Part of our trip plan was to spend a week in Croatia which is Murray’s ancestral home. So we set off from Switzerland and decided to stop in Austria on the way there. We had a choice of cities and decided on Vienna as I knew it to have a lot of history around art and opera. Vienna has a beautiful Cathedral and in fact almost every building in the city is architecturally stunning even down to apartment buildings. We decided to skip the palace tour as we are experiencing “palace burnout” from seeing so many and so instead we went on a tour of the opera house. It was really fascinating to see behind the scenes of the opera. The stage is over fifty feet in depth and has dozens of curtains and backdrops that move up and down for quick scene changes. We thought that the opera hall was really lovely until the tour guide showed us how it had looked before being bombed in the war. The reception room below was all that survived but the entire opera house was apparently done in the amazing style below prior to World War Two. After Vienna we were off to Croatia where we camped in three different places. None of these campgrounds was next to a train station, (although there are many near stations throughout the country), but in this case we had decided to rent a car as we wanted to visit Murray’s relatives and there town was not accessible by train. So we took a train to Zagreb and rented a 4 door smart car for 25 Euros per day which was a great price and it used very little gas. Just enough room for two travellers and our bags. The first camp ground we stayed at is called: Terme-Lendava and it is a campground with five different mineral pools to soak in. You can find it here: https://www.sava-camping.com/en/lendava-camping/terme-lendava-camping It was a great campground and our camping neighbour was a typical Croat. We stepped out of our tent in the morning and he was standing there with shot glasses full of plumb brandy which he had made himself and which he wanted us to drink in order to make friends. That was an interesting moment! This campground was close to Murray’s ancestral home in Sveta Maria and we visited his relatives there. I do have to say that Croatians are probably the most hospitable culture we have encountered. You HAVE TO stay in their home , and you just HAVE TO eat! This is how they show love and they are incredible cooks too, making everything from scratch! This is the church in Sveta Maria where Murray’s Family comes from. The church is incredibly beautiful and very old. The choir was practicing when we toured it and their voices give a rather gothic feel to the video I shot of it. From Sveta Maria we drive down to the coast of Croatia to camp on the Adriatic Sea. Our campground was in Medulin which is just next to Pula and you can camp right in the ocean. Below is the view from our tent. https://www.arenacampsites.com/de/campingplatze-istrien/camping-arena-medulin We visited the Roman Colosseum in Pula which is still used to this day for events. We also took a day cruise on the sea where we were able to swim in a cave and feed the sea birds by hand. The Mediterranean Sea is a beautiful region and we will likely go back again. We finished our time in Croatia with a visit to Plitvice falls which is considered one of the more recently discovered wonders of the world and it is truly breathtaking. It is a series of lakes with azure blue water and waterfalls running throughout. We camped just outside the park in a wonderful campground at Korana Campground where they said “Just camp wherever you want” and everyone picked their own sites and got along great. https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/de/ Today’s Camping Tip-How to keep things cold.As North Americans we really like our morning coffee with real cream. They’re is just one problem. Nowhere in Europe serves it that way. So knowing this from our last trip I set out to solve the problem. I knew I could buy cream at the stores in Europe, but how would we store it while camping without a refrigerator. After thinking through the problem I had the idea that if I could find a really good thermos then maybe we could carry cream. I researched many thermoses including Yeti and the reviews were less than stellar. They are usually very heavy and don’t live up to the hype in real testing. Except one. It is simply called “Coldest” Water bottle and it’s beats all the others hands down. This bottle has exceeded our expectations and when we put ice in it, the ice is still there two days later. https://thecoldestwater.com/product/the-coldest-water-bottle-21oz/ Now in order for this to work for us and to keep cream and butter cold for a couple of days, I wanted to be able to add ice cubes to it and store our cream inside it within another container so that the ice didn’t water it. How do we accomplish this? By using disposable baby milk bags, as seen in the photo below. We simply pour our cream into one of these zip locked milk bags, add some ice cubes, and slide it into our thermal bottle. It has worked even in 40 degree Celsius heat and stays fresh for two days with along with the ice. We also store small butter pats in here too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a thermal bottle that has impressed me this much before! In my next blog I will visit Italy and chat about how we deal with our dirty laundry!
1 Comment
11/29/2019 08:08:17 pm
European trip remains to be a huge dream of mine, particularly in Switzerland. That's why I feel a bit envious when I saw that you had been there and had been to its neighboring countries! You guys are living your lives to the fullest and I couldn't be happier with such thought. Croatia has its now unique beauty to offer too, that's why I was so happy to see that these photos that you have. By the way, I am looking forward to see your next photos travel photos featuring the beauty of Asia.
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Wendy Peter is the North American Director of Events for the Women on the Frontlines Organization.
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