September is harvest season on Hvar! You can smell it in the air, you can hear the clatter of the processing equipment, and everyone, it seems, is up early and picking grapes. It’s known here as “jematva”, elsewhere in Croatia as “berba”. Once the summer tourist season ends, everyone turns into a winemaker!
A poster attracted our attention a couple of days ago. “Presentation of Robotics” on the Riva in Vrboska. Intrigued we sauntered down to the waterfront (Riva in Croatian) and wintessed a fun spectacle. There was a bunch of enthusiastic primary and secondary school kids crowded around a bunch of machines. It turns out Croatia is…
It’s always exciting to see new enterprises starting up on Hvar, especially when they fill a niche that frankly, does need filling! That’s the case with Vunetovo Craft Beer, the first microbrewery on the island. Obviously, when we heard about it from Total Hvar, we just had to rush over there and support them! Tucked…
Having renovated an old stone house ourselves, we’re always interested to see what other people make of theirs. Dalmatia has such a wealth of old stone buildings and it’s good when an old derelict comes to life again as a new home. One fine example is The Quaich, tucked away in deepest Vrbanj. Ten years…
Depending on where you live, your experience of a southerly wind may be a warm, gentle breeze, or if you’re from Australia it’ll be something much more stormy! I’ve already mentioned that around the Adriatic, and indeed throughout the Mediterranean, the winds have names. The most powerful of them is the bura – that powerful…
My mother-in-law never really thought much of us getting a house on an island. Far too inconvenient for her liking. Ferries are such an unreliable form of transport, not to mention dangerous. And of course she was proved absolutely right within a very few months of us getting our house when the pride of Jadrolinija’s fleet,…
Klapa singing is fine tradition in Dalmatia, with multi-part harmonies and no instruments necessary. From childhood on, many Dalmatians sing in groups for the sheer enjoyment of it. Informally sitting around a table in bars or restaurants, or as a more formal presentation in public spaces or on a stage. And it’s wonderful to listen…
We were fair delighted this week to hear that Miki Bratanić’s konoba has received the status of a protected cultural heritage site. The building and its contents have been recognised as a fine example of the traditional Dalmatian konoba. It’s a great tribute to the care and preservation of the old building and equipment, much…
I love to watch the boats around the island. Not so much the yachts in the marina, big or small, nor any of the modern speedboats. The boats I’m talking about are the everyday local transport, pretty much the equivalent of cars that float. And to my mind, the more character the better!
There’s something rather attractive about the colours and textures of rust. It adds a warmth and interest to metal objects, and although it can be destructive, it’s also rather lovely. Rust, that is iron oxide, often has flakes and crusty layers in a complex mix of shades, as the process involves both oxygen and water…
Go Hvar 
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