We miss Hrvatska: a quick update

Claire and I are hunkered down in an internet cafe, surrounded my Montengrin rugrats trying to shoot each other online. I'm wearing everything warm that I brought with me, sweater, pants, rainjacket. Claire also is sporting a lovely ensemble of warmth. Today, the thermometer in our rental VW Polo registered a chilly 9 degrees Celsius. To put that in perspective, yesterday, it was 32 degrees on the coast, and we were dripping with sweat in Dubrovnik. Living on vacation can take you to some crazy extremes sometimes.

We left Croatia (Hrvatska) yesterday at 11 and to say that the country was good to us is an understatement. A week and a half of beach time, swimming in the refreshing sea; hanging with Matt, Kasia, Olivia and Kasia's wonderful parents, and Jason and Ambika, and Kate; making and having dinners with aformentioned friends; Old Town's with marbed walkways and terracotta red roofs; cold draft beers (Pivo), clearly "the best thing in the world" when you are sun/sweat-drenched; Hobonitca (Octopus) and other offerings fresh from the sea; Climbing on Hvar Island; looking down on the spectacular walled Old Town of Dubrovnik. I could go on, but I won't. Our experience on the Croatian Coast is the stuff vacations are supposed to be made of. Claire and I will be talking about Croatia for a long time.

We've left the sea and headed to the mountains of Croatia's neighbor to the south. Our experience of Montegro thus far has been charming and bizarre and freezing and lovely. Last night, it was so cold in our tent that we had to retreat to the car for warmth. (We didn't pack for cold-weather camping.) We were planning on doing some backcountry exploration, but our gear is far from adequate. (We were imagining something similar to the Sierras in summertime; instead, we got Northern Minnesota in late fall.: cold, sprinkling, cloudy and grey.) Today we bought warm blankets and Claire acquired some shoes. We are ready for the cold (Did I mention it's cold?). We are hoping that the clouds subside to reveal the peaks that surround us, but at this point remain hidden from view.

This is fun. We are happy.