Dobar Donny enjoys sladoled at noon thirty...

Guten Tag aus Osterreich!

I’m currently in Vienna or as the locals call it, Wien.  This difference in spelling and pronunciation is worth noting because everything around town is called “Wiener” this and “Wiener” that.  Seeing as how my sense of humor often mirrors that of a 13 year old boy, this is hilarious.  We’ll get to that in a little bit, because there are many other things that must be discussed first.

So the past 10 days of life have been rather incredible as the majority of those days were devoted to some quality Wright family bonding.  After a few days in Dubrovnik, me and the parentals ventured to a small town called Trogir where we met up with Randy.  We spent a lazy afternoon strolling through the cobbled limestone streets and ended up at a restaurant right on the harbor, enjoying some ice cold Croatian pivos (beers), freshly fried calimari, and warm homemade bread.  It was a rather fantastic beginning to the adventure that ensued.  This is a journey best told through pictures, so here goes:

And here we see why Miss Ellen was never a bartender

After our bike fittings and warm up ride, we ended up at a little restaurant run by this man.  His name is Mario.  Here he is making a traditional Croatian meal called Peka.  To make this deliciousness you pile a bunch of meat and potatoes in a big pot, cover that pot with a lid or "iron bell", pile on some hot coals and sip on some homemade brandy for a few hours while the meat cooks and the potatoes soak up all the glorious juices. 

Lots of excellent seafood in Croatia.  Here's an unlucky idiot who got caught and then ended up in my belly.

Hard to tell exactly whats going on in that pot, but rest assured it was incredibly tasty.  This is what Peka looks like.  I'm not one for superlatives, but somewhere in that sea of meat lies the most delicious potatoes I've ever tasted in my whole life.

Pretty much all of the places we visited were a variation of this.  So I don't remember what this town was called, but in all likelihood it was quaint and beautiful.

Kids these days....

The mountains of Croatia are chocked full of limestone so it's used for many different purposes.  Houses, streets, art, etc.  In one of the little towns we visited we got to go inside a stonemason's school where high school aged kids got to go to study the art of cutting and shaping the limestone into a whole mess of different things.  The barrels are the student's work spaces and the blocks of limestone are unfinished projects.  Very impressive work that's done entirely by hand, without the aid of power tools/equipment.

This proves that we biked somewhere.

On the first full day of the tour, we biked over 30 miles.  A good portion of that was an uphill, quad burning hell ride to a little mountain village where this lovely little couple lived.  Our reward for accomplishing the climb was some homemade vino and olive oil, two of Croatia's most popular products.

Day 2 started with a 10k downhill ride.  Hence the smiles....

Families that play together, stay together.  Dad brought his hair and makeup team to this photo shoot so you'll have to wait to see how dynamite he looks in a helmet.  That's what industry insiders call a teaser.... 



The whole group before the start of the ride on Day 2.  We were told by our guides that we were one of the most fun and easy going groups they've ever had.  Of course they lied a lot about the difficulty of the rides, so not sure if that assessment can be trusted or not.  But I think they were spot on... 



No one knows how that pine tree growing out of the roof of this little church got there.  It continues to thrive despite the lack of soil or water.  The proper way to celebrate this miracle is to pose like an idiot in front of it and pretend like the bike shorts you're wearing don't make you feel like you pooped your pants.

This car is called a Renault and I want one very badly.

Sunrise in the harbor town of Postira.

 

Golden Horn Beach.  This gives you a little taste of how remarkably clear the water is.  Dig it.

We took a boat from the island of Brac to the island of Hvar and were met at the port by this wild man.  He was our shuttle driver for the rest of the week and he wore that exact same outfit every day.  He also played a loop of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson songs that would inevitably get stuck in your head for the entire day and make you want to hurt someone.   "Let the Circle Be Unbroken"...

View from the Spanish fortress overlooking Hvar Town.  Pretty sweet.

Whenever my mom went missing, we knew exactly where to find her.

Delicious picnic overlooking the Adriatic featuring the finest meats and cheeses in all the land?  Yes, please!

On the last day of biking, we did a killer 6-mile climb.  This is my mom approaching the final stretch.

Bill knows how to rock a helmet. 

The crew looking jubilant after completing the final climb. 

Our last day was spent in the town of Split, home to Diocletian's Palace which was built by the Romans at the turn of the 4th Century.  Inside the palace walls, you'll find this life size replica of the Last Supper. 

Who knew that John bore such a striking resemblence to Brad Pitt?

My dad is not the best when it comes to mastering foreign languages, but he did become quite adept at using one Croatian word: sladoled, which is the word for ice cream.  Follow along as Bill demonstrates how to enjoy this tasty local treat.  Step 1: Give a look that lets people know that nothing comes between you and your sladoled...

..

Step 2: Go in for the kill...

Step 3: Rejoice in the ice creamy goodness!

So moral of the story is that Croatia is an incredibly beautiful country with a rich history and fascinating culture.  It proved to be the perfect place for our family reunion and it will forever hold a special place in my heart.  After months of traveling solo, it was amazing to be able to experience the sights and sounds with some companions and create memories that will inevitably last a lifetime.  Big shout out to mom, dad and brother Randy.  Yinz guys are the best!   Oh and also before I forget, the title of this blog probably isn't funny to anyone except those three but I'll try to explain.  The most common greeting in Croatia is "Dobar Dan" but when my dad said it, it came off sounding decidedly Yinzery so his nickname for the week became Dobar Donny.  Sladoled you've already learned about.  Noon thirty is what our guide Marko called 12:30. So now you're all caught up.  Guess you had to be there...

Today I travel from Wienerville to Praha where the fun continues as I will be reunited with my dear pal Kelly.  We will stroll through the streets, drink beer in the birthplace of pilsner, laugh all the time, and Czech things out (yay for puns!).  Can't wait!

Europe is sweet.  Time is flying.  Life is fun. 

Until we meet again....