Svinisce, the hidden treasure

declaration of independence

2012-02-07T08:42:00.000+01:00

Today, the people of Modris, part of Svinisce, part of Omis, declared the independent republic of Modris (Republika Modris).

Not because we don't believe in the benefits of the state of Croatia, nor the upcoming membership of Europe, but just because of the simple fact that winter isolated us from the rest of the universe, the world and the country.
But as soon as we're reconnected to the rest of Dalmacija, we'll share their values again.
Untill the army, manpower, machines or sunny weather make it possible to join life in Croatia again, we will live in the Republic Modris, center of Europe.

Common values of concern, sharing and mutual support and help are things we value more than ever today, in our winter wonderland, with snow from kneedeep to the tip of your nose.
"Are you ok today" is a common question nowadays, "need help or food" is another one, and from Kilo's mouth yesterday sounded "me and Lero will fight the snow for some cigarets in Kucice".

On a normal day, under normal conditions, Kucice is about five kilometers by car, the airco buzzing, the radio singing, but these are not normal days nor normal conditions.
So he and Lero went for a "nice" walk, and returned after a couple of hours with the so much "needed" smokes.

And as we shared together in our gardenhouse the last couple of days, with the woodstove heating our bones, they came in from the white to join in our mutual meal.
Three days ago we started to cook and eat together, the first day with a delicious fish soup, the next day with a fantastic bean soup with smoked meat (all of it home made !!!) and yesterday with a large lasagna.

On the picture you see our "mayor", who's name is Kilo, one of the heroes that that "came from the white".
The bottles in front of his sleeping head are a gentle joke from our side, the view however behind him is as true as it can be.

So, "VIVA REPUBLIKA MODRIS, Center of Europe" but let's hope the next days the sun will raise temperature again to normal values, so we can share the values of Croatia again.

no smoking gun

2012-02-06T00:14:00.000+01:00

Due to snowy conditions you wo'nt see smoke coming out of the barbecue's gun.
We're isolated at the moment, not a bad thing at all, as we've got food for weeks, so every day we join with a couple of surrounding friends to enjoy lunch (marenda they say overhere).

At ten a clock I lite a good fire in the woodstove of the gardenhouse as round eleven folks come through the snow, which is from 0.5 meters to even 1.5 meters and on some spots even more.
Very rare indeed for Dalmacija, where winters can be cold up here (250 meters above sealevel), sometimes covered with a bit of snow, but this situation is extremely rare.

Even in Split, a town with about 200.000 people everything came to a halt, as even there they struggle through snow.
And for Split, with most roads and streets going up and down, that means "forget your car, no driving today (or tomorrow)".
Only some lunatics try it, and even for pedestrians it aint easy, resulting in about one hundred broken bone patients in the central hospital there.

I went for a walk today, had to be in that virgin snow to take some pictures, but believe me, it was a struggle, increasing my respect for those mountain monkeys (alpinists) that fight their way up Mount Everest, K2 or Nanga Parbat.
Lucky me, I was first, but being first also means going knee deep every step.

The walk was great, a low sun shining brightly, but I was "whiped out" after it.
Thanks Drajen, as he prepared today's meal, a fantastic beansoup with home made smoked meat and sausages in it.
Yesterday Kilo created a delicious fish meal, and as I like to cook (and learned once how to), I prepared a monster lasagna tonight, ready for tomorrow.
Heat up the oven to 120 C, and my lasagna comes out in less than half an hour, ready to be finished completely while overlooking our fantastic panorama, sitting around the table with the fire heating our bones.
So no smoke from the barbecue these days, but it can't always be summer.

Brrrrrrrr, snow's fantastic, but we did'nt move to Croatia to live in the snow.
So give us some sunny days again please, so I can add some CO2 to the system (sorry for the joke) while grilling some juicy steaks.

ten minutes from the Adriatic

2012-02-04T19:02:00.000+01:00

In the brochures they say the Adriatic coast with it's palmtrees, oranges and olives is a summerparadise.
Which is true !

However, we live (just) ten minutes behind the coastal mountainrig, about threehundred meters above sealevel.
And as you can see, the situation here is slightly "different" in winter.
Slightly different it is indeed, and very unusual too, as it may freeze some days overhere, there may fall some snow, but it never lasts long, as the sun brightens (and melts) any winterwonderland when it peeps over the mountainridge.

Today however, all of Dalmatia is suffering under extreme winter conditions, all schools are closed, most factories stopped and moving is a risky thing, even in the coastal city of Split.

Blocked from any possibility to go shopping, we are using our well stuffed stock, including things from the freezer and many dry beans, flour, sugar and preserved milk.

And what do people do when there is "nothing to do", right, we join in our gardenhouse, and prepare various delicious meals, carefully accompanied by a glass (or two) of local wines.

The panoramic view is great, the company fantastic, and the food delicious, so a bit more snow does not hurt.
Not to much please as it's already more than enough for a nice picture !
Pozdravi iz Svinisce.

watch it for..............

2012-01-16T00:26:00.000+01:00

................hunters, but first of all, I am not against hunting !
I like to eat my bit of meat, and coming from nature is even better than coming from one of those industrial "farms" where chickens or pigs or even cows are the best clients of the pharmaceutical industry.
Having said so, I want to add nothing in the food sectot today can be trusted, as salad "grows" on islands of plastic foam in a basin filled with computer controled nutricious water.
Especially my fellow countrymen (the Dutch) are vegetable wizzards !

For instance, once there was the tomato, a typical summerthing, red, juicy and tasty.
Growers and stores decided however, they should at least be "fresh" for a week or two.
So man created the dutch tomato, a waterfilled shamefull red ball.
And when clients protested, they created "NEW", "BETTER", "SPECIAL" and many more of that group of marketing misfits.
If you want, send me a mail for further details, but be prepared to receive a negative advice (don't eat things that are of no value to your system).

Back to the picture, showing a traffic sign that saw to many angry (or blind) hunters.
Or perhaps they first tested their skills and guns before stepping into nature, to try to shoot some bunnies (sorry, but in nature they are called rabbits of course).
And as nature here is true nature, wide and rough, there is a fair chance they spend a great morning in nature with not a single shot fired.
Which may frustrate some hunters, making them into "traffic sign killers".

What's the logic in this little story, I must admit, there aint !
I broke six ribs recently in a silly accident, forcing me to stop making plans, doing things or even dream of it.
So what does one do when there's nothing to tell ?

Right, so till in a couple of weeks I hope !

another part of the world

2012-01-03T22:11:00.000+01:00

Not even for a moment I hesitated to share this picture with you, however it's not from our Croatian neighbourhood.
For those who are interested, see: http://croatia-eolivas.blogspot.com/The story behind it is worth sharing.
The person making this (and many other pictures) is Elisa, a charming lady with young daughter Beli and husband Davor.
Coming from the United States, they lived a while in Croatia, where Davor was born and grew up before moving to the states to study.
And me, always scrolling the internet for interesting connections to Croatia, I got "hooked" to their story, giving an inside view on Croatia through their eyes.

The three returned to America, loaded with impressions of a beautifull country, but urged to live in the USA simply because the chances of finding a decent job still are a lot better overthere than in Croatia.
(Still one of the biggest problems in Croatia/Dalmatia is unemployment, especially under well educated young folks).

I never stopped following their story, many times with great pictures and nice stories, and like this picture, a "must show" because it's simply amazing !!!

Thanks Elisa, for letting us share your many finest moments.

spring 2012 is in the air

2012-01-01T04:21:00.000+01:00

In case you did'nt know, spring is in the air again, this time in 2012.
So Happy Newyear and let's head for spring !!!

a new year, a million years !

2011-12-29T18:15:00.000+01:00

Another year coming, a million years of geological history in a single cave gone by.
The name of the cave: SPILJA VRANJACA, and trust me, it's a beauty !

About half an hours drive from Split, and a bit more from our area.
The cave is worth a visit for sure, and even worth more on a hot summer day, as temperature in it is at a steady 15 C. during all year.
Formed over many, many thousands of years (and still growing with every drop that falls) this picture only shows one of the numerous pictures you'll see.

And if the owner, called Marco, has the time for it, he'll shwo you around with many details he only knows to share with you.

The cave itself is a beauty, entering and walking around in pure delight is easy to every person, young or old, and should there be somebody in your group that does not dare to enter the cave, the surroundings are fantastic too.
Any lover of nature and anybody wanting to experience a "wow feeling" deep below the surface, just go for it, even if you rather lay on the beach.

And apart from the cave and its surroundings, Marco Punda, the owner, is a most friendly person who loves to share his love for this special place and it's unspoiled natural atmosphere.
And he might offer you a small drink, a so called domaci orachovic, a strong drink made from rakia, green wallnuts, some orange and many more various things, as everybody has his own way of making it.
His however is special, with a surprising green color and a charming taste (however still strong).

Happy newyear, another year for the cave to grow, drop after drop.

flying in or out

2011-12-24T13:21:00.000+01:00

Santa almost knocking on the door, newyear coming soon.
Even the longest night in the northern hemisphere has been again.
So, let's go, heading for another year after the christmas diner has been joyed.

For me these last days of the year are even more "special" than expected.
I fell from a small roof and broke six ribs.
Another experience to write about ?
No..........I want to forget it as soon as possible.

Let's celebrate Christmas, as believers or just because it's finally quiet and peacfull for a moment.And than, let's start a new year, with lots of great moments.Flying in or Flying out, it's all just a matter of looking at it.

Till next, and all the best to all of you, pozdravi iz Svinisce, Sretan Bozic i Novi Godina.

just a door

2011-12-11T19:50:00.000+01:00

Just a simple door, but the more you look, the more you see.I took this picture one day at the foothills of Mosor Mountains, in a deserted small town called Skocebi (hope I say it well).The place is reachable by car and foot, and worth an hours walk to see and feel a bit of it's history, however it's without inhabitants today.During the industrial revolution many people were invited to move to the coast, where the former socialist government had planned and built factories.Clever indeed, they offered modern housing, with tap water and electricity, a giant improvement for those who were used to catch the rainwater whenever they could.Not to mention electricity or heating in cold seasons.Life up there was harsh in those days, with no other transport than feet or donkeys, and whatever needed had to be grown, harvested and preserved in and around the house.Still today it's a regular habit for many people around us to be as self supporting as possible, growing their own vegetables, grapes for wine and olives for oil.Having chickens is a normal thing, mostly for the eggs, sometimes for their meat, and many (not all) keep pigs from autumn to winter.Just yesterday at many homes around us the pigs were slaughtered and the meat prepared for excellent pancetta and prsut (the delicious smoked dried ham).But today that's more a good tradition than a must.And don't forget that many (if not most) places today have good roads, electricity, telephone, internet and tap water.Many times when walking or driving around I am impressed by all signs in the landscape from those days when people worked all those small patches of land, higher on the slopes, moving stones, building walls, carrying water when needed, to grow whatever was needed to feed the family.And again, those slopes are pretty hot during summer days, and cold as ice during winter season. To me it's all beautiful to see, great to look around, discovering details you might not even think of.A simple wooden door it is, but look a bit better to see that little cross carved in the wood.Think back for a moment, to when some man (I guess) carved it, to ask for a blessing for his family.Just a door indeed.Just ????(click on the picture to enlarge it)

not yet !

2011-12-05T23:29:00.000+01:00

The weather overhere has been mild and pleasent untill now.
Hardly any rain, with day temparatures up to sixteen degrees celcius and more in the sun.
(In the shade it was rather fresh, but who wants sit in the shade on days like these).

Today started with a drizzle, still with views for miles and miles, clearly showing the cloud capped mountaintops around us.
And at the very moment I write this, the rain increesed and some thunder from far away sounds.

Thunder here can be pretty impressive when it's nearby.
As we're living between mountainrigs and slopes, thunder not only stays a bit longer, it echoes tremendously, all together making it to Dante's hell for a while, but even than, it's a fantastic experience.

The picture shows what has to come still, snow, and however the current weather is far from cold, it can be pretty cold overhere, with real snow for a couple of days, making a drive down to town a tricky expedition.
No problem, we are prepared for a couple of days on our own, with rice, beans, wine, meat and canned vegetables for "just in case".

And even better, when snow coveres our valley, most people stay home from their jobs (impossible to take the trip), and go out into nature, having a fantastic time out in a winter wonderland.

Snow here never stays long, and as soon as it's gone, it's time to drive down to the coast for a cup of espresso between the palms at the beach.
Yes, that's one of the great things here, the diversity of weather and micro climates.
And still, after "our"snow has gone, it's less than half an hours drive, to go up Biokovo Mountain, where the snow stays most of winter, and not just those centimeters we enjoy here.

What can one wish, with all these pleasures around ?
Nothing, as far as I know !
Yep, that's Dalmatia, also in wintertime a great place to be.

hvala bogu, it works again

2011-12-05T22:40:00.000+01:00

For some silly reason the functions between Picasa and Blogger did not do what I wanted them to do.Hvala bogu (thank God) it works again, so here's a tiny update of life in our hidden valley.Life goes as it's meant to be here for us, slowly and in total peace.Yesterday I prepared a delicious meal for our best friends/neighbors, with a roast of young pig, a potato dish from the oven, cream and cheese to make it rich and tasty, traditional pears from holland (stoofpeertjes we call them), a dish of mushrooms and bacon, salad, and for desert a pie called "tarte tatin".All of it was fantastic, and we shared a delicious meal together, seated around the kitchen table, while the woodstove heated our bodies.Life is great overhere, social life even greater !!And however today it's raining, who cares, as we've got loads of books to read, and always something to do.We installed a washing machine, a dryer, a freezer, and next job is to create some space to get some of the many boxes from their storage in a garage in Omis.But first I have to finish a "little" job I am working on, building some extra storage behind our gardenhouse.Never did that before, but with some advise from friends and neighbors I'm perfectly pleased by the result so far.With no experience as a carpenter, nor in welding, nor in building jobs, I can tell you, you never know until you try !And I do know now, with some good thinking in advance and no fear for beginners mistakes, you can do ANYTHING.(The kitchen on the picture above is history, as it's now a perfect place to enjoy my cooking skills).

SORRY, some failure in blogger blocks new entries

2011-11-05T22:59:00.004+01:00

At last, time to (re-)start blogging again about our small life in a small valley.
For those of you who missed new entries, sorry but everything has a reason.

So sorry, but new entries in this blog are impossible at the moment.Due to some failure trying to upload new pictures and writing small tales to them is impossible.When uploading a picture from Picasa to Blogger (both Google products), there appears a message saying:"memcache is null for FormRestoration", what ever that may be.I posted a question to Google's brilliant Einstein clones (and many other people have the same problem, but until now no reply came.This message I cleverly entered by editing my most recent post (hope it works so you're informed), new posts however have to wait till some one in the Google offices gets away from the coffe corner and does what I and those many others need, a perfect connection between two Google products.In the near future I truly hope to enter some new stuff to "Svinisce, the hidden treasure".Till that moment it will be the perfectly hidden treasure.If anybody has a clue how to solve this problem (I tried various tricks already) please mail at my address in the header of this blog.Have a great day, wherever you may live, life is good, and good feelings are worth sharing !!!By the way, we finally moved to Dalmatia, and believe me, the last two/three month we had a hell of a job !
Moving from tulips (and wooden shoes) to olives and the Adriatic takes a bit more action than just packing for a holiday.
All of our belongings were put into a large (and I mean large truck)and after it arrived in Croatia we had to somehow put it all away in our small house, the garden house and even a rented garage.
And still we are trying to get things arranged a bit, to make some sort of "normal" life possible.

Won't bother you with the load of things to arrange, our visa checked over here, everything cleared by the customs people, pay for this and that (and some extra as this still is Croatia) and a lot more.
I even refuse to tell much about the nice weather here, except that day we had to empty the truck and found that rain here means RAIN !!!
Enough to say we had a lot of friendly help, packing in Holland, unloading in Croatia, and lucky us, wetter than wet that day, we dried up already that evening, getting wet inside together with friends, and next day, sitting in the sun again, all that wetness was forgotten.

And slowly our "new" life here gets going, with many great friends around us, and a (n)ever changing view on the mountains all around us.
Even on a lesser day it's a joy to sit outside for a moment and look at the continuously changing panorama of a never changing Mosor Mountain.

We people may change, world economy may change rapidly, even life may change, but life over here, in our hidden valley hardly changes, with core values that come from ages ago and are worth to preserve into the future.
We have the intention to take part in life here, in a small social community, till it's time to say thanks, over and out.
Let's hope that moment is still far away, as we still have a lot to like and love.

I will absolutely keep you informed through this blog in the weeks, months and years to come, not only to give you an inside view on our personal life here, but also to inspire you a bit with what makes life worth living here in Dalmatia.
As this is far more than (just) a great country to have a fantastic holiday, and in case you come on holidays, plan to at least once take a trip into all those small valleys and small places where in my opinion) the REAL feel of Croatia is felt.

Thanks for your patience over the last couple of months, and keep following my little stories.
And anybody wanting to be in touch, feel free to drop me a line at pimdevosATgmail.com.
Till next.

a confederate in Svinisce

2011-08-07T18:32:00.000+02:00

Jordan is the name, and no, I am not a relative of that other Jordan (Michael).

If live a bit above the author of this blog, overlooking their piece of land, and I used to be (and never forgot) a welder and ironworker.
So whenever somebody needs some job done in steel, I am the man to call for, as whatever the job, I'll create a solution that not only looks perfect but is perfect, lasting for ages.

Together with wife and sons I live an easy going retired life on one of the higher slopes of this valley called Modris (part of Svinisce).
And lucky us, we see a bit more of the sun, even in wintertime, but that's the benefit of living a bit higher on the ladder :-)

One of my sons serves as a waiter on a cruiseship, which brought him to the States once, where he bought me this confederate cap, and being a present of my son, I proudly wear it !
(And I could'nt care less about north or south, east or west, it's just a great cap and a great gift).

put on your singing shoes and sing !!!

2011-08-07T11:31:00.001+02:00

Yesterday we visited our best friends in Podstrana, a village between Split and Omis.

They had their summerparty there, with lots of people, lots of food and drinks, lots of music, sining and dancing.

These gatherings take place in any vivid town or village each year, specially in summer, when the weather is fine.

Podstrana is somehow a special thing, as the town is divided in two pieces, one along the coastal road, more up to date, with lots of appartmenthouses, lots of tourism, lots of modern life, noisy and busy.

The other part of Podstrana, high up the mountainside, is the original settlement, going back centuries, and even in the old days part of the very first documented republic in this area.
The Repuplik Poljica was founded hundreds of years ago and managed to stay untouched by invasions from all sides, among which the Ottomans, one of the strongest invasions in the Balkan in history (but there where many more).

Each and every group manifested on this gathering, the fishers, the hunters, the youthclubs and the elderly folks, and they had a great night together, while the skies where clear, temperature just perfect (for another cold beer) and the food truly perfect (not for tourists but themselves, so it was excellent).

The traditional shoes in the picture where on the feet of a traditional singinggroup that performed that night.
Times change, even in Podstrana, but traditions are not forgotten here, as they are on the basis of this and every society.
Even when Croatia enters the European Union, because respect for traditions is what makes life here unique, even in modern times.

put it in the ground and take it out (after a while)

2011-08-06T17:31:00.001+02:00

One of the small delights of living in Croatia is growing your own organic food.
Anything you put in the ground here, after a while (and some tlc) gives a nice harvest.

Not being experienced in agriculture at all, I sometimes ask my neighbours how and waht to do, the rest is just "wait and see".

Were we already eating our own cucumbers, tomaties and melons, this seems to be the right time to take the potatoes I planted out again.
A bit late in the planting season while we arrived a bit later than planned, there are a lot of smaller ones, but also an excellent amount of bigger potatoes, and the smaller ones will be eaten as well, either by us or by the pigs of our neighbours.

Nothing gets thrown away, everything has its value.

Already the ground is being prepared to plant cabbage, so even the winterseason will provide us with genuin quality vegetables, and still the sugarcorn, carrots and lots of fresh kitchenherbs are growing and rewarding us for their daily splash of water.
Chemical stuff is hardly used (not because I am anti), just in case it looks some additional help is needed to kill the coloradobeetles, I help mother nature a bit with some minimal cropprotection.

Not a farmer, I am (we are) pleased to see things pop up out of nothing, kissed by the sun we also like, so while the plants are growing, we drive down to the beach or the borders of the river, to jump in either warm seawater or nice clear cool riverwater.

Living up here in our hidden valley behind the mountains, I keep repeating over and over, is just fantastic.
Our air is clean, our skies are wide, our only noise is from crickets and birds, we see foxes and rabbits (not many), and still we are within reach of anything we like or need from outside our hidden paradise.

Advise to anyone planning to visit Dalmatia:
rent something on the backside of the coastal mountains, and enjoy this unique country at the Adriatic from both sides.
You won't regret it, trust me !!!!!

(Anyone in need of some additional information, see my mailaddress in the header of this blog)

once a year, they all smile

2011-07-24T19:01:00.004+02:00

Even pigs smile on what's called "Dan selo Svinisce".
On that day in july all people that live or used to live in our village gather for the village party.

Being one of them now, of course I went up to the village centre to celebrate the connection to this quiet lovely and lively valley with all others.
And however the weather was a bit unusual, less warm after a rainy day, a footballmatch on tv between Hajduk Split and Barcelona, still a lot of people came up our little mountain to where the cafe, balotteclub and church are.

There, in the centre of the cluster of small villages that form Svinisce, we joined for drinks, food, music, singing and dancing, and most of all, to meet old and new friends, all connected to Svinisce.

And once more, this party proved that however small, Svinisce is alive and kicking.
Did many people in the recent past leave to find a job at the coast or even in other countries, many of them return to join, and many return to live a quiet quality life up here after a busy life.

And right they are, as here there is no stress, the air is clean, the views fantastic and the homegrown vegetables, wine, oliveoil and meat make life a party, day after day.

Ten minutes from the Adriatic, with the Cetina River five minutes below us (both out of sight), this is an increadible place to enjoy life.
For the residents, but also for tourists, as these surroundings offer the excellent combination of total peace and action, with evenings that are far better than those at the coast, as here the air cools down in the evening, while at the seaside the heat sticks to your allready sunburned skin.

Croatia is fine, Dalmatija is fantastic, but there always is a champion, a number one, and that is Svinisce, where even the pigs smile, at least once a year :-).

To see more pictures (not all as good I am sorry to say), click here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/pimdevos/DanSeloSvinisce2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCLS-38jy0tiZVA

hi, my name is Katarina

2011-07-17T23:17:00.001+02:00

Here's me and my grandfather, my name is Katarina and his is Andelco.

I am the youngest daughter of his son in law, and my grandfather is not only a great grandfather but the best friend you can have !

He used to be a sailor, but came home to start a family and take over the responsabilty for the family land.
Not only he makes a great red wine, but also excellent prsut-ham, and his own oliveoil.
And if that was all, he and his wife Susana take care of many jobs in the garden and on the land, as almost everything the family eats comes from own harvest.

Still that aint all as Susana has a dayjob in a textile firm, and Andelco runs his own busines, repairing all electric tools used in the building industry.

So lots of work, from early in the morning till late in the evening, making long days with hardly a private moment.

But it's all worth it, as you can see in this picture, taken at one sunday when all of the family gathered to share a great meal.
If you know how to keep in touch with these vallues of life, you're lucky !

And lucky we are, living in our hidden valley, in a small village called Modris, part of Svinisce, part of Omis, part of Dalmacija, part of Croatia, soon to be part of Europe.
AND.......lucky to have friends like Andelco and Susana, like family to us !

And however important for Croatia to become the next memberstate of the European Union, let's stick to those basic values, almost more important than progress in a healthy European economy, with a better future for small children like Katarina.
As money can't pay for these golden moments, not even the Euro !

SHARE, that's the golden word

2011-07-17T22:57:00.000+02:00

Today the whole family of our best friends here gathered around the table to join in a feast of good food.

And while writing this, from at least to spots in our valley sounds singing, so they where not the only ones !

The gathering started around twelve in the day, first having homemade prsut (typical dalmatian ham, a true delicacy), cheese, homemade pickles and salad from own garden.
Some bread, some drinks, and good company to share it all with.

After the first dish came a soup, also homemade, and after the soup the meat that made the soup.
Here it's usual to first cook the soup, with large chunks of good meat and lots of vergetables picked from the garden, and after serving the soup, the meat is served as a separate dish.

Was that all, sorry to say as I am not a stuffer but an enjoyer, but thank God, we had a break, to enjoy the peacefull day in our hidden valley, drinking, chatting and relaxing.

After a while, we were invited to join around the table again, as the roast lamb was served, togehter with green salad, marvelous tomatoes and cucumbers, all of it again from own harvest.
The pleasure went on and on and on, I was getting to feel like a stuffed turkey already, but no, there was a variety of homemade strudle (applepie), cookies and coffee.
And had that been it, I would have said thanks a million, but of course there was homemade brandy to finish it all.

The young folks played basketball, the elder ones (like me) just sat down, trying to keep breathing, while the sun went down in our peacefull hidden valley in Dalmacija, where sharing is the magic word !

Tomorrow we'll have an off day, with a sandwich I guess.
And the day after tomorrow we share again, this time to harvest the potatoes together, as that is shared too.

how to become addicted ?

2011-07-17T22:07:00.005+02:00

Try one of them wines, from www.krauthaker.com and you're addicted.
Especially their white wines have got me by the balls, (and I love it !!)

Living in Croatia (Dalmacija) aint hard for me, loving the good things of life after a rather busy working life. And once you know where to go, everything you want to eat or drink is pure, well tasting and truly a pleasure to share in this blog, so you know it too.
Sure, Croatia is great for holidays, but there are so many secrets to share with visitors that come to this fantastic country, you might never discover if you keep your dark sunglasses on, lying on your back.

So here's another one you should know and try before you leave (to come back).
Of course drinking in this warm country is a normal thing, being Jamnica sparkling water, a cold Karlovacko beer or a glass of wine.
Slowly discovering the wines produced by each and everyone around us (EVERYBODY here makes his own), I also had to try a couple from the local stores and supermarkets.
Local red wines here are mostly nice to excellent, white wines however come from slightly cooler parts of Croatia, especially from Slavonija, the north-eastern part near the Hungarian border.

First drinking a Grasevina from various cellars, I got a newsletter fron a wine expert called Cliff Rames of "wines of croatia".
Wanting to know as much as possible about this country, his newsletter gave me a good introduction to Croatian wine industry.
One moment he was writing about a famous wine maker called Krauthaker, so I decided to try theirs too.

Bang............wham..........thanks Cliff, as that's waht I call excellent white wine !
From the very first glass on, I was (and am) impressed, addicted, in love.
Their various Grasevinas are outstanding, and if you don't try it you'll never understand why I keep writing this blog, sharing small secrets about the true face of Croatia.

Still reading, well than read on, as I payed a visit to their website, and was surprised by the range of wines they harvest and pamper.
Once I knew what to look for, I went shopping for their Grasevina and got me a Pinot Sivi too, and OH LORD, another Godgiven discovery !
Not being a specialist on wines, just a lover of good stuff, you'll have to go to that blog by Cliff or the Krauthaker website, as they'll give you all those details specialists (and snobs) love so much.

I am just the pianoplayer, the guy in the middle, the secret enjoyer of life as it is here, and gladly sharing it with a couple of followers on this blog.
So now you know why you must see Croatia from another angle.
The beaches are great, so is the food, people are most friendly and nature is stunning, as are towns like Split, Trogir, Dubrovnik (however crowded in summer) and many more.
BUT......and still a thousand more reasons to come to Croatia, ......those Krauthaker wines might just pull you over the line.

And if not ever for some reason a visitor of this lovely country, go to your local wine seller and ask, no order !! them to get some of those fantastic wines !
After tasting those, you might just have another good reason to not go to New York, London or Bali.
Croatia, soon to become a member of the European Union, thousand islands, thousand discoveries !
And by reading this post, you just discovered one of them.
Cheers !

ps.
When the weather is hotter than hot, do like the locals do, mix your wine with some mineral water.
Don't look so shocked please, it still tastes great and refreshes a lot better without getting tipsy to quick.
(And the pleasure is twice as long for the same price: less than seven euros or ten us-dollars a bottle).

oh that beautiful Cetina river

2011-07-13T09:29:00.002+02:00

Not even that far a drive inland, this section of the Cetina river shows its true beauty.
Drive direction Sinj, or even better, follow the signs directly to Blato na Cetina.
For sure there will be a moment to have to cross the river over a higher bridge.
STOP THERE, and don't forget your camera.
(Click on this picture to enlarge it).

Looking upstream the river is slowly flowing through a "french" landscape, already a fantastic view, with trouts straight below you hunting for insects swimming over shallow water, as clear as a bottle of mineral water (which it is).

Than turn your head to the downstream side of the bridge, where this picture was taken.
Here the river speeds down, with a large sandy beach on the right.
To me an amazing and fantastic location, reason to share it with you.
You will see underwater parts of ancient bridging, and even you'll realise that this very spot was once in use by Roman legions, entering the land from the seaside.
The whole place here breathes history, and no surprise, an archeological researchteam discovered a stunning treasure of historicaly important artefacts going back to Illyrian times, before and after, which can be seen in any museum in Dalmatia.
(Trilj, for instance, the town you passed on your way to Grab, once was the settlement of two large Roman Legions, still visible in the landscape, however much was destroyed by Ottoman and other invasions long ago).

For those wanting to see more of this fantastic river, drive towards Grab, a small village at the smaller river called Grab (yes indeed, river and village are called the same).
The place is special as the Grab river pops up from a spring directly from under the rocky slopes of the mountains all around.

However small the spring in summer, it rapidly fills the river, and soon the river flows thorugh a troutfarm (yes you can buy some there) and next it drives an ancient watermill, still milling today.
That spot is a MUST see, and again, take your camera as the owner gladly shows you the inside ande the milling proces.

After the watermill the river Grab flows on, entering the river Ruda, which after a little while enters the Cetina River.
If still eager to see more of the Cetina, drive up, keeping the right upstream side, between the high mountains of Dinara (border to Bosnia) and the river.
Through an ever changing landscape, all of it unspoiled and beautifull, sometimes over gravel roads, you can drive all the way to the very beginning of the Cetina, passing the artificial lake Perusco Jezero, born to supply you and me of electric power for our airco and tv set.
The spring of it is unique, a large intense blue and clear deep hole where a continuous flow of pure clean water rises from hundreds of meters deep.

Take your time to walk around a bit, do even take a walk on the ancient graveyard, have a look at those old restingplaces, or even better, the oldest known church in Croatia (details available on the church).

Driving how you can speed up a bit, as following the river downstream, you can take the normal road other traffic drives also.
And in about one and a half hours drive you're back in Omis, where the river ends in the Adriatc Sea.
Hope you do follow my invitation to explore the hinterland (called Zagora here), as Croatia's beauty is found for fourty percent at the Adriatic, the other sixty percent are hidden for the blind.
And you're not blind anymore now.

fire jumps "sveti ivan"

2011-06-25T22:05:00.005+02:00

Sveti Ivan (Saint Ivan or in Dutch Sint Vitus) is a moment to tell a bit about.
Celebrating this saint, one of the so many in catholic church that are all celebrated here in Croatia, is mixed with an old tradition to create a large fire to jump over it.
The jumps must be done three times, and everytime one has to shout out an old phrase:
od ivana do ivana
gre gre gre
da me ruke, noge i glava
nikada ne zabole.

The meaning of it all is to "ask" this saint to protect you from breaking your legs, arms, head, but as far as I can remember I did three jumps, I shouted out loud those words, but still today I had a gigantic headache (in modern medicine called a true hangover).

Since we have a lot of open land, it's safe to start a fire here, still being carefull not to start a wildfire !!, and enough space to seat all friends and neighbours be
invited, as jumping over a fire may be nice (or usefull), it's even better to roast
some meat, and join in an open air party (25 degrees C. at night), with of course
enough alcoholic "wetties" to keep you totally numb the next day (me at least).

And of course, as this is DALMACIJA, there is lot of singing, every song sang along by everyone, accompanied by an accordeon, and each and every song with a longer if not long history.
The country may be getting ready to join the European Union (which is a good thing in my opinion), it still holds a tight connection to its values and traditions.
And that is also something that is of the highest importance !!
Let's move into a new era, where a vital economy can help people to make a
good living, still, hold on tight to those fantastic traditions that make Croatia
unique and worth to be living in.
Thanks to all our neighbours and friends in Svinisce, who joined the party and added to it with some bottles and more important, with their best mood and a lot of songs.

(ps. this text is a bit "out of control", next one will be edited as usual).

another little secret to share

2011-06-23T10:29:00.002+02:00

Dried figs, just dried figs.

Forget it, as these figs, locally picked and dried are not on the market.
Each neighbour here produces a lot of private food and drinks, all of it grown on their own land, carefully taken care of and as little artificial additives as possible (why kill yourselve ?).

These figs, growing all around here, cultivated or in the wild, are handpicked, dried carefully in the sun, turning them upside down day after day.
When the sun goes down or when rain is expected they stay inside, waiting for another day in the sun.

After some time they are ready for the next step, dipping them three times rapidly in salty Adriatic seawater.
Three times, no more, no less, and back into the sun again.

When perfectly dry (it takes a skilled eye), they are packed in thick paper bags (no plastic, it must be brown paper), with between every portion some leaves of laurel, also growing here like "asphalt in a city".

The result is absolutely fantastic, sweet with a memory of salt in it, riche an delicate, nutricious and an excellent cure for those who have a "bathroom-problem".

Commonly the day here is started with a couple of these, a glass of travarica (homemade booze with herbs), and believe me, there are lesser ways to start your day.

Life's great, when you live in Svinisce, Dalmacija, Hrvastka !

biokovo, biokovo, go to biokovo !

2011-05-30T23:08:00.001+02:00

One of the amazing mountains in our direct neighbourhood is called Biokovo Nature Park.

Any other country would call it a National Park, but Croatia already has a lot of National Parks, so it created a second and a third category.
Top type are the National Parks, like Krka waterfalls, Plitvice likewise, the Kornati islands and many more.

Second category parcs like Biokovo are stunning areas of immense nature like Biokovo, pure, wild, rough and of excellent quality.

And than there's a third and even more categories, as Croatia loves its nature, has a lot of it, and (most of the time) conserves and protects it all very well.
(Not always, as H.S.-Hrvatski Sume-Croatian Woods, the national organisation sometimes is a bit to much a lumberjack in stead of protector).
Having said so, most Croatian nature is pristine and as natural as nature can be.

OK, so Biokovo, the wide, rough mountainridge going as high as 1800 mtrs. above sealevel, offers a fantastic day or even many days to those visiting Dalmacija.
If staying between lets say Split and Makarska, plan at least a day to visit this mountain.
There is a good narrow road going up, but don't make the mistake most visitors make, driving all the way to the top, as you'll discover it's crowded there, and to tell you the truth, just half way up it's much more impressive than all the way up.
(And however the road going up is of good quality, you might wet your pants once in a while, especially when an other driver comes from opposite direction, just at a steep vertical scary section).

Driving half way up, you can choose to start a hike going many directions, going south or north or northeast, where south takes you towards the coast, with a fantastic view over the Adriatic deep below you, or north-east into the truly rough nature, where you might have the luck to encounter a bear (hardly, if any), a boar/wild pig (fair chance), a jackal (lucky you) or a chamotte or wild mountain goat (go early, you'll see one or two).
And than there are small groups of "wild" horses, like those on the picture, a fantastic view indeed.

Much more nature is around you at every moment, going from birds to reptiles and a broad range of flowers and plants, some endemic alpine specimens, all of it marvelous to see and enjoy.

Be aware when stepping into nature here, as this is true NATURE !!!!
Take at least half a liter of water per person, some sunprotection to cover your head, a mobile phone, and check the weatherforcast before you go (change comes quick here).

Prepare to have a fantastic day, you'll love Biokovo as much as I do.
And if as lucky as me (living nearby), try to come back out of season, let's say somewhere between october and march, when thick snow covers the tops and slopes.
Than have an espresso between the palmtrees at the seaside of Makarska, look up to those snowtopped summits, get going and finish your day with a grilled fish or a pizza when the sun goes down over the Adriatic.
Have a great time in Dalmatia/Dalmacija, and discover it's hiding many treasures.

a bit to close for comfort

2011-05-30T01:25:00.000+02:00

I wrote about it before, it\s pure nature around us.

Even while it's only ten minutes down to the more civilised coast, where we do our daily shopping, here, up the mountain, into our little valley, it's truly nature.

To prove this statement (who believes me anyhow), here's wat just a day ago was a wild living jackal, that came a bit to close for comfort.

Hunters here are truly excellent hunters, they know their surroundings very well and the ones I know don't need binoculars to see details I will never ever see.

Our friend Pero, about daily checks around in the fields, the woods and on the slopes of the mountainridge (Omiska Dinara) between us and the sea.

And however it's known that jackals live in Croatia (on Peljesac for instance), it's rather uncommon to see them here, as it may be nature all around here, there are people living here too in small villages, so some disturbance occurs.

Nevertheless recently a bear seems to have been spotted (extremely unusual here), but our area is connected to larger areas like Biokovo and Mosor, and even the hinterland is interconnected, so anything can migrate into our area and "try to make a living".

Some however, are not welcome, as bears and jackals are risky and a problem to farm animals and even humans.

Bears, wolves and lynx are protected by law, jackals and foxes lack that protection.

Being an expat from the Netherlands where nature is less than nothing, I truly like to know these animals occur in the wild, but than, I am a romantic guy who loves nature in every aspect, being snake, bird, fish or flower.

So to me a dead jackal is a sad thing, but I can imagine people here don't want nature to be to close.

We call that NIMBY (not in my back yard), and used to shout that to those politicians who wanted to "protect" us with atomic bombs.

Still, it's a dead animal and I rather see them alive, but better to protect yourselve with a simple selective bullit than with an atomic bomb, or those horrible landmines that are still threatening many innocent people on the Balkan today (in parts of Croatia and Bosnia).

it's a small world (in a big one)

2011-05-29T10:07:00.002+02:00

Look, and look again !
Here, in the centre of Europe, between the mountains, lives a small society.
Not a big deal, you may say, but believe me, it IS !!!!

Today, everybody knows how to use Google Earth, still an amazing thing for sure, and I use it frequently too.
But to really know, I mean REALLY know, you must try to imagine what it's like to live here, between nature, mountains and a small group of people.

Google can give you an impression, I can give you my words in this post to tell you a bit about life here, from hour to hour and day to day, still, the best is to come over to be in it.

With a little hangover :-( after yesterday evening, I can tell you it's most fantastic to live here, down in the middle of this picture.

Yesterday was saturday, the day that everybody here uses to work his garden to take care of potatoes, melons, onions, tomatoes, olives and grapes.

All around us, our small valley is full of voices and birds singing, and under the mediterranian sun the day slowly passes untill it's about five a clock.
That's the moment I, we, everybody, put down the tools, closes waterpipes and sits down to overlook the results of another day well spent in the garden.
And THAT's the moment we gather to drink a beer (cold), talk a bit, eat some fresh roasted almonds (warm crunchy and salty), and share the energy and happiness of life here.

Later that evening our friends came over to join for dinner with us, so I prepared some salad straight from the land, made pommes frites also direct out of the ground into the fryingpan, put some well marinated chicken and pork on the grill and started to dig in.
And, as some of our neighbours stayed till the sun went down, we put some extra dishes on the table, as shared fun is still the very best.

One of the neighbours that had to leave after the shared happy hour, sent his son the bring us a bottle of his own wine, as a small gift to us sitting around the table for the meal.

Friendship, shared dinner, the sound of crickets and nightingales, a couple more glasses (stupid me), it became eleven, twelve, half past twelve and maybe a bit later, we lived, we enjoyed, we slept, and look !!!!!, another day in paradise just started it all over again.

Lucky me, as sunday is still sunday here, nobody works, no noise of tractors or grasscutters, birds and silence is all I need today, and it could'nt be better than it is, a small world in a big one.

ps.
Relax a bit, go for a simple walk, might even find the energy to hop into my canoo to slowly discover a bit of the Cetina river (five minutes down below us), or go to the beach with a book and put one foot into the water to check the temperature.
A drink today ?
No thanks, coffee will do !!!!

right of way

2011-05-24T00:23:00.000+02:00

Traffic in Croatia sometimes seems a bit extraordinary (and it is).

Don't shoot me for telling the truth (my truth), and sorry for all those perfectly normal drivers that fill cars and roads.
They are absolutely normal, sure, and most of them drive like any other person in any other country (except people from Amsterdam, who drive like idiots from the day they are born).

There is however in Croatia a category you may call outlaws, and the difficulty is that they may be in a car, on a motorbike or a scooter, so it aint easy to recognise them on sight.
Even a sticker "beba u auto" does not help you devide the normal ones from the complete idiots.

Don't worry however, you'll find out soon, as those testosteron loaded supermachos drive like idiots.
Left, right, rules, what rules, speedlimits, come on, machines are made to kill, if not somebody else, than at least yourselve.

The closer you come to a big city like Split, the stronger the feeling that there is something completely wrong in the air there, and during weekends the problem spreads to the coastal road called Magistrale, where you romantic visitors like to slowly drive along the Adriatic.
"Ahhhh, did you see that delightfull gar......." WHIEEEEUUUWWWwwww, as at that moment some supermacho on a Kawasaki or Suzuki comes screaming through your world, heading for heaven behind the next corner.

Please do enjoy this beautifull coast, it is worth a trip, but be aware that there are some cowboys on the roads, and it's better that I tell you, than you discovering it the hard way.

Since gunfights are a typical American thing (the pictured traffic sign is just because we have many blind hunters :-), young macho drivers here use machines in stead of machineguns.
Still scary, still dangerous as hell, but now I warned you, you don't have to be afraid anymore.

Drive carefully, use your seatbelts, don't drink, use your airco, be alert at all times and enjoy the scenery, as it's FANTASTIC !

PS.
Driving machos are not a typical Croatian thing of course, only there are many of them here, so be aware, also for blind hunters.

this land is my land

2011-05-22T17:44:00.001+02:00

Yes folks, it's been a while since Triny Lopez sang this song.
(Guess I am getting old).

It just came to my mind when I was walking a bit in total sunday silence over our land here, traditionally the day that people don't work (catholics).
And "hvala bogu" (thank god), being a non believer, that also goes for me.

What you see is a part of our land here, fully planted with potatoes, melons, tomatoes, onions and a lot more.
And........the best strawberries you'll ever taste, straight from the plant into the mouth.

It took a lot of work to prepare all this, but lucky me, this section is now taken care of by our neighbours/best friends.
Now it's a matter of keeping it all under control, especially the amount of water, as here tomatoes, salad and such need a daily gift of water for sure.
Potatoes grow on another regime, they like a splash every week, but cucumbers for instance, are heavy drinkers.

Water used to be a problem here in old times, taken from the well by hand, later by motorpump, but for me, coming from the twentyfirst century, I like to just open a valve, so I do.
As today we have asphalt, not much but enough for cars going up and down the mountain, we have a regular watersystem, there is electric power and of course internet, mobile phones, washing machines and aircos.
Heating however in wintertime is still done with a woodstove, so each and everyone organises his seven cubics of excellent wood to keep the fire burning on cold winterdays.

And cold it can be up here, but that's another story.

sick of the adriatic ??? TRY THIS !!!!!

2011-05-14T23:33:00.003+02:00

Bosnia Herzegovina folks, about less than hours drive, that's all !!

Sick of palmtrees, sun, blue sea, pizza's and beer ?
Have a car, or even better a motorbike ?

Than drive up to BiH, the country that was arranged in Dayton (sick).

It's worth the trip, believe me, as in less than an hour's drive to Tomislavgrad you'll be in the middle of God given nature, high up, between snowcovered mountains.

I love it there, it's pure, it's original, it's ...........all you should like (if you like this blog) !
And by the way, lunch is cheaper than cheap, and for the smokers among us (smokers die happy), a pack of Marlboro costs you ONE euro and sixty cents (for twenty joysticks).

GO GO GO, if not to Mostar, even better !!!!
And after all, war was good for at least something, it kept nature pure (sick again, but true).

how many do you need to sleep

2011-05-14T23:19:00.000+02:00

I try :-) to mix working and fun (they call it "slobodan dan" here, meaning a day off).
So today I worked my nuts of, as vegetables grow easily but not by them selves.

Yesterday howver, I took my "slobodan dan", and drove into Bosnia.
For those who never went there, you're either concrete freaks or just unaware of what beauty looks like.

So for those lucky ones who come to spend their holidays in Dalmacija, please do take a trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina (for God's sake DO IT).
It's less than an hours drive either to Livno or Tomislavgrad (the old kings town), and I prefer to turn right, to Tomislavgrad.

The trip is fully worth it, passing Busko Jezero, a large lake where hardly anything else happens than water hiding fish (where are those people creating a fantastic campsite at the borders of that lake).

For me however, just enjoying the scenery, I could'nt care less, as it's just fantastic !
Green meadows, loads of sheep, small rivers, and yes, total peace.

Went to Tomislavgrad (not very specail as far as I am concerned), but oh dear, that scenery, those panoramic views, with snowtopped mountains ahead, driving mostly on good new roads, and some peaces of fair macadam.

And each moment is a new impression, getting up to about 1700 meters high, true alpine circumstances, and as cherry on the cake BLIDINJE, the national park high up, where a lake surrounded by mountains amazes as it's high, pure, and YES, snowcovered mountains around !
Typical alpine plants allover, among which my favorite:gentian, a perfectly deep blue little thing (and many more).

Had a twohundred kilometers drive (less is no problem, but I kept going), and came home with a great feeling.
So, next time you visit Croatia (Dalmacija), DO GO TO BOSNIA TOO !!!!).
Mostar, Medjugorje, Sarajevo, Livno ot Tomislavgrad, and all scenic country between them, they are fully worth the visit.

One sheep, two, ten, a hundred, more and more, but had to write this, today was a busy one, it's late, nightingales are singing here (I am sitting outside with my little laptop), and I am gonna count them all.
Thank you, you little knitting animals, for being around in that amazing country.

Thousand one, -ten, -hundred, laku noc (sleep well).

benkovac bazar, anything you need (and more)

2011-05-11T08:57:00.002+02:00

Had to write another little story about yesterday.
Don't worry, I have fifteefour pictures, but I won't use them all.

This picture shows a bit of the amount of articles for sale, in case you don't need a cow or an olivetree.

Guess the salesman took all shit from a wide circle around his house, went to the garbage container to find some more, cleaned the sides of the road while driving up to Benkovac and than made a nice display of everything a man can need or want to find in an open air shop.

I am sure he does not have a website where he is presenting his busines, however, he does have a cellphone to stay connected to the trends on the market worldwide, or at least to his many friends.

Buy, buy, BUY, oprosti (pardon), I mean sell, sell, SELL, oil is up, gold is down, go for next years coffee or even better, buy Antonov, Google, NO, Microsoft, as they just got hold of Skype.

Mad, mad world, where all businessmen are chasing for some more wealth, to do some new investments, to even earn some more money.
For the sake of ?????

I guess this salesman is perfectly happy, unemployed but happy, in his old little Peugeot, covered with old shit for sale.
He went to Benkovac, met some friends there, joined some food and drinks, earned enough to drive home, and finished his day (or started the next one), taking care of his chickens, the olivetrees and the potatoes in his field.

Donald Trump, you're a complete idiot (just ask this collegue of yours in Benkovac) !!!!

it's a dogs life

2011-05-11T00:23:00.001+02:00

Went to Benkovac Bazar today.
Drove about hundred and fifty kilometers, from Omis to Benkovac, and the good thing is that the highway is super !
Some speeding in no problem here, as long as you stay alert, and besides, there was'nt much traffic.

Me and four neighbours/friends, talking in loud voices, of which I don't understand a bit, as my Croatian still is like hopping from one word to another.
And they speek LOUD !!!!!!

Got up early, 05.30 I hate that, we arrived at Benkovac, a large open air market shows, where one can buy anything from chickens to tractors, tools and plants, clothes and second hand shit (who needs a WWII German helmet ?).

However the trip was heavy, my ears jammed with noise, the offer so extensive (shall a buy a Ferrari red tractor or not for 3000,- euro's), I got back with a kilo of almonds to use in my kitchen, a plumtree and an early ready figtree.

Did'nt take beautifull cherries, deliciously smelling strawberries nor cheese from Livno.
I rather wait till ours are ready, and well, for that Livno cheese I'll go to Livno, another trip, another story, and another company in the car ( ALONE or with my wife).

And the dog in the Petit Biscuitsbox, well I guess it found a new place anyway, growing up in a pure country with loads of nature and wildlife.
Polako mali, you'll get out of your box some day too, remembering the smell of those biscuits in your young happy days.

Is this famous market a MUST DO, my answer is no !
If staying near Omis or Split or Makarska, better go to Zadvarje on tuesdaymorning.
Less driving, still most of it for sale there too, and enough to see and smell for two hours or so.
(And do get some of that delicious roasted young pig they sell at the terrace near the market).

future is endless

2011-05-08T13:22:00.002+02:00

Like in this picture (I showed it before), the horizon and the future are endless.
Still this picture is my absolute favorite, as every time I look at it, I adore it more.

The story behind it was sad, as the old man died a short time later, but the little girl is growing up, day by day, living in the USA nowadays.
And I am sure that mother and father will always remember dida, his father, pictured at a unique moment, walking with his grandchild between grapes and olives.

People come, people go, and so do the grapes and olives, year after year, in an endless system we call nature.
To be sure each newborn kid can grow up and enjoy this unique natural country, it's worth to take care of it.

For the sake of nature, views like this, and the future !

blogconnections

2011-05-07T06:17:00.000+02:00

Writing for the sake of writing, like eating when hungry, that's what I do in this blog.
I like to show people by doing so, about the life behind the touristic curtains of the Adriatic coast, with a picture and a couple of words.
Neither artist nor writer, just for the fun of it.

Tourists come to Croatia and go again, one week, ten days, some even for three weeks, their color changed, camera stuffed and pockets empty they leave for home, for another year till next holiday, next country, next sunburn.

With the intension to inform, entertain and sometimes touch people's heart, I fill my pages with words, English words, as being a Dutchman my Croatian is just to little, and as the world does hardly understand Dutch, I prefer to use English (because my Spanish and Chinese, the two other world languages are zero to none).

Having said so, I once in a while get reactions from around the world, from people that are somehow connected to Croatia.
A holiday, familyties, even some other Dutch that decided like us to live in this fantastic (pure) country.

Recently I started to stuff the blog again after receiving a mail from Romania.
"What's up in Croatia, with no news, no new blogs, no simple stories".
Well folks,, we simply where busy in Holland (The Netherlands, Nizozemska, Pays Bas), preparing to finally live permanently in Dalmacija, and so we had to pack, organise and fill out a mountain of papers to become legal inhabitants of Croatia.

Just two weeks ago we returned, and in the middle of boxes, had to get things organised overhere, and even much more important, had to plant potatoes and lots of other stuff, to have the very best food later on from our own garden.

So, because of the warning :-) I got from Romania, I sat down again, to write my little things about little life.
Not being my writingcorner (we don't smoke inside our small house), and besides, I use modern technic stuffed in a laptop, I took the liberty to show you a REAL writers table, with vitamins, sigarets, coffee and genuin ink and pen.

Some do it professionally, for the sake of literature, I am just a pebble on the beach, the gigantic Internet Beach, visited by all virtual tourists around the world.
Between them all, I have my little peace of land, just like the peace of land we have in Dalmacija, near Omis, half an hour from Split, in Croatia.
"Ja volim Hrvatska", that's all, no less, much more.

you never get a second chance

2011-05-06T06:53:00.003+02:00

One never get's a second chance to make a first impression.

As far as confrontations with bears go, I hope that's not the truth.
Well, I might just try, as the rumour goes one has been spotted in our neighbourhood.

In Podaspilje, a small village just five kilometers away, it says a bear (medo in Croatian) was seen.
And then, asking about it, one of our hunting neighbours told me, also two others were observed near Zadvarje, a small town about fifteen minutes away.

A stunning idea, on the other hand, I hope I get a chance to take a picture when I happen to meet one, as apart from dancing bears (horrible thing from the past in the country *), bears are other than snakes, as with snakes I know how to do (watch and take some extra steps around them).

Still the rumour is a rumour, and since our cats are masters catching mice, it better be a rumour, cause it's nice to see a cat show up with a mouse, but in case of a bear, you never know who's gonna show up with what.

With Biokovo and Mosor Mountains nearby, and even Omiska Dinara large and wild enough, I would'nt be surprised to read about it in the "reliable" newspaper here, Slobodna Dalmacija.
And as there are three protection programs in Croatia, for wolves, linx and bears, it just might happen to be true.

Being the worst dancer you can imagine, I hope that in case of a confrontation the bear still thinks it takes two to tango.
At least than I have a chance to say "no thanks", or in Croatian "ne hvala", as I don't know what language bears speak.

*)
In the past some people in some Balkancountries mistreated bears by teaching them to dance.
Ring through the nose, a hot plate burning the feet, that sure makes you dance after a while.
Never ever give those terrible people money or take pictures, as after you have your picture taken, they take your money !!!!!
And apart from that, it's a bad habit that must stop, the sooner the better.

dalmatians, the singing people

2011-05-06T01:56:00.000+02:00

One Dalmatian working on his land sings, two Dalmatians have a glass of wine, beer or rakia, and sing, three have a glass, something to eat, and sing.
And when they gather for some reason, Dalmatians sing even more !

Singing is in their blood, its a tradition going back ages and ages, some of it very crude, with hardly a melody, more the type of speaking-singing, where the lyrics tell a story (like newspapers and internet today).

And than there is klapa, a famous type of singing, sang by groups of people, at any moment, a feast or even a competition.
Omis, our shopping town is famous for its klapa festival in summer, a very serious and high quality gathering of many groups, with each and everyone performing at it's very best.

The songs are mainly romantic, about fisherman, seagulls and the sun over the Adriatic, and of course about girls, romance, lost loves and waiting ones.

This picture was taken at the baptising of our best friends son Josiph.
And of course, here was singing too, and great food, drinks and good company.

Stop talking, start singing !!!

some cats stay, others go

2011-05-06T01:38:00.000+02:00

Not only for cats this title goes.

We left Holland two weeks ago, after a pile of paperwork to get a residence permit for Croatia.
And yes, after three visits to the Croatian Embassy in The Hague with loads of papershit, stamps, translations (and a lot of stress) all those papers where finally accepted, and sent to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

Now we must wait, with great confidence, for the very moment our documents are accepted, and we can call ourselves residents of this great young country.
Still we will be Dutch, with cheese in our blood, with Dutch passports, as we are Europeans, and Croatia will be part of Europe soon (I truly hope for Croatia).

When we left last autumn, we took care that the cats around our place where taken care of.
Being straycats, they give us a lot of joy, so a bit of care in return is the least to be done.

We left a load of catfood at our best friends place, and asked him to feed and care of them, which he did excellently.
Nevertheless some cats went away like we did, some stayed, and being f*ck*ng cats, two of them are now with young kittens.

Part of our rural life around our place, we once again will take care of our regular visitors, those staying are welcome (if they behave), the others are fully free to leave to whatever place or country they like.
In return they take care of a mouse once in a while and if a snake should occur, well you (mostly non venomous) sliding nonlegged creatures, BEWARE of the CATS !!!!

And for us, after some Dutch friends visited us during their spring holidays, we started to get ready, planting potatoes, and putting many different seeds into little containers to be planted as soon as they show worth the treatment from sun and soil.
And we will happily harvest and share whatever grows, all of it pure vegetables and fruits with marvelous taste.

Feel free to visit us here, and if hungry, just walk into our garden and pick some of it !
Good life is shared life, as goes for cats as well as friendly humans.

And to those who had to wait this long to read about our daily life, sorry folks, sh*t happens, but from now on, between cutting gras and reading a book, I'll keep you posted about Svinisce, the hidden treasure.

ps. Just today I learned that the name Svinisce, comes from S vinisce, meaning " from the wine fields", my neighbour told me, and as far as I understood it, the story sounded well enough to believe, and than we drank a glass.

with or without a bike, a great website

2011-01-09T00:24:00.005+01:00

Scrolling the internet for interesting information about Croatia, I found a beauty I like to share with you.

Regular visitors of this blog know it's about our life in Svinisce, but not only that.

Even more important is that I want you to feel what we feel, in the middle of a fantastic country, where nature is amazingly pure and breathtaking.

And again and again I tell everybody with ears, eyes and a heart to enjoy the Adriatic, as for sure the coast is fantastic to spend time during holidays, but.......

BUT......to get the real feeling of Croatia, you'll have to leave the beach at least one time, as once you get to know what's behind the coastal mountains, you're addicted.
As when you get up and going, Croatia is so much more, so much you should experience, at least once !

Try a visit to www.takeadventure.com as it's a perfect introduction to the most fantastic sceneries.
The website is in English (and Croatian), produced by a mountainbiker called Miroslav, and of superior quality for sure.

It's people like him who open my eyes and heart time after time, and while I discover my own bit of Dalmatia, they lead me into new perspectives, locations, panorama's and the best information about all the natural beauty of Croatia, Dalmatia and its Zagora (the hinterland).

An amazing country indeed, that grabs you by the balls (if you have them), as with or without, it gets to your heart, once you get to know it a bit better.

Go go go, go and get the real feeling, just behind the Adriatic coast.
(And for mountainbikers, you could'nt find a better guide !)

First day of 2011

2010-12-31T20:30:00.000+01:00

The first day of 2011.

Don't try to remember your wishes, make them happen !!

Happy Newyear
Sretan Nova Godina
Gluckliches Neujahr
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar

omis, adriatic and cetina river

2010-12-11T18:39:00.001+01:00

A great overview of Omis, the town left and right of where the Cetina River enters the Adriatic.

However the picture was "stolen" somewhere from the internet, I just could'nt resist publishing it myselve.
It truly is a most fantastic location, however it's time the town of Omis starts to pamper it's chicken with the Golden Eggs.

Still a real boulevard is missing, a footpath along the Cetina also is not there, some spots in and around town look like real dumpyards and tourists have to look for the major tourist office promoting the town in a hidden street.

And however I am not a "big-tourist-thing-person", an investor building a "skilift" would not only add good money to his own pocket but also to the attractions in Omis, with it's amazing location at the Canyon, it's Fortica (castle ruin), the Adriatic and the views to enjoy over canyon, town and sea in one simple ride up and down.
And if there would be a terrace on top of Omiska Dinara, well, that would be just stunning to have a drink, a moment of pure delight, in the most clean and natural surroundings you've ever experienced.

Still, without doubt, it's one of the special locations, Croatia is having a lot of, with or without iniatives to make it a true miracle.

a secret to share

2010-11-29T14:38:00.013+01:00

Don't go looking in shops, as you won't find this wine there.

I happen to have a friend (friend of my best friend Andelko) who makes THE best wine (and Andelko the second best).

Especially his red wine (crno vino) is an absolutely fantastic wine, with rich flavours, a perfect balance between sweetness and acidity, and has an amazingly deep red colour in your glass.

And most important, it's like a BOMB of taste going of when you drink it.

Be carefull however, you innocent experienced winedrinker, as like all bombs, it knocks you down in no time.

Lero, the man producing this excellent wine, is living close to our house in Svinisce-Modris, and to make things easy in case you need him, just ask, as everybody knows where he lives.

I still have to check out how he does it, but I know his variety of grapes is so special, that from the Institute in Split some scientists came to write a report and take samples of both his wine and his grapes.

In the world of winemaking, they discovered that the Californian Zirfandel originates from the Croatian Plavac Mali, and it would be a surprise to me that Lero has that specific grape, and a couple more that may rock the winemakers world even a bit more.

Time will tell, and in the meantime I enjoy my glass of Lero's wine, for which I made a label to honour him and his fantastic product.

Zjiveli Lero, i puno hvala !

ps. he sells it for about 25 kn./ltr. (a bargain for such quality) but please don't buy it all will you !!!!!

three neigbours, three friends

2010-11-26T22:04:00.002+01:00

Three friends sitting in the shade.

From left to right:

Dr.Kilo.
in his most active pose, so if you see him active, call hitno pomoc (first aid) as there is something wrong.
Sometimes he loudly blows the alarm, why, nobody knows.

Mate, Hasan or Lambik.
his original name is Nikola, but I gave him many nicknames.
Our best friend and advisor on a thousands things, and proving to be like a good wine, a pleasant person getting more pleasant year by year.

Lero.
Looks like a jockey, and if he had a horse, he would be riding it too (but he has'nt got one).
A super friendly guy, expert in nature, a more than excellent winemaker (the very best of our valley), and as well a fantastic singer as a dancer (ask my wife).

Just a picture of three neighbours, three friends, three reasons to like Svinisce as a place to live.

life was so beautifull

2010-11-26T21:35:00.001+01:00

Take it easy (sve polako), in the middle of silent nature, and still close to all Adriatic delights.

The beaches of Omis, the sparkling water of the Cetina river, the medium high and high mountains of Mosor, Omiska Dinara and Biokovo just within reach, all of that within a ten minutes drive, that must be like paradise, AND IT IS !!!!

Everything grows like hell, pure organic food is so normal here, if you help me I help you, or we just sit together, have a drink or some grilled food, as life is beautifull in paradise.

Picking grapes or olives together, cutting the sides of our little villageroad, a wall to be built, there's allways a good reason to enjoy company during work or after it, and if there is'nt one, we'll enjoy being together anyway, as life is so good here.

Tuesdays, from the market in Zadvarje, the fresh grilled piglet (younger pig), is taken back, crispy and warm, and however in the morning still, a slice of good bread and a glas of something, and the day turns into a superday.

And what about the freshest fish you can imagine, direct from the boat to the market (be there in time), driven up to our village, a small fire made from dry grape-cuttings, quick, easy, and more than fantastic to eat.

Still there are a million reasons to express our love for our Croatian (oprosti, Dalmatian) life, still we had to get to Holland to organise a couple of things, as quick as possible, as Nizozemska is not our home anymore; "Hratska, ja te volim ".

As once you tasted the Dalmatian Paradise, why even think about Holland, crowded, noisy, stressed, artificial, overly organised, great for summertourists (but they'r smart, they stay only a couple of days).

And even now the winterseason comes closer in our little part of Dalmatia too, SO WHAT, when a woodfire is burning, the young wine is drinkable and people have time to sit down for a game of trentun (31 cardplay) after a walk in the snow (that stays only short here).

Give me snow on Mosor in the morninglight, give me a howling bura in the night, give me a hot stew of potatoes, cabbage and pursut, and keep Holland with its wooden shoes, windmills and Rembrandt.

So, hvala za svi u Svinisce, thanks to all friends and neighbours in Svinisce, the BEST place to live.

Leave me a note in the guestbook, right side of this weblog, below the weatherforcast, if you feel the same.

ps.

picture taken from our little hidaway towards our old caravan/trailer/kamp kuca/, looking at our recent guardenhouse/workplace.

do the hop

2010-11-24T13:49:00.000+01:00

Every time when I see this bird in Croatia, I feel a lucky person.
It even makes me do a dance from "those days long gone", called "do the hop".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k-d5gwQhw&feature=related

The more unspoiled, the bigger the chance to see one (or two).
It's official name is "Upupa Epops" (member of the family of Upupidae).
Don't laugh about that familyname, pronounced as Youpoopiday.

Just say hop (or hoppa) and even in Croatia most people know what bird you saw.
Ok, in case you did laugh, that will stop soon when you smell it in a close encounter.
The smell is not as fantastic as the looks, so stay away from these birds and their nests.

Anyway, like I said, this is one of my lucky moments in Croatia, as when I go into nature (prirode) and happen to see this bird, I am delighted, such a beauty !

This is a typical whitness of the natural quality that is still common in Croatia, as from many countries it has disappeared because it needs clean nature, without pesticides and monocultures.
It feeds on insects, the bigger the better, and those insects are available in the pure natural Zagora, the hinterland behind the coastal mountains of the Adriatic.

One of the many reasons why I love to live life in Croatia/Dalmatia soo much.
The hop.

things that will never change

2010-10-15T23:04:00.004+02:00

grapes, olives, fields between mountains, and an old man walking with a little girl.

a whole story in a simple picture, so why use words ?
the answer is warm and simple.

grandpa recently passed away, and the young little girl has still a long way to go, with many moments to remember still to happen.

so what you see is a mix of history and future, a little girl and her grandpa, walking between grapes and olives in beautifull Croatia.

for the whole story, please go to the excellent weblog called:
http://croatia-eolivas.blogspot.com

"dida", grandpa in croatian, and "baka", grandma, play a very special role in croatian familylife, even more than in many western countries.

one day Beli, the little girl in the picture, will remember this very special simple moment, walking hand in hand with that special person called Dida.

Croatia is a marvelous country, nature is pure and unspoiled on most places, and what's far more important, social- and familylife here are much more intense than in our "run for the money"-western society.

soon Croatia will be part of Europe, which is a good thing for the future of all, even for Beli.

but some things will never change in beautifull Croatia.

my message to her is to remember this walk with Dida on that day, together in the fields, and take that warm social feeling she experienced with Dida and Baka into her own wonderfull future.

never trust a first impression

2010-09-17T19:05:00.009+02:00

sometimes pictures or first impressions do not tell the real story.
this picture for instance shows Nikola (Tafra), one of the special people that live in our little community in Modris, part of Svinisce, a chain of little communities.
at first when you meet him, he seems to be a bit a difficult man, but I told you:

never trust a first impression !

like drinking a wine, you should give it some time (or glasses), and slowly allow yourselve to get used, which we did.

Nikola, Mate for his friends, is one of the best people to have around, always willing to share, help or to invite you for a glass or some food.
and of course, wine (white), orachovic(wallnut booze) or travarica (herbal booze) are home made, and so is most of his food, grown by himselve on the field next to ours.

for a man that lost half an arm and an eye, covered with scars (from playing in his young years with one of those "nice" post war presents called grenades (a German one this time) , he is the best example of a survivor, an amazing character in every way, and a friend to pamper as you have the luck to know him better.

I could tell about many examples proving what I mean, but again, like in all my little stories about Svinisce, you'll have to believe me, or better, come and experience it all yourselve some lucky moment.

and no, that's not his monkey on his shoulder, it's his young white cat, hiding for his little black dog.

a perfect friend, to me, to us, and to his other cat and his various chickens.
hvala Mate, ti si moi priatel !

ps.

if you have the chance, tell the representatives in your government that however wars are terrible they stop.

landmines however NEVER stop, so tell your government to stop using, selling, buying, producing those horrible things.

bullits are terrible, grenades even worse, but landmines are an absolute nightmare, as the wound and kill long after war is over !

(just imagine it's your kid, relative or friend).

and still there are Split, Trogir and much more

2010-09-10T13:30:00.000+02:00

there's a thousand reasons to love Croatia (and a few lesser qualities I just accept), which you should know.

old towns like Split, Trogir, Dubrovnik, each worth a long walk and lot's of oh's and ah's.
and than there is the Adriatic Sea, with the bluest, cleanest water, touching a most fantastic Dalmatian coast on hundreds of islands and beaches, sandy or rocky, but all inviting for a swim.

but what most people never see (ignorent or blind) is what we call Zagora, the hinterland, just behind the coastal mountainridges.
there you''ll experience a natural beauty that is amazing, pure and original.

if you wonder why Romans, Turks, Austrians, French, Italians and Germans tried to get hold of all this in ancient times, well, I know why and if you look at this picture, you know why too.

follow the Cetina river upstream, coming from Trilj, stay on the right side(!!!!) and keep going till you reach the beginning of this river, a deep blue clear phenomenen, where the water of the river pops up out of nowhere from under the mountains that surround you.
at first it's a little stream, quickly entering the highlind where it's like it's looking where to go, finally deciding to head for the Adriatic.

from beginning to end this river has a different character, sometimes dreamingly calm, a couple of times blocked by powerplants, and closer to the sea, carving itselve through rocky canyons, where daily many hundreds of tourists spend a day rafting down the rapids.

and however we live very close to that canyon, and to the mouth of the river at Omis, I love the upstream part even more.
never a dull moment, especially in the Dalmatinska Zagora, and most certainly following the Cetina from end to start.

(p.s. thanks Frans, for this fantastic picture)

shut up, just look

2010-09-10T09:23:00.004+02:00

sometimes it's better to shut up and look, just look.
this picture, shows one of those moments that make svinisce special.

so for once I shut up, and I hope you do the same, for just a moment, and try to imagine the total pureness we know here so well.

no words, this is SVINISCE at it's best.

why pigs look so happy

2010-09-07T10:45:00.002+02:00

a bit morbide it looks, you might say, and I totally agree.

however, we civilised people (at least the meat eating part of us), make our daily trip to the supermarket, buy ourselves some chops, a steak or a chicken, and however nice it may taste, the thing is dead.

but our "friends" in the foodindustry take care of us poor souls, and take away the head, puts it on a nice (/horrible) peace of plastic, with sometimes even a "pamper" under it, and we remain innocent, as this is meat, and not an animal anymore.

come on folks, accept that you're meat eaters, from head to tail, and face the fact you are an omnivore.

the vegetarians among us do not tell the greengrocer to take the leaves of the carrots, (or do they ??), so why are we meateaters so ignorent that we face our food preferably without the proof of it's original status, from head to tail and back !!!!!

here, in lovely Croatia, I had the honour to be invited to the diner after the baptising of our best friends first son Jospih Frane.
and with me, a whole group of family, friends and neighbours where there to celebrate this special moment.
and what does a Croat do when he joins with his dear ones, he organizes food and drinks (and starts to sing).

the food was absolute top quality, with four roasted lambs and two young pigs, all of them cared for during their life, and even more cared for them during those roasting hours at the end of it.
on large tables they were served with the finest examples fruits and green/red stuff (salads, tomatoes, olives), and boy did that taste !!
and between all those delights, there were the heads of the animals, roasted like tourists after two weeks of beachfun at the Adriatic.
hvala Bogu (thank God) Croats still respect the whole animal, fish or vegetable, so when you order a fish in a restaurant, you get it all, and in shops the vegetables are still in their original state, and NOT cut, sliced, washed, cooked and packed like those idiots in my homeland (Holland) do in supermarkets reducing the quality and increasing the profit.
a carrot has leaves, a fish has a tail, and animals have heads, so show it like it is, and don't be a hypocrit when you eat it, being vegetarian, carnivore or omnivore.

and for this marvelous dinerparty, there was a lot more, like a variety of cookies and for desert the VERY BEST tiramusi I ever tasted, but I had committed myselve to "a little to much" of that delicious roasted pig.
respectfull to the animal that gave it's life for my pleasure of eating it, I ate and drank close to "the point of no return".

and than we sang, till the sun came up again over the Adriatic, deep down below us, in Gornje Podstrana.

talking about my generation

2010-09-05T00:27:00.002+02:00

it was the famous english rockband The Who that once had a song called My Generation.

with grandma Mika on the left and my wife Nives on the right (and one of our "wild" cats, called Sporky crossing) two generations are having a chat on the steps to our terrace.

grandma must be in her eigthies now, but still takes care of a million things in the household of our best friends Anjelco and Susana.

taking care of the house, feeding chickens, picking eggs, than going to the land to water the plants when needed, and later in autumn, when a couple of pigs are behind the house, she prepares their food, all homegrown on their own fields.
and than, when time has come for those pigs to become the famous prsút (salted, smoked, dried and matured ham, famous in Dalmatia) she daily takes care that those hams, panceta, sausages and more, hanging in the "black" kitchen, get their daily amount of smoke to conserve the meat and make it to the very best you'll ever know or eat.

grandma's in Croatian families are MOST important and highly respected, as they keep the "wheels turning" while kids are in school and parents are working.

and when anybody comes home for lunch or supper, it's their, as she cooked it already for each and all.

still life is not always easy here, but life of grandma and her late husband (named "Truman" after that famous American president, worked like hell to keep the family fed, and did it all by hand, with no motormachines, no electricity, water from the well and long walks up and down the mountain to Omis and back, as there simply were no roads, no cars, just legs and pure character.

her knowledge , and that of all Croatian grandma's, their experience and endurance are the best examples of how to live and survive in this marvelous country beheind the coast.
for that reason it's nice to see that my wife gets some experiences handed over in a friendly chat between two generations.

and for all of it, grandma Mika (and her generation) deserves all respect you can give to her (and all grandma's), living under rough conditions we do not even know of and never will.

about that little cat crossing, well, she owns a place between them on the picture, as she gave bearth to at least three kittens a couple of weeks ago.
and for cats times never changes, they will never know about the "benefits" of cars, airco's, tv's and washingmachines, they just pass their skills on to their kittens, century after century, from the days of Cleopatra till somewhere far into the future.
generation after generation.

and we just talk about it, as this is my and my wifes generation, from overorganised and crowded Holland, happy to be living in Croatia today.

one plus one expat makes three

2010-09-04T09:55:00.002+02:00

there he is, the newborn boy called Josiph (Jozef) Frane, the son of Mark and Kika Geurts.

living in Croatia these two Belgian folks (our best friends) are the proud parents now of a little boy, recently born in Stari Podsdrana.

we live a quiet retired life, they are doing a great job, working with their sailing club (catamarans, windsurfboards) and hosting young folks for the (non profit) social tourism organisation called JEKA.
groups of young kids from many countries visit Croatia to have a week of our best Croatian delights, being the sea, nature, adventure, and a closer look at other people living in another country.

this weekend he will baptised in the ancient catholic church, high on the slopes over Podsdrana.
young life/old church, Croatia/Belgium, the very best of both, combined in a young kid growing up in a beautifull country, with loving parents to care for him.

welcome to the world Josiph Frane, welcome to Croatia, and have a fantastic life here.

yes we can (build walls)

2010-09-02T19:12:00.001+02:00

the chinese did it, the germans did it, even the israeli's do it, so why not me.

the dalmatian landscape is showing small walls allover the place, most of the time just to get rid of stones in the fields, and as it your patch, it's logical that those stones are put at the borders of it.

also walls are needed here, as the land is never ever flat (like my home country Holland), and when you want to have a flat peace you better build a wall to create a terrace.

needed or wanted, those walls are nicer to see than grey concrete.

reason for me to build my first ever traditional stone wall, to hide the concrete of the drive from section one to section two of our ground here with a difference in heigth of about one meter.

and as there is a first time for everything, like I said to many virgins (when I was young), this was the moment to put myselve to the test building a little wall covering that concrete, making it look natural and charming.
so with great pride I tell the world that I did it, and I am proud of it.

and however once it was an ugly thing, the chinese have a reason to be proud as well, as their wall can be seen from out of space, however I wonder if that will ever happen to my wall on Google Earth.

glad that the united germans broke it down, my advise the israeli's is: get rid of it, there's no reason to be proud of that wall at all.
history will tell I am right, and let's hope my wall stays for centuries to come.

soparnik, a turkish gift from the past

2010-09-02T01:46:00.002+02:00

our neighbours spend many hours in their fields, taking care of vegetables, grapes, olives and many more.
all of it is as pure and natural as can be, and the taste of whatever is harvested is excellent, not spoiled with artificial fertilizers and other horrible growth increasing horrors.

however not permanently living in Modris (part of Svinisce), the brothers have a traditional weekendhouse here, owned and shared by the members of the family, their wifes and kids.

during one of their stays they use to enjoy meals together, sometimes barbequed meat or fish, a rich soup or whatever they like to prepare and share.
this time they made a traditional soparnik, a simple but delicious kind of pizza, not being a pizza at all.

it's an old and very traditional dish, from the days the Otomans ruled this region, where baked between two layers of dough, a filling of blitva and onions is put, and the whole is baked on a traditional woodfire heated stone floor.
this is typically a food tradition fit for friends, as it'sfar to big for one or two people, so you hve to ask friends to help consume it, which is not a bad idea at all, is it ???

for those of you interested, enter "soparnik" on Google, and when not able to understand Croatian language, tell Google to translate it for you (a peace of cake).
on the picture is Neno Mimica, one of the three brothers, turning the soparnik between two round wooden plates.

and that's one of the thousand and one reasons why Svinisce is a fantastic place to be.
see the other pages of my blog if you don't believe me.

WANTED: six legged chicken

2010-08-25T18:25:00.005+02:00

what do you do when nature is providing you with stuff like this.

it's not a regular tomatoe, but as it comes from unspoiled soil, it's 100% OK.

and what do you do with "multomatoes" like this one ?

the answer is simple, especially here in Dalmatia, you go to the market to look for a six legged chicken and call your friends to have lunch together.

eating (and/or drinking) together, as a social event, is most common here.
you do not have to have a special occasion, a party or a birthday to join together with friends in some drink or food.

even while unemployment rates are rather high here at the very moment, people gather in what they call cafe-bars, to have a small espresso (always served with a glas of water) to talk about life or celebrate it, together !!!!

and many times when somebody feels like it, some fresh fish, roasted pigmeat or a homemade soup are the best excuse to call your friends by what the call here "mobitel".

summer being the season of tomatoes, new potatoes, corn on the cob, and lots of other excellent harvested food, an excellent soup is quickly made, and some fish or meat from the grill is accompanied by a glass of homemade wine (or two, or three).
sitting outside around the table, shaded from the sun, this is the outdoor season, so life happens outside as much and as long as possible.
and most of those joined moments, there is singing, called "klapa", the Dalmatian alternative to countrymusic.

well, as this silly tomatoe came from a plant, as big as an "American Mc Donalds victim", it's big enough to share with a bunch of friends.
reason to look for a sixlegged chicken, so everybody gets an equal bite of it all.
having little or much, it does'nt matter when you share what you've got with friends.

and nature knows that, so where's that chicken ?

marvelous country

2010-08-23T23:57:00.001+02:00

daddy picking potatoes from his small field, his two girls helping to gather them.
can life be better than this, better than anything in the world ?
my clear answer is NO !!!, this is the best way to enjoy familylife, in the middle of our fantastic nature.

earlier this year they put their potatoes into the ground, fertile as this ground is, it only needs some attention afterwords, checking for those colodaro bugs, and weekly a firm splash of pure water from the natural well that's nearby.

lots of sun, combined with this excellent soil, take care of a nice harvest, a lot of potatoes for them selves and family or friends during the winterseason.

french fries, cooked, or even baked in a peka (cooked under a big lid over a woodfire), I said it a thousand times, and will say it a million more times, this is paradise, this is simply the best you can get from life, as the picture clearly shows on each face.

coming from the Adriatic coast at the town of Omis (thirty minutes from Split), drive through the amazing canyon along the Cetina river for five minutes, than drive up the first mountainroad for another five minutes to Svinisce and turn right to Modris.

is it that easy to reach paradise, yes it is !!!!

sit or lay, do it your way

2010-08-12T14:38:00.002+02:00

NEW NEW, two resting places in the gardenhouse have been made.
and yes, I did it with pleasure, I did it myselve and I am proud of it all.

it took a bit of thinking, but the result is just what we wanted and needed.
two beds, for those who visit and don't know the way back after a drink to much, and before getting to sleep, both are perfectly shaped to sit down relaxing.

for someone who used to work with brains and mouth (telling dentists that they could do a better job after listening for once), I absolutely enjoy to work with my hands and tools.

wood, especially what they call here "brodski pod" from baumax in kastela, is great to make whatever I need or like to make, and after a few trials (and errors) I might start to call myselve "maistor", which in croatia sometimes tells you your dealing with a skilled person (and sometimes it means nothing more than "let me earn some money").

so, do call me maistor if you like, but do keep in mind that I am NOT looking for a job, and certainly NOT for your money, I just do it because I like to do it all, teaching myselve how to put nails into wood the proper way.
and once in a while I hit myselve hard enough to dance around a bit, singing the famous "jebenti"song.

whatever, you can be sure now that when you visit us here in our hidden paradise, you can sit or lay down.

the bigger the better

2010-08-10T05:12:00.000+02:00

never had the intention to have a fireplace like this.
really, I was one of x-million dutch that where used to burning meat on a simple weber-grill.

until, until we had our gardenhouse almost ready and the workers said: "nice place, but how do you cook".
to keep a long story short, they offered to build the fireplace, and three days later there it was (and still is).

anything from a trout to an entire lamb and everything you can think of fits into it, and on romantic nights or cold days (yes sometimes I am romantic, and yes it can be cold here in winter) a big fire can warm your bones or your soul.

lucky us, and lucky visitor, you don't have to step outside into the rain to finish your meal, there's enough space to sit down and enjoy the view, sitting around the table with us.

the sad part of it all could be that we're now burning our cherrytrees, but they where in bad shape anyway.
even more sad, as cherries here around the Cetina and in Poljica area are more than excellent, but that's another story.

even in the dark it's nice to see

2010-08-09T23:52:00.001+02:00

plans ?
much to much and even more !
some things are not even planned and still end well.

because we lacked space in our little hideaway, one day I said it would be great to have some extra room to put away the gardentools and some machinery.

started with a simple 4x4 mtr. plan, it turned out to be 8x8 meters, but who cares.
we do have some extra space now for our belongings, I do have my gardenshed annex workshop, and what's more, we've got a fantastic gardenhouse to enjoy under any weathercondition.
(click on picture to enlarge).

enough space to even have some guests sleep their drinks away, enough space to sit down with a bunch of friends, a giant fireplace to grill or heat, and, I can't stop telling, also from here this fantastic view on Mosor and Omiska Dinara, both mountains.
and on top of it all, this is Svinisce, where stress and noise still have not been invented.

come and see, come and feel, but be aware, once here, you're lost forever.

inside out

2010-08-01T10:01:00.006+02:00

here it is, our gardenhous.

in any type of weather we've got a perfect place to relax or enjoy company of friends over a drink or some food.

with Omiska Dinara and Mosor mountains in front of us, it's just fantastic.

the place is almost finished (floors, walls, windows) and most of the things I wanted to create myselve have been done.

seated at the table, relaxing on one of the two beds/sofa's, or preparing some food on the workplaces, I wanted to make them and so I did.

its all just perfect to enjoy alone, together with Nives or with a bunch of good friends.
and let's not forget there is a huge fireplace to grill, heat or just to look at.

3/4 of the place is living area, 1/4 is my temple, where I have all my tools, machines and materials to work with.
still working on things that we need, I wish in due time to be more creative, sculpting wood, steel or stone just for the fun of creating "arty" items.
not to be an artist, nor to show or sell, just for the sake of pleasure.

an inspiring scenery all around us, no stress, no noise and no need to do things for the sake of money, thats what I call a treasure.
inside looking out I feel rich, and everybody in the same mood is most welcome to share it all.

you're welcome, proud and happy to share what we've got to share.

one of thousand reasons

2010-07-31T17:23:00.000+02:00

can you imagine, after a hot sunny day, we spend in our hidden valley, this is what we go for in the early evening when the daydreamers have gone home ?

no ?
well, I guess that you, my dearest blogvisitor and I, have different look at the world as it should and can be.

spending our daily life in our little place called Modris, part of Svinisce (which is a part of Omis), watering the plants, finishing our gardenhouse or just being lazy, we are in love with our silent life here, with hardly ever any noise other that of peoples voices.

so going to the beach is not our thing during the day, as the big bunch of tourists do so, so we don't.

having the possibility to choose is a rich thing, and we prefer to go to the seaside at the end of the afternoon (popodne they call it here).
it's a ten minutes drive to our beach, giving way to loads of tourists returning from the beach while we go to it.

our favorite place is a small beach (small pebbles), a superb clean sea, a fantastic terrace with friendly restaurant where we eat whatever we like to eat, or just have a refreshing drink after a long refreshing swim.
not only us, but also the locals frequent this location, as it's a bit further than the more crowded tourists beaches.

one thing leads to another, there is always some connection to close friends of us, sometimes even familyties, as this is (before and after the main season) just a small society, where about 10.000 people live in the town of Omis and around.
so we know the chef who's preparing those nice dishes, and yes, the waiter (konobar) is called johnny and he's also a good friend (maybe because we are nice people, (after having some pints of cold beer) and always appreciate good service with a fair tip.

so if you still want to have your holidays in Switserland or Kenya, fine to me, but I have a thousands reasons to go to Croatia, Dalmatia, Split, Omis, Svinisce, and especially Modris.
above is one of many and if you read well, you see more than one.
so get going, and help me count if you like life as it is in the middle of nature, close to the Cetina river and the Adriatic.

if not a car, you can eat it

2010-05-15T10:33:00.000+02:00

just kidding, croats enjoy eating, especially togehter with friends.
anything from nature, growing, walking, flying or swimming that looks like food is welcome.
and being springtime, the young vegetables are excellent company for some fish, meat or snails, often from the grill, sometimes in a juga (soup).

this season is the best to taste a young sheep (janjetine) from the grill.
fresh springonions, salade, bread and domaci wine, and most important: FRIENDS.

I was invited to party with the neighbours (the men !!!), so a young sheep was turning around over a fresh woodfire for about three hours, untill it was excellent food for a group of about twelve men.

gathered around the table we spent a great meal together, accompanied with local wine, until the first songs were sang.

the only croat that does not sing is a dead croat, so each and every moment they sing.
working in the fields, sitting together over a well deserved cold beer, after dinner, you name it, they sing.
"klapa", the croat singing tradition goes far back into history, and hundreds (thousands ?) of songs are an important part of cultural tradition.

many songs are shared, known and joined by each and everyone, recent ones, older ones and to my surprise (what do I know of it all) from various parts of former Yougoslavia, and even from far back from history.
especially those golden oldies, sang by older men of women, I like very much, as they are pure and unpolished.

this afternoon , standing onder a cherrytree, after an excellent meal, the singing went on and on and on, and when moved to the local cafe of Mali Ante, it went on till late in the night.
(somewhere later in the evening I decided to quit, as to me enough (drinks) is enough).

thanks folks, you're a great bunch !!!

potatoes, the domaci way !

2010-05-10T00:32:00.000+02:00

Coming from Holland, where all potatoes grow in straight lines in large fields this is what I like more, much more !

Small patches of furtile land, with cherry and walnut trees in and around it, I am certain that these potatoes will have a happy life, ending as french fries in hot oil, or as the company of some true meat under a peka.

This is not the mass agriculture our Dutch farmers fill supermarkets with, loaded with furtilizers and chemicals, this is the traditional "domaci" agriculture, in our hidden valley of Svinisce.

When the seasons get hotter the owners start to spray water from a genuin natural well, and if there is a problem with what they call "colorado's", those striped beetles the trick is to check each plant for small eggs of that little bastard and kill them manually.

No chemical sprayings, only once in a while some old sheepshit (gnoj), and lots of TLC (tender loving care).

I was (again) surprised by this little polje, almost like a cropcircle from "outerspace", but no, this is just human activity on a tiny bit of land.
And those cherrytrees, well, they are just there to offer a handfull of juicy red spring delights while working around the potatoes.

If you want to eat potatoes, than keep in mind that what you put into it is what you're gonna eat from it, no less, and much more !
And if that is a genetically modified chemically grown thing, well, the choice is all yours.
(But I prefer to have my fries from these brown buddies growing under a cherrytree in Modris, part of the community of Svinisce).

Think further, think DOMACI !!!!!

communication is a great thing

2010-05-05T19:03:00.000+02:00

Sure there is much more to tell, as we just arrived in our little bowl.
Still the view is fantastic, and the sea close to it all.

However, time is limited and so is the connectionspeed of our pc in Svinisce.
Happy to have internet for sure, but with a signal coming through the air in stead of a fast cable, it takes a while to get pictures into this blog.

And more important, as time is limited (with loads of things to do on daily basis), I will not enter as many things as I do when not "here" but "there".

Getting organised, connecting water and electricity to the new gardenhouse, and still a huge amount of things to plan and do, mostly a pleasure, but still on the list "to do".

Well, for the moment this is all, and MOST important:
PLEASE MAIL ME AT GMAIL (and forget about the planet one, as it takes hours I rather use reducing the to-do list or just relaxing in the sun).

land, wind, sea and man

2010-03-05T16:47:00.000+01:00

One of those early spring days in Croatia.
Bura, the fresh wind, is blowing, waves even behind the island still breaking.
Picture taken on Ciovo, the island that is connected to the small town of Trogir by a bridge.

Overlooking the baye of Kastela, with deep to the right the big historic town of Split, and like most of the Dalmatian coast enclosed by mediumhigh mountains.

Even in winter this area is protected from the cold coming from the Dalmatinska Zagora (dalmatian hinterland) and the Bosnian freezer, where wintersports are in close reach.

Here, between sea and mountains, temperature hardly ever goes under freezingpoint and if it does it never takes long.

Which is why there are so many palmtrees, oranges and lemons there.
Which is why this coast is more than fantastic to spend your holidays, at one of the most beautifull coasts of Europe, with a clean and clear sea and very pleasant summers, hardly ever "cooking hot".

Still, at the very moment of this picture, it's early in spring, which lucky for us staying there a great deal of the entire year, is THE BEST SEASON to enjoy.

In the Zagora, the hinterland, immense fields of wild flowers, orchids by the thousands and allready a fair temperature for die-hard swimmers like we (no, most Croats wait till the water is plus twenty, with a maximum of twentyfive in full summer).

Can't wait, as still the sea is pretty fresh (12 C) but getting warmer every day !

one, two, many

2010-02-28T18:58:00.001+01:00

Ovce (sheep) and janjetine (young sheep), to many to count and if you try you'll probably fall asleep.

For those who like to lay in the sun at one of those milion beaches of our Adriatic coast, and do nothing than that, stop reading here.

For those a tiny bit more adventurous, eager to get to know true life of Croatia (HR) and its neighbour Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH), get going, as in less than an hours drive you'll see more than you thought possible.

Whatever direction you go, except south (where the sea is dummy), you'll discover loads of real life in what's called Zagora, the hinterland of that glorious coast.

The picture here was taken in Bosnia (uhhh, that mine-poluted country), driving from Split/Omis/Makarska to Livno or Tomislavgrad in BiH.

I've seen my bit of the world, trust me, but here I found, AND find my peace, my inspiration and the stories I want to share with you.

Sheep to many to count, peacefully eating till they are eaten (and fantastic they are here), in a panoramic landscape you would not even think it was possible like it's here, just over the border at Arzano or Kamensko (no sweat, passport and insurancepapers of the car).
And talking about sheep and what they give to us, do try some Livno or Kupres cheese, tasty as can be and cheaper than the industry-stuff you may be used to.

Oh, and before I forget, driving this marvelous scenery, left to Livno or right to Tomislavgrad, you pass a giant lake called Busko Jezero or Busko Blato, that invites for a swim on a hot summers day.

Go for it, and about those mines, yes there are and no, not all around anymore, and in case there are, or you want to go hiking cross country, each and everyone has info, and in each town there is information available.

But don't let it stop you from visiting, as I am still alive and complete, and so are these sheep.

winter olympics Svinisce style

2010-02-28T16:24:00.001+01:00

Four days of snow in our hidden valley, normally baking in the summersun, and our Svinisce Winter Olympics had a go.

Most people stayed away from work, school and shopping, due to the dangerous driving conditions, so time to have fun !!!

Wherever there was a slope (rampa they call it) or a downhill road the Croatian bobteam was going for gold medals.

Those cookingplate covers are excellent bobsleighs, and for those still needing them to cover the cookingplace, plastic bags were almost as good as anything else, as long as it was of "racing quality".

And GOLD they won, far away from officials, crowds and hymnes.

they don't shoot horses, do they ?

2010-02-28T13:47:00.001+01:00

No, if you see a horse here, its used for riding, so its not being shot at.

But anything else that lives in our surrounding nature is prone to meet a bullet or at least a hunter, as hunting is one of the things that is in the genes of the locals.

Not wanting to dispute if hunting should or should not be banned (being cheaper and better than sex I am a pro), I respect and accept everything that's been part of local life here for centuries, and hunting is just a part of that.

Besides, when these wild boars (black pigs as they say) enter your tenderly maintained potatoefield, taking your winterstock in one night, you'll probably shout "if I had a gun, I'd kill the bastards".

Well, they have their guns, stricktly legal, well regulated and organised in huntinggroups, and what's better on a weekendday than going into nature during the huntingseason and harvest some of the wildlife around you together with some good villagefriends.
(Some illegal hunting or even shooting at nasty flies earns less of my respect, but okay, some drivers ignore red lights among most others doing things by the book).

One of those days, returning from shopping in Omis, I drove up along Cetina river, to our hidden valley, and spotted this group after a succesfull hunt.
All except the boars were still fighting adrenalinelevels down, the dogs biting the fallen enemy to check if they were dead as dead should be, which they were.
Half liters of Karlovacko Pivo (beer) were handed around (not on this proud picture), to celebrate another day in pure nature.

And that's exactly what life is all about here, only ten minutes behind a fantastic touristical coast at Omis, great to spend a holiday, but not showing what true paradise living is about.
Life here is easy going (polako), helping eachother, sharing good and bad moments together, being a party or a funeral, picking grapes, potatoes or olives, fixing a hole in the road or building a concrete wall for a neighbour together.

As always, after some job together, there is pivo or homemade vino, as there is dryed ham, cheese, some pickles and bread, or even better, a fair amount of excellent meat from the grill (perhaps a peace of boar ??).

Life sucks (but it only sucks the suckers).

running from the cold ?

2010-02-26T19:16:00.002+01:00

If you think Svinisce is great to hide from the wintercold, well, sorry to say, but you'd better keep running south and don't stop till you see camels flying.

With the intention to tell the truth, the whole truth and much more about living (or having holidays) in Croatia, I would be cheating if I did'nt tell that during winter at least our hidden valley is cold.

Thyme, rosemary and lavender under our laureltree show nothing else but their snowy branches, their normal delicious smells waiting for some sun.
There is a chemical explanation to that, as odors are gases, and below some temperatures those gases become sleepy (so freeze your armpits in stead of using deodorants for once).

But things aint as bad as they look or seem, as our snow only kept us of the roads for four days, being to dangerous to drive up or down our mountainroads.

During those days most people in our neighbourhood stayed away from work and school, having loads of fun sliding down roads and hillsides on anything usable to slide.
Garbagebags filled with eggboxes (great isolation), plastic bags taped around shoes and pants to prevent snow coming in, you don't have to be wealthy when you are able to improvise (and improvise they can here !!!!).

The good part of this snowy item is that after four days the snow melted away, the road was safe again, and ten minutes driving down along the Cetine and into Omis, the Adriatic was quietly giving some heat to the air, helped by some wintersun, keeping oranges, lemons and such in good shape.
The difference in microclimates here is amazing , due to hills, valleys and surrounding mountains with corridors between them, keeping the area connected to the harsh winterconditions in Bosnia (where you go if you like to ski a bit) and the Adriatic on the other side of our mountains.

So, like I told before, many days you can drink an excellent espresso in the morning, sitting under a palmtree in the wintersun at the Adriatic Sea, and get your ski's under in less than a two hours drive.

So if you like variation in your daily meal, this is the best place to be.
And the slice of lemon on your schnitzel, well, just pick one in stead of buying them.

grapes ?

2010-02-26T12:30:00.000+01:00

Somewhere in our neighbourhood, having a walk on a fair winterday, I crossed this wineyard, empty, as the grapes turned into wine months ago already.

As rough nature is all around here, the owner of this patch must have been "pissed off" as birds were robbing him from his drunken nights, singing klapa with friends.

(Klapa is THE local traditional of singing songs together, most songs about the sea, lost loves, fishing and sun).

And as this man had a wife that went shopping day after day after day, she got loads of plastic bags, he gladly took in return for her spending his money.

So now this wineyard is looking terrible, but so is the face of this man after another drunken night, singing klapa while drinking his local wine (which most of the time is nice and mostly very nice, but stubborn as a donkey).

Drink these wines during daytime mixed with water, as it's got so much flavour it's taste and character are not influenced by adding some water.
At our daily diners however, I take one/two glasses, and believe me, watching television at the woodfire after diner never was nicer :-)

Still I hope the guy will not just dump his plastic shit, preparing his yard for new grapes to grow, as they still have the nasty habit here to drop much of their useless materials in this lovely pure nature (but that's another story to tell, and I will !!!!).

banak i mali stol (sit down and enjoy)

2010-02-26T12:04:00.001+01:00

A while ago I was walking along the coast after stormy weather, knowing as an old sailor that in bad weather always something is lost from a ships deck.

Walking over the rocky cliffs of the Adriatic is always a great thing to do, after stormy weather its even nicer, as the sea spits out wat it does'nt eat or need.

Sad enough, most is plastic garbage, bottles (always empty), shoes (never a pair), lighters, bags, shit, shit, shit, loads of shit.

However...., most of those moments I find something that's of use to me, just funny, nice or really usefull.

From some ship they have been missing a peace of wood used to cover the cargo, but sorry guys I found it, and thanks for losing it, as it became what they call in Croatia a "mali stol", meaning "small table".

Especially the true old used character of that peace of wood, tumbled and washed in stormy waves, iron bands around the edges and handles with rosty grips, I just loved it from the first sight.

Not being a carpenter by profession, I teached myselve recently how to make sturdy strong connections in wood, using strong glue and as little metal parts as possible.
So I created some good legs under it, did some sanding and painting (not to much !!!) and had myselve a nice little table to put my glass of local wine on after a day of true pure joy in Croatia.

Well, is that all than ?
Hell no, as a little table is nice, but one's got to sit down to, so again I started to work on some old broken wood, left behind by the constructors of our little gardenhouse.
They did'nt need it anymore, after loads of stones and concrete had been rolled over it, split in two halves, dropped aside for the fireplace.

For me hoewever, also these two parts can be united again with good glue and some splinting, and after brushing loads of cement off, shaving and sanding and some painting (not to much !!)two legs were made and there it was, the "mali banak" /little bench, solving my sitting problem.
So now that's all done, I can finally sit down and enjoy the panoramic view in the late afternoon sun.

Stop......first there's more work to be done, as the outside walls of our new gardenhouse/workshop have to be finished as they are still uncovered and ugly grey, and sure, also the floor will have some finish, but polako (slowly slowly), that's for another moment in the near future.

Lots to plan, lots to do, lots to enjoy, lots and lots and lots, but all just for the fun of it, so POLAKO, as you only live once !!!!!

dream or do ????

2009-12-27T21:38:00.006+01:00

Everything has a reason, even the unexpected.

Having the land we have but not to much space to put our gardenstuff, chairs, tools and much more away, one day last autumn I said "why not build a little gardenshed on the new peace of land we bought"

With the help of some good friends , we started to do “something”, guided by just a small peace of paper with some "idea".
So, out of the blue, this little 8x8 mtrs. gardenhouse grew within four weeks, with a radionica (hobbyspace) for myselve, a huge fireplace for everyone to enjoy just like that or grilling whatever there is, and lots of space to sit and relax on even a shitday with bura or jugo(strong winds), pooring rain, but still that view on Mosor Mountain.

Must still finish in- and outside, the small roof over the terrace, tiles on the floor to be done, and maybe even two glass doors on the terrace "just in case", but its already a great new part of fullfilling our dreams.

wild Livno horses

2009-12-25T17:06:00.001+01:00

First I must admit both pictures are taken by other people, of which the one with the swimming group is part of a series of pictures taken by the photo-club in Imotski and the winter one by the organisation that was taking care of the protection of this magnificant wild bunch.
www.fotoimota.hr/gallery/displayimage.php?album=244&pos=9 and www.divljikonji.org, both highly interesting and worth a compliment.

To tell a bit more about these horses, a group of about 200 wild animals, they live in the rough nature near Livno, a traditional and interesting town, not so far over the Bosnian border.

Coming from Croatia it's a good one hours drive from Split to Livno.

Like I told before and will tell over and over again, there are a lot of hidden treasures in the neighbourhood of Svinisce, and this is one of them.
Not only is Livno a highly recommendable goal for a day behind the Adriatic coast, with many old mosks, and a river coming out of "nothing", where "nothing" is a high cliff dominating the panorama of Livno, with high above, on top of the cliff the remains of an old Ottoman tower.

When small farmers in the last century (+/- 1970) where heading from the countryside to the cities to find jobs, many gave their horses back to nature, where they surprisingly well survided the harsh climate of hot summers and freezing winters.
At the moment the group totals about 200 animals, coming together or splitting up in smaller groups depending on season and circumstances.

Recently the town of Livno decided to start a protection programm, as these noble animals are fantastic to observe in their natural habitat, the impressive plains and mountains around Livno, and an excellent tourist attraction.

So if you're visiting Croatia and you love nature in its most natural shape, spend a day (or two) heading for Livno, and the horses that live there.
The trip is taking you up Dinara Mountains, leading into Bosnia-Herzegovina along Busko Jezero, a beautyfull large lake with thousands of birds.

If you plan to make it a one day's visit:
enjoy ending the day coming "home" at the Adriatic coast, looking at the sundown, drinking a glass of local wine, smelling the herbs around you, listening to crickets having their Mediterranian summerparty.

You won't be disappointed, you'll have once in a lifetime experience and just like me, you'll have another reason to come back to either Croatia or Bosnia time and time again.

PS :
(crossing the border in your private car (check allowance on leased cars) is no problem at all; just take your passports and international green car-insurance papers with you).

best wishes to all

2009-12-25T15:14:00.001+01:00

However still a lot of new developments have to be showed (and there's a lot to show and tell), this is the moment for best wishes.
So here we go: best wishes to all, for Christmas as well as the year 2010.

Enjoy these days in happiness, friendly intimacy, reflection of a year gone by and a new one to get started.
A child was born, a new year is awaiting with 365 days, each day getting born again when the sun goes up.

Today rapidly turns into yesterday, so don't take anything for granted.

Merry Christmas and a happy Newyear to all.

waterballet

2009-07-25T02:35:00.001+02:00

once the potatoes are growing and rain fails to fall, people come to their acres to add some water to their beloved plants.

with the well a few hundred meters way they pump this natural springwater up to their land and start spraying their crops.

only two sounds are heard, namely far away/below a soft noise of the motorpump, and closeby the falling of waterdrops spread in wide curves, almost like a ballet for man and waterhose.

the moment I saw the beauty of this simple and basic action I waited till the sun was behind Ante, the man spraying, and started to picture one shot after another, and this is the one shot I like most.
if you think life is only beautifull when there is ACTION, you're wrong !
the lack of "real" action and the relaxing sound it makes makes me feel happy.

which goes for almost every moment we spend in our little paradise in the valley of Svinisce, just behind the Adriatic coast.

ah, and yes, those potatoes taste better than any other.
which goes for everything they grow there.

mate (nicola) moi priatel

2009-07-24T02:16:00.000+02:00

Nicola is his name, Nicola Tafra, but everyone calls him Mate.

mate is our neighbour, and a very special character.
in his young days he and some friends played with a german explosive, which ended in a severe injury.

he misses one arm, is blind at one eye, and has a load of other marks on his body telling the story without words: after the war is over only innocent die.

anyway, here he stand in a tree, cleaning it from ivy, and in case you wanna know, the tree was ours and we cut it down later.

sorry Mate, but thanks for the help, than and later on till now.
a special character, a good teacher to me, and a great friend to us.

puno hvala !

there, deep down in the middle

2009-07-24T01:50:00.002+02:00

one day, at Sveti Vid's day (one of the many holy days in roman catholic Croatia) we walked up the mountainridge between us and the Adriatic Sea.

walking up the mountain on a hot sunny day, climbing about 500 meters, took us a couple of hours of hard swetting work.
there hardly is a path, only what seems to have been a path, and even that "path" is rather a passage through bushes, over rocks, as it actually was the walk goats from the village used to make, till the "goats union" decided about ten years ago that where people started to use cars it was unacceptable to keep goats walking.

so these footpathes (or should I say "clawpathes") slowly disappeared in nature, as only once in a year they're used by pelgrims and I to walk to the tiny white chapel on top of the ridge, where a priest stood waiting in the open air, valley on the left and deep down on the other side even more deep the blue sea.
not being a churchgoing believer I stayed a bit aside, while a crowd of about hundred joined in his service, singing and listening to his good words.

and even the priest showed to be all human, as once finishing his "job", he took of his official clothing to join in a marvelous picnic, as each of the crowd had taken some drinks and food to this gathering.

fried chicked, roasted courgettes filled with melting cheese, home made dry ham, local cheese, good bread and of course, white and red wine from everybody's own wineyard, and even worse, the strong rakia and local derivates, with herbs, walnuts, cherries managed to get to the top of the mountain.
holy shit, no booze for me please, some small bites, a tiny bit of wine, a gallon of fresh water, that's all I needed, as going up was already heavy, but going down was double as long and twice as heavy, as I knew because I like to study detailled maps in advance.

a strong advice to hikers/walkers in croatian summersun is to at least take one liter of water, of possible even two, some sweet stuff, and a little handtowel, to soak and hang over head, neck or shoulders to cool a bit when things get hot and water is far away.

returning after an extremely nice social event, we walked the ridge, wide, rough and full of herbs for alcoholic picnics to come, slowly descending along a little mountainrefuge, following a rocky canyon filled with giant boulders and broken trees.
recently we had a massive rainfall during the night of about 150 liters per meter, creating a lot of problems, sliding hillsides, blocked roads and clearly visible here, a thundering stream of water gushing down to leave a chaos of rocks and wood.

all together going up and getting down again took an impressive five hours walk (ex. picnic), with somewhere in the walk the moment that I took this picture (click to enlarge), where deep down in the centre lies our own little hidden paradise, right to that white house.

anyway, great day, fine people, marvelous view, fantastic experience.

hvala na Sveti Vid *)

*) thanks to Saint Vitus, who died 15 of juni 313 AC under the rule of Diocletianus, who's palace is still a major monument to visit in the old Roman town of Split.

this is not our cat

2009-07-23T23:45:00.001+02:00

how to say a cat is not your cat but is your cat anyway ?

she and her brother are so to say free cats, born in the wild, living a wild life in the wild.
and where her brother, a black and white slightly distant male, gets his attention a couple of houses away, this lady turned out to be charmed by our looks/smell/attention/food, and however I am not a cat's person, she decided otherwise.

being nasty during a couple of days, pooring water, making noise and silly movements, even not taking a shower for a period of time, nothing helped, so I finally fell for her persuation.

she liked us, came back and back again, and finally adopted us (not us adopting her, mind you), and forced us to give her a name.
so we did, and therefor she's now Sissi, after that princess once played by the late Romy Schneider.
(her black&white brother got the name Macho, which he is not, but he carries his name with pride).

I won't go into catstories, so this is an exception, as the picture was sent to us by our family overthere, showing she lost a bit of weight.
not due to a lack of food, we take our responsabilities serious, so we left three bags of her favourite catfood together with instructions to our neighbour, thanks Mate !!, to at least once a day provide her a nice meal.

the reason for her weightreduction is that she finally got rid of a bunch of youngsters she was carrying during our recent stay.
we witnessed the intimate loveconnection between her and "William of Orange", a red male from a couple of houses down the road and however it was wham, bam, thank you ma'm, it was bullseye as well, as we saw our Sissi grow over a couple of weeks, and wondered when and where she would be a mother, and how the kids where looking.

dozens of times she tried to sneak into our little appartment, but each time I managed to prevent a total take over.

enough is enough, but a man's got to stand for his principles.
nevertheless we offered her many secluded spots, where she could safely give bearth, but never saw it happen as she was still going heavier with no birthmovements, and we had to return to our "beloved" NEEderland, cloudy, wet, noisy, flat, crowded and ongoing intolerant.
so finally she gave birth, under a golden sun in Godgven nature, with the tender care of us, even when we're "here" and not "there".

so, nice place, nice cat, and nice look over the base of our terrace, the sunny shadows and the smelly rosemary on the leftside in the border.
and of course, the newly placed suncover (thanks Richard and team), wrong colours perhaps, but hey, it was a bargain and its very practical.

so your up to date again, as much as I am.
ahhhh, those lazy summerdays in Croatia with no news, no nonsense, just nothing but a cat, fantastic...................

what you grow is what you get

2009-07-21T00:50:00.003+02:00

it took me some waiting for a dry day, when the potatoes started crying for some water and as always, a bit of luck with my camera.
however, what's luck when you wait for that specific moment, look and look again, move in several directions till the light is right behind the object, and finally see what you want to see in the picture you want to tell the story of.

having agricultural neighbours working their small pieces of land on terraces up and down our own piece of land, growing potatoes, onions, olives, cabbage and melons, they take great pride in taking care of the best crop to get from it.

hardly any synthetic fertiliser being used, but ripened sheepshit in stead, combined with excellent ground and a bit of help to mother nature spraying the plants with water from a true natural well when the ground gets dry and the weather hot.

it's all there is to it, with a lot of tender love and care, of course !!!
everone regularly comes to his land in the afternoon, to work for a couple of hours to keep everything nice and tidy and growing well.
but it's all worth it as you get the best food you can eat, and so they care, like everybody in our valley including us, for their plants.

your foodquality is not something to get from european regulations, labels and loads of industrial nonsense, wrapped in plastic and commercials.

good food comes from good people taking good care of good plants on good ground !!!
if it looks like a melon, be sure that what you eat here IS a melon, and not it's green sister, "killed" before it even grew up to be a real tasty, sweet, sunripe, gorgeous melon.

stop reading here, go to your supermarket and tell those idiots that by killing your food they are killing you as well !!!!

plitvice ? krka ? no, it's Svinisce !

2009-04-09T01:42:00.009+02:00

To tell the truth, its not in the centre of Svinisce, its about a ten minutes walk away.

If thats to much trouble for you, there's a road real close to it, so if you prefer to be driven, that's ok with me, as we've got a car on croatian plates waiting to be used.
Come on !
If you'r coming to Svinisce, at least be prepared to go walking.
And with walking I mean WALKING, as there are numerous walks, well marked and right through the middle of nature and on Omiska Dinara (the mountainridge between us and the Adriatic).

Wanna stay close ?
Our surroundings are pure nature, even with some ancient Roman footpath, and if you prefer a mix of nature and history, some stone structures from the pirate history of Omis (called Almissa in earlier days) are still to be seen.

What's more, above Omis there are two remains of castles, so enough to choose crossing nature over and towards historic remains.
And well, since I mention Omis again, its at the Adriatic, with a large sandy beach, and one small stoney bay after another if you do not like sand between your bums.

The picture shows the waterfalls of what they call a "potok", which means a small seasonal flood.
During the wet season they take the water from fields, hills and mountains into the Cetina river, once the summerseason starts they dry out to a miserable less than nothing.

However, wet or dry, the structure of it is most interesting, and the scenery where it goes down to the canyon is most beautifull, which made filmmakers use it for some famous Winnetou films.

In earlier days (before carworthy roads) a footpath brought the men from the village down to the town of Omis, where they worked for a bit of money in a couple of factories (carbid, cement and such, of which most have disapeared).
And after a hard day of industrial labour they walked up the footpath again, sometimes even with heavy loads on their back, to home for a meal and a bit of rest.

Was that the day than, hell no, as each had his own peace of land.
The work in the field was waiting for another bit of hard work. And as I write below (see item about domaci products) the only way to have the best of the necessary food and wine is by taking care of it themselves, so they did, and still do.

Compare us "overstressed" modern technocratic people to those folks than (and still) and you'll understand that it was'nt or is'nt an easy life under the sun.
Still I am certain that although life's not easy, it was and is of a much higher quality !

And THAT is still a fact nowadays in this and many other valley around, being the reason for me to like life here so much more !

Pick your moment in the seasons, as whatever moment you take, it will conquer your heart, just like it did mine.

As this is life as its meant to be !!!
(not easy, but fullfilling).

"domaci"

2009-04-08T01:44:00.006+02:00

One of the commonly used words in Croatia is "domaci", meaning its home made, traditional, organic, non industrialised, e.g. pure taste.
As an example of how domaci braid should be baked traditionally, one must start with the best flour, and this is how that is made.

Walking sevenhundred meters upstream of this watermill on three spots the clearest natural springs erupt from under a steep rocky mountainwall.
And when I say the clearest, I truly mean THE CLEAREST, ready to fill bottles with.
Hard to get in a picture, I could look through the surface of that water into the deep and clear blue, coming straight from inside the Dinaric Mountains.
In no time these three wells feed a small river leading to this traditional watermill, in the family for hunderds of years (the friendly man told me).
For those who want to know, the place is called Grab, and lies close to the upstream section of the Cetina river.

Here between waterpowered millingstones the flour is milled in such an authentic and slow way that as a result the best thinkable flour is produced.
Why ?
Because the whole grain is milled, really slowly, and as it goes slowly there is no heat involved that "kills" the quality of the grain.
That's why !

And that's why from this flour the best bread can be baked in a traditional oven on a stone floor, heated with a woodfire. And doing so, its with every right to be called DOMACI (meaning traditionally homemade).
Sad enough, the word "domaci" nowadays is also in use for industrial machined foodproducts that have NOTHING to do with its original meaning.
Believe me for once (if not always), once you tasted that bread, you'll never pick one of those sponges packed in a plastic condom from a superstore again.

And that goes for a lot of TRUE domaci products, being meat, vegetables, fish or drinks in Croatia, simply because Croatian people like to do a lot themselves, keeping chickens for eggs, having their own vegetables and even once in a while their own pigs. (not to mention producing their own olive-oil, wine, and after the wine destillating their own pure rakia, basis for many strong drinks).
Just ask for it, as everbody knows and is gladly sharing with you where to get the real stuff (like I just told you).

So if you're looking for something else than Mc. This or That or "more of the same" wrapped in a fancy paper and empty phrases, just follow me to DOMACI CROATIA.
Cause if you like real life this is the place to be.

ps:
Sure there are highways, airports, internet and airco's too.
But not only that, thank God.

FIRE !!!!!

2009-04-07T23:34:00.001+02:00

Cold nights, so starting the day means: FIRE........

Februari and march are not part of what they call summerseason, so starting up a winterday means starting a fire first.
(If you prefer sun at The most beautifull Adriatic Sea, stay away till may).

Cleaning that nice glass window of our charming little woodstove is easily done by using one of those "nylon" kitchenpads used to clean dirty dishes, slightly moistured in advance and dipped in a bit of last nights ashes.
A couple of minutes later the window is a window again, the cold ashes taken out to create space for a new day of warmth, especially when strong stormy winds and rain are keeping us inside.

Some firestarter, a peace of Slobodna Dalmatia (the local newspaper), some thin dead cherrybranches (even better: grapecuttings), and a block or two of oak, and there we go again.

With ventilation- and smokechannels of the woodstove wide open, within fifteen minutes our small and well isolated house is in "sauna condition".
Than the airinput goes back to its lowest point and by adding a block of wood each hour or so, we create an atmosphere where camels and coconuts can easily survive and so do we.

So close to the Adriatic winter aint realy harsh, so surviving winter aint a big thing here.
Snow does sometimes drop but never stays long, and getting your balls frozen of is not the best reason to visit this part of the planet (but it's worth a try).
If you're coming over to see snow however, that's easily arranged, since only half an hour away lies Biokovo Mountains (National Park), where thick snow covers its top and icy winds blows not only your balls of in less than a moment.
Lucky part is that you can melt down again between the palms of Makarska after returning (see Google Earth for details).
And about an hour away, over the Bosnian border, there's much snow and even good downhill skiing is a realistic goal for a day of fun.
So liking it hot or cold, the choice is yours.

For those interested, good readily cut and chopped (oak and similar) firewood, delivered free of charge, costs about 60 euro's per "meter" (not exactly a cubic meter, but who cares since four of those meters take us through winter in a mild way.
And NO, I aint gonna bargain about that price, as its a fair price for a lot of work, certainly on a cold and stormy winterday !
So I gladly pay that price.

(Some Croatian language: shout VATRA in case of a FIRE).

even on a cloudy day

2009-04-06T23:47:00.000+02:00

However not the sunny view most people know the Adriatic of, this cloudy scenery is also great, at least in my opinion.
If you do not agree, let me know in the section called "leave me a note" on the right side below the weatherforecast.

April just started, so spring slowly arrives, as did the birds, and in a couple of weeks it will be the Mediterranian at its very best, with loads of flowers.

March gave lots of strong winds (bura as well as jugo), loads of rain, even some snow on "our" Mosor Mountains.
Sure we had a couple of superdays too, with gentle weather, strong sunshine and no wind at all.
Using those better days I "discovered" some great spots in nature, even swam in a mountainriver (by accident), found some amazing places you will see when you visit, and did a short tour by car in half a day bringing me from palmtrees to snow and back.

Plans are going as expected, so at the end of this year this will be the superview from our new house to be built.
Can't wait to see clouds like these from that place, even on a cold day after the winterseason.
Be our guest if you like views like this, but give us some time to accomodate.

somewhere between Sestanovac and Zagvozd

2009-02-24T18:56:00.004+01:00

Do enlarge this picture (by clicking on it), its a nice one.

Was my previous item about Carnival in the Netherlands, this one brings you (and me) back to the silent beauty of a thousand spots in Croatia.

Driving from Sestanovac to Zagvozd at the nothern slopes of Biokovo National Park, this is the silent scenery you'll see in wintertime.
(From Omis to Makarska, between the two up the mountains at the left, heading for Zadvarje; you can't miss it).

With a couple of evergreen trees and the rest in wintercolours, a little rock apeared on my left with on top of it a little white churchtower between the permanent green of cipres trees.

And with those gentle clouds against a blue sky, this my favourite picture at the moment (screen on my Dutch pc).

With all the noise around me during carnival (see item below), this brings me into a relaxed state of mind.
In a couple of weeks I am (we are) back in Croatia, and although its still winter overthere too, I am sure that spring comes sooner there than it does in our northern hemisphere.
And spring in Croatia is abolutely THE most beautifull season to visit Croatia.

Everywhere you will discover exiting flowers, and not one of them at a time, but thousands, covering meadows and slopes, at the banks of rivers and ponds, between rocks and bolders, sending their message to you.
Colourfull and full of those typical mediterranean smells of thyme, sage and all those others.

Sit back, its still a bit early, but if you can efford, go for The Croatian Spring !!!
(cheaper than cheap flights: http://www.germanwings.com/).

carnival in holland

2009-02-24T01:06:00.004+01:00

OK, shoot me for not writing about Svinisce this time.
On the other hand, why ignore the fact that I am a Dutchman, even worse, a Brabander, known for their Bourgondic way of life.

And hey, being in Holland (The Netherlands) till our next trip to Croatia (soon to happen), I might as well show you a tiny bit of one of the most famous regional carnivalparades in this part of the world.

Most of them during daylight, our tiny hometown does it different since 22 years, having that parade in the evening.
Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezCF_jdBJM to see it all in part I.
At: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXV1FoOltI8&feature=related, you can see part II.
(With very special thanks to Matty Machielse putting it on YouTube).

Not being the biggest town in the southwest of the Netherlands with about 2500 inhabitants, it has every reason to be damned proud of such a giant parade.
With about 22 huge and large vehicles, all with loads of lights over giant crazy sculptures in flaming colours, its better than "those" parades in Disneyland.
On this special night a crowd of at least 20.000 people from all around enter our little village, to enjoy this magnificant show.

I could not keep you uninformed about this, but its a promise next item will be about Svinisce and its surroundings again.
Do'nt want to boost visits or tourism to Standdaarbuiten, which for the other days of the year is nothing compared to Svinisce and less than a hole in the clay, happening to be our hometown (just kidding).
Sorry Zwammegat, as your name is during "Carnaval", but Svinisce has it day after day, and you are just a "one night stand".
But what a night it was again !!!

looking from Croatia into Bosnia

2009-02-22T13:04:00.001+01:00

Click on the picture to enlarge, or read on below.

the story to the picture above

2009-02-22T13:00:00.002+01:00

Sorry, but this aint my sharpest picture.

Using a Canon Powershot G3, which I am happy with in general, this is just a bit to much for that little digital camera.

One of those days I was driving round a bit, and found a small but excellent road heading up the mountainside from Slime, between us and the sea.

Told it before, between us and the Adriatic is a mountainridge, called Omiska Dinara, which is about 600 meters high.
(And that's the perfect barrier between our supersilent valley and the crowded coast in summer).

Driving up, direction Konoba Tadici, I reached a marvelous panoramic view at about 400 meters high, overlooking Croatia till the Bosnian border, and as you can see deep into Bosnia's snowy mountains.

Surrounded by impressive rocky slopes from higher above, deep down at my feet I had a marvelous view over it all, with several snowcovered big mountains, among which "my" Blidinje National Park in Bosnia.
Like I said before, where in close reach (max. two hours drives) of everything I like, with our own Biokovo, Mosor, the Adriatic, the Cetina-river and so much more.

Back to the story behind the view:
Here, at this Konoba Tadici, newly built with lots of space for larger groups of visiting tourists and a wide terrace to sit down in amazement, there are a couple of things that make a visit worth a lot more than "just" this view.

Mr. Tadic is the owner of a lot of traditional old stone houses, one filled with hundreds of those airdried "prsut" the superior tasty "prosiutto" the Croats are famous for.
Next stone house is filled with another couple of hundred "pig bottoms", hanging from the ceiling another year till they are perfect.
In another house (and there are many more) a large fireplace waits for peka dishes to be stuffed and roasted under hot burning coal, and to safe you from death by distant delight, I will only tell there is still another house, with a line up of grills, ready for a group of lambs to be grilled for the hungry.
Not to mention there's a lot more, with more stone houses, terraces filled with grapes, small meadows, and to much to tell in this little blog of mine.

Believe me, this is another "hotspot" for lazy moments, overlooking it all at a late afternoon, when the sun coloures all that beauty.
And before that moment, I am absolutely gonna walk all hikes going up, between and down all slopes, cliffs and forest hidden secrets.
What a beauty, and how happy the man (me), sitting there with wife and friends, enjoying a meal at that place, till late in the evening.
Can't wait to make it happen, do you ?

safe sealife

2009-02-21T23:03:00.002+01:00

No words this time, or just a few.

Publishing this picture taken by a diving friend with excellent underwatercam, all I have to say is "be carefull out there".

As even sealife does it safely, why would'nt you.
Have lots of fun anyway, as life is to short to worry to much !

(this is NOT a sponsored message).

no fire, just sun

2009-02-21T22:50:00.001+01:00

Faantaastic view in the late afternoon over the landscape nearby.

Not the only moment we are delighted by what we see here, as from the early morning till late in the afternoon we have our lucky views.
Even on rainy days, which we had a "few", when clouds take away the peak of our mountain Mosor.
As even than "something" happens all the time, worth to enjoy sitting outside silently.
Unless its raining cats and dogs, but even than its enjoyable, from the inside looking out of course !

The change of light, colours and shades over our mountain, clearly in sight at one moment and masked with white clouds rising from the Cetina river gorge deep out of sight at another moment, its the best theatre to watch at any moment of the day and night.

The players in this never ending play (if we see them) are smaller and bigger birds, far away or a bit closer but never really close.
Some even do not even show, but prove their role in the whole by "singing" from a hidden spot behind the curtains of the night.
And if you say those big owls do not sing, right you are, but totally wrong at the same time, as to me its like sirenes calling me for a walk into their territory.

Not being totally stupid, I never follow sirenes voices, but sitting silently outside I do enjoy theire low "oehoeing" in the evening.
Hope however to see one in near future, which should be possible as those birds have a span of easily 1.25 meters wide.
But as they are such damned silent flying hunters I have to have a bit of luck.
So wish me luck, just as I share my luck with you.

What a view !

timeless history

2009-02-21T18:07:00.002+01:00

"Rocks, rocks, rocks", who wants some of these rocks ?

"Yes, for me please, I just LOVE them", I just recently discovered.

About twenty minutes by car from our place in Svinisce, there is a place called Gata, and passing that in N/E direction the road will pass a wide open country loaded with rocks.
(which is normal for Dalmatia, as it was created from rocks after God finished all other countries and dropped what he saw as left overs).

After you leave Omis, a nice road lifts you up high over the impressive canyon of the Cetina river, and from there it turns to the right.

Follow that road, its nice, and buy some mortadella, a softdrink and some good bread at the little Studenac store on the left (as its Inga, the wife of a good friend running it).
About five minutes further, STOP the car, take that little road to te right or just put it aside the road.

Here I started a walk into "no mens land" that showed like a rocky puzzle in advance.
What the hack, as all puzzles get into place after a while, so I jumped from one to another.
Stepping, stopping, jumping, it showed to have been (dis-)organised over centuries by people, taking care of tiny patches filled with a couple of grapes, a few cherrytrees, a small grassy spot for one, two or three sheep, maybe even a cow.

"Rocky Dreamland" I called it silently to myselve, as this was the feeling I had going from one spot to another, discovering small signs of cultivation all the time, created over timeless history passed.
A metal ring jammed into a huge rock, a small path between the piled rocks, and there, look there, a minimalistic stone house, smaller than a couple of square feet, the roof cracked, but clearly manmade to hide away during rain or at a tired moment after having lunch with a firm mouthfull of "domaci" (homemade) wine.

Within about ten minutes I totally forgot that I ever left the car, and the further I stepped and jumped, the more I loved it.
Each and every moment I chose myselve a next step or stop, looking further, seeing more in what looked like a never ending dreamscape.
Never was in Autralia (why should I), but for a moment felt like an aboriginee must feel in his most divine surroundings.

God was not making a mistake dropping all these rocks here.
He did it with a purpose and on purpose, and thank God, I got the message.
And if you're not totally blind, deaf and dumb, you've got te message too.

As when you want to feel totally free, step away from the road and start "humpjumping", the new tourist attraction I just invented.

mix some snow and some palmtrees

2009-02-21T17:19:00.001+01:00

Normally it would be a silly suggestion, in this situation however the mixing of snow and palmtrees allready seems to have been done.
So start looking for the clever way this picture has been photoshopped, as a combination like this looks very impossible (is it ?).

Snow, and not just a thin coat, but a thick layer, even on this sunny side of the mountains, no kidding.
As on Biokovo Mountains at twelvehundred meters (fourthousand feet), you'r in the middle of it, up to your knees if you like (or dislike).

OK, its middle of winter in Europe, so there should be at least some snow to give you the idea global warming is't as bad as it seems.
But this is not Switserland, France or Austria, skiingcountries for the millions.

Here in Makarska, at the coast of the Adriatic Sea, walking along or sitting between the palmtrees, sipping your espresso in the afternoon sun, regularly you can allmost touch the snow, as this is a normal picture overthere in this season.

And remember, as I am still trying to prove "Svinisce, the hidden treasure", this is only about thirty minutes away from our silent valley, and another fifteen minutes up over a nice mountainroad, till you really are in the middle of that snow, looking down on this palmtree shaded bay at a blue sea.

Sorry to say, for a nicer swim you'll have to wait till end of april or middle of may.
But who cares, as the espresso is excellent, as are the fantastic cakes with it, if you know the place to go for it. And I know !!!
Just ask me.

Look, don't think, just click the pic and look !!!

2008-12-31T17:14:00.003+01:00

If ever I showed you why I love this country called Croatia and still you do not get the picture, well here's the picture why !!!

Start your HAPPY NEWYEAR with this picture in your mind, like I start up my computer looking at this amazing location, every day again.
And believe me, every time I see this scenery, I feel fine, as I may not be there now, but I will be soon, as even in winter airplanes fly (even cheaper !!).
To keep this blog clean and honest, this picture was taken after summer last year, so in winter it may differ from the actual view today or tomorrow.

OK, so let's think its winter there now, and however real winter is up and behind those mountains called Biokovo, its so so for the weather, but never to long.
Let me tell you than, that the view might be even better, as the light over the Adriatic never changes, but those mountains are covered with snow, making it look like a creamtopped cake.

As soon as possible we will go there, so pictures will follow from the same spot, along that tiny baye in Promajne, close to Makarska.
Looking like Little Peyton Place, this tiny village is the best location I know there, as it has everything in human scale.

Just a few streets, a couple of restaurants, not even big hotels but loads of private appartments, a large beach shaded with pinetrees, and right in the centre of the town a perfectly maintained small parc, a church with a white tower, a postoffice and above that the first grade school.

Need more ?
I would'nt know !

And as this blog is about Svinisce, the hidden treasure, just know that this marvelous spot is only twenty minutes away.

SO, HAPPY NEWYEAR TO ALL OF YOU !

(and don't say I did'nt tell you).

Dutch wishes !

2008-12-26T10:33:00.000+01:00

Hello dear visitor of my weblog.
Most of the time I write about Croatia, and don't be afraid, that will continue to be my first goal.

However, in these dark decemberdays of spiritual reflections, waiting for the new year to start it allover again, a bit of fun might help.
So to you anglo-americans I say sorry for the inconvenience of having to read and understand a Dutch joke, but to my fellow countrymen I say "geintje, moet kunnen".

Soon I will add some of my regular exiting pictures and stories about the good life in Croatia, for now its "we're closed till january".

Have your best and most reflective Christmas ever, and start the Newyear not only with best wishes, but GOALS to realise.
It's not enough to say "yes we can", it's time to say "yes, we will" !!!

crossing borders brings new views

2008-08-28T14:22:00.018+02:00

Once in Croatia, to be precise in Dalmatia, everybody runs for the coast, the beaches and the old cities like Split, Trogir and Dubrovnic.

Not even such a bad idea, as the Adriatic is fantastic, the climate superb and very much to do or not to do staying along the coastal area.

But it would be no less than a missed chance, as just behind the coastal mountains lies a completely different world, much more authentic than any regular excursion can show you.
Nevertheless its highly recommended to take a trip, even its to those wellknown places where all excursions go.
Be sure you'll have a great day visiting Solin, Sinj or Knin, but it might be crowded with groups like yours.

Now lets have a look over the border, as that brings you a totally new view, for instance in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Kravice waterfalls direction Mostar are just an exmaple.

My last trip from Dalmatia into Bosnia Herzegovina took me to Travnik, highly interesting as it is, however you will see memories of the liberationwar.

What realy hit me however was the totally different landscape, almost (or exactly) like Switserland or Austria.
Green valleys, snowtopped mountains, smaller and bigger rivers where man were fishing trout, and sheep alover the country, filling up for rostil (grill).

I was passing through near Blidinje, a stunning landscape with a completely different climate,with a giant lake surrouded by high mountainpeaks, to my delight snowheaded in may (and ski area in winter), and I decided to go back there as its less than a hundred kilometers away from Omis at the coast.

What's more, I started to check the internet in advance, and discovered a real mountain tourguide, perfectly equiped with knowledge and experience, and that will be my man to learn from, cause BIH (bosnia & herzegovina) might not be the type of mountains to go in to without any experience or local knowledge.

So Friket, don't be surprised if I ask you to be my guide in that marvelous country, and I truly hope you show many people like me what a Godgiven beautyfull country your living in as our neighbour.

And in case your like me, do enjoy the Croatian coast, but don't forget to visit the neighbours, as than you'll have two countries in one holiday, and believe me for once: YOU WON'T REGRET IT.

Have a look for yourselve, just click on the title of this item (see above, you dummy)

one step out of paradise

2008-08-27T10:09:00.009+02:00

However I love to share my love for the pure and unspoiled nature in Croatia in this weblog, this time a serious message must be shared about how people destroy paradises all over the world.

A great benefit of the twentyfirst century is what you're looking at now, the internet.

It connects people in their dreams, knowledge, fun and life.
Also it makes it possible to think over issues that hopefully are far away from each of our paradises, if we are the lucky ones.
Sad enough, we are not living in paradise, never were and never will.

From ancient history into today (and tomorrow) there were and will be conflicts, trouble and wars, and whatever responsible politicians and military say, there is no such as a clean war or clean weapons.

My own country Nederland only last century was part on worldwar one and two, in which WW2 did not only bring us the freedom I experience today writing this item, but also a load of danger hidden in the ground, silently waiting to kill or wound the innocent.

And sad enough, this goes for so many countries in and after conflicts and wars, also for Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, around and very close to my "hidden treasure".
Luckily the problem of mines and uxo's in Croatia is less enormous and rapidly taken care off, which does not go for Bosnia Herzegovina, less wealthy and far more poluted with "memories" of the freedomwar.

It will take giant amounts of money however for both countries and many years of dangerous labour, and many innocent casualties till the last peace of danger has been taken away.

Being intelligent people living in the twentyfirst century, creators of internet and many lifesaving and scientific inventions, it's about time to say NO to these other creations of human creativity.

Mines, clusterbombs and uxo's are INHUMANE, as they make victims AFTER the war.
Hidden in the ground, between plants and trees, in agricultural land and in God given paradise they wait for the innocent, unvisible, unfindable, unforgiving.

So if you want to live in paradise, or at least spend your happy holidays in it, contact your politicians and TELL them to stop this poluting of your dreams.

DO IT, DO SOMETHING, DO IT NOW, AS EVEN YOUR FUTURE PARADISE WILL BE GONE ONE DAY.

Cause wherever you travel, this DIRT is everywhere in our world, making your happy steps into paradise turn out to be a oneway ticket to hell !!!

Beautifull traditional songs (click here and listen/look)

2008-08-10T21:48:00.010+02:00

Don't ask me what the lyrics are about yet, as my Croatian is just enough to shop or order a beer.
But I hope some moment I'll find out how this "impossible" language works.

Till then you'll have to just enjoy the sound of these rough voices, and at the same time enjoy the pictures shown of a land that's full of pure nature.
When you click on the title above "Beautifull traditional songs" you hear and see this song on Youtube.

For those interested in it, here are the lyrics of the song:

Oj medvjede gorska zivotinjo
Koj te ceslja koj li te umiva.
Mene ceslja gora bukovica
A umiva medena rosica oooooj
Oj, oj, oj, k njoj

Vuk ne vije sto je mesa gladan
Vec on vije da drustvo salije
Hojte vamo da ga zarozgamo
Odavno ga zarozgali nismo ooooooj
Oj, oj, oj, k njoj

Oj vuci viju, gavranovi grcu
Srne drce, sve planine jece
Hodi kume da ga zarozgamao
Odavno ga zarozgali nismo oooooj
Oj, oj, oj, k njoj

Oj zalajala kuja vise Slunja
U Primorju opazila vuka
Od stra`a kuja u Dunav skocila
Sve Primorje repom poskropila oooooj
Oj, oj, oj, k njoj

And YES, there are still bears, wolves and lynx here, in the National- and Natureparks and in many other part of the rough inland mountains and forests.
And not only those predators, as Croatian nature is amazing in its diversity.
For those loving true nature like me, its an amazing and inspiring country, where government takes pride and efford in protecting all natural beauty.
Coastal mountains, hot, windy and rocky, large forests, snow covered inland mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, caves and wells, prairies, slopes and valleys, you name it, they've got it.

A rich range of birds, more plants, herbs and flowers than you'll probably know, butterflies, crickets, and a range of reptiles (dangerous ones also, mind you), and even turtles can be found and enjoyed in their natural habitat.

Still, if you prefer to enjoy a beach holiday, want to explore ancient cities like Split and Dubrovnic or like to spend your time doing nothing at all in a guaranteed sunny climate under palmtrees or sail the coastal waters between hundreds of islands, just remember, Croatia has it all !!!

For me however, this marvelous country is the very best because of its natural richness.

why, where and how (take a tour to know)

2008-08-10T17:02:00.010+02:00

The reason I create this weblog is in the first place to enjoy this part of Croatia.
For you as a visitor as well as for me, as selecting pictures and adding text is great fun for me to.

Also I like to show a bit of all the beauty of this pure country at the Adriatic, not in the first place for showing all the hundreds of points of interest every tourist is coming for from all over the world.

Sure, Split, Dubrovnic, Trogir and many more cities are absolutely worth the trip, and you will spend many hours if not days visiting them.

And YES, the Adriatic Sea, its coastal beauty, the hundreds of islands, the warm clear blue water, and not to forget the superfresh fish to be enjoyed in so many little restaurants are a delight waiting for you.

But please do take time to discover the land behind the coastal mountains, for instance our little valley just ten minutes behind the coast.

To give you an idea of why, where and how we fell in love with this part of Croatia, take a look at "our private parts" in our webalbum about how we discovered our small place Svinisce to be an absolute paradise to spend our time.

From the very first moment on, it was clear to me that I wanted to get settled there, at least semi permanent, if not permanent, as the quality and ritm of life there are the very best.

Do click on the next line, and enjoy the pictures (subtext in Dutch).
http://picasaweb.google.nl/pimdevos/CroatiaDalmatiaSplitOmisSvinisceEnDanNaarOnsEigenPlekje?authkey=iJN2fvwiVrw

Hope to see you there once.

blues to start the day with

2008-07-18T15:15:00.003+02:00

Why not start your day with the blues.

Most people dream of a white Christmas.

Not me, as however I like those snowy days in winter, I prefer the blues of summer.

And as I live in the Netherlands, not having the most blue coastal waters nor skies,

overlooking this blue Croatian coastal picture starting up my pc keeps me happy.

To help you a bit putting it into your mindmap, this view shows after only a fifteen minutes drive from our little hideaway close behind the city of Omis in Croatia.

From our little quiet valley, we drive to the right, and after a bit of zigzagging up the mountainridge, this magnificant view shows.

Driving down to the coast, one can choose to go to the left along the coast, heading for Makarska and its Riviera in about fifteen minutes, or to the right, taking you along that same coastal road with one great swimmingspot after another, to the city of Omis in also about fifteen minutes.

Which, entering along the Cetina Canyon at your right, brings you in a ten minutes drive back to where you started, being our little treasure.

So if you like the summerblues, just come and get it.

Or else, get the picture onto your computerscreen like I did.

rock the waves

2008-04-07T17:16:00.000+02:00

No need to be scared, as most times the Adriatic is flat and gentle.
But when the "lady" is angry, she's most unpleasant and violent.
So allways keep a close watch at the weather when you decide to go offshore.

There are several options to know the weatherforcast, and if you're out and afloat, once in a while look at the coastal mountains.

Cause if a white cloudy cap is building up and tumbling down towards the sea, you better look for a safe spot or enough space away from the shore.

That is one moments the lady starts kicking ass, and she does give you a rough ride for a couple of hours ar least.

But most of the time, the sea is flat as a mirror with some gentle breeze for sailing ships like the one waiting here with Omis mountains in the background.
(other side of town has a very large sandy beach).

going to the kitchen

2008-04-07T17:05:00.000+02:00

Not my type of food folks, but it seems to be very tasty.

To me an octopussy is an amazing seacreature, and one of the rare ones I will get if I can, as I have some friends who like them very much.

Other species like large living shells and other stuff I like to watch without touching, but sorry for these eight-legged crawlers, they are salade stuff.

Don't ask me how to get them into the salade, thats a secret I don't want to know, but if you insist I can contact someone who knows.

Being a steakeater, a chickenkiller and a porklover, I only sometimes eat something fishy, and if so, it better be fresh and grilled, or at least crab or lobster if it has to be cooked.

So to be very clear, I like my fish swimming while I swim around and watch.

DANGERS and RISKS !!!

2008-04-07T11:34:00.003+02:00

Readers of my weblogstories might think I am well payed by the Croatian Government to promote the country in every aspect.

Well, I am glad to say that is NOT THE CASE !!!!!
I like my freedom very much, including my freedom of speach.

So this page is about the RISKY things in Croatia.

1.
Traffic is danger nr. 1, as many roads have highly dangerous CROSSINGS, and at ANY moment there is a risk of collisions.
So wherever you go, do it with great care when driving these roads!!!!!

2.
Traffic is even MORE dangerous when rain falls in a dry hot summer !!!!
Oil, fat, rubber, its an ABSOLUTE reason to STOP your car immediately,
as you will encounter accidents if not be a part of it.
So don't say I did not warn you !!!

3.
Government is "very shy" about it, but yes there were a couple of wars here, and the recent liberationwar was one of them.
Our neighbour Mate in our valley is the living prove of the danger of "old warstuff".
One eye blind, one arm missing, lots of scars, and all that from one single small German bomb found after W.W.II.
And as the liberationwar was not as "organized" as W.W.II, there are still lots of mines in "suspected" area's.

So yes, there are zones that are a dangerous, and YES, you can come and go safely, as the risk zones are wellknown and well marked.
Continuous mine-sweeping action will take care of the final solution, and each risky location is mapped very clearly.
Villages in those parts that are "risky" have all details available at the tourist-office.

And if you really want to live life on the edge, please be prepared, cause there are scorpio's, snakes, bears, wolves, cliffs, caves and enough home made alcohol make you sleep forever.

Life still is a risky thing, but knowing the risks is dealing with them.
The only real safe place is at home in your bed, and even there you may die when a comet hits the spot.

So get going, as you're gonna die anyway someday.

the scale of a landscape

2008-04-07T00:04:00.002+02:00

Its rather a weird idea, to lick the landscape, but ok, you can now if you like.
A poststamp of Crveno Jezero, one of the two immense lakes near Imotski makes it possible, but I rather have a look than a lick, having Imotski less than an hours drive from Svinisce.
Crveno Jezero, or Red Lake is far mor impressive than a little stamp can show.
For instance, the depth is 220 meters from rim to bottom, and that's only one of the two lakes here.

The other lake, called Modro Jezero or Blue Lake, is extensively described on a marvelous website called http://www.modorjezero.org/

This website is very interesting to any visitor, and even more in memory of a crew of twelve men with a B24 Liberator, shot down and finding a resting place in the depth of the lake.