Twenty-One: Croatia? Croatia!

We went to Croatia over Easter weekend. Dubrovnik. We didn't know much about it, only that it would be warm and sunny and the water would be clear and blue.

We were not mistaken. The weather was perfect, the crowds were small(ish), our hotel room overlooked the ocean. The hillsides teemed with irises, the trellises with wisteria. We took the bus to Old Town (like 450 AD old). We walked along the top of the city walls. We ate lots of fresh seafood (squid, lobster, shrimp, fish) risotto and pasta. We took a boat to the Elaphite islands (reminiscent of the San Juans) where we hiked through ancient fishing villages to secluded beaches.

There were very few guests at our hotel so we saw the same handful of them every day. There was a British family with a precocious young daughter who was constantly chattering in her posh and proper accent. Kim had to refrain from shouting "Expelleramious!" every time they walked by (they were also on our boat to the Elaphite islands).

We rented a car and drove to Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia). Seems they're not doing so great, but are petitioning to join the EU so maybe things will improve.

The coast of Montenegro is all dramatic mountains plunging into clear blue seas and small islands scattered offshore. We drove up into the mountains looking for a canyon that reputedly rivals the Grand Canyon, but we never found it. Instead we found a weird mountain top village that felt like Appalachia only scarier because no one spoke English. We purchased some strange baked goods and coffee and hightailed it back to the coast where we stumbled on Sveti Stefan, a 15th century island fishing village-turned-crazy-exclusive luxury resort (see photo). On our way back to Dubrovnik we stopped in Kotor, a small fortified city similar to Dubrovnik only shabbier. We had a slight run-in with a young officer of the law who wanted to tow our car for no good reason, but Kim talked our way clear (all I could contribute was sarcasm, which luckily the language barrier deflected).

All told it was a pretty perfect vacation. The weather, the meager crowds, the activities. Going at an off-peak time was key. Learning to say "good morning" (dobro jutro), "good afternoon" (dobar dan), "please" (molim) and "thank you" (hvala) were helpful and inspired better service (seems not to be a strong suit). We liked it so much that we've decided to add Plitvice National Park - in northern Croatia - to our growing-instead of-shrinking list of destinations.