Mostar, Bosnia-DAY 7

A week into our trip we headed out from Split and made our way to Dubrovnik via Mostar, Bosnia.  Croatia and Bosnia were once both a part of Yugoslavia and there's a long history there with the war.  We  had friends recommend Mostar to us because of it's historical nature and the beautiful bridge.

The drive was quick (compared to some of our others) and we arrived a little before mid-day.  After parking our car we headed toward the direction of old town.  Amid the obvious tourist driven old town are eerie reminders of the war almost 20 years ago. There are the obvious museums dedicated to the conflict but the bullet holes and bombed out buildings still standing are probably the most striking.  

Old town

"The Boulevard" used to be the main drag of Mostar but during the war it became the front line.  Although most of the buildings have been repaired there are still mortar craters evident. It was obvious when we hit the old town as the streets turned from paved to "cobblestone".  The river rock was really hard on the stroller but we made it work!

The main attraction in the town is the old bridge.  The original bridge was built in the 1500's by the Ottomans and stood until the war in the 90's.  At the beginning of the war tires were draped over it to absorb some of the shock but eventually it fell when the Croats shelled directly.  The bridge was rebuilt after the war.  Although they were not able to reuse most of the limestone because of water damage they redid it using the same techniques used back in the Ottoman era.

The Old Bridge

View of the river from the bridge

The bridge itself was super slippery due to the limestone and frankly very hard to cross.  It was beautiful and we really loved watching the local diver's club collect donations...aka bribes...to jump off of it! Mostar is a mainly Muslim town so you could see 7 mosque minarets from the top of the bridge.  This was especially fun when we sat down for lunch and the call to prayers started!

The bridge from our lunch spot

A few of the minarets

After lunch we toured the rest of the older town taking in a few sights.  The museum we wanted to wander through was closed but we did walk by the New Muslim Cemetery.  I'm not typically intrigued by cemetery but again the history of this one drew me in.  Every tomb is dated 1993, 1994 or 1995.  When the war was raging the more exposed cemeteries were unusable but this area was tree covered and safe from snipers.

Made Josh walk up these stairs to see if the museum was open

Our last stop of the day was the Koski Mehmet-Pasha Mosque.  It is one of the only that non-Muslims are allowed to entered and it's fairly small.  We went inside and then Josh and Mara climbed the minaret to take in the views from the top.  Mara did amazing climbing the very steep circular stairs on her own!

Inside the mosque

view from the mosque

Mostar was beautiful with tons of history.  I frankly didn't know much about the war and this detour really allowed me to take the time, read and learn about the conflict.  

Although we enjoyed our day in Bosnia (kind of upset they didn't stamp our passports for this) it was time to head to Dubrovnik for the night!

Madeline-7 Months

Weight: You are still probably around the 15 mark give or take a pound or two.  You don't seem to be getting too much longer either.

Health: Your dry cheeks continue to get better as we remember to keep lotion on them.  You have been teething a bit getting your third tooth on the bottom.  This has caused some fussiness and drool.

 Social: You are still super happy and generally content to play by yourself or near your sister.  You love to look around the room and will "talk" with anyone who wants to hold you.  We have yet to really experience any stranger danger although you do get excited when you see Mama and someone else is holding you.

Diet: Mainly breast milk still but eating more and more baby food.  You will try anything and generally love it.  We mix fruit and veggies regularly.  You probably get a jar a day split between lunch and dinner.

You reach for any food we have and fuss until we give you a taste.  You love to gnaw on bread and carrots.

Clothes: You are still in 6 month clothing and fitting well.  This really surprises me as I would have expected us to move onto 9 month things already. I'm going to go digging in our 9 month bin this week and pull all the summer things.  I'm afraid that you will hit these and then it'll be winter!

At night you are still in size 3 disposables and the middle snap on your cloth diapers. 

Mama's Favorites: You are the most content and happiest in the morning.  I love going in to get you and adore how excited you get.  Your legs start kicking and you can't control it!.  I also secretly love how you can go from crying to laughing in an instant.


Crying: Still only crying when wanting something: to eat, to sleep or bored

Sleep: You are still sleeping through the night with a dream feed somewhere around midnight.  Some days (lately) you wake at 5 wanting a feed.  On these days you typically go back to bed till 8.

We are in that transition period of 3 to 2 naps.  You are handling it well and I'm just following your lead.  Some days you have 2 some 3.

This Month:  You broke another tooth in.  You really got started on solids and we spent a lot of time recovering from all our traveling.


Baby Likes: You love when people talk to you, jumping, your sister, walks in the stroller and stealing bits of everyone's food.  You adore your daddy and will follow him around the room.  You discovered Buddy and now love it when he sits by you and lets you "pet" him.

Milestones: You broke tooth number 3.  You are sitting up consistently by yourself.  You are seriously reaching for toys and trying to move around to get them.  You talk to us and squeal sometimes just to hear your own voice.

Best of Times: Life with you is a joy!

Worst of Times: A few rough nights when we didn't get you down for bed early enough

Sister Diaries: She wants to play with you more and more.  I can't wait till you can really interact with toys and play.  She does get jealous when others are talking to you and can try to steel the attention back.  She also does not like it when you play with her toys.

Split, Croatia DAY 6

Our day in Split was spent mainly exploring Dicletian's Palace.  This top tourist destination in the city was the retirement palace of the Roman Emperor Dicletian, just another example of Croatia's Roman history.

Diocletian

We started in the cellars using our guidebook to take us step by step through it.  Only a little section has been excavated. After the fall of the empire, villagers took refuge in the cellars during the rampaging of the city.  Garbage and other debris quickly filled up the tunnels.  The cellars were still damp and pretty much untouched.  I enjoyed looking at black granite sphinx which was only one of 13 that have survived from the Roman age.  

The promanade

From the cellars we walked into the peristyle.  This was the heart of the palace and we were treated to a talk from Dicletian (performs address the crowd every day at noon).  It was extremely hot at this point so we made our way into the bowels of the old town to grab some lunch.

Old Town

After lunch we checked off the other parts of the palace including the Cathedral of St. Dominus and it's adjoining crypt.  Interestingly enough the crypt is in honor of St. Lucia who was my patron saint during confirmation.  Travelers write letters and prayers to her and leave them in the crypt.

One of the sphinxes

The last parts of the palace included Jupiter's Temple and the Golden Gate.  After completing the full tour we took our time exploring the rest of the city.  We grabbed some ice cream and sat out on the promenade for a few hours just people watching.

Mara down in the cellars

In the evening both girls fell asleep at the same point.  We took this opportunity to sit down for a little wine tasting and delicious dinner.

Split was both an interesting historical city and a bustling modern gem.  It was fun to see both of these sides play out.

 

Outside the old town walls

Zadar, Croatia DAY 5

Day 5 of our vacation started in Zadar.  We slept in a bit and got a breakfast of pastries while taking in the old town.  Zadar's old town was nothing like the others with no outer wall or older buildings.  We parked ourselves by one of the historic churches and did a little people watching.

Beautiful waterfalls and crystal clear water

Mara loved swimming with Daddy

Next we explored a really unique church.  It was a hexagonal design with an upper story as well.  Mara immeaditily fell in love with it and kept running around calling it her new home :)  We made our way back to the sea wall and headed toward the organ again.  It was just as charming in the day as it was the night before.

Exploring the church in Zadar

To kill a little time before lunch I took Mara for train ride around the city.  There was a touristy little train that took us around old town and around the sea walls.  Mara loved it and I enjoyed getting to rest my feet a bit.  Lunch was at a local Italian place before we packed up and headed toward Split.

Train ride around Zadar

With Maddy on the boat to Kirka National Park

Along the way we made a detour at Kirka National Park.  It was late in the day so we didn't have big plans of touring the park or doing any hiking.  We boarded the ferry and took the 30 minute ride into the park.  Mara was exhausted and managed to sleep through the whole ride.

Kirka is similar to Plitvice Lakes in the lakes and waterfalls.  It's unique in that you can actually swim there!  Josh and Mara changed and quickly made their way into the water.  It was a little tricky to navigate with the rocks and lake bottom so I decided to hang out with Maddy on the edge.  It was a relaxing afternoon and I enjoyed people watching.

Entrance to Old Town Zadar

After a few hours in the park we boarded the boat again and made our way back to the car.  We still had a little bit of a drive to Split that evening.

Once in Split we got checked into our apartment (the biggest and nicest one we stayed at the entire trip) and grabbed some fast food for dinner.  We were pooped and really wanted to get the girls down at a decent time for bed.  The next day would be a long one exploring Split!

Church in Zadar

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia DAY 4

Day four started early as we had hopes of beating the tour buses to Plitvice Lakes.  It's a VERY popular national park with a ton of waterfalls each cascading down into the next lake below.  We had about a three hour drive from Rovinj ahead of us so we woke up early to get going.

Our morning was exciting as Josh had a scorpion in his pants (thankfully he shook them out before putting them on) and we didn't have hot water.  We made do and got everyone loaded and in the car.  The drive there was uneventful and we managed to beat some tour buses ;)

Josh and Mara in front of the large fall

The lakes are absolutely beautiful.  The water is crystal clear and this amazing shade of turquoise blue.  You can see the fish swimming along the edge and pretty far into the depths as you walk alongside the lakes.

The paths take you on top and on the edge of the lakes.  The lower section started with a downhill hike and took us around the edge to the largest of the falls.  It was a little nerve wracking as Mara was walking on her own and the "safety" rails weren't safe enough for this Mama!

Crystal clear

The rest of the morning was spent hiking the lower section.  We just soaked up the beauty stopping to take pictures along the way.  Mara was a trooper choosing to walk most of the way and ride in the ergo the rest.

We stopped for lunch at the boat dock.  It was crowded but we managed to find a table in the shade and enjoyed a delicious meal.  Thankfully the wait for the boat went fast and we were on it in no time!  By the looks of the line during lunch I thought we would be waiting for awhile.

One of the caves

The boat took us across the lake to the upper section of the lakes where after a little mishap with our navigating skills , we continued circling the lakes.  The upper section had less water falls and more hiking trails.  While the girls napped we made our way around eventually taking a bus back to where we begin.

It was a long day of hiking (maybe 8 hours total and 4 miles) but the girls were troopers.  We left the park around 4 and headed the rest of the way to Zadar, our stop for the night.  Dinner was at a local place on the water called Knobat.

The view right as you enter the park

Zadar is known for it's nights on the promenade.  They have a light instillation that little ones love and a sea organ that draws crowds.  These were must sees for us.  Mara was in awe of both especially loving the sea organ.  The sea organ is constructed with different size pipes set at the tide level on the dock.  The waves rush in and create different sounds which come through holes on the side walk.  Mara had her ear to the ground listening for a good 15 minutes!

The upper lakes

Rovinj, Croatia DAY 3

Day 3 started early for Josh as he woke before the sun to head into the heart of the city.  He wanted to of course see the sun rise but to also capture the town before it got to crowded.  The girls and I slept in a bit and were welcomed to a breakfast of pastries when he returned!

Sunset cruise

I was in love with the shutters

We all headed back down to the harbor/old town for a morning of exploration.  We first strolled along the docks before turning up the hill toward the church.  All the older cities we visited seemed to be built this way with fortified walls surrounding narrow streets topped off with a church on top!

The harbor in Rovinj

Pretty girl

After a quick visit to the church (mass was about to start!) we strolled the grounds and made our way slowly down through the cobblestones peeking our heads into little shops.  Rovinj had already stolen our hearts and we vowed to come back in the evening.

Putting on a show!

A moment at the pizzeria

We drove to nearby Pula to explore an amphitheater.  The amphitheater is very much still in tact a testimony to the peninsula's Roman roots.  There wasn't a ton to see but we walked the perimeter and checked out the small museum display in the bowels of the structure (why the displays were on olive oil and not on the structure I have no idea)

My beautiful girl

The arena

It was time for lunch and pizza just sounded good so we walked to a local joint called Pizzeria Jupiter.  It didn't disappoint and we almost put down 3 pies between all of us!  Pula is more a modern industrial city than Rovinj and just didn't have that charm we were looking for.  We wanted to see the amphitheater so after lunch we headed back up to Rovinj.

Caught this moment between these two

Morning naps on Mom

There we gave Mara a quick playground break and let her burn off some energy.  We spent the rest of the evening poking around the city and ducking in small shops with dinner down by the water.  The shinning gem of the night was a sunset boat trip we decided to do on a whim.  Mara had seen all the boats in the harbor and was begging to ride one.  The cost was minimal so we decided to go for it.

She loves to stop and pick wildflowers

The harbor at sunrise

The boat took us out of the harbor and around lasting about two hours.  In the end we caught a small pod of dolphins jumping in the waves so that just topped it off almost helping us forget the screaming baby who wanted to sleep in our arms.  Poor Maddy was done and just ready for her bed!

First taste of sorbet

Istria, Croatia: DAY 2

We started day two by driving from Zagreb to the Istria peninsula.  The drive was long but we split it up with a stop for lunch at a great rest stop.  The girls were troopers sleeping most of the way.

View from a top the city walls

Dinner view

Upon recommendation from Claudia and Drago we stopped in Motovun on our way.  Motovun is in the heart of truffle country and just a quaint village that rests on top of a steep hill!  We paid the few Kuna to ride the shuttle to the top and then hiked the rest of the way.  Motovun was the first place our flimsy stroller was tested.  The cobblestone streets of old town had us dragging it most of the way instead of pushing it.

All dressed up for dinner

Family pic

We strolled around old town and toured the local church.  The church square is converted to an outdoor theater in the fall when the town hosts a large film festival.   We also walked the city walls and admired the view into the valley surrounding the town.  It was quite hot so before hiking back down we stopped for refreshments and a little ice cream :)  A truffle shop was last on the list because you just can't visit truffle country without getting something!  We walked out with some truffle spread and olive oil.

They even lit it on fire!

After touring Motovun we made the rest of the drive to Rovinj for the night.  We checked into our air B & B location for the night and immeaditily headed out to dinner.  Again Claudia and Drago recommended a place right on the water with amazing sea food.  We indulged in salt encrusted sea bass and a nice bottle of wine.  Mara spotted a wedding party and was convinced that the bride was Cinderella.  We could not go through dinner without taking her to meet "Cinna".  Josh took our shy little girl over and the bride was so sweet, playing along.

The old streets of Motovun