CROATIA

                                           CROATIA
    The Balkans are an interesting part of the world.  My first trip included Slovenia and Croatia and there are several past post re: Slovenia where we had an absolutely fantastic time. We flew into Vienna and knowing I was going to buy my stash of Mozart balls I packed a small broken-down carton in the bottom of my suitcase. I made large address labels and tucked them with a supply of packing tape wound around a medicine bottle into my suitcase. I was after the chocolate, not any fancy packaging so I bought many plastic sacks of my favorite chocolate.      When we arrived in Ljubljana I put the box together, emptied the loose balls into it, taped it shut, labeled it and headed to the post office across the street from the hotel. With only minor language problems I sent my package home where they awaited my return. A really good move on my part!

      While in Slovenia we had a chance to sample some of their home brew which so many countries make. This was made from pears. And as usual a wee taste was enough for me!

      Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia, central Europe’s multi-cultural lands of unsurpassed beauty, were united after World War I as Yugoslavia.  These diverse regions at the crossroads of eastern and western cultures have co-existed for centuries in the heart of the Balkans.

     Croatia joined the Hungarian royal house in 1102.  When the dynasty ended in 1526 the Habsburg ruler of Austria was elected king and all Croatia, Slovenia, and Hungry were bound together. In the early 1990s Yugoslavia endured a civil war until the countries declared independence. When Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia in 1990 Serbia tried to get Croatia to join them against their neighbor. When Croatia continually refused Serbia unleashed all its fury onto Croatia and in December 1991 Dubrovnik was in flames. Over 350 shells from Serbia and Montenegrin forces fell on hundreds of people. The world was shocked and in spite of protests from the European Union and UNESCO the fighting continued until spring.

      With restoration complete Dubrovnik has recovered and is a breathtakingly beautiful city. Streets are paved in marble, walls are rebuilt and churches, palaces, and monasteries restored. Today people live in harmony with three religions, Catholic, Orthodox, and Islam within nine ethnicities that include Croat, Serb, Slovene, Montenegrin, Albanian, Greek, Hungarian, Austrian and Italian. There are four alphabets: Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, and Arabic and a half dozen languages. Croatian, Italian, German, Greek, Albanian, Hungarian, with some Turkish, Arabic and Russian are spoken.  Slovenia and Croatia have different ethnicities and language, but share religion and writing. These two counties have always been the most cosmopolitan and cultural parts of the former Yugoslavia and are now self-governing republics for the first time in 1000 years.

      On the Dalmatian Coast sailors have three names for wind: Maestral, Bura, and Scirroco. A Maestral wind is a warm northwest wind that billows the sails. A gusty wind from the mountains to the northeast brings a Bura wind and it’s all hands on deck. A Scirroco is only a stirring breeze from the Sahara and it’s time to turn on the engines. Knowing the difference matters to thousands of fishermen who’ve plied the waters since the sixth century. For work, leisure and defense the sea has always been the heart of Croatia.

    Our historic hotel in Opatija, built 1903-1906 accommodated guests from aristocracy and

Historic Bristol Hotel

high finance. Renovated in accordance with the strictest requirements of a historical building it reopened in June of 2005. The hotel remains popular among guests who enjoy historical flair. The stucco façade is adorned with small wrought-iron balconies.

     A city of 12,500, Opatija was the fashionable sea resort of the Austro-Hungarian empire until WW I. The first hotel appeared in 1884 and many old hotels remain. The shady waterfront promenade stretches 12K (7 miles) along the Gulf of Kvarner.

      Located in an area known as the Kvarner Riviera, the pleasant weather and stunning location, with views overlooking the islands of Krk and Cres in the Kvarner Gulf, make it a popular vacation spot.   In the mid 19^th century a wealthy foreigner constructed the Italian-style Villa Angiolina. In the following years lush gardens were planted and flourished as the area became an elite resort.

    The city, with its Mediterranean climate and palm trees, is known as a health resort. The city is very hilly with narrow winding paved streets.

    One evening we walked along Opatija’s lovely waterfront promenade. We also walked the park-like grounds of the Angeolina estate to the seaside restaurant Bebana.

More Dublin Sites

     National Gallery, established in 1854, but was not built until ten years later. The gallery houses 3000 pieces of the national collection of Irish and European paintings. The old Victorian building just keeps going from one gallery to another. In fact we did get a bit lost and had to ask a guard to show us the way out! There was a sold our concert that evening in the gallery, but we heard a good part of it as we wandered around looking at paintings. We also stopped for a snack in the gallery café.

Next door is the Natural History Museum, referred to by locals as ‘the place of dead animals’. Housed in another Victorian building, all the specimens are displayed in lovely old Victorian cabinets and showcases. The museum has a huge collection covering  four floors. A graceful staircase leading from both sides of the building meets at a middle landing on the second floor.

      Dublin Castle represents 700 years of British rule and now is the symbol of Irish statehood and is the heart of historic Dublin. More a palace than a castle, it stands on a strategic site at the juncture of the River Liffey and its tributary the Poddle, where the original fortification may have been an early Gaelic Fort. Later a Viking fortress stood on the site. The Drawing Room in the Bermingham Tower dates back to 1411 and was rebuilt in 1777. The Record Tower is the earliest of several towers and is the largest remaining relic of the original Norman structure. The clock tower now houses a library. The south range houses the magnificent State Apartments, which were built as residential quarters of the vice regal court. Now they are the venue for presidential inaugurations, state functions and entertaining  heads of state.

    O’Connell Street, previously known as Sackville Street, is the most famous thoroughfare in Dublin. The 150-foot wide street changed its name in 1924. After the devastating 1916 Easter Uprising. The street had to be almost entirely rebuilt which took until the end of the 1920s. At the end of the street there is a large monument dedicated to Daniel O'Connell erected in 1854. Seated winged figures represent courage, eloquence, fidelity and patriotism. The four ancient provinces are represented by their coat of arms. O’Connell is wearing a glove on one hand, as he often did in real life as a self imposed penance for shooting a man in a duel. This is a busy street with lots of traffic and pedestrians. The focal point was the Nelson pillar that was destroyed in 1966.

     One morning we started out for our most distant point which was City Hall where there is an interesting multimedia display of city history. In 1867 there was a proposal to move a marble statue of O’Connell inside the building as it was not considered to be weather proof. It still stands in the refurbished rotunda. In the center of the marble rotunda floor is a 1898 mosaic of the coat of arms. The ceiling is beautiful. In 1915-19 frescos were added to the ceiling. Repairs due to dry rot were made to the building in 1926 and a wonderful restoration was done in 1998. Outside, the front façade still shows some bullet davits from the civil war.

      One afternoon we rode the bus to the far side of the city to Phoenix Park to visit the zoo. Covering 1760 acres, the park is the largest enclosed public park in Europe. Livestock graze the pasturelands and deer roam the wooded area. The Presidential Residence is on the park grounds. Ashtown Castle sits next to the visitor center. Dry rot demolished the castle and now it is a fully restored modern house. Easily viewed from the main street is the large white cross commemorating the pope’s visit in 1979. A large obelisk marks Napoleon’s defeat by Wellington.

     The Dublin Zoo, three kilometers from the city center, was established. in 1830. It is the world’s 4^th oldest public zoo. Set in 60 acres of attractive and colorful gardens within Phoenix Park, the zoo has a large collection of exotic animals. The lion used in the MGM logo before each picture was born at the Dublin zoo. We wandered all over the zoo. It was not the best zoo we’ve ever visited, but it was a good one. The Amur tigers from Russia and China were huge beautiful animals.

DUBLIN, IRELAND

                                     A Busy City

       Approaching Dublin we arrived into the world of traffic lights and where motorists were nowhere as pleasant as in the country. Approaching the city we noted a McDonalds—the first we’d seen in nearly two weeks.

      Dublin started as a Norse trading post in the 8^th century and is an older Viking settlement than Stockholm, Sweden or Oslo, Norway.  Dublin, a city of Georgian elegance, gets its name from the Black Pool—Dubh Linn that was on the site of Dublin Castle. Dublin, the Fair City with over a million people, is thought to be the friendliest capital on earth. It is a large city but lacks the high rises of most metropolitan areas and might be referred to as low high-rise city. By the late 17^th century Dublin was the second city of the British Empire.

      The River Liffey runs through the city and many bridges link the north and south parts of the city.  Starting at Sally Gap in County Wicklow the river travels 125 kilometers through the center of Dublin, into Dublin Bay and finally into the Irish Sea. The bar is a walkway along the River Liffey. Compact and easy to get around, Dublin is a walking city with interesting alleys, nooks and crannies.

      The 18^th century was Dublin’s golden age. Colorful doors grace lovely Georgian homes. The city has many graceful squares. Now a boomtown, half of the country’s population lives in the capital city. The city is 10 miles north to south and 6 miles east to west. There are over 10,000 pubs n the city.

      In 1728 the corner stone for the Parliament building (Leinster House) was laid and then in 1801 the Act of Union put Ireland under English rule until its independence in 1921.  In 1970 an old Viking village was found and excavated. The city’s largest private home, built in 1745 by the Duke of Leinster is a rather unusual building as it has a different façade on the front and rear sides. On the Merrion St. side the style is of a country home, on the Kildare St. side it resembles a town house.

     Temple Bar is considered Dublin’s cultural center. Developed in the 19^th century and situated in the heart of the city, its narrow cobbled streets run close to the banks of River Liffey. After years of neglect a massive redevelopment took place in 1991-92. The streets now are pedestrian walkways meant for strolling.  Artists, designers, and young entrepreneurs with creative ideas have set up small art galleries, cafés, theaters and colorful shops.

     Government Buildings are the last buildings in Dublin built by the British. In 1904 they were the College of Science, then the College of Engineers and later British headquarters. By the 1940s the buildings had become blackened and in disrepair. In the 1990s a huge restoration took place using Irish craftsmen and all Irish materials.

     The Ha’Penny Bridge is Dublin’s oldest pedestrian bridge crossing the River Liffey and is a symbol of the city. Built in 1816 as the Wellington Bridge, it acquired its nickname because of the halfpenny levied on all users of the bridge until 1919. It is one of the earliest cast iron bridges of its kind.  A 2001 restoration returned the Victorian Bridge to its original sparkling white. It was the only pedestrian bridge until 2000 when the new Millennium Bridge opened. Temple Bar is on the south side of the bridge and Mary and Henry Street on the north side. The bridge is very pretty and to me much more attractive than the modern Millennium Bridge. There are several bridges across the River Liffey that handle motor traffic.

      The Molly Malone statue, located at the end of Grafton Street opposite Trinity College, always drew a crowd and often a fellow who played the bodhran drum. It was very difficult to get a good picture of Molly Malone, the semi-historical-legendary figure who was commemorated in the song Cockles and Mussels. The fishmonger-working girl died in one of the cholera epidemics, which regularly sweep through Dublin. The statue is affectionately nick named ‘The tart with the cart’, ‘Trollop with the scallops’ or the ‘Dish with the fish’.   

    

 POSTS: Trinity College & Book of Kells  2-5-14

MORE ABOUT IRELAND

    Daniel O’Connell, 1775, is considered the liberator of Ireland. After securing the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829 the lawyer was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin. As a young boy he watched the British shoot his uncle because he owned a horse worth more than the allowed five pounds which he refused to give up. This event was no doubt a big factor in his drive for Catholic emancipation. There are several memorials and statues around Dublin of O’Connell who died in 1847. His heart is buried in Rome and his body is buried in Glasnevin.

 

  The 305 foot-long St Patrick’s Cathedral, founded in 450 A.D. and built in 1192, is the largest church in the country and is the National Cathedral of Ireland. The church was restored in 1860 with Guinness monies. The organ dates to 1902. The present structure dates from 1254. Inside the floors are done in geometric designs using 4-inch tiles. The lectern is of ornate brass involving an eagle perched on top of a large world globe representing the word of God around the world. Jonathan Swift was Dean of the church 1713-1745 and is buried there. He was responsible for building an alms house for women who could no longer take care of themselves.

 

   From City Hall it is a short block to Christ Church. Standing in the heart of Viking Dublin and on the site of a wooden church built by a Danish king in 1038, it is one of two protestant churches in the city. It is one of the oldest and most recognized landmarks in Dublin. By 1152 it was incorporated into the Irish church. King James was protestant and King William catholic so the church switched religions a couple of times.

     In 1562 the nave roof collapsed and emergency rebuilding lasted until the 1870s. The church declined in the 19^th century so Henry Roe, a wealthy distiller hired a gothic expert to restore the building. After the 1895 renovation the church appeared Victorian. A two-year restoration of the cathedral roof and stonework was undertaken in 1982. A new organ was installed in 1984. Christ Church was the first church in Ireland to have English spoken.

    The crypt, under the church is the actually the oldest building in Dublin, and the largest crypt in Europe. During the 16^th and 17^th centuries the crypt was used as a market, a meeting place for business and at one point a pub. Reconstruction between 1870-1878 was accomplished with monies from the Guinness brewery. Today the 900 year old crypt is open to the public. New lighting recently has been installed in the crypt floor. Several display cases hold outstanding rare church silver including the stunning royal plate given by King William III in 1697 as a thanksgiving for his victory at the battle of the Boyne. Also on display are candlesticks used in 1689.

  Just before we were about to descend down into the large crypt I looked up and saw a sign on the wall that said in bold letters “CAT and RAT”. Moving my eyes upward I saw a shadow box with a mummified cat and rat. The written explanation stated that the animals were trapped in one of the organ pipes in 1860. I guess that cat really wanted that rat!

                       

St. Patrick's Day is time for the wearing o' the green and dodging leprechauns.     So, tip your tam o'shanter jauntily to the side, take a wee step forward into the land where Irish eyes are smilin’ for some St. Patrick's Day History.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and many miracles have been attributed to the bishop, including the driving of the snakes from Ireland. His sainthood derives from his conversion of the Irish Celtic pagans to Christianity. He used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland. March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick.

The custom of imbibing alcohol on St. Patrick's Day comes from an old Irish legend. As the story goes, St. Patrick was served a measure of whiskey that was considerably less than full. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil that fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper. In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing. He returned to the cellar with the innkeeper and found the devil emaciated from the landlord's generosity, and promptly banished the demon, proclaiming thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day. This custom is known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick's Pot. The custom is known as "drowning the shamrock" because it is customary to float a leaf of the plant in the whiskey before downing the shot.

St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737, and is now celebrated nationwide with parades and as an opportunity to wear green and consume green libations. One reason St. Patrick’s Day might have become so popular is the fact that it takes place just a few days before the end of winter; one might say it has become the first green of spring. The celebration in Ireland is more of a religious matter. The wearing o' the green is a symbol of Ireland's lush green farmlands.

also.see posts 9-22-13,  6-9-14,  8-12-12