The only place we visited in Croatia previously was Dubrovnik on the coast so this would be an interesting look into the more interior area of the country. We docked at Ilok and were on the buses and on our way to an all day tour.
First of all, I have to give credit to our tour guide Doris, easy to remember as she likened herself to Doris Day with absolutely no resemblance. Her humor was subtle at times, at other times not so much. Here are the rules, she would say and follow it with "I am not the police." She was clever and informative, easy to understand and a delight.
Our first stop was in Vukovar a small town with obviously a strong heart. There was a war that took place here in 1991 that lasted almost three months and was significant in the creation of an independent Republic of Croatia. At the time it was considered one of the fiercest battles fought since the war in 1945.
Vukovar fell to the Serb forces and many of its inhabitants were expelled. Vukovar remained in Serbian hands until 1998 when it was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia. It has since been rebuilt but less than half of its pre-war population and many buildings retain the scars of the battle.
As we first entered the town the prominent symbol of the battle was before us, the water tower. It once held water but as our guide said was a little leaky. The restaurant on the top just under the main tank was popular. It was shelled profusely but still stood. "Just now it is a colander, not a water tower." She laughed and then went on to say it was a symbol of their resilience and a commemoration of what had happened there. To my mind it is a symbol of the strength of the people. I don't know how it is still standing.
We were then taken to a museum in town which showed much of the history of the area starting with bronze age. As entertaining as our guide was, I walked on my own through the museum's rooms. When I met Bob doing the same thing, we both decided we would rather see the little church next door.
We walked out into the sunshine which was beginning to warm the day. It had been a chilly start with temps expected only to reach 68 F. The church was tiny with a few people siting in pews reading their Bible or praying. We quietly slipped into a pew, looked around, said a little prayer and left to sit on a bench outside and wait for our bus to return.
The stop for lunch was the star of the afternoon. It was at a restaurant connected to an open air museum. My kind of museum. We wandered down what was called the Street Of Forgotten Times. Each little cottage displayed old time crafts like shoe making, weaving, carpentry, and a barber shop and tavern.
One man was demonstrating brickmaking with mud and straw and another was stirring a boiling pot of red peppers. I thought it had something to do with paprika since our guide had mentioned that's what all the red peppers we saw were for but paprika is made from dried peppers. There is another dish they make with the boiled peppers I learned later a relish and/or a stuffed pepper.
We were treated to a taste of their famous fruit brandy. It was sweet dark cherry and though I don't like brandy, I have to say this tasted good. As we walked to the restaurant where we were able to sit in the open air, we passed huge jars of pickled products and I'm sure some of the large jars with the cherries in them must have been brandy.
Our lunch was interesting starting off with a delicious chicken noodle soup, then followed with a cabbage slaw that was salty enough to make you pucker, a tossed salad, a plate of pork and chicken with roasted vegetables and it was all followed with a dessert that was sort of like a flat plum jam filled ravioli that was rolled in a sugared coating.
The best part of lunch was getting to meet new people and sharing stories. It's one of the best parts of travel.
We met our ship at a different place so our bus trip back was shorter. Next we are on to Budapest.
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