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The 2015 Croatian film "High Sun" is set in the Bosnian War, telling three love stories that occurred in a twenty-year period, depicting the inextricable love and hatred of the nation in a restrained and profound way. Today, walking through croatian towns, you seem to see only bright and enchanting scenery and idyllic and peaceful humanities. Compared to Bosnia and Herzegovina cities such as Sarajevo, there are fewer lingering memories of war.
Croatia travel certainly starts in Dubrovnik, the most famous tourist destination on the Adriatic Riviera.
The booked homestay hotel is in the ancient city, because taxis can not enter, so they drag boxes and follow the endless stream of tourists to the ancient city gate.
A thoroughfare, paved with gray and white marble, is lined with the light and shadow of time on the shiny stone road; on both sides of the road are magnificent stone houses, and between the houses are countless deep and narrow alleys, with fine steps leading to the high distance; the alleys and avenues are arranged at a vertical angle, if viewed from the sky, it must look like a huge fish bone.
The sky is getting dark, and the ancient city exudes a gentle luster throughout. Stepping on the watery cobblestone road is like stepping back in time to the Middle Ages.
Dubrovnik was founded in the 7th century AD, opposite the Italian peninsula across the Adriatic Sea. The English poet Byron called Dubrovnik "the pearl of the Adriatic Sea."
Walking through the ancient city, you will encounter beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains.
In the early morning, the streets of the ancient city are full of vehicles transporting garbage and food. Almost every slightly more spacious corner of the old town is occupied by chairs and parasols in the dining room. Such a scene is unimaginable in ancient buildings in China.
There are many homestay inns in the alleys of the ancient city, many of which are also marked with 3 stars and 4 stars, if you live in an inn on a high place, it basically means climbing the mountain with luggage.
There is a market in the small square where locals sell a variety of souvenirs. Dried figs are a Mediterranean specialty, full and moist, bite by bite, and the flexible flesh hides countless sweet "popping beads". Ancient sculptures quietly overlook the lively bazaar, where history and the present seamlessly connect.
Dubrovnik has 250 days of sunshine all year round and the sun shines brightly during the day. Here, red and blue are taken to the extreme.
There is a cliff café on the south side of the ancient city, and a group of young men and women from the United States are diving on the cliff. The cobalt-blue waters are dotted with white sails, and the port is densely packed with ferry traffic, but the waters are still crystal clear.
Specially selected in the evening to climb the ancient city wall, a large red brick roof is glowing golden red, and the most beautiful street in Europe is in full view. Walk around the top of the city walls for about an hour, and the narrowest part of the walls is only one meter wide.
The sunset made the red roof more colorful, the red bricks drenched in rain glowed bright orange-red, and a rainbow spanned the ancient city, and the sky and the ground were golden red.
Depart Dubrovnik and take a bus to the historic city of Split. The bus was seated in pairs, and I was lucky enough to sit by the window on the left. The east-west road winds along the Adriatic coast, and the sapphire-colored sea is littered with countless pearl-like islets.
Long-distance passenger transport in the Balkans is generally reliable, in good condition and quiet and orderly for passengers.
As the Bosnian town of Nem is inserted diagonally into the southern section of Croatia, the coastal road is divided into two parts by the "Nem Corridor", which is about 20 kilometers long, and drivers and passengers are inspected separately at the border crossings at each end of the "corridor". A female border policeman came to the car and checked each person's passport. When I got here, I just glanced at the cover of my passport and waved OK.
The China Road and Bridge Company is building a cross-sea bridge for Croatia, and when this "Dream Bridge" is completed, it will connect the territory at the southern tip of Croatia and make it impossible to travel to and from Dubrovnik in the future without border inspections.
Diocletian's Palace in Plitte is a royal palace built in Roman times. Although it has become a ruin, under the ruins and broken walls, you can also see that the project of that year was vast and magnificent. Walking into the huge stone palace, a sense of gloom and desolation struck.
Unlike other monuments, the ruins of the Imperial Palace here are not only a tourist attraction, but also a world cultural heritage site, and the city life is orderly and emits a living fragrance. Under the tall walls of the ancient royal palace, there is a steaming, crowded market, and the gray, heavy and vivid and gorgeous are within a few meters. The old complex is full of shops, cafes, restaurants and ice cream parlors, and pedestrians come and go freely. Residents dry their clothes on the broken walls of the ruined buildings add some life to the ruins.
Here, I seem to have suddenly understood the restaurants and inns that are everywhere in dubrovnik's old city. People here do not deliberately preserve the so-called perfect past, ideals and reality are connected, elegance and worldliness blend, silent, accompanied by vigorous birth.
Inside the church bell tower, high stone steps hover in the dark tower.
The seaside city of Zadar has a typical small town temperament. A cobblestone commercial street with several churches, shops, bakeries, people coming and going, and shadows reflected on the illuminated stone slabs.
Zadar is best known for its sea organ. The architects whimsically built a sea organ, and the tinkling sound of the piano will randomly play a beautiful music as the tides of the sea change.
The video dubbings are all from live soundtracks
In the evening wind, the long bells of the church are heard, and men, women and children either stroll or sit idly, waiting for the sunset moment in laziness. The days seemed to be slowing down and getting longer.
The dinner in Zadar was the most memorable for me. A restaurant recommended by the apartment caretaker, Bruschetto, right on the seaside avenue, went to book a seat in the afternoon and was very popular and fully booked before 9 o'clock. We ordered the most famous cuttlefish rice, Black Risottos, and the waiter recommended a white sea fish garnished with baked potatoes. Served with a pure and soft aroma of local white wines. Both dishes are exceptionally delicious, cuttlefish rice without paella sandwiches, no fishy, full of raw flavor. The flesh of the white fish is crisp and tender, and the potatoes are soft and fragrant. Food can always reduce travelers' thoughts about the taste of the homeland, saying that it is "full of food, do not want to go home"!
Zagreb is the last stop on this Balkan tour.
Zagreb is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Croatia. As the capital of a country, Zagreb is not as famous as Dubrovnik, the pearl of the Adriatic Sea. But what attracts me most about Zagreb, known as the "City of Museums", is its rich urban culture.
The splendid mosaic roof of St. Mark's Basilica is reminiscent of the Croatian flag. The square in front of the church bears witness to the key moments that determine the fate of the country. In 1918, countless people gathered here to declare Croatia's official secession from austria-Hungary. On 25 June 1991, Croatia's independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was declared.
Zagreb is densely packed with museums, art halls and memorial homes. Lonely Planet's list of the best travel destinations in Europe in 2017 is the millennium literary and artistic city of Zagreb.
In front of the window facing the street, the town hall square, the lively vegetable market, the cafés on the street, the trams that seem to come and go, and the passers-by who rush by.
Surrounded by many Baroque buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries, Jelačić Governor's Square is the busiest commercial street in Zagreb.
Opened in 1930, the Dolac Wet Market is located next to the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is known as the "vegetable basket" of Zagreb. Fresh fruits and vegetables are brightly colored, and the air is filled with the aroma of fruits and vegetables.
Buying flowers is as common and important as buying vegetables.
Zagreb's streets and alleys are full of cafés, the idyllic atmosphere of life, the slow pace of life and the literary atmosphere here complement each other, exuding charming charm.
When traveling in the Balkans, when I have the opportunity, I always ask the locals questions about the past. It seems that this is the only way to understand it now. The driver in Zagreb is in his 50s and has a daughter who goes to college and a son who is 17 years old. The driver is cheerful and easy-going and loves to talk. He took the initiative to mention the socialist years in Yugoslavia, saying that it was still good in the past, that everyone had a job and security, and now we need to struggle.
The civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was dominated by three Serbs, Muslims and Croats who were also Yugoslavs. When chatting with the locals, I asked about the language, about the differences between Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian. From their answers I heard a strong sense of national self-esteem and self-awareness. They believe that although the languages are similar and they can understand each other, just like British English and American English, "we all have our own languages".
The final scene of "The Sun Shines High" is a sunrise everywhere that heralds hope. After countless sunshots, the hope is that the war will be slowly forgotten, that the bright croatian sun will melt the glacier of hatred.
(All images in this article were taken by the author in Croatia in September 2018)
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