Internet access again...Yea!

This computer was a little crazy, so the pictures are out of order. Here are a few from our 'adventures' from the last few days!

Dinner with our group in Novigrad.

One picture of the many breath taking sunsets we have enjoyed over looking the Adriatic Sea.

Krista and Renee feel very lucky to be traveling with a wonderful group of people of varying ages and backgrounds. Here are just a few who we ate dinner with last night while enjoying the beautiful sunset in Zadar. We have also sampled many beers, wines, raku (like a brandy that is drank before every lunch), and of course gelato.

We went kayaking on the Adriatic Sea. Krista and Renee strongly man handled all of the ferocious waves and strong winds that they encountered. During our tour around an island, we almost went blind while catching a glimpse of a full moon from a 70 year old wrinkled man who was sunbathing nude on his boat.

This is a glamorous picture of Krista and I about midway through our 10.5 mile hike in Paklenica National Park. This was taken after a 2 mile portion that was straight up hill. We ate a delicious dutch oven lunch created by a local man over looking this beautiful park.

Krista and Renee spent the day kayaking down white water rapids in a two person kayak. Krista started off the journey by taking the pair from shore to shore! Don't worry, we got to know the bushes quite well! After about 20 minutes, Krista graciously handed over the steering reigns to Renee!

Brave dear Krista, went for a swim (also known in Wisconsin as a Polar Plunge) in the frigid, roaring river behind the primitive village we stayed in for 2 nights. Only a few other brave souls went for a swim here (Renee was not one of them....).

We biked through the beautiful country side near Korana, Croatia. On our tour, we stopped at Barac's cave. After visiting the cave, we continued to ride our bikes through a torrential down pour to our lunch provided by a local. After lunch we continued our bike ride through the rain like women warriors would (the majority of our group rode back in the vans) to our village. Renee continued farther past the villa up to an overlook of the waterfalls in Plitvice National Park. Little did she know it would torrential down poor again or that the entire group would be driven to this look out point the next morning in the gorgeous sunshine.

Here is a view overlooking one of the main waterfalls in the Park. When the sun hits it just right the water looks emerald green and saphire blue.

We visited Plitvice National Park which was filled with gorgeous waterfall after waterfall. Krista was in heaven here and filled her camera memory card while going through on about a 6 mile hike around the park.

Wanna Ride the Funicular?

We rode the funicular, a tram that runs up a steep hill, connecting the lower part of Zagreb(Donji Grad - Jelacic Square) with the upper part of Zagreb (Gronji Grad - comprised of Gradec and Kaptol). It dates back to the 19th century, lasted a whopping 55 seconds, and was a great way to avoid some steep stairs.

We also visited the market (dolac), this time when it was running in full force. We caught it yesterday just as it was closing at 2 PM. We honestly think that a majority of Zagrebians only work from 9 AM until 2 PM. As soon as 2 PM hits, the outdoor cafes really get crowded, as people enjoy each other's company with an after-work beverage and beautiful 70ish degree weather (no humidity either!)

The main thoroughfares in Zagreb are not navigable by car (though electric trams are utilized heavily) and are often filled with outdoor cafes. Very rarely is there a restaurant without outdoor seating on the main drag. For as many people that there are in Zagreb (780,000), it sure seems peaceful.

We walked through Stone Gate, Gradec's only surviving town gate. It was literally an arched walkway through the street. Inside was a painting of Mary that miraculously survived a major fire in the adjoining house in 1731. They used this painting as a focal point when they decided to turn this town gate into a chapel. When people walk through, they light candles to symbolize their prayers, and place them in a big silver bin to burn. When their prayers are answered, many purchase an enscribed brick to give thanks. These bricks line the walkway with many saying 'Hvala' which means 'thank you' in Croatian.

A majority of Croatians are Catholic, so churches are an important part of their culture. We saw two beautiful churches today during our explorations. This is a fountain located outside of what the locals call the Cathedral. The full name of the cathedral is 'The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saintly Kings Stephen and Ladislav.' With a name that long, no wonder why it's just referred to as the Cathedral!

Inside of the Cathedral. It was quite crowded with people praying. It appeared as though it was commonplace for people to just walk in for a short time, say a prayer, and be on with their day. The church was very intricately detailed with many beautiful artifacts. We did not want to disturb those who were praying so we took just a few pics without a flash. This was one of the better ones.

This is the Church of St. Mark's. The original church is from the 13th century. The colorfully tiled roof is from 1880 and shows 2 coats of arms. The left is for North Central Croatia and the right is the seal of Zagreb. This was located in St. Mark's Square, which also happened to house the Parliament and the offices for the Prime Minister. We timed it perfectly and were able to see 'someone' as they were being escorted into one of these buildings. (We think the Prime Minister based on the paparazzi and news crews outside unless they just heard that we were coming ;) )

How many Coronas is that?

So you might be wondering what our title means. Well, today we did a lot of sight seeing and shopping around the city. The unit of currency in Croatia is called the Kuna. Renee, being the camouflaged American, brilliantly asked this natively speaking Croatian cashier, ˝How many Coronas is that?˝ Needless to say, when I told Renee what she said, we were both laughing pretty hard.

While out on our walking tour, we encountered the next big fashion trend for men...fanny packs! We've begun calling them 'manny packs.' No lie - we have lost count because we have seen so many. Young, old, handsome or not, many men have them. Hmmm...perhaps I should bring some back for my brothers. What do you think? ;)

We are meeting up with our REI travel group tonight and are heading for more rural areas of Croatia early tomorrow morning. We do not anticipate much Internet access, so we probably will not write again until we are in a bigger town. While the city was nice, we are excited for our first day of outdoor adventure. We will be staying in the village of Korana. (Hopefully, Renee will not once again confuse this with Corona ;) )

This is 50 'kunas.' In American dollars, this would be $10. Food and a lot of goods are much cheaper here than in the U.S.

Pictures - Zagreb, Croatia

Hotel Dubrovnik. This is where we are staying for the next two nights. It is in the prime location, overlooking the main city square. It is fancier than we anticipated. We better not get too used to it because everything else here on out will most likely be simple.

For being a capital city, there is a beautiful park located about 1 block from our hotel. There were 3 water fountains and a gazebo.

This is in the giant gazebo in the park located in downtown Zagreb. We think this park is lined with giant birch trees as well as mums. (Not to mention, the many teenagers making out on the park benches.)

This is part of Jelacic Square, which is located about 1 block away from our hotel. The fresh market is located just to the left. It was just closing as we arrived, so we will get pictures of it tomorrow.

Lessons Learned in Our First Day As Europeans

If Renee is not a frequent flyer after this, I do not know what it will take! She spent 4 hours on the plane from Seattle to O'Hare, then we both flew 8.5 hours from O'Hare to Paris. Then we hopped on a 2 hour flight from Paris to Zagreb, Croatia. All in all, we figure she covered about 8,000 miles in less than 24 hours. Flights were not too bad, just long. Unfortunately, our seats were not together for the long flight over the ocean. Renee, however, had the extreme pleasure of having 2 kids sitting behind her who were screaming and kicking her chair for nearly the entire ride. Too bad she packed her Excedrin in her checked luggage because the earplugs, blinders, and wine were just not enough. Our luggage arrived promptly (which we were a little nervous about). Our hotel is ideally located on the main square in Zagreb, and thankfully most people speak some English because we are both just hopeless with French.

Some things we've learned in just one day about Europe: 1) If we did not think we were tall before, we sure do now! 2) We forgot to bring our skinny jeans and turquoise leggings to blend in. 3) Europeans do not take their shoes off when going through security at the airport. As we proceeded to do this out of habit because of America, the guy behind us asked if our 'trousers were next!' (No worries, he was not a creeper). 4) Renee has some good genes. When she asked for a glass of wine on the plane, the woman asked if she was 18 yet. Not too shabby considering she is 10 years older than that! 5) All French flight attendants look like they could be supermodels.

We have already taken pictures and will try to post some soon. Jet lag is hitting us hard, but we are fighting to stay awake to get on the European time clock. We'll post again soon. Ciao!

Here's what's on tap...

Here is what we will be doing in just a few days...can't wait! We will write again when we arrive in Zagreb, Croatia. Later gators!

Today's the Day!

Welcome to Renee and Krista's Great European Adventure 2010! I think we were both more excited than our students to be finished with school for the summer. So inquiring minds probably want to know...what inspired our grand adventure? Two words - grad school! I think after the crazy schedules we both lived through over the course of the past year or so, the thought of a vacation was too much to ignore! We may or not have gotten a little carried away with our planning, but go big or go home, right?!? :)

So what's on the agenda? We fly out of O'Hare today and will arrive in Paris tomorrow morning. From there, we catch a connecting flight to Zagreb, Croatia. In Zagreb, we will meet up with an REI Adventure travel group. We will spend about 2 weeks traveling throughout the mountain and coastal villages in Croatia, exploring the nooks and crannies of many national parks which Europeans have vacationed to for many years. Each day is filled with either hiking, biking, kayaking, rafting, caving, or some other active adventure. We end our Croatian tour in the coastal city of Dubrovnik on 7/5. From there, it's a flight to "The Eternal City" of Rome. The plan is to spend about 5 days there exploring the wondrous history of decades past. Our final destination is to the city of love and lights...Paris, France. We will be there for about 4 days or so before heading back to the states on 7/15.

We will try to keep you posted and write as often as we can (in between our sampling of gelato, of course ;) ). Please feel free to post comments or email us - we would love to hear from you!