This past winter break I went to Šverki, Hrvatska, which is Croatia in their own language, to a small farm owned by a German woman named Helga. Even though it is winter, there are always things to do on a farm. Most of the time was spent chopping downed trees into small segments that could be loaded onto a trailer and stored at the home for the wood stove to stay warm through the winter months. The wood cutting was the majority of the work, but each morning the animals need fed and their areas cleaned (shoveling shit). There were a few fields to plow and we sowed the onions, garlic, and beans.

Magi was born in NY but spent many summers in Croatia, where her parents emigrated from. She came to the farm over a year ago and bought a house, so she is no longer considered a WWOOFer, but an adopted daughter. Dani is was another WWOOFer from France who arrived a week before and left a week after me. In our free time we played soccer alongside the beach, played Uno ALL the time, and read.

I think one of the things I miss most is the great food. The majority of the food we ate was grown right there are from a nearby friend. From milking the cows came our fresh milk, soft cheese, hard cheese, yogurt, and whey. The garlic, onions, potatoes, jams, bread, sprouts, oranges, lemons, persimmons, lavender, wine (red and white and several variations of both), the best damn grape juice I’ve ever had and olive oil come direct from the farm. I am thoroughly impressed how many products one woman and her son (with some volunteer help) can produce. However, few products are made on a level higher than sustenance.

It is a lifestyle that I miss and hope one day to adopt, at least at some level.

CLICK HERE for pictures of the farm.

This past winter break I went to Šverki, Hrvatska, which is Croatia in their own language, to a small farm owned by a German woman named Helga. Even though it is winter, there are always things to do on a farm. Most of the time was spent chopping downed trees into small segments that could be loaded onto a trailer and stored at the home for the wood stove to stay warm through the winter months. The wood cutting was the majority of the work, but each morning the animals need fed and their areas cleaned (shoveling shit). There were a few fields to plow and we sowed the onions, garlic, and beans.

Magi was born in NY but spent many summers in Croatia, where her parents emigrated from. She came to the farm over a year ago and bought a house, so she is no longer considered a WWOOFer, but an adopted daughter. Dani is was another WWOOFer from France who arrived a week before and left a week after me. In our free time we played soccer alongside the beach, played Uno ALL the time, and read.

I think one of the things I miss most is the great food. The majority of the food we ate was grown right there are from a nearby friend. From milking the cows came our fresh milk, soft cheese, hard cheese, yogurt, and whey. The garlic, onions, potatoes, jams, bread, sprouts, oranges, lemons, persimmons, lavender, wine (red and white and several variations of both), the best damn grape juice I’ve ever had and olive oil come direct from the farm. I am thoroughly impressed how many products one woman and her son (with some volunteer help) can produce. However, few products are made on a level higher than sustenance.

It is a lifestyle that I miss and hope one day to adopt, at least at some level.

CLICK HERE for pictures of the farm.

The beginning of my travels was saying goodbye to the family I had been living with for only two short weeks. Helga and Magi drove me to the Umag library where I printed some city names in large bold font for hitching and sent a few last minute emails and made some last minute Couchsurfing requests, hoping that it wasn’t too late. From the Umag library I walked to the highway that leads to the town that was first on my list, Pore?. Just down the other end of the highway was the bus station in case I didn’t get picked up. I was close to going down and checking out the prices and times and then someone drove by pointing to the side of the road, which I assumed meant “I am going to pull over up the road where it is convenient.” I started running down the road but that joker wasn’t slowing down. So I stopped, defeated. And thought about the bus station again. I decided to be patient, it had only been 15-20 min. (Meeting Dani, a French WWOOFer, who has been traveling for two years and WWOOFing along the way, has given me courage to hitch more often, since it has been his chosen mode of transportation from Russia to Nepal to India to Pakistan to Iran to…well the list just gets longer) So I decided if Dani can do it, why can’t I. A few short minutes later a car pulled over and a grumbly bearded Croatian gent got out and pulled the seat forward to let me in the back. I threw my bags in the back and climbed in. His son was in the driver’s seat and luckily is younger, 27 is my guess, so he had a moderate level of English. I can’t remember his name because it was something typical Croatian and started with three or four consonants. He had blonde dreadlocks with the bottom side buzzed off. We head on down the road with Zeus Faber beating down on my eardrums, a Croatian metal band. Thanks to my middle-school musical taste we hit it off quite nicely. We chat it up about KoRn, Coal Chamber, Tool, Rage Against the Machine among others that were sitting in his CD case. I asked if they thought I would have any luck hitching to Rijeka. “You’d be better off just going to the bus station,” and with the sun gone and the clouds overhead, I thought “maybe so.” They were very kind and took he to the bus station in Pore? so I could get the price and times to be sure I don’t miss the last one.

The main attraction in Pore? is the Euphrasian Basilica because its great old golden byzantine mosaics.

After the Basilica I stocked up on bread, cheese, and fruit and went to the bus station to check the times again. Despite what my hitch-driver said I thought I’d at least give hitching a try since the bus didn’t leave for 1.5hrs. Fortunately Pore? is small and most of Croatia seems to have a plethora of street signs so it wasn’t hard to find a good stretch close to the on-ramp. It maybe took 20min until I had a ride and off we went to Rijeka. I forget his name too. He was a recent dentist graduate who was traveling to his grandfather’s funeral. His English was good too, so conversation wasn’t difficult. The countryside was nice; far more hills and mountains than Istria, the region where I had been living.

Rijeka wasn’t a destination so much as it was a layover. I wandered the main strip downtown while waiting for the night train that would take me to Split. The Lonely Planet guidebook acknowledges that Rijeka has nothing to offer, but since it is an unavoidable crossroads connecting Istria, Dalmatia, and the inland near Zagreb, that you might as well make the most of it. The only intriguing place is a bar called “Hemingway’s” with pictures of “The Bearded One”, as the book perfectly puts it, on the walls and over priced beer.

From Rijeka I took the over night train to Split. The train ride soon became obvious why it is considerably less that the bus line, it takes longer, stops everywhere, is less cosy, and has three transfers, but cheaper is cheaper.

CLICK HERE for pictures of Pore?.

The beginning of my travels was saying goodbye to the family I had been living with for only two short weeks. Helga and Magi drove me to the Umag library where I printed some city names in large bold font for hitching and sent a few last minute emails and made some last minute Couchsurfing requests, hoping that it wasn’t too late. From the Umag library I walked to the highway that leads to the town that was first on my list, Pore?. Just down the other end of the highway was the bus station in case I didn’t get picked up. I was close to going down and checking out the prices and times and then someone drove by pointing to the side of the road, which I assumed meant “I am going to pull over up the road where it is convenient.” I started running down the road but that joker wasn’t slowing down. So I stopped, defeated. And thought about the bus station again. I decided to be patient, it had only been 15-20 min. (Meeting Dani, a French WWOOFer, who has been traveling for two years and WWOOFing along the way, has given me courage to hitch more often, since it has been his chosen mode of transportation from Russia to Nepal to India to Pakistan to Iran to…well the list just gets longer) So I decided if Dani can do it, why can’t I. A few short minutes later a car pulled over and a grumbly bearded Croatian gent got out and pulled the seat forward to let me in the back. I threw my bags in the back and climbed in. His son was in the driver’s seat and luckily is younger, 27 is my guess, so he had a moderate level of English. I can’t remember his name because it was something typical Croatian and started with three or four consonants. He had blonde dreadlocks with the bottom side buzzed off. We head on down the road with Zeus Faber beating down on my eardrums, a Croatian metal band. Thanks to my middle-school musical taste we hit it off quite nicely. We chat it up about KoRn, Coal Chamber, Tool, Rage Against the Machine among others that were sitting in his CD case. I asked if they thought I would have any luck hitching to Rijeka. “You’d be better off just going to the bus station,” and with the sun gone and the clouds overhead, I thought “maybe so.” They were very kind and took he to the bus station in Pore? so I could get the price and times to be sure I don’t miss the last one.

The main attraction in Pore? is the Euphrasian Basilica because its great old golden byzantine mosaics.

After the Basilica I stocked up on bread, cheese, and fruit and went to the bus station to check the times again. Despite what my hitch-driver said I thought I’d at least give hitching a try since the bus didn’t leave for 1.5hrs. Fortunately Pore? is small and most of Croatia seems to have a plethora of street signs so it wasn’t hard to find a good stretch close to the on-ramp. It maybe took 20min until I had a ride and off we went to Rijeka. I forget his name too. He was a recent dentist graduate who was traveling to his grandfather’s funeral. His English was good too, so conversation wasn’t difficult. The countryside was nice; far more hills and mountains than Istria, the region where I had been living.

Rijeka wasn’t a destination so much as it was a layover. I wandered the main strip downtown while waiting for the night train that would take me to Split. The Lonely Planet guidebook acknowledges that Rijeka has nothing to offer, but since it is an unavoidable crossroads connecting Istria, Dalmatia, and the inland near Zagreb, that you might as well make the most of it. The only intriguing place is a bar called “Hemingway’s” with pictures of “The Bearded One”, as the book perfectly puts it, on the walls and over priced beer.

From Rijeka I took the over night train to Split. The train ride soon became obvious why it is considerably less that the bus line, it takes longer, stops everywhere, is less cosy, and has three transfers, but cheaper is cheaper.

CLICK HERE for pictures of Pore?.

Split’s main attraction is that the inside square is built in the remains of Roman emperor Diocletian’s palace. It was kind of sad to see the remains now into shopping strips and fashion stores everywhere, but I am assuming there have been merchants there since day 1.

For the afternoon I caught a bus to Plitvice National Park, known for it’s cascading emerald green and blue lakes. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, and wasn’t expecting to arrive in the park at night not knowing where I was going to stay for the night (although it is kind of hard not to arrive anywhere at night when it is dark at 4:30). I debated staying on the bus and going straight on to Zagreb. The ground was snow covered, it was night, I didn’t know where things were, and figured it wouldn’t be very much to look at and the lakes were probably frozen, however, I was determined to see Plitvice and I got off. There ended up being several private guest houses and I finally got the third one I talked to down to an affordable price since I wouldn’t be eating their food.

CLICK HERE to see more photos of Split.

Split’s main attraction is that the inside square is built in the remains of Roman emperor Diocletian’s palace. It was kind of sad to see the remains now into shopping strips and fashion stores everywhere, but I am assuming there have been merchants there since day 1.

For the afternoon I caught a bus to Plitvice National Park, known for it’s cascading emerald green and blue lakes. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, and wasn’t expecting to arrive in the park at night not knowing where I was going to stay for the night (although it is kind of hard not to arrive anywhere at night when it is dark at 4:30). I debated staying on the bus and going straight on to Zagreb. The ground was snow covered, it was night, I didn’t know where things were, and figured it wouldn’t be very much to look at and the lakes were probably frozen, however, I was determined to see Plitvice and I got off. There ended up being several private guest houses and I finally got the third one I talked to down to an affordable price since I wouldn’t be eating their food.

CLICK HERE to see more photos of Split.

Usually, you can take ferries across the lakes to walking trails and see the lakes from high to low, but the bus to Zagreb was leaving at 10:45 so I could only see the first and lower lake.

Zagreb was a bust. I arrived Sunday afternoon and gave thought to just catching the train the Budapest that night. I decided to stay the night and visit “Tolkein’s House”, which isn’t literally his house but a small pub in his honor that serves the best hot chocolate in Zagreb according to the guide book, however, it turned out to be an abandoned building under construction. The second reason I thought I would stay is to see a few art museums. I later found out that all of the museums are closed only on Mondays, so that didn’t happen either. Monday morning, before the train to Budapest, I went to the fruit and vegetable market and spent my remaining Kunas and stocked up on apples, tangerines, clementines, pears, and walnuts.

To see more Plitvice photos CLICK HERE.

Usually, you can take ferries across the lakes to walking trails and see the lakes from high to low, but the bus to Zagreb was leaving at 10:45 so I could only see the first and lower lake.

Zagreb was a bust. I arrived Sunday afternoon and gave thought to just catching the train the Budapest that night. I decided to stay the night and visit “Tolkein’s House”, which isn’t literally his house but a small pub in his honor that serves the best hot chocolate in Zagreb according to the guide book, however, it turned out to be an abandoned building under construction. The second reason I thought I would stay is to see a few art museums. I later found out that all of the museums are closed only on Mondays, so that didn’t happen either. Monday morning, before the train to Budapest, I went to the fruit and vegetable market and spent my remaining Kunas and stocked up on apples, tangerines, clementines, pears, and walnuts.

To see more Plitvice photos CLICK HERE.

Tomorrow morning I fly from Sevilla to Milan where I will then catch some form of transportation to Croatia. For the past month I was frantically contacting WWOOF farms all over Europe in search of a farm to work on over the Winter break. After many emails to Portugal, Ireland, and Greece nothing came of it. A short while later I received an email from Helga and Yakov a couple near Umag, Croatia who have a farm that could use some help over the Winter break.

Their profile has this to say about the farm:

This is a family farm of 12 ha. We practice organic and biodynamic farming. We grow olive-trees, 1ha of vineyards, lavender, vegetables, and grains. There are 3 cows, 2 pigs, and chickens. Two times per week we sell our products at the local market in Umag. Work is varied, depending on a wwoofer’s wish. You’ll learn about organic farming, baking bread, healthy cooking, milking cows and making cheeses, preserving vegetables, harvesting lavender and herbs, winemaking, etc. The surroundings are great for biking trips, and swimming in the Meditteranean Sea (5km away). You can take day trips to nearby destinations (Istria, Italy, Slovenia). WWOOFers are welcome the whole year!

Needless to say I am excited. I don’t know how much of the above takes place during the winter, but I will take what I can get. In email correspondence they have said mostly this time of year will be chopping wood, feeding animals, and using the tractor.

On top of picking up a few skills and trades before Peak Oil is thrust upon us, I am excited to take a bit of a tech break…although, it won’t be as techless as I first hoped. I am bringing my computer. However, only because I have recently obtained some Rosetta Stone files and I am addicted to learning Portuguese at the moment. There is no internet at the farm so I won’t be doing so much dawdling. This also means that I won’t be able to GChat with friends, which is my favorite time-waster. I maybe be able to pop into an internet cafe here and there along the way, but mostly I will be out of reach.

Besos.

Tomorrow morning I fly from Sevilla to Milan where I will then catch some form of transportation to Croatia. For the past month I was frantically contacting WWOOF farms all over Europe in search of a farm to work on over the Winter break. After many emails to Portugal, Ireland, and Greece nothing came of it. A short while later I received an email from Helga and Yakov a couple near Umag, Croatia who have a farm that could use some help over the Winter break.

Their profile has this to say about the farm:

This is a family farm of 12 ha. We practice organic and biodynamic farming. We grow olive-trees, 1ha of vineyards, lavender, vegetables, and grains. There are 3 cows, 2 pigs, and chickens. Two times per week we sell our products at the local market in Umag. Work is varied, depending on a wwoofer’s wish. You’ll learn about organic farming, baking bread, healthy cooking, milking cows and making cheeses, preserving vegetables, harvesting lavender and herbs, winemaking, etc. The surroundings are great for biking trips, and swimming in the Meditteranean Sea (5km away). You can take day trips to nearby destinations (Istria, Italy, Slovenia). WWOOFers are welcome the whole year!

Needless to say I am excited. I don’t know how much of the above takes place during the winter, but I will take what I can get. In email correspondence they have said mostly this time of year will be chopping wood, feeding animals, and using the tractor.

On top of picking up a few skills and trades before Peak Oil is thrust upon us, I am excited to take a bit of a tech break…although, it won’t be as techless as I first hoped. I am bringing my computer. However, only because I have recently obtained some Rosetta Stone files and I am addicted to learning Portuguese at the moment. There is no internet at the farm so I won’t be doing so much dawdling. This also means that I won’t be able to GChat with friends, which is my favorite time-waster. I maybe be able to pop into an internet cafe here and there along the way, but mostly I will be out of reach.

Besos.