Day two of the retreat saw us in Stari Grad, the oldest town on the island, and indeed one of the oldest in Europe. As the former Greek colony of Faros, this place was already old in the 16th century, when Petar Hektorović built his summer residence here. Tvrdalj was originally on the waterfront, bristling…
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…
Interesting how the fates of two nearby prehistoric settlements should go in such different directions. Take for instance Iader and Aenona, both Liburnian towns on the Dalmatian coast, within about 14 km (9 miles) of each other. Both were mentioned by Pliny the Elder some 3,000 years ago. Iader is now a thriving city with…
Zadar is one of the few places on this trip that we’ve visited before, but that was only as a quick detour and we hadn’t actually stayed overnight. The old city is a lovely place to stay, as you can forget about driving, and simply walk around. And after dark it gets particularly magical! Anyway,…
Leaving Šibenik behind us, we headed northwards up the Dalmatian coast towards Zadar, with a bit of a detour around the lovely Lake Vrana Nature Park (not to be confused with the other Lake Vrana on the island of Cres.) This is Croatia’s largest lake, and a very important stop-off for birds on their annual…
Just inland from Šibenik lies the beautiful Krka National Park. Basically, it’s a deep canyon cut into the high karst plateau by the river Krka as it wends its way down to the sea. There are spectacular waterfalls, lakes, caves, natural rock formations, interesting flora and fauna – plus there’s cultural heritage, starting with the…
Road trip day 2 saw us in the delightful medieval town of Šibenik. It lies on a bay created by the river Krka, directly facing the fairly narrow channel where the river exits into the Adriatic. The natural harbour has made the town an important trade centre over the years, and this place is seriously…
Traditional Dalmatian Pašticada is slow-cooked beef in a rich red sauce, usually served with njoki (gnocchi) or home-made pasta. In its original form, this dish can take a couple or three days to prepare, as the beef is first marinated, then roasted slowly. One recipe from Dubrovnik dates from the 15th century, and related dishes can…
At the heart of Vrboska is one of the more unusual churches that you’ll ever see – the church fortress of St Mary of Mercy has high walls, battlements and an impressive ravelin defending the front door. Originally financed by the local people, it was extended and fortified in 1575 to be a refuge in…
This week marked the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto on 7th October 1571, which still ranks as one of the major events in the history of the Mediterranean, and indeed around the world. The Ottoman fleet was defeated by the Holy League in what was the last sea battle to be fought by man-powered…
Go Hvar 
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