Be Afraid

It's that time of the year again, I'm afraid. Halloween. Me, I could take it or leave it, but for the girls, it's a Big Thing. So this year we are hosting our first Canadian party. Sarah's invited a bunch of her school chums (we don't even know exactly how many - another reason to be afraid). I shouldn't be completely miserable either as I get a chance to make drinks, including Margo's famous Harvest Martinis, and spin some excellent tunes.

Sarah was nice enough to allow herself to be decapitated for our invitation.

Croatia (4)

The final evening of the conference there was a dinner and I attended with my traveling companion, friend and fellow student, Neringa, who is originally from Lithuania. Here is a photo of the two of us at the dinner:


The next morning, was my final day in Croatia, and I took an early morning bus to Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive with a couple of border crossings, as the route took us through a small area of Bosnia, back into Croatia, and then back to Bosnia.

Cavtat Harbor, 6:30 am

During the drive, I was able to take some decent shots of the views:

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Harbour

Suspension Bridge North of Dubrovnik

This enormous valley was once a swamp - it has now been drained and irrigated and is sometimes called the "California of Croatia". The area is famous for its tangerines and also grows lemons, grapes, tomatoes and other crops.

On the way to Mostar we stopped at an old village that was occupied by the Turks and was an example of the mixture of medieval and Turkish architecture.

Mostar is a very old city that was situated on a trade crossroads, and between the western and eastern worlds. It was occupied by the Ottoman empire for about 400 years, from the mid 1400's until the mid 1800's and there is a strong Turkish influence on the architecture and the culture of Mostar's citizens, many of whom are Muslim, the rest being mostly Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbs. Although many of the Mosques did not survive the war, there are about 17 remaining and the call to prayer echoes throughout the city throughout the day.



The city is still recovering from the war that lasted until the mid 1990's and there are many buildings that are not yet repaired.



After the war, pieces of the iconic bridge were fished out of the river and the bridge was repaired, (pictures below). The name of the city is derived from the word "Mostari" which means bridgekeepers.


I did a lot of shopping in Mostar, purchasing some wine, 2 pashmina shawls, a watercolor and ink drawing of the bridge and some small purses and other items for Sarah and for friends.


And finally, one of the last views on my way to the bus stop...

Croatia (3)

On Monday afternoon, I took a boat to Dubrovnik, about an hour by water away. It was a gorgeous, warm day; here are some photos taken on and from the boat:

Cavtat from the water


On the boat


Dubrovnik Harbor

The old town of Dubrovnik is small and is surrounded by a high city wall, about 2 kilometers total circumference, and I bought a ticket and took a walk around the top. Other than the initial climb up the steps it isn't too taxing, but I felt slightly queasy the whole time due to the height. Still the views were outstanding and I can enjoy them now that I am not actually on top of the wall!

Rooftops of the old town


View from the wall of the Fortress Lovrijenac


Another view from higher up the wall


The wall and the deep blue sea

After descending from the walk around the town, I took some photos of the narrow streets and some of the more interesting buildings.

There is still a lot of damage from the war - much of it being repaired currently, some still pretty much rubble. In the foreground is one of the many semi-feral cats that I saw in Dubrovnik - lots of them in Cavtat also. They look pretty healthy and well-fed, although the adults are much smaller than North American felines.

Big Onofrio's Fountain: built in 1448. This is what survives the 1667 earthquake that destroyed most of the city.

Detail of fountain

Church of St Blasius, built in 1715 to replace previous church, destroyed in earthquake.

One of the many narrow streets in the town.

Rector's Palace - this structure has been repaired many times following fires, earthquakes, wars, etc. and is considered to be one of the finest secular structures in the Adriatic region.

View of the city wall from the water as I left Dubrovnik.


One of the small islands where the boat stopped to collect passengers on the way back to Cavtat.


The gate leading to our apartment terrace as I arrived home at the end of the day.

Sea Walk

We had another completely cloudless day today, so Sarah and I walked (well, she scootered) on the sea walk path around Stanley Park. I brought a camera and these are some of the better pictures.

Croatia (2)

This has been such a great trip so far! The conference has been great - lots of speakers who are discussing my area of research. I had been feeling during the week before the trip that perhaps it was a mistake to go to Croatia in the middle of a school term when I am so busy - and I felt guilty about leaving my family for 8 days! I have to say though that this has been a really good experience and I am glad I came (and grateful to even have had the opportunity). I LOVE that I will have a career that requires that I travel to places I wish to go anyway! (Warning to my family: my research may involve comparisons with Western and Northern European systems of child welfare: I may NEED to spend time in Scandinavia, France, Belgium and Germany.) Seriously though, European travel is a great pleasure and I can see that I will want to continue to visit fairly regularly, even when I take into consideration the expense and the unpleasantness of traveling so far by airplane.

I think I next want to visit Poland- Krakow is supposed to be fabulous, I would like to see some of the Holocaust-related historical sites, and I have done some internet research indicating that the Margolias clan originates from Bialystock, Poland (see Dad, that is why you like Bialys so much!) and it would be interesting to visit this area. My colleague, Neringa, is from Lithuania and she tells me that Bialystock is near (50km) to her home.

I made my presentation today and I think it was well received. I even dressed up in a suit and heels, even though this did not appeal given the warm weather and the 99 (and yes, I counted) steps up to the hotel where the conference is located. Nothing is quite as delightful as starting one's morning huffing and puffing (and sweating and swearing) up the bloody steps in a black suit and heels on a hot day.

Croatia is lovely, even the little bit I have seen so far - tomorrow afternoon, I will spend time in Dubrovnik (I am in Cavtat, the original settlement in this area), and on Tuesday, if the scheduling works out, I will take a bus to Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina and briefly dip into another culture there. Then, I leave early Wednesday morning for my trip home to Canada.

In between conference events, Neringa (a very amiable and compatible tavel companion - lucky me!) and I have been enjoying the fine weather and long late-evening dinners (an advantage of travelling without the child), seated outside on the promenade beside the harbourfront, with lots of homemade Croatian wine - such an indulgence! (I am fairly tipsy as I type this post, so forgive, please, my wordiness and occasional misspellings)

Tonight we had a appetizer of fish pate and anchovies with toast and then I had a lobster salad, prepared with a variety of fruit, for dinner. Tomorrow night there is a dinner of traditional Croatian foods at the conference hotel and it should be fun to spend time with the other folks attending. Representative from 36 countries and all of the continents - save Antartica - have come to the conference and it is a lot of fun to meet and talk with such a diverse group.

In this area of the southern Adriatic, the cuisine is Dalmatian and there is a lot of seafood. The waters here are beautiful - crystal clear and unpolluted - I hear that the sea temperature is still warm and am planning a swim tomorrow - though I am told to be wary of sea urchins underfoot as I enter the water. At least you can see them given the clarity of the water.

Here are some pics:

The Cavtat Harbor - fort in the background, water polo court in the foreground.

Cavtat harbour - church and bell tower in background.


Cavtat and her habour as seen from terrace of Hotel Croatia.


Margo's lunch of Octopus salad and local beer.


Margo, just after presentation.

Well, that's it for this evening - tomorrow, pics of Dubrovnic including views from the city walls.

Croatia!

I arrived in Cavtat, Croatia yesterday afternoon, after a great visit in the UK with my social work friends. (Some of the things I enjoyed revisiting in the UK: BBC news, reading The Guardian over breakfast, a couple of pints of Guinness, 2 full English breakfasts, a fish & chips dinner with mushy peas, a trip to Sainsbury's, Cornish pasty with steak and potatoes, roundabouts, the drive through Essex with my former manager, Andy, laughing a LOT with my old friends.)

Had an uneventful flight from London-Gatwick, and an arrival so easy it was nothing short of miraculous. Despite a delayed take-off, we arrived 5 minutes early. I was seated directly behind the first class section, so got off the plane pretty quickly. Ducked into the loo on the way to immigration which I cleared in, literally, 1 minute. Then on the baggage carousel- right in front of me where my bag was the first off the ramp. Directly adjacent to the baggage carousel were all of the taxi drivers, including mine, holding a sign with my name on it. She pulled the car around, loaded my bag and I arrived at the front door of the apartment 20 minutes after the plane had landed. Brilliant!

Our host, Andrusko, met me at the gate and brought me up to the apartment, then sat me down at the kitchen table and poured a glass of a homemade herbal liqueur made by a friend of his

Yesterday was the first rain in this area for 4 months - I suppose it followed me from Canada. And, it was not just rain, but a real deluge, flooding the stone sidewalks and drenching me within a few minute's walk - even with an umbrella. I gave up on sightseeing and took refuge at the restaurant that adjoins the apartment property and had an early dinner. It was really delicious: local cheese and brown bread followed by squid stuffed with Dalmation ham and smoked cheese, served with boiled potatoes, sauteed spinach and rice. Oh, and some beer too. By chance, I met two people from the states who are attending the same conference, and we were then joined by two of the conference organizers - one of them a Brit living in Australia and the other a Bosnian also living in Australia. It seemed only polite to have another small beer... and then I went back to the apartment and ended up sleeping early and soundly.

By early evening there was strong wind, which lasted through this morning, and thunder and lightning for an hour or so. Fortunately, the sun is now out and even with the wind still blowing a bit, the temperature is about 65, so it is nice out. The forecast is for sun and low-70's for the remainder of my week.

This morning I got up reasonably early and found a "mini-market" which has a butcher and veg counter and fresh bread, along with shelves of the usual staples. I brought a grocery bag home filled with bread, cheese, Dalmation ham, liver paste, yogurt, grapes, bananas and bell peppers, coffee, orange juice and milk. Tonight, I think I'll pick up some Croatian brandy to enjoy on the terrace once my colleague, Neringa arrives later today. Also picked up a walnut pastry at a bakery which is likely to see a lot of me this week.

The apartment is lovely. Below are views of my bedroom , the kitchen and the view from the balcony in my room. More to come later...