Family trip to Croatia coming soon

firefighter ontheside · April 28, 2023, 12:24:09 PM

Less than a month til we leave. This trip has been talked about by the wife and I for about 3 years. Of course there was a world event that delayed the trip til now. My great grandparents came from there around 1914. I had little exposure to Croatian culture, because they were gone long before I was born. My dad's dad didn't talk about them. The only hint of culture that I got was when grandpa would make goulash. I met a possible relative of the same last name as me several years ago on FB. I don't know if we are related, but its highly likely as its not a common name in the country and she is from a town not far from where my family came from. Unfortunately we may never know.

We will be there for 10 days and will see a lot of the country, but mostly the Adriatic coast. We fly into Dubrovnik at the far south end of the country. We will visit her for a few days. We will also visit the town where the family came from on our way to spend a few days in the capital, Zagreb. I'm trying to learn a little Croatian or Hrvatski as it's called. They call their country Hrvatska and not Croatia. Hopefully I will be able to post some pics as nice as what @ljohnsaw posted last month. I can't wait. This is the first time our kids will have travelled overseas. First time for me since Ireland in 2001, which was our honeymoon. We will be in Croatia for our 22nd anniversary.

Ljohnsaw · April 28, 2023, 06:04:13 PM

:P waiting for pictures!

firefighter ontheside · April 28, 2023, 09:07:01 PM

Patience John. Patience.

Southside · April 28, 2023, 09:33:13 PM

Why do they call the country a different name?

Ljohnsaw · April 28, 2023, 10:18:43 PM

There were some German print maps at in the place I rented in Kastav, Croatia. And the name on it was Hrvatski. I wondered about that.

Quote from: Southside on April 28, 2023, 09:33:13 PM
Why do they call the country a different name?

Hopefully you make it to Trieste, Italy.

Put Pula, Croatia on your list of things to see. About an hour out from Opatija and you go through one of the longest tunnels in Croatia. That's where the fort with the tunnels and the Roman colosseum were. Jupiter Pizza is the place to eat there.

We came back on the southern "costal" route and saw a pretty cool power plant with the tallest smoke stack I've ever seen.

thecfarm · April 29, 2023, 05:52:41 AM

Have a great time!!!

firefighter ontheside · April 29, 2023, 08:56:15 AM

Quote from: Southside on April 28, 2023, 09:33:13 PM
Why do they call the country a different name?

It's like with many countries. We say Germany, but they call their country Deutschland. The term German came from Latin. The word Croatia had a long explanation that was confusing, but also derived from Latin.
Cindy said we don't have enough time to see everything we want to in Hrvatska, so Trieste is not gonna happen. Maybe another trip. I'm sure I will want to go back. I would say Pula is a possibility. We intend to day trip from Opatija to see some of the Istrian peninsula.

firefighter ontheside · May 19, 2023, 12:45:27 PM

One week from today we start our journey to Croatia which includes a 9 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany. I'm excited about that too. We get to leave the airport and see the city. I took lots of German in highschool and college, so I feel like I will be able to speak a little. At the very least I will be able to ask where the bathroom is.

Southside · May 19, 2023, 01:29:58 PM

Just don't go all Clark Grizwald while you are there in Germany. :D

DbltreeBelgians · May 20, 2023, 04:57:05 PM

Have a great time Bill. We're currently in Western Colorado at a RV park near the west portal to the Colorado National Monument.
Nice to get a chance to talk to you on our way through St. Louis in that nasty thunderstorm.
Have a great trip and enjoy.

Brent

firefighter ontheside · May 22, 2023, 09:24:43 PM

Quote from: Southside on May 19, 2023, 01:29:58 PM
Just don't go all Clark Grizwald while you are there in Germany. :D

What do you mean?? I just packed my lederhosen.
I think we are going to have the time of our life. Yes Brent, even though I didn't get to see you while you hydroplaned thru St Louis it was nice to get to talk to you. Have fun their in CO.
T minus 3 days.

firefighter ontheside · May 24, 2023, 11:14:48 AM

2 days til lift off. Can't wait.

Old Greenhorn · May 25, 2023, 10:03:57 AM

Just wanted to jump in here Bill and wish you and the family a great trip! May you have smooth sailing all the way. Looking forward to your updates!

firefighter ontheside · May 25, 2023, 12:46:56 PM

Thanks Tom, I fully expect it to be the trip of a lifetime. At least to date. Its not a great time to have a flare up of sciatica, but that's what I've got. I've been dealing with it all year, but its gotten really bad this week. I'm going to an orthopedic clinic today to see if they can help.

doc henderson · May 25, 2023, 04:14:06 PM

pain doc can give a steroid shot. be safe, have fun, take and send pics.

firefighter ontheside · May 25, 2023, 04:23:13 PM

Thanks Doc. I will do all of the above. The doctor gave me a script for a prednisone taper. Hope that works. I just need it to take the edge off. Said it looks like I might have a minor herniated disc from looking at an xray.

DbltreeBelgians · May 26, 2023, 01:23:11 AM

Have a great trip Bill. Looking forward to updates if and when you can.
Take care and be safe.

Brent

firefighter ontheside · May 26, 2023, 08:03:25 AM

I'm going to try to post some pics here while I'm there. It just depends on my internet access. Apparently there can be issues with accessing the site from an unknown server.

firefighter ontheside · May 27, 2023, 08:27:54 AM

Made it to Frankfurt. Croatia this evening.

Old Greenhorn · May 27, 2023, 09:05:40 AM

Looks like you are off to a running start!

firefighter ontheside · May 27, 2023, 09:38:52 AM

It was great to get to see a little of Germany, but no sleep last night plus jet lag are beginning to run us down. Flight to Croatia is delayed an hour. Maybe I should put this in did something dumb. Drank a big glass of beer. Ate way too much fried potatoes and potato pancake. Came back to airport to go back thru security. Finally got to front of line and realized our bottles we bought for the trip were full of water. Choice was either to throw them away, go empty bottles and start line over or chug the water. I was already over full and I drank about a quarter of water. Now I have had to go the WC as they call it about 5 times in last hour.

Ljohnsaw · May 27, 2023, 10:39:44 AM

I had a 1 liter bottle about 3/4 full. Started chugging in line as I didn't want to loose my place. Got to the front and had about a quarter left. The TSA lady was about to kick me out. But, I persivered! Yep, stopped at every WC on my way to the gate.

firefighter ontheside · May 28, 2023, 01:04:21 AM

We made it to Dubrovnik last night. Finding our apartment was an adventure, but our host is very nice. We will be walking the wall of the city today. Should have some very nice photos later. Our veranda does not have a view of the sea, so it might as well have a view of a soccer pitch.