Croatia (Trip taken in March)

We took a one-night vacation to Croatia and stayed on the Adriatic Coast on the Island of Krk.

On Friday morning, we left Pápa and headed to Croatia. We crossed the border into Croatia and immediately found ourselves on a toll road. There are no vignettes in this non EU, non Schengen country. Instead, there are numerous toll roads, which luckily for us accepted Forint (Hungarian currency) because we did not yet have any Kuna (Croatian currency).

We crossed over a very large bridge to get over to the island. The journey to the town of Punat, where our hotel was located, reminded us of our journey to Sorrento, Italy. The town of Punat itself, also reminded us of Sorrento.

Our hotel, Hotel Park Punat, was right on the water and surrounded by olive trees. We were able to park in the lot directly in front of the hotel and check in without any problems. The three star hotel was clean and comfortable. Our "economy" room was small but nice.

Unfortunately the weather was not hot enough to go swimming, but we still enjoyed the warmer temperatures. We spent most of our time walking up and down along the water. The water off the Adriatic Coast is beautifully clear and we were able to see to rocks on the sea floor.

When we booked our room, to chose to go with "full board". Full board means that all meals are included in your room rate. The cost of the room was not expensive, so we did not expect great food. Fortunately, we were wrong and the buffets offered for lunch, dinner and breakfast, were all outstanding.

We had a wonderful time enjoying the sun, clear water and delicious meals.

Broggingen Road Trip Part IV

Our time in Broggingen, with my distant-cousins, was wonderful. We ate traditional German meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all made from fresh, local ingredients. The hospitality shown to us was amazing and very much appreciated.

The first full day in Broggingen, we visited the small distillery where my cousin produces his own brandy.

We also walked around and toured the very small town of Broggingen. Broggingen is where the Holzinger side of my family is from. My family left in the mid 1800's, so unfortunately any evidence of them living there does not exist. However, we did walk up the short stairway to the local church which has stood there for years. The church has been renovated since the time of the Holzingers, but it is most definitely the church my relatives were married and baptized in. Taking a look at the church records would have proved fruitless because the records from the 1800's are in "Badish". Badish is the German dialect once spoken and written in the area of Baden, Germany. Badish is still spoken by many Baden residents, though the old Badish script can not be read by anyone.

After a homemade lunch of fried fish, mashed potatoes and a garden salad, we were taken into the beautiful Black Forest, where we explored castle ruins. We enjoyed liverwurst and cured ham for dinner, before then going to a Fasching party.

The party was in a near-by town and consisted of local performers, including dancers and bands. Many people were dressed in costumes or traditional German attire. Fasching is an old German celebration, believed in old times, to scare off bad spirits. It was a wonderful time with lots of fun people.

Our next day in Broggingen took us to Freiburg where we walked around town and climbed to the top of the church. The view, from the church, was amazing and we were able to see the entire town. During World War II, the town was completely destroyed by the Allied forces. The only building left standing was the church. Now completely rebuilt, the town is beautiful. We also visited Lake Titisee, and enjoyed shopping in gift shops and admiring the frozen lake.

For dinner that night, more family came over to meet us. They brought gifts and we all shared stories. We were thrilled to savor another traditional German dinner. After dinner, we went to Europa Park where we admired a replica of The Colosseum.

Our time in Broggingen was full of meeting family, exploring where the Holzingers came from, and having fun. The hospitality shown to us was immeasurable, and meant more than they will ever know.

Broggingen Road Trip Part III

With Broggingen plugged into our GPS, we began our drive down the Alps. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, with snow covered mountains and small towns. Our drive lead us past a few different castles and monuments that had been carved into the alps.

As our windy road continued, we passed through Italy and into Austria. Once we passed the Austrian border, we pulled over in order to purchase a vignette. While driving through the Italian Alps, we were lucky in that we didn't pass through any tolls. Italy does not require vignettes, though there are tolls roads everywhere!

We continued our drive through Austria and watched the Alps as they vanished behind us. Much of Austria we passed through consisted of farm land. Before we even realized it we had entered Germany and were on the Autobahn! The speed in which cars drive on the Autobahn is insane!! For the most part, we stayed in the right-hand lane and only passed occasionally. Cars that passed us did so at such high speeds, it made our car shake!!

We pulled off the Autobahn to check out Stuttgart, a popular city in Germany. Unfortunately, there was so much traffic that we chose not to attempt and explore the city and chose to get back onto the Autobahn in order to make it to Broggingen before dark.

Our GPS lead us right into the town of Broggingen. When we pulled into the tiny town, I called my cousin Johannes and he met us outside of his home. We could not see much because night had already come. Johannes showed us where to park and lead us into his family's three-story farm house to greet his parents. His mom, Erika, had prepared a traditional German meal for us, Vintners Bread. The warm bread was delicious, covered with cheese, onion and ham. After visiting with Johannes for awhile, we called it a night at 11pm and headed to bed. We all agreed to have breakfast at 9am the next morning.

Broggingen Road Trip Part II

Driving to the Julian Alps, through Slovenia, we passed through many small towns. As we approached the Alps, the snow cover became thicker and the temperature continued to drop. Western Slovenia borders Italy, and the small towns we traveled through had a very Italian feel. These small towns were very reminiscent of the small Italian towns we visited in Sorrento, Italy.

Our GPS lead us further up into the mountains, and the road became narrow as we climbed higher and higher. The drivers coming from the opposite direction continually veered into our lane, we had a few close calls. We were not exactly sure where we were going but hoped the GPS would not steer us wrong. When the Soca River came into view, we were spell-bound. We had never seen water this color, so turquoise. We could not help the urge to pull off of the road, to stop and take pictures. As we were snapping photos, a man drove up and unloaded large water containers from his trunk. He carried the containers down to the river and filled them with the clear, bright water. Before we knew it, there was our hotel, The Penzion Boka. We maneuvered a u-turn so we could pull into the hotel parking lot.

After getting out of the car, we took a few moments to soak in the amazing scenery of the Alps, including Slovenia's tallest waterfall. We couldn't believe how lucky we were, the Soca River which we had traveled across Slovenia to see was directly behind the hotel!

We checked into the Penzion Boka and carried our bags to our room on the 2nd floor. Our room was very nice, we were happily surprised. We chose the Penzion Boka online and had only the reviews to go by. This hotel was the absolute cleanest hotel we have ever stayed in. After setting our bags down and gaining our bearings from driving all day, we walked down to the river.

The banks of the Soca River offered unbelievable views of the surrounding Julian Alps. The crystal clear water was magnificent and flowed straight down from the snow covered Alps. The banks were covered with white river stones, perfectly smooth from rushing water. I remembered how we had tasted the water in Rome, which poured from the Fountain Barcaccia because it was supposed to be the best water...anywhere! I thought that this water must be better, seeing that is was coming straight from the snow capped Alps! So, we each put our hand into the rushing water and took a sip. It tasted very clean...but who knows lol! We spent about a half hour by the water before stopping to enjoy cappuccino in the hotel cafe. The cafe, like the river bank, offered spectacular views of the alps. Before going back up to our room, we checked out the restaurant menu which looked nice for dinner.

We went to dinner at the hotel, planning to order soup. The server informed us that in addition to the menu, a "set menu" of four courses was being offered for only 10 euros per person. We could not resist this delicious deal. Our first course arrived, mushroom soup served in a lovely silver pot which was set in the middle of the table. Dusty served us both a bowl and it was fantastic! Our second course was a salad of greens with two types of beans, corn and cabbage. A gourd oil was placed on the table as well olive oil and balsamic. Our entree was chicken in a green pepper corn sauce ,with potatoes and apples. Finally, for dessert was apple strudel. The meal was delicious and well worth the 10 euros each!

The next morning, we enjoyed a buffet breakfast that was included in our room rate. Breakfast offered a much larger selection than we were expecting. Fortunately we were the first guests in the restaurant that morning. We took our time and enjoyed our breakfast and me my coffee!! Before long we were back on the road, with Broggingen plugged into the GPS.

Broggingen Road Trip Part I

We planned a wonderful road trip to stay with my cousin in Broggingen, Germany. Broggingen is where my Grandpa’s family came from, before moving to CA.

Before going to Germany, we planned to drive across Slovenia and stay the night in the Julian Alps, which are in North West Slovenia near both the Italian and Austrian borders. Immediately after entering Slovenia, the landscape changed. Slovenia, even right inside the Hungarian border, is lush and green. The further west we went, the greener everything became and more mountains appeared. The view from the car was absolutely beautiful.

We planned our first stop to be in Postojna, to visit the longest Karst (landscape formed by the dissolution of soluble rocks) cave in the world. Our GPS lead us directly to the caves and into the parking lot. We strolled through the shopping center which is located outside of the caves. There was absolutely no one around, it felt like a ghost town. We had read online that tours happened every day at 10, 12 and 3pm. It was about 9:59 when we reached the ticket booth. Dusty asked if we were too late for the 10:00 tour. The lady behind the window seemed a bit irritated by our tardiness but informed us that if we hurried we would make the tour. I asked for the student price and she in return asked to see our student IDs. When I told her we didn’t have them on us, she sighed and became more irritated, though allowed us to pay the student price (a bit less than the general admission). She handed us our tickets and told us to hurry up. We scampered towards the cave, but we didn’t know where to go! A janitor, or a sanitation engineer according to Dusty, pointed us in the right direction.

We rushed into the entrance, our tickets were checked, and were appointed our train seats. The train had no ceiling or doors, similar to an amusement park ride. The train took us deeper into the cave system at a speed faster than we were expecting. The cave ceiling appeared to be extremely low and droplets of water hit our heads as we ducked every few seconds. As we traveled further beneath the Earth’s surface, the humidity level rose and the atmosphere felt very still.

After getting off of the train, we started on the trail to walk further into the caves. People began to gather into tour groups. We quickly realized we had joined the Slovenia tour guide by mistake, so we made our way to the English speaking tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and provided great information. We enjoyed taking in the magical surroundings. Lime stone and calcium carbonate replicated wax, slowly dripping from the ceiling. Large rocks, which looked just like ivory, protruded from the cave floor and towered above us.

The tour lasted about an hour and a half. When it finished, we made our way into the gift shop and purchased a couple of post cards. We snapped photos on the way to the car. It was a beautifully crisp day. Before getting back on the road, we ate our packed-lunch in the car. We enjoyed yummy sandwiches, chips and juice. After a half hour lunch break, we plugged the GPS in and headed to the Julian Alps.