Croatia travel | Travel Thru History

Embroidering a Colorful Croatian Festival

Ðakovo, Croatia

by Valeria Teo

Ðakovo’s biggest traditional festival in the summertime is the Ðakovacki Vezovi which literally means “Ðakovo Embroidery” because Slavonian embroidery is a well-known Croatian craft.

The 43-year old festival lasts for two weeks. Starting from mid June, people come to Ðakovo to enjoy the best of the Slavonian traditions – delicacies, wines, arts, music and horse breeding. The last day of the celebration, always a Sunday, attracts the largest crowd. The grand day in 2009 falls on July 5.

The Ðakovo Tourist Office says that the number of people in the town doubles in the beginning of July every year. The additional bus service we found on July 5 might be the first evidence of its truth. The second evidence came when our bus was moving slowly into the town center at 8:30. We saw cars from all over Croatia and neighboring countries. All these visitors were going to the same place as we were – the St. Peter’s Cathedral.

Pope John XXIII praised the Ðakovo’s landmark as “the most beautiful church between Venice and Istanbul.” We were impressed by the cathedral’s neo-Gothic-Romanesque style even without the Pope’s words. Before we had time to fully appreciate the magnificent cathedral, we had to join in the first program of the day.

The streets outside the St. Peter’s Cathedral were already filled with festive crowd. Once the cathedral bell tolled at 9:00, everybody got their cameras ready for the most colorful parade in Croatia. More than 2,000 people in their folk costumes were singing and dancing in the procession. Participants came from every part of Croatia, Macedonia , Bosnia, Serbia etc. The wedding carriage and horsemen at the end of the procession revived memories of the Slavonian past. Summer was once the time for fun, feast and fete in the Croatian countryside.

Religious practices have always been an integral part of all Croatian festivals. Ðakovacki Vezovi is no exception. Mass at the St. Peter’s Cathedral follows the parade.

We entered the church earlier to secure our seats. People were standing all around inside the colossal cathedral when the Mass started. Older people were in the majority. That did not come as a surprise as we had seldom met young people in most Sunday morning services.

I was likely to be the first Chinese receiving Holy Communion at the St. Peter’s Cathedral. Curious gaze followed me throughout the service. I could even tell from the children’s stare that they had never met any Chinese in their lives.

No Croatian festival is complete without an open-air market. We went slowly for our treasure hunt in the Ðakovo bazaar after the Mass.. Embroidery and other traditional arts and crafts were attractive to most visitors. We bought a bag with Slavonian embroidery at a bargain price. However, stall men were less willing to cut price later when more guests were arriving. The basic principle of supply and demand held true even in this rustic town.

The bazaar often smelt of savory local food. The aroma of roast lamb was the most inviting. It came from an old-fashioned rotating spit outside a restaurant. A man was roasting three full-sized lambs when we joined the queue to get a bite of the tender meat. It turned out to be a real treat!

The highlight in the afternoon was equestrian competition and performance held in the hippodrome, showcasing the Lipizzaner breed. Ðakovo’s first official stud farm was founded more than 500 years ago, long before the Lipizzaner horses came to Ðakovo in 1806. But Ðakovo soon shifted exclusively to the breeding of these noble horses. The Lipizzaner breed has made Ðakovo famous beyond the Croatian borders for more than 200 years.

The Lipizzaner breed is interesting because they were not born white. Most Lipizzans were born dark—usually bay or black—and become lighter each year. The graying process is complete at between six and ten years of age. Adult Lipizzans are in fact gray horses with a coat of white hair.

Visitors could go to the stable for a close contact with these beautiful creatures. To my surprise, the horses remained calm even though so many strangers were moving around them. In the meantime, the equestrians were busy preparing the horses for the performances at the hippodrome.

We knew nothing about dressage or show jumping. But for every walk, trot, canter and jump, we cheered and applauded together with the elated audience. The festive spirits diffused joy all around us.

The whole town was getting ready for the evening shows when dusk was slowly approaching. Staying a night in Ðakovo was necessary to fully experience the whole-day program. But we had to leave Ðakovo before night fell. Missing the best folk costume competition and the two concerts left us with some regrets in our otherwise memorable day in Ðakovo.

Private Full Day Trip to Croatia including Capital Zagreb

If You Go:

Ðakovo is well served by bus from Osijek, the third largest city in Croatia. The bus ride takes about an hour. It goes through the most beautiful farmland in Slavonia. In summer, passengers can see huge yellow sea of sunflowers. The Tourist Board of Ðakovo

About the author:
Valeria Teo and her husband divide their time between their home in Split, Croatia and Hong Kong. See their website at: www.freewebs.com/valeriaijosip

All photos are by Valeria Teo.

Croatia: Wondrous Walls of Dubrovnik

by Wynne Crombie

My husband and I had one goal in mind when we visited Croatia: to stroll Dubrovnik’s magnificent walls. But first, we had to immerse ourselves into the atmosphere of that ancient city that had come into existence between AD 598 and 615.

Our hotel, the Stari Grad, fit the bill. Its eight rooms had been fashioned out of a millennium-old mansion. It was one of only two hotels located in the Old Town; the new modern ones are all outside the walls.

We found the centuries old moat to still be intact; its water replaced with plantings. The medieval Pile Gate was our entryway to the Old Town and the Stradun Promenade, the Old Town’s main street. The locals call it the “marble street,” but in fact it is paved in stone that has been polished smooth by centuries of people walking over it.

Everything within the Old Town walls is a pedestrian-only area. Espirit, Hilfiger and Beneton compete for space with seventeen-hundred-year old buildings.

We turned left at the second alleyway off the, Promenade, and entered a six-foot wide passageway. An endless steep flight of stairs lay ahead. Any numbers of houses, or businesses were squeezed in along both sides of the lane. Window boxes, balconies and open shutters almost touched each other across the narrow walkway.

Luckily, the word HOTEL was immediately on our right and we literally stepped into history. Each landing (we saw them all as there wasn’t an elevator) had a sitting area of antique furniture. Only the bathrooms were 21st century.

Now, ensconced firmly in antiquity, we were ready to explore the almost two mile long set of Dubrovniks’ walls.

We sought out the Pile Gate again, where we climbed up about twelve stone steps weathered by centuries of humanity, to the ticket booth. These aren’t steps in the usual sense. These are w-i-d-e stones requiring sometimes two steps per stone. Take your time.

A short distance ahead, we reached the circular bastion, the Bokar Fort Below, the ocean crashed against boulders where a few hardy swimmers were navigating the surf. In the distance a modern-day cruise ship was anchored alongside a Spanish galleon.

Pigeons scurried around our feet and an occasional dog crossed our path. We enjoyed checking out the cannons and ramparts on the Adriatic side of the wall. A few feet away, on the other side of the wall, we had a great view of modern-day residents in their backyards going about their daily business. Citrus trees, bougainvillea and an occasional wash line – it was all there. The residents compensate for this intrusion by their creative marketing of homemade embroidered linens, paintings, and jewelry.

A troop of Germans tourists stopped and we took each others’ pictures. A woman from Oregon, now married to a Croatian, was delighted to be able to discuss American politics in her own language. When she first moved here, the dollar brought eight kunas, now she said, it was five.

We paused often to just lean against a wall or peek into a cannon. With their sheer height (the highest point is 82 feet) and bulk, these huge defensive towers, saved Dubrovnik from Ottoman invaders in the 16th century and protected its citizens from Serb bombardment in the late 20th century.

Just when we were feeling like one with Dubrovnik’s Middle Ages, a woman holding a ping pong paddle high in the air, rounded the corner. She was tailed by a group of fifteen Americans with name badges, cameras and cell phones.

At the Fort of St. John, we turned inward, beginning the second half. We left the walls and returned to ground level as we walked around the Ploce Gate where the 16th century Revelin Fort stands guard. The interior side affords a good look at signs of the recent war.

Taking a boat ride also offers excellent close-up views of the walls and several of the towers and bastions. The high road to the south offers particularly good views though there are very few stopping places.

On our last day, we wandered outside the Old Town and across the moat to an outdoor pizza trattoria. As if on cue, the local high school band was playing. With their bright red jackets and navy pants, they were reminiscent of any stateside half-time show.

For $8, we had the most marvelous mushroom and dried tomato pizza for two. We munched happily into the mozzarella and contemplated our restaurant for our last evening in Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik Private Guided Tour of the Old Town

If You Go:

Hotel: Stari Grad, (Od Sigurate 4), Old Town, rates about $170/double. Breakfast included.

Restaurants: Proto (Siroka 1) Tel. 020/323-234 They take pride in using old family recipes and local ingredients. Check out the upstairs terrace. And, sample the local taste for strolling with an ice cream cone (about $1.75) many locations.

Language: English is widely spoken.

Getting There: There is no direct flight from the States to Dubrovnik. Air Croatia flies from many European cities to Dubrovnik.

The Wall: Admission to the walls is $8. With a ticket, you can choose to return to the walls later as long as it is on the same day that the ticket was purchased. In the summer months, the walls are open from 9 am to 7:30 pm, but only from 10 to 3 in the winter.

For More Information: UNESCO Old City of Dubrovnik

About the author:
Wynne and her husband, Kent, met in 1960s Berlin. They have never tired of traveling. She has a master’s degree in adult education and teaches ESL at Harper College near Chicago.

All photos are by Wynne Crombie.

Croatia: Antiquities of Split

by Wynne Crombie

Slanted sun rays fell upon the two-thousand- year-old boulders that formed one wall of our Split hotel room. The Peristil Hotel was a part of the Diocletian Palace, the basis of today’s Split.

The Roman emperor, of the same name, had viewed this as his retirement, “mega-mansion” and eventual burial ground for himself. It is ironic justice that the Christians he murdered during his reign (284 – 305 A. D) are buried there instead.

The Underground Tour is a must. Diocletian had added a subterranean floor (podrum), or basement, as his “support area”, where the cooking, wine making and palace fix-it shop were all located. The ventilation system was elaborate for its time. This was a needed commodity because he used this area to deposit garbage, some of which remains to this day in pulverized form. Pieces of the Emperor’s original wine-making apparatus are still in place.

These underground halls were originally only a substructure to support the upper structure. Today, these cellars enable us to see the exact ground-plan of the south part of the palace where the emperor Diocletian lived with his family. These halls play a significant part in the everyday life of 21st century Split.

Today’s residents live in the quarters there Diocletian’s soldiers once lived. There are some 220 buildings within the palace walls that are home to about 3,000 people. In Diocletian’s time, it had some sixty thousand inhabitants. UNESCO has declared the entire section of the city enclosed by the old palace walls, a World Heritage Site.

Within this warren of narrow cobblestone streets, pre-Romanesque churches exist alongside cafes, bars, shops, boutique hotels and apartments.

During basement restorations, scientists discovered stone elements older than the Palace itself. You can see part of the marble table that was once in the Diocletian dining room!

The Vestibule, at the southern end of the Palace, served as an entrance to the Emperor’s residence. Mostly, it was a waiting room for visitors summoned to see the emperor.

This ancient foyer is a marvel in antiquity. Statues stand in rounded niches. Its white rotunda wall is capped with a large, open dome and glittering color mosaic. If you catch the sun just right you can take a spectacular photo of sunlight shining through the dome.

From the Vestibule, the network of corridors wind around to where they form a number of galleries and souvenir shops. A lot of handcrafted items, such as paintings, jewelry and embroidered items are for sale. At the end of the “shopping corridor” you climb a set of stairs and come out onto the Peristyle Square. Take time out to sample coffee at Luxor’s Café before discovering St. Dominuis Cathedral a few steps away.

Diocletian originally had the eight-sided Cathedral built as a mausoleum for himself. In 316 A.D. he was laid to rest and spent 170 years of eternity there before someone stole his remains… no telling who. To this day, they have never been found.

The original doors have been taken inside and covered with glass. The twenty-eight carved wooden panels by the 13th century artist, Andrija Buvina, showing the life of Jesus… from the Annunciation to the Ascension… is worth the price of admission alone. (10 Kuna – $2)

After the Emperor’s remains were taken from his mausoleum, and, with the rise of Christianity, the mausoleum was transformed into a Catholic Cathedral. So much for Diocletian’s campaign to eradicate Christianity.

A small black sphinx, perched near the entrance to the cathedral, is one of sixteen that Diocletian had his slaves drag over from Luxor. Nearby is a column he pilfered from Greece. In total, Diocletian looted some 28 granite and marble columns from the Greeks and Egyptians, just to decorate his final resting place. The sphinx is in remarkable shape with just the nose slightly smashed in. It lies just outside the Cathedral’s entrance in the Peristyle where the Split Summer Musical Festival is held every July and August.

I walked into the narthex of the octagonal- shaped building. As cathedrals go, this is rather small. The plethora of Romanesque architectural features is rather overwhelming. Side by side ornate carvings are topped by a vaulted ceiling. If you look way up, you can see busts of Diocletian and his wife Prisca, around the dome. That’s the only evidence they were ever here. Where was his original resting place? His sarcophagus is thought to have been placed somewhere in the middle of the cathedral.

I headed to the right and climbed the stairs to the Cathedral’s museum. Krunoslav, the museum’s archivist, was standing behind an array of brochures describing the museum in seven different languages. I was his only customer.

“Dobro Jutro.” he said, “I’m not busy. Come, I’ll give you a solo tour.”

My first impression was, so much jewelry and objects d’art crammed into one place. How was everything protected? There didn’t appear to be much of a security system in this rather small room.

Krunoslav walked me past vestments encrusted with gold thread, and Baroque reliquaries containing remnants of martyred saints. Peering at the ornamental minute stitches on these early vestments, you can’t help but compare it to mass production of the 21st century.

The oldest item was a book of 7th century masses in Croatian, the so-called Split Book of the Gospels. There were relics of St. Arnira and St. Arnir, both 12th century. Martyrs, next to chalices embedded with rubies and diamonds.

Krunoslav told me that not much has changed here since 300 A.D., except for the addition of the 197 ft. bell tower adjacent to the cathedral. It was built in stages from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Weather took its toll and some restoration took place from 1890 to 1906. The tower is built in both Romanesque and Gothic Renaissance styles. Alas, during the 19th century reconstruction, the bell tower’s original Romanesque sculptures were removed. The tower defines Split to this day. Split’s Roman heritage really began in, Solona, just above Split in the hills. (a twenty- minute bus ride from town) We ventured out for a look. This is ancient Split from the Roman times, including an amphitheatre. Check out this outdoor arena; it was once three stories high and sat 15,000. Hard to imagine that this pile of Roman ruins was once the largest city on the eastern Adriatic coast.

An hour’s bus ride took us out to Trogir. The entire town is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list and rightly so. Situated on a small island, (you walk across a small bridge) it was founded in the 3rd century, B.C. by the Greeks. Walk around and take in the ornate stonework and delightful restaurants and shops.

Split is a city like no other – a superb blend of Croatian and Roman antiquities just waiting to be explored.

More Information:

Tourist Board of Split Official Website

There is no direct flight from the U.S. to Split. However, many European airlines fly to Split, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik.

Split Tours Now Available:
Grand Split Walking Tour
Split Wine Tasting
Small group Split Walking Tour and Split Car Tour
Split Culinary Tour

Where to stay:
If you are an antiquities fan, there is no place but the Hotel Peristil. This wonderful little 3 star hotel is built right into the Diocletian Palace. About $150/night (double)
Where to eat:
– Restoran Tifani: Located right in the Peristil Hotel. Grilled meats and fish are staples. Great, friendly service. – entrees $10-$30
– Kanoba Varos: The word, Kanoba, means Croatian food. We found many locals eating here. Very atmospheric. Fish and grilled meat plus Croatian favorites like cevapi (sausages) and palacinke (filled crepes) – entrees, $12-15
– Hotel Park Dining Room The hotel is located just outside the Old Town. International cuisine. (expensive)

About the author:
Wynne Crombie has a master’s degree in adult education and teaches English at Harper College outside of Chicago. She met her husband of forty years, (Kent)in Berlin. Wynne was teaching with the Department of Defense School System and Kent was an Air Force Security officer. They have four grown daughters.

Photo credits:
All photos are by Wynne Crombie.