Otok Krk

Otok means "island". We couldn't imagine how to pronounce Krk before our trip, but now it's simple: just pretend that the r is a vowel (as it sometimes is in Croatian). If that doesn't help, try pronouncing it like Kirk.

We drove from Rovinj to Krk to meet Irena's parents and spend some time with them, starting at their beach house on Krk. The roads are great and well-signed, so we had no trouble finding it. Irena's parents (Davor and Miriana) are so friendly and welcoming. We felt like part of their family from the first few minutes. They had prepared a wonderful breakfast of local meats, cheese and breads. Miriana's parents built the house 30+years ago and they use it every season (approx May-Sept) Our room had a terrace overlooking the sea and a private bath. We walked around their neighborhood and along the sea.

They shared lots of stories of the neighbors, adventures on their boat and experiences they have had over the years. It gave so much more life to the neighborhood and a look into Croatian lifestyle and history. The old hill town of Omisalij had several medieval buildings still in use, in addition there is evidence of a town from around 900 BC.

We had refreshments at a little cafe in a small harbor. Kim and Joe had Croatian iced coffee. We learned that this is an ice cream sundae with some coffee at the bottom and lots of whipped cream on top. Kim got too excited pushing down a big chunk of ice cream, which caused a slight eruption of coffee and whipped cream. The coffee spilled all over her khaki pants. The man who owned the shop was a friend of Irena and her parents. He took Kim into the back kitchen and scrubbed the front legs of her pants with a cloth and dishwashing soap. Kim kept trying to tell him she could scrub the pants herself, but he didn't understand and just scrubbed harder! We eventually got the stains out back at the house. So now we refer to spilling on our clothes as an iced coffee experience :-)

We also learned that lunch is the main meal of the day, which is eaten any time between 11:30am - 5:00 or so. Later in the day, people eat a snack that is called dinner. So we ate a very late lunch that they prepared for us of a very special grilled mussels and fresh fish. It was izvrsno (excellent). We are going to try to replicate the grilled mussel recipe when we get home. Anyone interested in coming over to be guinea pigs?

After a leisurely lunch on the terrace, we drove to the the main town Krk, and walked around. It is a medieval town on the beach with beautiful old stone buildings from the twelfth century, lots of shops and cafes and a very active night life. The blue of the sky, as it got dark, was incredible. We'd never seen those shades of blue before. We stopped a a small cafe for sweets (in this case cakes) and drove home to bed--stuffed once again :)