Free Wine

[Innkeeper]

Found a very nice and reasonable hotel that provides free wine with lunch and dinner. Very nice red and SW. You do have to pay for water and coffee. Will post a complete trip report as soon as we get over jet lag and the drive back home (Hint: it isn't just around the corner).

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 06-26-2001).]

[Innkeeper]

Talking about the Aurora Hotel in Mali Losinj on the island with the same name in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia (http://www.jadranka.hr). It is a two star, all season hotel with all rooms facing the sea, beach, tennis courts, pool, many other services, and a full plate of activities every day. Rates run up from $50.00 per person per day with full board. The dinning room wines are Plavic Mali for the red, and Vrbovska Zlantina for the white. The red, as some of you know, is a not too distant cousin of Zinfandel/Primitivo. The white tastes like a fresh and crisp Tebbiano, but that's just a guess. Both were very nice.

There are number of ways to get there. We flew Lufthansa from Boston to Frankfort, and then Lufthansa/Croatia Air to Zagreb and on to Split. After a week up in Medjugorje we took a ferry from Split to Rijeka. Then a van south to Krk Island, and ferry to Otak Kres Island and on down to Mali Losinj for another week. You can fly from Zagreb to Rijeka or even to Krk in full season for the most direct route. You should not miss the Dalmatian Coast while you are there. You can take the same ferry from Rijeka all the way down to Dubrovnik by day, and back by night in a nice stateroom. Trips and tours can be arranged by Holiday Travel World (http://www.goDalmatia.com).

Croatia is a fantastically beautiful country that very few Americans have latched onto. The mountains on the coast are breathtaking, and come right down to the sea.. The houses in the biggest cities or the smallest villages are cream colored stucco with red tile roofs. The climate in June was perfect. Temps in the high seventies, with low humidity. Prices and temperatures go up and availability goes down in July and August.

Yes, we brought back some Plavic Mali with us. Full report on it comes later.

[cpurvis]

Welcome back IK. Sounds like a fantastic trip! Will look forward to the TNs. cp

[Bucko]

With all of those place names, it sounds like you had a bad nightmare about alphabet soup!

Bucko

[wondersofwine]

I had the pleasure of visiting Yugoslavia in the early 70's before the destruction of recent conflicts. I adored Dubrovnik and met a tour guide from Ljubljana who specialized in escorting Scandinavian tourists. She introduced me to a couple of the brandies or liqueurs of the country (pear, etc.) and invited me to a birthday party where most of the conversation was in Norwegian or Serbo-Croatian ( a little hard to follow). I traveled between Split and Dubrovnik one way by bus (not recommended) and one way by boat (much better but apply sunscreen!) Also visited Mostar (before the ruin of the famous bridge over the Neretva) and an island off Croatia. I would love to revisit Dubrovnik and also see some of Slovenia. I liked the Yugoslavian food also, generally asking for raznjici (shish kebabs) or cevapcici. Thank you IK for a nice travel report that reawakens memories. (P.S. I bought a nice wooden mosaic picture of the bridge at Mostar in an open-air market and years later gave it to a Bosnian refugee family sponsored by my church. The husband had been to Mostar several times and was familiar with the bridge.)