.
7/12/2015 Sunday | Sveti Stefan
We awoke to a beautiful morning
and after breakfast we decided to take a short trip to Porto Montenegro on the
Bay of Kotor, about a 45 minute drive. This time I took the advice of NAV and
went up the twisty road we had avoided on our trip from Dubrovnik. It was hair-raising
but did cut lots of time and traffic from the journey. Porto Montenegro was formally
a naval shipyard named Arsenal, which fell into disuse after the breakup of
Yugoslavia and the decline of the Yugoslav Navy. This shipyard was put on
public sale in 2006 and purchased by a consortium including commercial
luminaries such as Nate Rothschild, Jacob Rothschild, Bernard Arnault and Peter
Munk, among others.
The site was redeveloped into a
state-of-the-art deep water luxury yacht marina capable of handing super yachts
of up to 150 meters. In addition to a series of luxury apartments, the Regent has
opened a hotel here with 51 rooms and 35 one to three bedroom suites. All the
global retail brands are represented here, as well as most boat manufacturers.
In future it would be a
convenient base from which to explore the parts of Montenegro we have missed,
but the whole complex presented itself as a depressing homogenization of overindulgence.
Extravagance is getting easier to find, elegance and sophistication less so.
We returned to the Aman and had
lunch with the group, Judith and I sharing a very nice pizza; we then went to
the pool until about six.
Tonight was the official party,
taking place outside at Regine and François’ little villa. Andrew and
Jeffery
had arranged everything: hors d’oeuvre, food, wine, flowers and a wonderful
pair of Croatian musicians. The weather was perfect, conversations engaging,
the evening magical. We said our good-nights and all went to bed.
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| Jeffrey, Andrew, Regine, François, Judith & me |
7/13/2015 Monday | Sveti Stefan
We all met at reception about
nine since our hosts had arranged a charter of a nice Jeanneau yacht for a
cruise to Dubrovnik. We had just been there, but we thought it would be fun to
see the coast and spend more time with friends. We left from Budva on a
beautiful and still day.
The boat was comfortable and the
staff friendly, but our land based customs issues followed us out to sea. We
were required to detour into Bay of Kotor, stopping at the Montegrian border
station of Stari Grad. Back out to the open waters of the Adriatic for only
about ½ hour; we again traveled back to the coast, this time checking in at
Cavtat, Croatia. It was then back out and onto Dubrovnik.
Approaching from the water, the
walls looked even more impressive; I’m sure medieval invaders
took pause as
they contemplated breaching these defenses. The skipper skillfully weaved his
way into the busy harbor and dropped us off at one of the piers. We went for
lunch at Gradska Kavana, and afterward strolled along the Placa for a short
while in blistering sun. A quick visit to the synagogue and it was back to the
pier. Jeffrey and Andrew were staying on in Dubrovnik and then onto other
destinations in Europe, so we all said our goodbyes.
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| Approaching Dubrovnik |
The trip back included the
customs stops once again. In all, we were on the water for almost eight hours.
The actual distance by boat between Budva and Dubrovnik is a bit over 50 miles.
The Jeanneau was cruising at 22 or 23 knots; so without the border crossing
hassles the round trip would have been about four hours. Customs clearance had
doubled our travel time – amazing!
We had a nice dinner with Regine
and François and then all were off to an easy sleep.
7/14/2015 Tuesday | Sveti Stefan
We were up a bit later this
morning, but to a beautiful day. After breakfast and some picture taking on
this serene little island we went over to Regine and François’ villa. They have
a nice pool there, so we lazed away until late afternoon swimming, talking, snacking
on a light lunch with some pleasant wine. The sun seemed mild, but Judith and I
both got a little burn.
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| "Signature" Terrace |
Our last dinner together was at
the Signature and outside; another excellent pair of musicians adding to the
tranquil atmosphere. After this relaxing meal, we bid our friends a good onward
journey and thanked them for their hospitality; Judith and I were leaving very
early to Zadar. It had been very nice to share in their memories and memory
making.
CROATIA
7/15/2015 Wednesday | Sveti Stefan to Zadar, Croatia
We woke to a windy morning, had
breakfast, packed and were off on the 470 kilometer drive to Zadar, Croatia; still
a bit worried about the car’s performance. The route had us backtracking over
old ground; the ferry crossing and four immigration stops. In all it was a
seven our trek but not too bad.
Zadar is set on a narrow
peninsula northwest of Split, developed in Roman times, specializing in
exporting timber and wine. We found Hotel Bastion, our home for the night. It
is a Relais and Chateaux property so we were expecting very nice accommodation
and food – unfortunately neither turned out to be on offer here. Our suite had
that unpleasant rundown bordello look and feel; and the food and service that
evening were quite bad. I should write to Relais and Chateaux, but probably
won’t.
The old town is compact and has
two hubs. The first centers on People’s Square, and the nearby
Church of St.
Simeon. Housed within the church is a magnificent sarcophagus in the shape of a
chasse, overlaid with silver and silver-gilt plaques, located over the main
altar. The chest, considered a masterpiece of medieval art and also a unique
monument of the goldsmith's craft of this age, is now under the protection of
UNESCO. The other hub is the old Forum and it's Byzantine circular Church of St.
Donat. With a bit more walking we also took in the impressive Land Gate and the
Five Wells Square.
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| Altar at St. Simeon |
After our terrible dinner, we
walked to Zadar’s “Sea Organ” which creates melodies using the tides and wakes
of passing boats; and the “Greeting to the Sun,” installation, a 70 foot
diameter circle comprised of
photo voltaic cells. Its practical purpose is to
power the some of the port’s operations, but at night it hosts a light show that
is connected to the Sea Organ. The sound is transposed into a show of light
that starts performing on the Zadar waterfront after sunset to the delight of
residents and visitors. People were lounging, flitting and dancing through the
multi colored beams late into the evening.
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| "Greeting to the Sun" Installation |
BUDAPEST
7/16/2015 Thursday | Zadar to Budapest
We were up early, had a quick
breakfast and started our drive home to Budapest. Originally we were going to
break up the trip and stay over in Zagreb, but decided to just do it in one go.
It turned out to be a long but easy drive. With just one stop for a quick
snack, we pulled into our garage at Palazzo Dorottya a little before four.
Throughout the trip, each
evening we were greeted by the erry brightness of Saturn and Jupiter low in the
night’s sky as these planets stage their closest conjunction until next August.
It was comforting that there was actually some order and
organization to the universe; some mathematical certainty. On the other hand,
to the naked eye these heavily bodies looked a little blurred. The image a bit out of focus – in the shape of a fuzzy and squeezed rhombus - so not quite
like viewing nice symmetrical stars. It’s because the planets’ moons confuse
things – without a telescope everything gets somewhat distorted. It was a bit
like this trip. The geography seems stable,
timeless, clear and beautifully comforting. But then you add in an
earthquake or two, three clashing religions, clannish isolation and the odd
crazy but powerful leader and things get anything
but stable, timeless, clear and beautifully comforting.
It was good to be back to Budapest from our adventuresome 2,784 kilometer road trip.
It was good to be back to Budapest from our adventuresome 2,784 kilometer road trip.
