The Genealogy Query Database
Genealogy Query Details
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The Genealogy Query Database |
Genealogy Query Details |
Full Details for Query #101291 |
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Date Posted: |
01-Apr-2006 | View Full-size Photo |
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Surname(s): |
CROATIA TOUR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Query Text: |
Heritage and History Tour to Croatia Last October 39 people took a special, very different tour to Croatia, most of them with ancestral connections to Croatia. And most had never been to Stari Kraj, The Old Country. Upon arrival at the Zagreb airport we were met by out tour guide Alen Miocevic who welcomed the group to Croatia. We boarded our tour bus for the old Austrian resort town of Opatija on the Istrian Peninsula. Opatija was the original resort for the upper class Austrians and Croatians in the early 1900s, with the still-standing Villa Angela being the first resort in town. We would stay the next four nights at The Hotel Bristol which was built by Austrians in 1905. A few years ago an Austrian company bought the hotel, bringing it up to modern standards, yet keeping that turn of the century feel. We learned that the Italians called this town Abazzia, which is important for anyone doing genealogy research, as some records may call it Opatija while others may call it Abazzia. For instance if one searches Ellis Island records for everyone coming from Opatija you will find only five names listed, however if you search for everyone coming from Abazzia you will find another six names. These are one in the same town, yet people used the Croatian name while others used the Italian name for the town. One member of our group stayed in Opatija for the first day, researching an uncle who disappeared during World War II, visiting the church and town hall, scouring records asking questions. As with so many during that war, he seemed to simply vanish. The first day the group saw the ancient Roman Coliseum at Pula and walked through the old Roman gate to explore the city. The well-known American PBS cook, Lydia Bastianich, hails from Pula. Next was the old Adriatic fishing town of Rovinj, where the group discovered the delicious Croatian ice cream called sladoled. At the end of the day we approached the hilltop village of Motovun, where American racecar driver Mario Andretti was born. In that area we saw many vineyards and also learned that a world record sized truffle was found here. Now these are not the chocolates that many of us love rather they are a subterranean relative to the mushroom. Unlike France where they use pigs to sniff out the location of these costly delicacies, Croatians use dogs. We had reservations at the Seljacki Turizam Restaurant Stefanic. It seems that many farm families are promoting their farms for tourism purposes. To get to the farm our skilled tour bus driver, Damir Varga, had to literally thread our huge bus up and down the hills of a farmer’s lane! When we arrived we were treated by the sight of some of the family crushing grapes for wine. As we entered the farm restaurant the Stefanic family greeted our group with the traditional, bread, salt and rakija. And oh my the food… plenty of homemade wines, salad, soup, bread… then came two kinds of pastas, one with truffles which the Croatians call tartufi, the other with a gravy like sauce… but that was not the main course, next came platters of grilled meats. The meal was topped off with Croatian Fritule (fritters). Then it was back to the comfort of the Hotel Bristol for a good nights rest. Our second day we visited the Island of Krk, touring the narrow medieval streets and the City Museum. A well-known miniaturist, Jose Vilhar, lives on Krk, where one may purchase his wonderfully detailed replicas of Croatian homes and churches. Of course the group went looking for souvenirs. I recommended the ceramic replicas of Dalmatian homes and churches made by local artist Jose Vilhar. While some of our group also discovered that gold jewelry is a real bargain in Croatia. We even found reproductions of traditional jewelry that would have been worn with folkdress. It was also on Krk that the Baska Ploca tablet was discovered. The Baska Ploca, one of the oldest known items showing Croatian literacy, dates back to around 1100 and is in the archaic Croatian Glagolitic Script. Then on to Punat where we took a taxi boat to the small island of Kosljun, where in 1186 Benedictine monks founded the first monastery in Croatia. We were treated to a lunch of fresh seafood at the famous Konable Luca, where we enjoyed “the catch of the day” from the Adriatic and plenty of the famous Vrbnicka Zlahtina wine. Interesting that some in our group simply were not accustomed to eating good, fresh seafood and unfortunately ordered meat instead of the seafood! During our lunch we were entertained by a local accordionist, which prompted several in our group to get up and dance. That evening many of the group walked along the promenade at Opatija, while others sampled the local pastries. I met with several people regarding ancestors and their villages of origin using the hotel’s Internet access to help locate Ellis Island records and villages in Croatia. First we were able to find the Ellis Island ship manifest of one tour member’s grandfather that had been eluding her search for a few years! Next one tour member brought a Baptismal (Krsni List) and Marriage record (Vjencani List), which we quickly translated finding the church was the church of the Holy Trinity located at Cerovac. Only problem was there are at least three places by that name in Croatia. But the clue was that this lady’s Grandfather’s Ellis Island records said he was from Barliovic, which is near Ogulin. Looking at a map we found Cerovac Barilovicki! Now with the help of Miro Caic in Croatia, she has created the beginnings of her family tree. Next day we arranged for a van to take a group to ancestral villages of Fuzine, Vrata and Selo Belo, which is not too far from Opatija on the road to Zagreb. They were able to locate ancestral homes and their church. Another group arranged for a van to go to Generalski Stol. One of our tour group whose ancestor was a SLAT met a here-to-fore unknown cousin who actually had researched the family and found the name had come from Germany in the 1600s and in those days the name was spelled SCHLOTT. And upon entering this cousin’s home saw a photo of her Dad in his WW II naval uniform with her Grandmothers name and Ohio address on the back. These families had lost contact many years ago and were unknown to one another. The other family, who went to Generalski Stol, found the birthplace of their Grandmother KATIC, but no direct relatives. There is nothing like walking the same roads that our ancestors walked! While those two groups were off to ancestral villages, the tour bus took the rest of our group to the Gorski Kotar, which translated means Hill District. Along the way we stopped at Rijeka, the hometown of our guide, Alen Miocevic, which was called Fiume by the Austrians. Being Sunday many family were strolling the vehicle free central city streets… we did the same. We learned that there are still many ethnic Italians in the area, as this Sunday there was a Mass in Italian at the Cathedral. Then it was off to the mountain villages of Goski Kotar, which supplied so many immigrants to America at the turn of the last century. We stopped to see the mother in law of one of our group, who greeted all 20 of us with pear brandy and wine, homemade of course! Then we wound our way down a long hill to the railroad town of Moravice, where another group member’s Grandmother RADESOVIC originated. The men at the train station told this person that yes the family came from a hill nearby. At the end of this exciting and fulfilling day we enjoyed the fine cuisine at the Restaurant Sveti Jakov back in Opatija. Next we left Opatija headed for the famous Plitvice Lake Park. As we headed down the coast, through ancient towns, such as Bakar (once the main Croatian port and largest city in medieval Croatia) Kraljevica and Senj, the Bura began to put on a show for us. The Bura is a strong north wind that comes down from the Dinaric Alps, through the canyons and finally to the Adriatic. The effect of this natural forces is amazing as it whips the Adriatic waters into thin wisps which dance across the surface. The forces is so great that the salt spray from the Bura that hits the eastern sides of the islands creates a landscape that is moon like, nearly devoid of vegetation. We took a break at Senj, once the home of the Uskok Pirates, who were important in preventing the Turkish ships from raiding Croatian towns. However when the Uskok began to raid Venetian ships they were banished inland to Otocac and then to Zumberak. Uskok forts remain in Senj as monuments to this hardy group of people. As we headed inland from Senj toward the Lika region and Plitivice Park, the landscape changed to the rugged Alps, then to the valleys where ancient farming villages stand. When we arrived at Plitvice, we had lunch of fresh fire roasted lamb at The Licka Kuca after which we took a walking tour of Plitvice. These famous lakes and falls have been featured over the past year on US Public TV specials. But one can only really know how spectacular they are by visiting in person! As there had been plenty of rain the falls were in full beauty… every time we turned the corner there was a new site to see…. Simply awesome! The next morning we headed from Plitivice south toward Split (called Spalato by the Italians). Enroute we stopped briefly at Udbine, the ancestral home of one of our tour members. This lady will be taking our October 2006 tour and arrange to take a side trip to Udbine for more research. On down the coast we went, stopping to view the spectacular Velebit Mountain, with most of the rock being made of dolomite, limestone, sand, the mountain has a white appearance. We then moved on to Zadar, (Italian was Zara) the oldest Croatian City on the coast, where we toured the many Roman and medieval era sites. The well-known church, Saint Donat, is a unique round building, which we learned was shored up by the use of pieces of ancient Roman columns cut into small discs and placed along the base. Next we toured the UN Protected Heritage City of Trogir. That afternoon we arrived at Split and toured the Palace of Roman Emperor Diaclecia. It was amazing to see how the palace walls remain and when the Croatians arrived they simply built their homes within those walls. Today there is an effort to remove some of those houses and bring out the Roman highlights of the structure. Of course those in our group who wanted good luck rubbed the big toe of Saint Grgur on Nin. That evening we were treated to the sounds of a Croatian Klapa musical group as we ate dinner at a local restaurant. Next day we had the Director of Matica, Split, and a local artist talk to us about the heritage of the area and took us on a tour of the Mestrovic Gallery. Again we continued with our genealogy searches, as I gave a brief seminar of tips on how to search. One group member commented during that talk that her Grandmother was from a place called Brahk… aha this was The Island Brac which could be seen out of the front lobby of our hotel in Split. The Director of Matica in Split knew the family name and contacted the family for us. Again another good day of touring and researching. Bright and early the next morning we left the hotel after dorucak (breakfast) and headed not for the bus… but to the train station. Why the train? Is there really a need to ask someone who was a boy growing up in the 1950s why the train? We had arranged to take the new high-speed ICN train made by Canadian Company, Bombardier, from Split to Zagreb. I must say that the service was superb and the train arrived and left on time! And it was a treat for everyone, as we traveled at speeds around 50 – 90 MPH through the region of Lika and Karlovac toward Zagreb. The train is very comfortable, with some seats facing each other with tables between. The “steward” was very attentive, serving sandwiches and drinks to the passengers. Also we had purchased some Pag Cheese (Paski Sir), Salami and grapes which we shared with the group on the train. Arriving at the Zagreb Train Station that afternoon our driver met us with our bus and took us to the Hotel Dubrovnik, located on the main town square, Trg Jelacic, which is in a very good location in the center of town. After freshening up we headed out on a walking tour of Zagreb’s upper and lower town. From the lower town we took “the world’s shortest incline plain” (more correctly known as a funicular) to the upper town. The Croatian Parliament, The Sabor, is located in the Upper Town as is the well-known St. Mark’s with the roof made of tiles in the form of the Croatian Coat of Arms. That evening there was a great deal of commotion in Zagreb, as a meeting of a dozen European Presidents was being held. The problem was that for security reasons people were not told of this in advance. Because of this we walked to the brewpub, where we arranged for dinner, and along the way heard the locals make less than complimentary comments about those political leaders family heritage! Ah, yes Croatian profanity has a special ring to it! Once at the brewpub we were treated to the music of the tamburitza. And best of all Damir took us by bus back to the hotel. On Friday we met briefly with the Director of Croatian Heritage Foundation, Matica. Then it was off to the archives to meet with the newly formed Croatian Genealogy Society based in Zagreb. At the archives we learned what they had to offer, and what we found is that they have numerous documents, including parish records. But we also learned one needs to contact them weeks in advance for them to pull specific records. While at the archives my professional genealogy research friends in Croatia, Miro Caic from Karlovac and Sanja Frigan-Ciuha, from Zagreb, did help some of the group find small pieces of info about their families. I might mention the Archives does not have the staff to do research, but Sanja Frigan-Cihua offers such research. If you are visiting Zagreb and wish to research at the archives you need to contact the archives long in advance, giving them the specific parish where your family belonged. We were surprised that Croatian TV had sent a film crew to do a story about us! They featured our group on Dobro Jutro Hrvatska, Good Morning Croatia, a few days after we left for America. After the archives we formed a couple of groups, one that went to see the folk arts and crafts at the Ethnographic Museum and another that group went shopping in Zagreb. Later that afternoon we all went to Dom Sv. Terezija, an orphanage the takes care of 35 youngsters, from infants to teenagers. The group took gifts for the children and donations for the orphanage and enjoyed a wonderful homemade meal prepared by the sisters. What great hospitality and what wonderful children, so pleasant and so polite. The older children wanted to speak to us in English, asking many questions. A long time friend who has traveled throughout the world said that Zagreb was a like a miniature Vienna… very lovely and very friendly. Saturday morning we headed over the mountain Medvednica to Zagorje which means… the other side of the hill. This area looked like a patchwork quilt with many small plots of land, many of which had been awarded by Austria for military service and since that time they have been divided into ever-smaller parcels for descendents. With 9 of the most elegant castles in Croatia, Zagorje is “The Land of Castles”. The Croatian Heritage Museum here in Cleveland will have a Croatian Castle exhibit in the coming year, featuring castles of Zagorje. We only had a glimpse of the exterior of Veliki Tabor, as it was being renovated. But our group made the trek to the top of the hill upon which sits Trakoscan, which was built to guard the road from Putj to Bednja Valley. It was not known who built the castle but the Counts of Celje owned it in the sixth century. We had lunch at Gresna Gorica, The Hill of Sin, where we enjoyed wine, Struklje, wine, Gulas, wine… Legend has it the that the Croatian Ban Herman of Celje had a young son, Friedrich, who fell in love with the plebian Veronika of Desinic, marrying against Herman’s wishes. Herman had both imprisoned and finally Veronika was executed, thus giving the Hill of Sin its name. It is said that on long cold winter’s nights that one can still hear Veronika’s screams. This being our last day as a group in Croatia meant that we would gather for a farewell dinner. While in Zagorje we toured a recreated turn of the century villages at Kumrovec, much as it was in our Grandparent’s day. This villages has quaint homes with thatched roof construction, furnished with period furniture. Returning to Zagreb we had dinner at Sestinski Lagvic enjoying one last evening of camaraderie and retelling stories about our trip and listening to Tamburitza music. On a personal note my 82 year old Mother accompanied us on this trip… her first to Croatia. After the group left we headed to Karlovac to meet Miro Caic, who took us to my Grandfather’s ancestral village of Vini Vrh, population 6, with 4 being my cousins. We had met my cousins who still live on the same land where my family has lived for perhaps over 200 years, still growing grapes and making wine. We shared talk about the family, pastry and coffee made by my cousins daughter. We exchanged gifts, quilts for my cousins wife and daughter and some Makers Mark for my cousin (seems that Croatians love American Kentucky Bourbon). We looked through photo albums and surprisingly they had photos of people unknown to them, but that my mother knew! And before we parted my cousin, Marijan, shared some of his Most with us, Most is wine that is not yet quite wine. After that we enjoyed a gourmet meal with Miro at Hotel Korana, voted the Best Little Hotel in Croatia built in the early 1900s. We liked this hotel, which is situated in the Park near the Korana River in Karlovac, so much that we have booked rooms there for our tour in October 2006. As we rode the train from Karlovac back to Zagreb, my mother commented to me…. “you know my passport is good for 10 more years”! I think that my mother’s feeling was typical of what our group and others who have made their first visit to Stari Kraj (Croatian for Old Country), that they felt very much at home in Croatia, very comfortable there and found the people and the country to be very lovely. This trip was quite different than other tours, as we not only saw the sites but also did some discovery of our family roots along the way. We already have another planned for 2006 and have some of the same people returning with us. Dubrovnik, Cavtat, Peljasac, Medjugore, Mostar, Makarska, Split, Brac, Plitvice, Karlovac, Ozalj, Vivodina, Zumberak and Zagreb are all places we will explore on our 2006 tour. The tour has already begun to fill and if you would be interested in joining us for this special Heritage and History tour you can contact me by email at: rjerin26@yahoo.com or by phone at 216-991-2310 or Kollander World Travel at 800-800-5981, just ask about the Jerin Tour. Attached is a photo of our group at Rovinj Oct 2005 Robert Jerin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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