Please leave a comment by clicking on the title of each post! Anyone can leave one. So do it! Please! This blog is to document the trip we are taking to Europe.
No post yesterday because we spent the whole day looking around for things. First we spent the morning looking for FM transmitters in the pouring rain for the iPod. The radio stations
Here are horrible. They will play a good song, and then another song of a completely different genre, and then they will talk in the native tongue for 10 min. Not cool. Anyway, both Ryan and Jon have mp3 players on them, and we were looking for a way to play their tunes through our radio. No dice.
Then we left for Plitvicka Jezera National Park, which is supposed to have an amazing collection of pristine lakes connected by waterfalls which you can view from an extensive network of walkways. We got a little lost, though, in Karlovac, a town which saw massive fighting in the Homeland War. We drove past a lot of shelled houses. We finally got to the park and starting looking for our hotel in the rain. After finding it, we checked in and drove down the highway to the worst cafeteria ever for goulash slop. The town reminded Ryan of Preston, Idaho from Napoleon Dynamite. It was close.
The next day it was still raining hard, so we gave up our plans to go the park. (sigh) We left the hotel; the weather was 44° F. We drove—in the rain—for about an hour. Nothing to see but green grass and pine trees, grey sky and pavement. A few sheep. Then we entered a 3 mile tunnel through the mountains. It was like a warp zone; we came out the other side into a different world of sun, sagebrush and 84° temperatures.
Anyways, now we are going to have lunch in Trogir, a little coast town on the way to Split, where we will catch the car ferry to Hvar Island and our beach apartment.
Blog you later,
Dan
That’s right. I’m back.
Here are horrible. They will play a good song, and then another song of a completely different genre, and then they will talk in the native tongue for 10 min. Not cool. Anyway, both Ryan and Jon have mp3 players on them, and we were looking for a way to play their tunes through our radio. No dice.
Then we left for Plitvicka Jezera National Park, which is supposed to have an amazing collection of pristine lakes connected by waterfalls which you can view from an extensive network of walkways. We got a little lost, though, in Karlovac, a town which saw massive fighting in the Homeland War. We drove past a lot of shelled houses. We finally got to the park and starting looking for our hotel in the rain. After finding it, we checked in and drove down the highway to the worst cafeteria ever for goulash slop. The town reminded Ryan of Preston, Idaho from Napoleon Dynamite. It was close.
The next day it was still raining hard, so we gave up our plans to go the park. (sigh) We left the hotel; the weather was 44° F. We drove—in the rain—for about an hour. Nothing to see but green grass and pine trees, grey sky and pavement. A few sheep. Then we entered a 3 mile tunnel through the mountains. It was like a warp zone; we came out the other side into a different world of sun, sagebrush and 84° temperatures.
Anyways, now we are going to have lunch in Trogir, a little coast town on the way to Split, where we will catch the car ferry to Hvar Island and our beach apartment.
Blog you later,
Dan
That’s right. I’m back.
Too bad about the rain and missing a trip to the park. The radio sounds like the AM sounds heard while driving thru the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania - polka, polka, and more polka. As soon as you go over a hill, the station fades. You guys will have to take turns with the earphones.
Glad you found better weather after driving thru the long tunnel.
I've been looking on the web at pictures of Hvar and Trogir and Split. Amazing architecture. Beautiful. Didn't see any buildings that looked like food or animals though.
Goulash, one of my favorites. Bring some back. No, on 2nd thought, don't!
ddd
See any dalmation dogs yet? Sorry it's raining...it's getting really hot and humid here. Is there a noticable difference between Germany and Croatia, is it distinctly non-westernized? (read: have you found any Burger King's or McDonald's there?)
Welcome back Dan! Ryan- we are having our first meeting tonight in the new Kingdom Hall!
Oh..did you guys bring your speedo's..because you WILL look funny without them! ;)
Karene
nice to have you back dan!!
nice to have ya back danny boy!!!
Hello Boys!
A few days I started thinking about my life and how obsessed I was with the blog so I took a few days off. I'll say it was a nice suprise to come back and read so many cool things and see your pictures. I'm assuming you are on the ferry boat while we speak so I'll say "please don't fall asleep, it might sink". I know Katie wanted to remind you but didn't want to sound worried=) Anywho..i'm sorry it's been raining=( Please let Katie know if you got off the ferry ok, she'll be consumed with it till she knows, and I'm a little worried too.
Yup, we had our first meeting tonight. Half of the trailers are still in the parking lot, there are a few small holes here and there were stuff hasn't been installed, no platform furniture or literature yet, and the final water test hasn't been released (DONT DRINK THE WATER). Bryant bookstudy gets the first hall cleaning this coming weekend. Hooray!!
HVAR GASTRONOMY:
Ecologicaly cultivated vegetables from Hvar plantages, ecologicaly home made vine and spirit, as well as fish and crustaceas, fished by Hvar fishermen are something that you will surely sense while tasting Hvar specialities.
You will notice that the food is mostly boiled thus very light, often seasoned only with some home made olive oil and seasonal herbs (manly marjoram and chopped parsley). Hvar restaurants are held by people that know and appreciate good food - restaurant offer range from the typical tourist menus to a variety of local specialities thus offering a great array of dishes.
Some of the local specialities we mentioned are goat's cheese in olive oil, wild cabbage, Rožada - egg and milk pudding... Also, you should try other Dalmatian specialties prepared in a "Hvar way", for example Gregada - a dish of several kinds of fish, boiled with potatoes.
Well-known are Hvar cakes, especially the pepper cakes from Stari Grad. The poet Hektorović mentioned in his "Fishing" this traditional cake of Hvar. The essential component was saffron which was a very important product of the island in the 16th century, together with honey - and coriander, the component of numerous love potions.
One should mention also "kroštule", "škanjate", and "fritule", and "cvit" (flower), a dry cake aromatised with anise.
Forecast for Split:
31 May
(Wed) 15-23 PARTLY CLOUDY
01 Jun
(Thu) 17-20 ISOLATED SHOWERS
02 Jun
(Fri) 17-21 ISOLATED SHOWERS
This is Dan, Jon, James and Ryan Here! We are all here on HVAR! Katie and Corrine, we have not gone on the BIG ferry yet. (not till Monday) We will post ASAP but we dont have our own connection at the apartment. Maybe tomorrow with pictures!
TTY all soon!
THe 4 Boys...
http://www.island-hvar.net/balic/eng/index2.htm
This looks like the apartment you guys are staying in. No?
Yes, Maja & Jakov Balic are the people we are renting the apartment from. They are very nice. I am posting about it now...
did ryan mention that jakov and maja stole our laundry and kept it in their apartment for 2 days?
it was odd. . .