Croatia, Dubrovnik, and other Related Travels

"Those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik and find it." -George Bernard Shaw

Dubrovnik

Last week, our family of five packed our suitcases, mounted our Chica (Garmin), and followed the Winding Road to spend a week in Croatia. As it turns out, our trip meant far more than a "beach vacation", and the places and things we saw will linger in our memories for many years to come. Croatia and its neighboring countries are quite unique.

Croatian Coast

Bordering the Adriatic Sea almost the whole length from Trieste, Italy, to the NorthWest coast of Greece, Croatia consists of a tireless strip of coastline. For much of the stretch, the Croatia-Bosnia border is only a few miles from the water, and at one section on the road South to Dubrovnik, the traveler by car must cross Bosnia for a dozen miles.

Bosnia

Our destination, the near-ancient and historic town of Dubrovnik, proved to be the jewel on the sea as Croatia says it is. If there were ever a "Pirates of the Caribbean" like the movies and Disney's setup, it is Dubrovnik. Consisting of multiple bastion-type forts and a continuous city wall stretching two kilometers, Dubrovnik has fought its battles for centuries, and won. The most recent battles fought there were in the Croatian War for Independence, 1991-1995, with lingering battles in Dubrovnik into 1996.

With such a recent devastating war, you can imagine the sites we saw--simple and humbling remnants from this nation who gave so much for freedom. Fresh cemeteries with uniform headstones seemingly stood in every village we passed. Buildings demolished into dormant ruins, mortar marks, bullet holes-- all serve to remind only years later of the war.

Reminder of Recent War, Croatia

As the Croatian people forge ahead, FREE, and they create the alluring accomodations and roads to host visitors from all over the world, we can cheer them on. We felt quickly at home--their smiles are gracious, their English impeccable, their hospitality warm. And their country is beautiful beyond mere words.

Endless green-blue Sea

Coastal Charm, Croatia

What leaves the indelible impression upon me is the need for government and people to find a harmonious path, and to give each other the grace we all need in return. For without a doubt, when too much is taken, the human spirit will rise up and embrace freedom.

Starting the Conversation: Croatia has countless islands capped by mountains jutting skyward from the sea--a radiant and unique coastline, dotted with mini-lighthouses and sailing yachts. What is your favorite coast along the sea--any sea?

Twenty Years Ago ...

It’s been an exciting time to be in Europe, this November 2009.

Velvet Revolution, Prague, 1989

http://dulyconsider.blogspot.com/2008/02/considerable-sounds-music-that-matters.html

Twenty years have now passed since the historic fall of the Berlin Wall. And on November 18, 1989, the Czech people staged the Sametova Revoluce—the Velvet Revolution, which fed off of the collapse of communism in Poland, Hungary, and East Germany. The term Velvet Revolution is freely used in Prague to describe the relatively peaceful transfer of power from the Communist Party to the civil rights movement in then Czechoslovakia. This month is indeed a historic and monumental month in the area of the world in which we now live, as expats in Prague, Czech Republic.

http://dulyconsider.blogspot.com/2008/02/considerable-sounds-music-that-matters.html

For the past several months, I’ve been taking Czech language lessons from a lovely Czech woman who lived during Communist times and actively participated in the Velvet Revolution protests. Last week, I told my instructor that we were getting a new puppy in our family, and of our excitement in getting our puppy. My instructor then reminisced of the Velvet Revolution days, of protesting, and of the presence of a puppy, similar to what I described our puppy as looking like. She said one of her friends, a protestor, brought his small puppy burrowed in his coat, to the protests on Wenceslas Square. And the trained police dogs went a bit crazy by the scent of a puppy in the crowd. My instructor then laughed, and said, “Puppies bring humor to a very serious situation. It made us all smile. Every time I see a puppy, even today, I think of the maly pejsek (small puppy) that broke the tension between opposing sides.”

The stories I hear, places I see, and monuments and photos as tribute to the struggle for freedom from Communism, are wholeheartedly humbling.

I’m so grateful for the brave souls who stood up for the cry of the human heart—the fight to be free.

The View Heading East

A surreal experience: driving Sunday evening from the West to the East.

Since we hiked the Austrian Alps this past weekend, we drove back to Prague through Germany on Sunday. We passed through the flatlands around Munich to the rolling hills of hops fields in Eastern Germany, past the German rest stops with the automatic cleaning toilets and toward the step back in time at the Czech border. As we drove, the sun set in brilliant tangerine-orange across the Western sky behind us.

We headed toward the darkness, toward the inky hills and rural countryside. Toward the East.
I think for all of us, passing the sprawling, rusting former communist checkpoint at the German-Czech border was chilling. It was just dark enough out to send shivers under the skin. To think of the years from the sixties to the late eighties when countless lives were lost trying to escape to the West at that very border crossing …

Unsettling. We all have thoughts—where are we living? Where is our home? We’re going back?

But, as we stopped to refuel a few kilometers inside the Czech Republic, we remembered. While paying, I inadvertently spoke in German to the cashier. The amazing look of surprise in his eyes! And then, one of our sons said so innocently, “Finally—we can speak Czech. We’re almost home.”
It was at that moment that we realized that yes, we were almost home. To Prague. The former East. A beautiful country with a priceless soul.

Let Freedom Ring …

Daffodils

There is something about daffodils that makes my heart sing—their glorious pronouncement of spring, their sunny disposition, the carefree dance in the early spring breeze, the bold trumpet and frilly skirt, the sweet fragrance, and their rain-slicker yellow coloring. I can’t tell exactly what it is about a daffodil that is so attractive, but having a week with them on the table lifts my spirits in more ways than I can imagine.

As I brought in a luscious bouquet of daffodils yesterday, I had a pressing thought: there is no more intense beauty than a soul that is free.

Life and people often put us into tiny cages—ones meant to keep us under control. Certainly, restraint is often a good thing, and control is somewhat essential for society’s survival. But then, the flip side of that, a soul that is free is amazing.

Perhaps today we can allow ourselves to embrace a little more of what makes us tick. And perhaps today we can release someone else from unattainable expectations, and give the greatest gift of all—affirmation and love for being simply themselves.