Tag: Gate 1 Croatia

Opatija Croatia
EuropeSmall Group Discoveries

Croatia’s Surprising Vintages and Earthy, Fresh Cuisine

on February 17, 2020

Raise your glass and raise your fork to Croatia’s fertile and prolific vineyards and farms.

Raise Your Glass!

Many travelers think of Croatia as a smaller version of Italy, right across the Adriatic. To be sure, this makes for similarly dreamy landscapes. It also means that the climate and earth of Croatia produce similarly dreamy vintages. Not to be left behind its vinicultural neighbor across the sea, Croatia boasts more than 300 demarcated wine districts.

Central and South Dalmatia. The hugely popular Zinfandel is descended from a grape grown here, the Plavac Mali.

North Dalmatia. This region is famous for the Babić grape, a native Croatian varietal that produces inky red wine of considerable tannin and strength. The grape is also found on the island of Korcula.

Istria. In the hillsides and valleys of Istria, Moscato, Trebbiano and Verduzzo grapes flourish.

Slavonia. This is the epicenter of Croatia’s most widely planted vine, the native Grasevina. This fresh, lightly aromatic white wine – sometimes aged in oak casks carved from native oak forests – is reminiscent of a Chardonnay.

Plesivica.  On the steep, rocky slopes of this area, native vines produce Riesling and Chardonnay grapes.

Raise Your Fork!

We said earlier that Italy lies west across the Adriatic Sea from Croatia. Indeed, they share a lot in common, including a homegrown mix of agriculture, mari-culture, and viniculture that combine into a fresh farm-to-table cuisine. On land, fertile farms never stop yielding their bounty … by sea, the country’s fishing villages have long hauled in a generous and delicious catch. Here are some of our favorite Croatian dishes.

Gridele. The “straight off the gridele” preparation of oily Adriatic fish is simply divine. The fish is grilled with olive oil and fresh Mediterranean herbs over the wood from old grapevines or olive trees, for a deeply flavored dish.

Brodet. This light Croatian fish soup imparts the flavors of whichever catch of the day is used to make it – perhaps a whitefish like flounder, John Dory or red scorpionfish, or crab and shrimp. Polenta is often served on the side.

Pasticada. This Dalmatian specialty beef stew is seasoned with bacon and a sauce of herbs and vegetables. Potatoes, gnocchi, pasta, or rice and Swiss chard are often served on the side.

Fuži. Truffles are native to the Istrian peninsula, a luxurious addition to many Croatian dishes. They add a deep earthy flavor to pasta dishes and are wonderfully complemented by local parmigiano cheese.

Zganci. This polenta-like side dish is made from maize, wheat or buckwheat flour. Cooked zganci is crumbled on a plate and served with milk, yogurt, honey, or even the cracklings from bacon.

Scampi Buzara. This common dish from the north Adriatic is simple to cook and messy to eat. Unshelled shrimps are tossed in a light tomato sauce with shallots, garlic, wine and parsley. Grilled bread sops up any leftover sauce.

Prsut. This air-cured ham in Croatia is similar to Italian prosciutto. It makes for a light appetizer or a flavorful enhancement to main dishes.

Istarska Jota. Also known as Istrian stew, this dish gets its heartiness from beans and sauerkraut and showcases the surprising influence of Austria on Croatia’s cuisine.

Pod Pekom. Sometimes referred to as “under the bell” cooking, this traditional method of slow-roasting meat is used in many homes. Poultry, lamb, veal, or octopus is placed atop chopped potatoes and drizzled with various Mediterranean spices and olive oil. Then a sacz, or steel dome lid, is placed over it all so that the ingredients cook in their own juices. It makes for an incredibly tender and flavorful meal.

Zelena Menestra. Dubrovnik’s traditional green stew is mentioned in writings as far back as 1480. This rich and hearty dish is prepared with lots of bacon, sausage, ham hock, potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables.

Palacinke. These thin pancakes are stuffed with different sweet fillings.

Fritule. These donut-like fried pastries are a popular sweet, flavored with brandy, raisins, and citrus zest, and dusted with powdered sugar.

Dubrovnik
EuropeSmall Group Discoveries

Take a Walk Around Dubrovnik, Literally

on February 14, 2020

To understand the civilized nature of those who governed the Republic of Ragusa—as the city of Dubrovnik was known from 1358 to 1808—look no further than the city’s motto. In Latin, it read, “Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro.” Liberty is not well sold for all the gold.

But the liberty and freedom of Dubrovnik required more than these simple high ideals to protect it from outside influence. It also needed a fortified wall. And so in the 14th century the early founders of the city, fresh off a strained allegiance to the Venetian Republic and recovering from the Black Death of 1348, began work on a barricade that would grow and evolve over hundreds of years. Today, it stands as one of the largest and most complete medieval walls in all of Europe. So solid was its construction that it was never breached. And so perfectly did it help preserve Dubrovnik that George Bernard Shaw, upon visiting in 1929, wrote, “If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik.”

It’s easy to understand Shaw’s enchantment. His sentiment was likely an appraisal of the city’s narrow byways and incredibly preserved buildings. But perhaps he also should have written a love poem to the wall; after all, it was the skill of its builders that brought Dubrovnik into the modern age virtually unscathed. Even after the walls were complete, city dwellers rebuilt or maintained it as it aged. It didn’t take long for word to spread of the mighty fortification surrounding Dubrovnik; the city soon gained a reputation as unconquerable throughout Europe and—more importantly—in the land-grabbing Ottoman Empire.

History, however, had other plans. Dubrovnik fell to the army of Napoleon in 1806 and later to Austria in 1814. The city remained part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until that kingdom’s dissolution with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I.

The region’s next major conflict, though devastating to the Old Town, tested the strength of the walls like never before. Tragically, almost 70% of the 824 red-roofed buildings within the fortifications were damaged by the Yugoslav People’s Army during the 1991 Siege of Dubrovnik. In retrospect, historians have said that the ancient walls held up better against modern weaponry than the more contemporary fortifications around the modern city. Were it not for the strength of those ancient ramparts, much more of the city would have been lost. Since those dark days, Dubrovnik’s Old Town has been lovingly restored.

Today, visitors can walk the entire perimeter of Dubrovnik’s walls—with magnificent views of the red-roofed, stone-cut city below and the sparkling waters of the Adriatic Sea beyond. The walls stretch for 6,360 feet, just over a mile, boast a maximum height of 82 feet, and feature several towers and bulwarks.

Gazing over the rooftops of Dubrovnik provides a remarkable and enlightening perspective. You’ll have bird’s-eye views of the Franciscan Monastery, the Placa main thoroughfare, the charming Old Harbor, the island of Lokrum just off the coast and of course the rocky shore lashed by Adriatic waves. The smaller details you’ll observe bring the city to life, too: children kicking a soccer ball around a schoolyard, laundry draped high above an alleyway or the clatter of kitchen plates through an open window.

It’s a stroll that gives immeasurable insight into this protective and unconquerable wall. Still today, life goes on within its sheltering embrace as it has for centuries.

Walk along Dubrovnik’s medieval ramparts during our Dalmatian Isles, Croatia & Slovenia trip!

Plitvice Lakes
EuropeSmall Group Discoveries

Plitvice Lakes: Gift of a Magic Queen

on February 10, 2020

Legend has it that some time long ago, the people who inhabited a dense forest in the Dinaric Mountains craved water. Their crops were drying up and they lived their days in thirst. And so one day under yet another cloudless, rainless sky, they called upon their magic queen for help. Hearing their plea, the merciful queen summoned the spirits to fill an earthen reservoir with water. The spirits answered with an abundant offering that filled the woodland basin to overflowing, causing water to spill over to form another lake down the hill … then another … and another … until a five-mile network of terraced lakes threaded its way through the forest like a glittering necklace.

Strolling through this spellbinding paradise of stepped lakes, you cannot help but feel as if you’ve found the key to an enchanted forest. More than a dozen lakes are linked by mossy waterfalls. The highest cascades are 230 feet and by the time the waters have made their journey from the first lake to the last, they have fallen 430 feet. One lake might shimmer a milky turquoise blue while another glimmers a green hue or a sludgy gray. It’s easy to imagine that tiny nymphs—or even the magic queen herself—reside in these woods. 

You will visit Plitvice Lakes during our Dalmatian Isles, Croatia & Slovenia small-group journey. Like many visitors, you’re sure to be smitten with their fairytale atmosphere. And you might be quite satisfied by the notion that this watery wonderland was conjured into being by a magic queen. But you might also like to know that each lake’s distinctive color is created by minerals, microorganisms, and the angle of the sun. And that UNESCO added them to its World Natural Heritage List in 1979 for their “outstanding natural beauty and the undisturbed production of travertine (tufa) through chemical and biological action.”

These magnificent lakes, you see—if you believe the geologists over the storytellers—were formed with the passing of millennia rather than with just one incantation. As waters flowed over limestone and chalk, they deposited rocky barriers along their pathway, creating a series of mossy natural dams. Behind the dams, water built up to create lake after beautiful lake. A rich and rare ecosystem evolved around this astonishing string of azure and aqua-green pearls. The European brown bear, lynx, golden eagle, wolf, lizard, and turtle call the lakes home. More than 50 mammal species, 320 types of butterfly, 157 bird species, and numerous fish make this a hugely diverse corner of Croatia.

You’re sure to fall under the spell of Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes, the enduring gift of a magic queen.