I just spent an entire summer in Croatia celebrating the completion of my PhD thesis, indulging in free time, soaking up the summer sun, getting a tan, adventuring with friends, relaxing with family, island-hopping around the Adriatic Sea, drinking rakija at midday and gemišt at sunset, savouring Dalmatian seafood dishes swimming in gorgeous glugs of olive oil, finishing it with ice-cream or just more rakija, somehow managing to stay fit and actually losing weight amid all the indulgence (woo hoo!), hanging with my two beautiful, super-fun nieces and exploring a country that always feels like a homecoming and a holiday in one.
It was amazing.
I highly recommend it.
Here are some pictures.
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| Split served as my base for most of my stay in Croatia. One of my favourite Split rituals is to get up early for a run in Marjan Park and to watch the sun rise over the Dinaric Alps from Marjan's Vidilica lookout. |
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| My afternoon ritual usually involved hanging out at Bačvice Beach with my dear friend Tanja (sitting to my left, your right). Time spent with Tanja always leads to great adventure and new introductions. On this day, Tanja's birthday, we befriended Gloria (my right, your left), a Canadian gal of Croatian origins, whose company made our birthday celebrations all the more fun. |
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| A few visitors passed through town as well, including my PhD supervisor, Libby. |
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| Libby and I went island-hopping together including to beautiful Korčula Island. |
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| We also went to Krka National Park for a swim with some waterfalls. |
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| After the swim, we headed to my mum's village, Goriš, to celebrate St John's feast day at my uncle Ante's house. Here's us with Ante, proudly showing off his home-cured Dalmatian prosciutto (pršut). |
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| Then I headed inland to Zagreb to attend a conference and reacquaint myself with Croatia's capital city. This is Gornji Grad (Upper Town) with Zagreb's iconic Saint Mark's church in the background. |
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| No visit to Zagreb is complete without a meet-and-greet with the country's head of state :) In July, members of the Croatian diaspora were invited to an open day at the Presidential Palace. Here are Tanja and I with Croatia's President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. |
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| Another Zagreb must is a visit to Vincek cake shop for a generous slice of Zagrebačka Kremšnita (Zagreb cream slice). |
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| Heading back to the coast, I hopped over to Brač Island and did this morning hike from Bol to Vidova Gora, the highest point on the Adriatic islands. Bushfires made the sky a little hazy that morning but this was still a pretty special view of neighbouring island, Hvar. |
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| Back on the mainland, we attended the grand opening of Kairos, a hilltop vineyard and wine bar overlooking Split, Trogir and surrounding islands. The rosé was so good I took a couple bottles back to Oz. |
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| A little further north, we popped into a quiet cove for oysters at sunset. |
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| Come August, I was joined by my family for what seems to have become our biennial Croatian family holiday. Here's me with my niece Tea, my sister Marijana and my brother Steven at Stiniva Beach, Vis. |
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| We spent a week in Komiža on Vis Island, which I have adopted as my spiritual home. |
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| I spent many a lazy day here, on Kamenica Beach, Vis. |
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| Finally, we all headed to Šibenik for my cousin Antonela's wedding. Croatian weddings involve a lot of singing, dancing and general noise-making. As Antonela and her groom, Saša, exited the UNESCO-listed St James' Cathedral, a band played, we all sang 'Večeras Je Naša Fešta' (Tonight is our Festival) and flares lit up the whole square. Not sure the flares was strictly permitted but the tourists loved it. |
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| All together (from left to right): My brother Steven, me, Saša, Antonela, my nieces Emma and Tea, my sister Marijana and brother-in-law Massimo. |
