Jelsa, it seems, can throw a really good party. Last night’s festival of wine and Jazz was a fine evening’s entertainment in a lovely setting. The entire waterfront was sparkling as we arrived shortly after the 8pm start. We strolled around, looking to see what was where, enjoying the wafting smells of food being prepared…
Walking around Vrboska at night is delightful, if a bit tricky in places. We have street lights that kind of cover most areas, but some familiarity with the pathways definitely helps for those darker corners! Of course, the most important buildings are always floodlit throughout the night – so the churches of Sv Marija and…
Remember when the night skies were full of stars? Not just a few random bright dots on an otherwise dark backdrop – but whole drifts of fine-grained pinpoints where the more you look, the more you see? The structure of the Milky Way on clear view as it wheels above you? Shooting stars? Such is…
I really enjoy getting up early in Vrboska, especially on a sunny day. Even with the grilles on our shutters firmly closed, I can still tell that the sun is about to appear and it’s time to be out and about. From the top floor of our house, we have a view of the sunrise…
In Hvar’s Napoleon Fortress is a seismological station, part of a network covering the Adriatic coast from Rijeka in the north to Dubrovnik in the south. In fact they are all part of a larger international network that is responsible for monitoring earthquakes throughout the entire Mediterranean. Set up in 1973, the HVAR station contributes…
Vrboska’s Ribarski muzej (Fishing Museum, or Fisherman’s Museum) is a tribute to the fishermen of the past, a wonderful collection of artifacts that tells of a way of life that still echoes today.
The tiny settlement of Vrboska is best known for two things – the upper harbour which looks just like a miniature canal complete with 16th century stone houses, and the somewhat unusual fortified church of Sveta Marija – or St Mary of Mercy in English. I say somewhat unusual, as there are a couple of…
Our local housemartins are busy. You can see them swooping up under eaves and into small corners to build their nests. It’s just amazing how they can get a grip on what looks like a sheer wall to me! Here’s a time-lapse video of the birds coming in to select their sites. This house overlooking…
In the heat of summer the Glavica headland near Vrboska is popular for its beaches, and I see that there are plans afoot to improve the car parking – or at least the collecting of fees! Out of season, it’s a lovely walking, jogging, cycling trail with pretty views. We set out on the north…
There are lions on Hvar. You can see them lurking on walls and gateways, looking out with a rather pained expression. It’s the symbol of St Mark, the winged lion of Venice, showing that this island was once part of the Venetian empire. From 1278, when the locals petitioned Venice for protection from the pirates,…
Go Hvar 
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