From Bale, it was an easy day trip to the island of Brijuni, a place we had long wanted to visit. Since the 1990s it’s a National Park that anyone can go to, but before that, it was the summer residence of Yugoslavia’s President Tito and off-limits to all but government officials and foreign dignitaries.…
Rijeka is known as the city that flows (grad koji teče). Not just for the Rječina river, but it seems they also have more rain here. Another thing we learnt about Rijeka is that its museums and galleries, several of which we planned to visit, are closed on Mondays. We arrived on a Sunday evening…
It’s been seven years since we first visited Lake Vrana and explored the area around it. At that time, we saw the Maškovića Han from the outside, a 17th century project for a retirement home with guest rooms attached that was never completed. Over time, some of the more easily portable materials were snaffled to…
Stari Grad’s 2400th birthday was a really good party over several days with lots going on and a great atmosphere. Sadly, I failed to take my camera along to the evening event as I didn’t realize it would be so spectacular, but I do have a few taken with my phone. I loved the way…
One popular day trip from Hvar is to visit Palmižana on Sv Klement, the largest of the Pakleni islands. Most people will be heading for the beaches, but Palmižana is much more than that. It has by far the best contemporary art gallery on Hvar, the scenery is gorgeous, and it has one of Croatia’s…
Following our first afternoon of wine-tasting in northern Dalmatia, we spent a superb gourmet evening at BIBICh winery near Skradin. Winemaker Alen Bibich was on hand to guide us through the carefully created pairings of his wines, with wife Vesna’s gourmet creations. The whole effect is a sumptious extravaganza for all the senses. These feasts…
There are some extraordinary wines being produced in northern Dalmatia. Which is quite remarkable considering that this part of the Croatian coast suffered greatly in the war for independence in the 1990s. The vineyards here have been painstakingly reworked and replanted – some with local indigenous varieties, and others with international varieties. Back in May,…
The Croatian craft beer revolution is in full swing. Real beer is being brewed even on Hvar island. And so, when I last had the opportunity to spend a few days in Zagreb, I thought that checking up on the capital city’s beer scene might be interesting. Zagreb is under four hours by car from…
Tin Ujević was a real character, a bohemian kind of chap, a storyteller who frequented cafés and bars in the first half of the 20th century. He was one of Croatia’s best-loved poets, still is in fact, though he died 60 years ago this year. His work lives on in common culture, and just about…
For most of us, seaplanes seem an echo from the past, a remnant of times gone by, when travel was more adventurous, more glamorous. But they’re also visions of the future for Europe’s many islands and remote coastal areas – for example Scotland’s west coast, the Croatian islands, Italy and Greece. And around the rest…
Go Hvar 
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