During our two week vacation traveling through Croatia, we spent a few days on the island of Hvar. The town of Hvar, on the southwest corner of the island, is the most well known part of the island among tourists, famous for its wild all night partying.
My husband Jim and I spent one night there only. We’re starting to feel a little old for all the wild partying scenes, and preferred to see a different part of the island where we could relax and explore the more serene parts. I wanted romance – watching the sunsets as we sat on our balcony and had a glass of wine…
I will not be sharing a long story about that one night in Hvar town, except to have you picture this scene as we tried to sleep that night: 95 degree heat, a hotel room without air conditioning, windows wide open to let in some sort of air as the party continued outside….I took 3 cold showers that night.
Meeting the Locals – Example 1:
Our 2nd day on the island, we boarded an old bus to the town of Jelsa on the northern coast. We booked a room online just a few hours earlier. We asked for directions at the tourist information when we got off the bus in Jelsa, but they couldn’t help us. So we started walking up the steep steps where all the apartments were, carrying our 50lb backpacks along with us. After about 25 minutes or so of this, we became a little frustrated. And, at that moment, an old man saw us and walked over to find out if we needed help. He spoke very little English, but his son (who was in his mid 20s) joined and spoke a little more English. We showed him the name and address of the apartments we were staying at while in Jelsa. The old man motioned for us to follow him to his truck. My husband declined at first but I trusted this man. So I hopped in the front passenger seat next to him, while Jim and the man’s son climbed in the back of the truck. He drove us up another hill and dropped us off directly in front of the apartments!! Waved goodbye and left. Nothing else asked for.
As a result, I immediately fell in love with Jelsa. Here’s the view from our apartment looking down on to the town of Jelsa.
Meeting the locals: Example 2
On another day we decided to rent a scooter and explore the rest of the island. It was breathtaking. The steep cliffs, gorgeous greenery, and a number of beaches both small and large overlooking the Adriatic sea – everything about it was great.
We pulled in to a house that had a sign up advertising wine, olive oil, lavender,etc. The strange thing was the sign was in German. But we decided it was worth checking out and pulled over to the side of the road.
An older Croatian man appeared when we yelled to see if anyone was there. He took us into a shed to his “shop” (see below) – filled with his homemade collection of items. What an amazing experience!
We bought a bottle of his homemade sherry then asked to buy two beers, and we sat outside with him and another couple who I’m guessing owned the vineyard or house where his shop was stationed. They were all Croatian but spoke some German – we expect this is because a number of German tourists visit the island and they picked it up over the years. Jim was able to have a short conversation with him in his basic German vocabulary.
Two Americans and three Croatians managing to communicate, but only by speaking in German to each other?!! So cool!! I loved it.
Very nice people, great hospitality, and experiences like this make me incredibly happy to have the opportunity to travel and see the world!!
December 6, 2012
Croatia