We just finished up a twelve day visit in Croatia, a beautiful, friendly country on the Adriatic Sea.
We started in Zadar, where we strolled through the old city, checked out the sea organ, had a great meal, and played by the Greeting to the Sun light installation (circular glass panels with photovoltaic cells that fuel a lightshow at night).
The next day we drove a few hours to Plitvice Lakes National Park, which features a series of beautiful lakes and waterfalls. We spent a wonderful afternoon hiking around the park.
We enjoyed a hearty Croatian meal that evening at the little inn where we stayed for the night…a platter piled high with grilled fish, assorted meats, and vegetables.
Next we travelled to the Istria Peninsula of Croatia, where we rented a stone house in a little village near the coast. The Istria is a beautiful area with quaint towns, vineyards, olive groves, rocky coasts, roman ruins, and great food! It’s quite popular with European tourists, with Germans making up the majority of those who visit the area.
Our home for the week
Our village of Rakalj had a shop and two bars, and that was about it for services. It felt very authentic…we never saw another tourist while we were there. It was about 30 minutes from Pula, which is the largest city on Istria, and has all the modern conveniences. In fact Pula had the biggest, best supermarkets that we had seen since our trip began in June. It is also the site of a well-preserved Roman amphitheatre.
The temperatures were not as warm as we had hoped they would be, generally not getting above 65 degrees F, but we did have one nice sunny day where checked out the nearby beach.
We had it all to ourselves; at least until an old guy showed up, stripped naked, and jumped in for a swim. That was our cue to head to the nearby adventure park, where Caroline, Daniel and I did the high ropes course and ziplines. What a blast!
Sadly, this was our last day of sun. Subsequent days were spent indoors, homeschooling, playing games, and watching CNN International.
Loved the fireplace
Our final stop in Croatia was the capital city, Zagreb, where we were the guests of Bill’s long-time friend Renata, and her son Karlo. We had a wonderful, relaxing few days hanging out in their beautiful home, enjoying home-cooked Croatian food prepared by Renata’s mom Olga, and evenings of good wine and conversation. The rain followed us to Zagreb, but we still managed to get out and see the highlights of the city, thanks to a private tour arranged for us by Renata. Thanks Renata for your wonderful hospitality!
Overall impression: Croatia is great! It has beautiful scenery, a great road system, tasty food, reasonable costs, and warm, welcoming people.
We are now in Istanbul, Turkey, where we will stay for a week before travelling on to Jordan.
ABCD World Travels 
What a journey you are all having and I have a friend in Briton who loved Croatia too. Not a popular area from those who travel abroad but should be, huh ? ! Well, I have just had Mark here with me this past week of gorgeous weather and beautiful color in the trees. Hate to have him leave (tomorrow) but will we will be together at Heather and Kim’s for Christmas.
I am so glad to read of your travels and think it amazing that you are doing this! Terrific trip of your lifetimes! Love, Aunt Jan
Thanks, Jan! Yes, I don’t think too many Americans make it to Croatia, other than ones who are stationed in Europe with the military. We did meet one nice American couple at Plitvice who had relatives in Oakland and Traverse City, which was quite the coincidence! Glad you had a nice visit with Mark.