soparnik, a turkish gift from the past

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

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

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

NEW NEW, two resting places in the gardenhouse have been made.

And yes, I made 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 in case of falling asleep, both are perfectly shaped to sit ánd sleep.

For someone who used to work with brains and mouth (telling dentists that they could do a better job after listening to me 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.

*) Bricostore came, Bricostore went, Baumax came, followed by Bauhaus and also Baumax went home.

As like with chickens, there is only space for one good rooster, so Baumax left too.

Leaving Bauhaus as thé rooster for all us chickens.

Anyway, after a few trials (and errors) I might call myselve "maistor", which in croatia (sometimes) tells you you're dealing with a skilled person.

 (And sometimes it means nothing else but: "let me grab your 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 things because I like to do it all, teaching myself how to put nails into wood the proper way (straight forward, no mistakes).

And once in a while I hit myself hard enough to dance around a bit, singing the famous "jebenti"song.

As singing, under whatever conditions, is what keeps Dalmatians happy Dalmatians.

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

Your only job here is to enjoy life in a beautiful hidden valley, like we do already.

the bigger the better

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

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

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

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

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 !

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

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

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

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

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 ?

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 ?

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 ?

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)

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 ????

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

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).