Travel shows, personal conversations, and family having had immigrated to the US early in the 20th century all had us intrigued with Croatia. We decided to sample various areas of the country to get a bit of flavor of both the inland and coastal areas. Zagreb was our first stop and we stayed at a hotel in the center of Old Town. Very friendly people and most natives were all happy to speak with us in English. A search of the National Archives was an interesting introduction to the bureaucracy of what must have had roots in the old soviet style. Everybody was very helpful and we were able to obtain birth records from the 1880’s. We walked the better part of Old Town over three and a half days. Beautiful old buildings and architecture. The cafes were seemingly always busy with the local people sitting and talking enjoying the late summer weather.
Our next stop was to have been Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, but due to recent heavy rains and flooding we had to divert to Opatija on the coast. Our driver who had picked us up at the airport in Zagreb asked how we had done with locating family records, and we told him we had found the birth records. He asked if we wanted to visit the village the family had emigrated from, and he drove us out into the countryside, located the village, spoke with some older locals, one of whom jumped into the car, and took us to the old homestead that was now abandoned. Quite a thrill to have had people so willing to help us in our search. We then continued on to Opatija. A nice town on the northern coast with a great seaside walk.
From Opatija to Plitvice National Park, this is a must see if ever in Croatia. A wonderland of water and waterfalls seemingly coming out of the forest at every point. After a couple days here, we continued on to Split. Another beautiful city on the coast. Again friendly people, great food, and beautiful architecture.
Our last stop was Dubrovnik, and Rochelle had recommended the ferry as a means of transportation. We had beautiful weather and could not have thought of a nicer way to spend 10 hours viewing the islands, mountainous coastline, and brief stops at two very picturesque towns on the islands. Dubrovnik was another city with great history, architecture, and food.
A quick one day side trip to Montenegro, mostly following a coastal road, with so many impressive views of mountains, sea, and architecture. As we were headed back home the next day, a very limited airline strike was in force which we had not a clue about, but Rochelle had picked up on, and had us covered. A great trip well laid out by Rochelle and we could not have been happier. Thanks so much for all your travel suggestions, and taking such good care of us. –Nik and Darlene, Croatia, September 2014
