This morning we woke up in Croatia.....greetings Bobbie !!!!! Vokovar is Croatia's only port on the Danube. We started with a bus ride thru the countryside to the town of Osijek. We had a really good guide who told us a lot about the history of the area and about the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s. In fact, the scars of that brutal war are everywhere. Nearly all of Vukovar was leveled in an 87 day seige that left the town unrecognizable. The area is still in the process of rebuilding.
Water tower with mortar damage from the war
Our first stop was at a farm owned by our guide's family. His father told us more about the area and regaled us with funny stories about life and drinking!!!!
Next stop was at Tvrda. Tvrđa (Citadel) is the Old Town of the city of Osijek in Croatia. It is the best-preserved and largest ensemble of Baroque buildings in Croatia and consists of a Habsburg star fort built on the right bank of the River Drava. Tvrđa has been described by the World Monuments Fund as "a unique example of an eighteenth-century baroque military, administrative, and commercial urban center".
Interior of Franciscan Monastery Church
Modern sculpture depicting Christ on the cross in monastery courtyard constructed of barbed wire, brass cartridge case artillery shells and machine gun link. This was constructed after the Croatian War of Independance.
St. Michael's Church built in Austrian Baroque style by the Jesuits.
Holy Trinity Column in main square of Tvrda
The star fort was constructed in the immediate vicinity of medieval Osijek after the defeat of the Ottoman forces in 1687, due to Osijek's strategic importance. The official construction began on August 1, 1712.After the fortress's military importance decreased at the end of the 19th century, Tvrđa became a center of administrative, educational, cultural, and scholarly life in Osijek and whole region. The first school in Osijek was organized at Tvrđa; the first scholarly curriculum was introduced in 1707, to be later expanded and renewed, and the first printing press started working in 1735. The significance of educational institutions of Tvrđa is best underlined by the fact that Croatian Nobel Prize laureates, Lavoslav Ružička and Vladimir Prelog, were alumni of the Tvrđa schools.
After lunch, we toured the the galley. It is very small compared to what we have seen on big cruise ships. It was very clean and we were impressed to hear that a staff of 9 prepares the food for 190 passengers.
A Croatian Folk Group came on board to provide entertainment.
Marco, our guide from our morning tour, is the manager of the group....I think Marco and his family have created a thriving tourist business and provide a very good tour and entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment