Europe 2006

Several days since my last entry, as we couldn't find an internet cafe in Trogir. Last we spoke, I believe I had just finished eating on our terrace in Pula. Pula was great; the best part of which was the huge, well-preserved Roman amphitheatre, the best preserved outside of Rome. To my eye, it was better preserved than the one in Rome, but I'm no expert. Martin and I bought one of those touristy audio guides, but we learned quite a bit about the history of the amphitheatre and the goings-on there. I think information about the gladiators is pretty common knowledge now; that they were either captured soldiers or undesirables who were forced to fight wild animals, or each other, for the sport of the upper classes. They had to parade into the amphitheatre in a certain configuration, face the emperor, and say, "Hail Caesar; we who are about to die salute you." Famous saying, especially for AC/DC fans. Gladiators fought to the death, and if they fell down and had the audacity not to be dead, they were prodded with hot pokers until they got up again. Fun.

While in Pula we took the bus to nearby Fasana (fa-ZHA-na) then a ferry to the island of Brijuni (bree-OH-nee), which Tito had taken over as his personal residence when he was in power. There was a museum devoted to highly controlled pictures of his life, such as pictures of him picking tangerines on his estate, the caption reading "Tito, in his rare spare time, enjoyed harvesting his tangerines to give to schoolchildren at Christmastime". Tito liked to entertain famous people on his island, including film stars such as Richard Burton (who played him in a film), Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, and that crowd. As well, he entertained dozens of world leaders, who apparently in gratitude, sent him exotic animals such as lions and elephants for his island. Other stories say that Tito sent out hunting parties and had the animals shipped. Many died before reaching the island, and they were stuffed for his museum. The plates on the walls state that the animals "found their peace" on the island, and the locals say that they died after living there, but there are several tiny stuffed baby giraffes, and I find it hard to believe that they lived a good long life on Brijuni.

We had to sit on a "tourist train", like in an amusement park, to tour the rest of the island and see the remaining wild animals (enclosed in a zoo-like structure), and we felt pretty silly. But we learned a lot about how the Croatian government is preserving an image of Tito, which I suspect would differ a bit from my father-in-law's recollections; I'll have to ask him when I get back to Calgary.

August 15 brought us a 10 hour bus ride from Pula to Trogir, and although that sounds like a punishment on a cosmic scale, it was actually extremely pleasant, as the bus was roomy, the seats were very comfortable, and we had air conditioning. The best part of the ride, hands down, was the scenery. There are no words that can describe the coastline from Pula to Trogir. For the most part the highway wove its path halfway up a mountain, so we had a birdseye view of the Adriatic below, with the many villages dotting the coast. The land was fjord-like, fingers of rocky outcropping pushing out into the sea, and the sea itself was teal toward the beaches, and the deepest navy blue further out. Each village had similar characteristics, including red-tiled rooves and always, a tall church tower silouetted against the mountainous horizon. Really, it was almost as beautiful as the coastline in BC. *grin*

We confirmed what we had learned about the Croatian people's propensity to downplay once we had reached Trogir. Trogir, an ancient city, is actually spread over two island and the mainland. The island in the middle is Old Trogir, which is what everyone wants to see, the last island is where the bus station is, and the mainland is where we were staying. When we arrived at the bus station, after dark, and I called the owner of the apartment, she asked us to meet her at the "small bus station" which was over two bridges, "a big and a small", around a few corners, then a 50m walk. Well, 25 minutes and a panic attack from Nancy later, we finally found the "small bus station", which we would call a bus shelter in Canada, and there was our ride. A lovely woman whom I thought was the owner Mrs. Buljan , but turned out to be a family friend. She drove us to the apartment, which was a good 15 minute drive down a long road, then up a hugely inclining concrete street that was at least at a 45 degree angle, then a very sharp and what seemed to me random left onto a VERY narrow alleyway. We climbed the stairs to our apartment, and... wow. The sitting area looked the size of a dance hall. There was a fully functioning kitchen, two big bedrooms, a full bathroom... and... a HUGE balcony which, because we were up at the top of a mountain, overlooked what must have been 100k of Dalmation coastline. Trogir to the left, Split to the right. We were in tired, achey heaven. And the icing on the cake... when Martin asked Mila, the family friend, where the nearest supermarket was, she offered to DRIVE us there the next morning. Drive!

I'm listening to the Croat version of "If You Want to Dance With Me" in this internet cafe, which is a little freaky, so I'll leave off for now. But before I go, here's a little true-false quiz for you, the answers for which I'll supply in the next blog entry.

True or false?

1. Croatian coffee is horrible, especially according to the Italians.

2. One hundred people actually can fit into space designed for 10, specifically on buses and ferries.

3. Every published departure time for buses will be incorrect... except for one.

4. Tourist information guides are super-friendly!

5. Just because bus #24 originates from the bus station, doesn't mean it will actually return there at any time.

6. If you tell a Croat that you don't speak Croatian, they will continue to speak to you in Croatian, but will add sweeping arm gestures.

7. You feel rich carrying around 200 kuna, until you realize that that's about $40CDN.

8. Pula is no big deal if you've been to Rome.

9. There's a gorgeous beach at the Pula Youth Hostel, if you don't find all the bong activity distracting.

10. There's nothing sexier than a sandal-pattern tan on the top of the feet.

Doviđenja!