Croatia Trip Days 1 & 2: Planes, Busses, and Sleep Deprivation

July 16, 2024

Dobro došli! This post will be the first in a series of recaps of our 2 week trip to Croatia. But first, some quick background on why Croatia!

My grandfather was Croatian, and he, along with my grandma, great aunts, and others, were involved in our local Croatian cultural hall, which is part of the larger Croatian Fraternal Union (CFU). They all played tamburica, and about 20 years ago, I started playing too. The CFU hosts two national tamburica festivals each year: one for juniors (kids through college, who also wear traditional folk dress and perform dances) and one for adults (ages 16 and up, mostly performing music). Typically, every five years, the junior festival is held in Zagreb. However, this year, for the first time, it was a joint junior and adult festival.

My local club decided to combine our junior and adult groups to perform together for this festival. In addition to performing in Zagreb, we also scheduled two performances in other towns while on tour. The group organized a two-week tour of Croatia on a coach bus with a dedicated guide, traveling with over 40 people. I had previously been to Croatia in 2013 to play in the junior festival, but this was Josh’s first time. It was also his first time leaving the continent, his first long flight, and many other firsts!

My grandma also joined us on the trip and performed, making it very special for all three of us to be there together. There are always jokes and comments about Croatia being the motherland, but the first time I went in 2013, I truly felt that connection instantly. Croatia is such a special place to me, and I’m hoping there will be another combined festival in five years!

photo of Waukegan American Croatian Tamburitzans

Ok, so you might still be wondering what the heck tamburica is. Tamburica (also spelled tamburitza), is a family of traditional string instruments. A tamburica orchestra includes prim (or bisernica), which is the smallest instrument and what I play. Prims play melodies and we typically pick individual notes instead of strumming chords. Next up in size is the brač, which looks like a small guitar and also plays melodies of individual notes. Then there’s the čelo that plays counter melodies, and the bugarija (or bug) which plays chords. Finally, there’s an upright bass to round out the rhythm section.

Ok, let’s start the trip

The trip started with a very long travel day(s). We left for O’Hare airport around 11:30 am local time Monday and arrived in Dubrovnik around 1:30 pm local time Tuesday.

photo of O'Hare airport gate — Waiting at O’Hare

Our first flight was Chicago to Vienna and was just under 9 hours in the air. This was Josh’s first long flight and first time getting a meal on the plane! We ended up in the worst possible seats, though- the two middle seats of the middle clump of a 3/4/3 layout. We both slept some, but not well. We finally made it to Vienna and had a little time before our next flight to Dubrovnik. This second flight was less than an hour long and then we were in Croatia!

photo of Austrian Airlines chocolate — The iconic Austrian Air chocolates

After getting our luggage we got to meet the duo who would be taking care of us for the next two weeks- our guide Nino and bus driver Mario. We went from the airport straight to our first hotel, Hotel Dubrovnik Palace. We rested a little, showered, had dinner at the hotel, and then passed out.