Living Positive: Beautiful Croatia

We woke up today in Vukovar, Croatia. It is a very pretty town but there are a few signs that it was once under fire. The Battle of Vukovar (Yugoslav People's Army invaded) happened in 1991 and lasted 87 days. Before then it was a prosperous community with many Baroque style mansions. The water tower still stands and the story is that during the siege, two townspeople raised the Croatian flag on top of the tower every day. The train station was destroyed and they have left it in that condition as a reminder of this horrible event. Croatia finally won their independence from Yugoslavia and now have a democratic government and are a member of the EU.

We traveled to a home outside of the town of Osijek. A man there opens his place to tours. The tour guides call him “the fisherman.” He greeted us with homemade Rakjia in different flavors. I was hesitant due to my bad experience in Bulgaria but I tried his walnut flavored Rakjia. It was kind of sweet and went down a little easier than the Bulgarian swill. They say that the more you drink, the more months of health you will have. I guess I’m good until December!

This man was quite a character and told us a little about how they fish. Of course he embellished the truth so who knows if what we learned was true!

He also showed us a slideshow of a festival that they have in the spring where they wear sheepskin and wooden masks to scare off evil spirits and the chill of winter. He has a room displaying the costumes and various products to buy such as his wine, brandy, ornaments, etc. Something tells me with this gig he doesn't’ have to fish anymore! He was a funny guy and was very hospitable so it was a fun time.

Back on the bus we drove back into Osijek where our tour guide was from. We stopped at a fortress…it seems if you had a nice town by the river, you needed a fortress because everyone wanted waterfront property! Inside the fortress now are schools, shops admistration buildings and a church. Some people who live there have no income and only have to pay for utilities. This brings up another tidbit. Most homes in the area heat their houses with wood. You can see wood piled up in yards like it has just been delivered. We wondered what the air quality is in the winter with all of the wood burning…

That afternoon on the ship, we had a presentation on how to make apple strudel. The pastry chef is from Bali and demonstrated the easy way to create a terrific one. Of course we got to sample the finished product! I think I may have to try this new recipe when I get home.

Croatia is a beautiful country although we only saw a small portion of it where there are many farms with very rich soil. We may have to come back to visit the seashore next time.

Welcome to Vukovar, Croatia!

The town has rebuilt..

..but there are reminders of the devastation at the hands of the Yugoslavian army in 1991

Original homes only had windows in the front because the more windows you had, the more taxes you paid!

Vast and rich farmland

Visiting a local

The “fisherman” welcomed us with various types of homemade Rajkia

Fisherman display

A costume used in the Spring celebrations

The fisherman spinning tales

A net he uses for fishing

Humorous slideshow

Croatia is shaped like a boomerang

The fortress in Osijek

Inside the fortress

The Croatian flag is the one with the red and white checkerboard

This statue was erected after the plague to protect them. They also brought in weasels to kill the plagued rats.

Wedding photos. They are taken the week before the wedding so the couple can give photos to their guests at the wedding. The wedding day begins with the groom “stealing” the bride and he also has to pay for her!