The never-ending winter and our escape to Croatia!

Last winter was our first here and it was nothing.  It was actually fantastic to have a true winter.  We had snow, it was cold at times but nothing compared to this year.  Lots of snow-which I do love but not in March.  This year, Germany experienced their coldest March since 1883.  A long winter just gets old fast.  After January in Prague, we laid low with no real motivation to do much.

We did visit Heidelberg one day.  It was an OK visit.  I think we were so tired of the cold it was just another pretty, but freezing town.  I suppose we should give it another chance in better weather.

 Taking the tram to the top

Maulbronn Monastery

An UNSECO World Heritage Site

Built in 1147, this monastery is considered one of the most complete and well preserved monasteries in Europe.  Located about 45 minutes from Stuttgart, it's a great place to visit for a few hours.

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Cuckoo clock shopping is not fun.  It's stressful.  I knew this was one of those things we will have forever and I wanted it to be perfect.  There are so many different styles and it took us three trips to Triberg to choose and here she is....  But I love it!

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Mustache March

This is the first year, while home, Mike has taken Mustache March through the entire month.  I hope it never happens again. We hosted a Tribute to the Dude celebration at the culmination.  

We do miss our B-1 family.  

 A joyous moment

Croatia: The Dalmatian Coast

I remember the first few times we heard people talking about Croatia and I remember thinking, Croatia?  Why would you ever go there?  Now I know why:  It’s clean.  It’s gorgeous.  It’s inexpensive.  It’s inexpensive.  Wait, did I already say that?  The people are so friendly and the food was excellent.  As is the norm, my history knowledge is minimal at best so I was surprised to see such a heavy Italian influence.   I get it now.  Rome conquered the Dalmatian Coast years ago and ruled the area for several centuries.  I specify the Dalmatian Coast because there are other areas of Croatia you can visit such as the Istrian Coast.  Oh and yes, the doggy breed was named after this area!

All we wanted was warmer weather, sunshine, and water.  We found it!

On the waterfront in Zadar

This was a spontaneous trip.  Ryan Air was running a special for April flights to Zadar, Croatia for 9€ Wednesday flights!  That was not a typo.  We did check a bag (more € ) and took a return flight on Sunday verses Wednesday so we paid all of $80 for each of our flights.  Crazy isn't it?  We had room reservations only for the first night in Zadar but we had a rental car!  I had written down a few villas along the coast that looked nice and we just decided to wing it…. Drive down the coastal road and stop where we wanted.

Zadar was nice.  They had interesting Roman ruins just out, along the walkways.  There were also random pillars and other ruins incorporated in the town.  It was a nice little place but for us,  it doesn't require a return visit.  Well, maybe for that gorgonzola pizza on the main street.  

  There are some places that just give you that warm and fuzzy.  Trogir was it.  It was about a 1:20 drive from Zadar.  About ten minutes out, while driving down the coastal road with the rocky terrain, the ooo and aahing started.  Me, not Mike.  Trogir does require a return visit!  

 Trogir on the left and Ciovi island on the right

Trogir's beautiful promenade

                            

 ..the huge private balconies at Villa Tina on the island Ciovo

And how affordable!  60€ a night in April 

I cannot recommend this place enough-  Very friendly and helpful staff and just a beautiful location

http://www.vila-tina.hr/index_uk.html

 Fortress at the end of the promenade

 Wonder what they were filming?  Maybe we will see it in our quest to watch more foreign films.

 Tiny, maze-like streets-  I love the pedestrian only town centers. 

Breakfast terrace at Villa Tina

Krka National Park

Are you familiar with Plitvice National Park?  Well, if not please Google images that one-  It is Avatar unbelievable.  We intended on visiting Plitvice during this trip but were told there was still snow on the ground there and we were sick of snow.  (It's about 2 hours NE of Zadar) We visited Krka National Park instead.  It was much closer and warm and sunny!  Krka is in Plitvice's shadow so I didn't have high expectations and was Wowed by this park!  Huge, well maintained, and absolutely beautiful with tons of waterfalls!  I'm so glad we went here.

See the rainbow?  

 See me?  

Yep, no railings throughout most of the park except over the big falls.  It's a bit unnerving --especially when watching children walk freely.  In several places, the falls run over the boardwalk.  Bring your hiking shoes for this park.  It's a big place- with an island/boat rides, hiking trails, and a big waterfall you can swim in front of, 

Back to Trogir for our day on the boat!

 What a perfect day.  Croatia, similar to Greece, has many islands to visit but April is off-season and the ferry schedules are limited and strange hours (for touring) - More for locals to get to work and back.  I contacted Argola Charters a few weeks prior to the trip in hopes of arranging a boat trip.  They were wonderful.  You can rent yachts, charter a private boat trip, or join a group boat excursion in the summer.  http://www.argola-charter.com/  Check'em out!  We chartered a private trip to see a few of the islands. Tony was our skipper and spoke perfect English- Even our slang.  I asked him about this and he explained he had taken 8 years of English and watches English movies.  He was super friendly, funny, and interesting.  Relaxed, but professional-  We cannot praise this company and Tony enough.  They design your day around whatever you want to see.  He will leave you with time alone on the islands but we really enjoyed talking with him so he stayed with us for the day. It's always fascinating to hear locals' chat --  how they live, their businesses, their customs--We also discussed the war which is a sensitive subject of course so I appreciated hearing his perspectives.  He just stressed his desire for peace in general--And, from all our interactions during this trip I felt the Croatians are such a friendly and peace loving people.

 The Island of Hvar

 This was our favorite stop.  It's one of the Hell's islands and the restaurant is Zori.  

http://www.zori.hr/

In a cove, only accessible by boat and Tony told us during the summer the entire inlet will be filled with yachts and boats--people swimming everywhere.   

                              

 Our boat for the day!

 Tony and Mike

Met this baby boy at a cafe in Trogir.  He was a snuggle muffin and just a sweetheart.  

We really miss our babies. 

This was one of our favorite trips so far.  It was so reasonably priced, relaxed, and just fantastic!  

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Sheep Shearing Fest

I think we brought the beautiful Croatian weather back to Germany because almost overnight, spring was here.  The weather was perfect for a little sheep shearing.  A few villages over at the Schaefer Schaible farm was the annual sheep shearing fest and farmers' market.  There were so many people and we weren't willing to wait in the insane line for the lamb chops but we did watch the shearing and picked up a slab of very delicious sheep cheese.  They were also selling wool things like shoes, blankets, yarn, and rugs.  Another really neat experience.

Germany and their bike paths....

I've never lived anywhere that had dedicated bike paths.  It's really neat to be able to bike from village to village to village.  You could probably bike all the way across Germany if you wanted to-  The paths are everywhere and that extensive!  I think sometimes, why didn't I bike in Texas or Florida?  Well, where would I have gone?  There really wasn't anywhere to go.  Here, you can bike in the fields and forests and have a destination--a village for coffee or lunch.  Or, a market.  Or, to a biergarten.  I biked quite a bit last year but just around our village, to the grocery store and the bank, and out in the fields but this year, I am determined to understand the paths better.  This week I did a 7.5km dirt track with Lisa and Niko and then the next day Lisa, Shannon, and I were really ambitious and decided to bike to Herrenberg.  It was 25km round trip!  I wasn't sure if I would make it but we did and it was so fun.  It is my new favorite thing to do.  I took Mike's new bike this time because it has saddlebags and all these fun little places to store things like leftover tortellini.   My little turquoise bike with basket and bell is great for hitting the grocery store but is not really made for any long hauls.  

These two awesome girls, Lisa and Shannon, live in our village also and I'm so excited for our upcoming spring/summer biking adventures.  It's so neat to just jump on my bike and be at their houses in a matter of minutes.

 What a precious little town.  We stopped at a wonderful little Italian restaurant for bruschetta, beer, and lots of pasta