The life and times of Elvis Ferdinand Ulysses: abridged: George Goes to Europe

Our Croatian Home

Travel day! Today we rented a car and drove to Croatia to visit family and friends in Mune. This is the village my paternal great grandparents emigrated to the US from in the 1920's. We love Mune and could not be more excited to introduce George to this beautiful place and the wonderful friends and family we have here.

We rented a car from Avis in Graz and even though Nick made the reservations weeks ago and even called the rental store in Graz to confirm everything we still had trouble. They did not have an automatic transmission and the car seat for George was too big! Still eventually everything was resolved and we headed south.

We stopped at Predjama castle in Slovenia for a picnic lunch. Such an impressive view for lunch! This was our second visit to the castle, though we have yet to go inside! Maybe when George is a bit older.

A beautiful afternoon at Predjama Castle

Since Croatia is now a member of the European Union the boarders are essentially open between Croatia and her EU neighbors. This means we could take advantage of crossing into Croatia on a very small road. I'm pretty sure we were the first family of Americans to pass through here in a very long time, if ever! It took a bit of time but there was no trouble. We even got our passports stamped, once for leaving Slovenia and once for entering Croatia. George now has three stamps in his passport!

Just a short drive later we arrived at our friend Darija's parents home. They kindly hosted us during our stay in Mune. George and Darija's mother became especially good friends. And their dog, Nera, was very attached to George. Even checked on him while he napped and looked all over for him when he was away. So sweet!

George with Dino and Baka (Grandma) Doričić

George with Darija and Nera Doričić

Look! A chair just my size!

After a dinner of delicious risotto with shrimp and asparagus we walked to Male Mune where we enjoyed a wonderful evening visiting and catching up with our cousins. George made lots of new friends today. By the time we returned to Vele Mune he was fast asleep!