June 17 Update

Croatia “Surf and Turf” Adventure            Update Blog
With our departure day to the two Balkan entry points (Zagreb or Athens) less than two months away, it’s time to start posting weekly updates on your Croatia adventure. We will add a new update blog each week with suggestions on preparation.

Let’s begin with health and Covid updates. As of today – and with health updates that’s a good way to begin – the following apply:

1. Airline(s) health requirements. No masks required. No vaccination certificates asked for. No negative tests required.
2. Country health requirements. Greece, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy do not require masks, vaccinations or negative Covid tests. The USA CDC wrote: “As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, CDC will no longer require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight.” 
3. Visas. None of the countries we travel to require visas.
4. Entry forms. Croatia does require an entry form that we’ll send to you to fill out and bring with you. We’ll send it a week before your departure.
5. Packing and Suitcases. Do plan to travel light. We recommend either one roller board (aka “roll aboard”) per person that is of the size that you can put in an overhead bin (or can check if you like) or one medium size roller board shared by two people and a smaller roller board each to carry on. Airlines allow an additional person item like a purse or briefcase or backpack (Mark’s favorite). The typical airline allowance for a carry-on roller board is 22"H x 14"W x 9"D for a total linear inches of 45".

              We recently spent 10 days in Croatia and each had one such roller board and we had clothing we didn’t use. In that we have no formal nights, and the weather will be hot during the day, light clothing is best, plus a sweater and pants for nights on the ship. It can get wonderfully cool at night. Perhaps we need a special prize for the lightest suitcase!
              Today’s roller board suitcases have expansion capacity and can fit 2-3 weeks of clothing. Of course you can’t take an expanded roller board on the plane, but you can check it.
              More details and suggestions later, but we will have limited laundry on the ship, Lupus Mare, which we’ll be aboard August 21-27, about a week into the vacation. Best to bring a mesh bag for undergarments so a number of bags can be washed at a time. Be sure to write your identification on your bag. We’ll bring the laundry soap. There is also a laundromat around the corner from our hotel in Sibenik – where we go after we get off the ship. And there’s a laundromat near the hotel in Lake Como. Of course the hotels can also do your laundry.
                Elizabeth is bringing a laundry line for drying undies at night when needed.
                These luggage ideas are NOT requirements but suggestions for making your trip less encumbered by lots of luggage.        6. Things to Read and View in Preparation: The internet is filled with hundreds of useful articles about what to see in all of these countries. They usually are headlined as “The Best 10 Things to Do in Kotor,” (or wherever). We’ve gone through many many to make sure we’re really seeing the best places. Wikipedia is great for articles on the history of these lands. It is an area filled with conquests, rebellions, architecture creation and intrigues.
           For those going to Lake Como, be sure to read Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan. Well written historical novel based upon real characters during WW2 in Milan, one of which is a young man who agrees to help a priest in the mountains above Lake Como smuggle Italian Jews away from the Nazi’s into Switzerland. We’re having lunch in the village nearby.
            Also, in that this is the 50th anniversary of Kresimir Cosic helping establish the Church in Croatia, and we hope to be able to attend the anniversary event in Zadar (more on this later), you may want to read Beverly Campbell’s Kresimir Cosic: One Man’s Spiritual Journey.
            A note on Cosic: He was a 6'11" star college player at BYU, led the Yugoslavia Olympic team to gold, and is a hero in Croatia. He was still serving as the Croatian ambassador to the USA when he died of cancer in Baltimore at age 46.  Wherever we go in Croatia we ask people if they’ve heard of him. That’s like asking Americans if they’ve heard of Washington. “Of course!” Mark wears BYU gear a bunch and they know BYU.
More recommendations next time.           7. Tipping: With touring, tips or gratuities are ubiquitous. To help you so you’re not being hit up with “voluntary” extra service pay, we are taking care of the mandatory gratuities (there’s an oxymoron) for the following: 
                                 Tips we are covering for you:
                                      Guides, and Bus Drivers
                                      Hotel staff at breakfast and normal maid service
                                      Event entrance and service staff at historical sites.
                                Tips you’ll need to cover:
                                      Restaurants: About 10-15%
                                      Crew on the ship: About $22 per day per pax  x  7 days = $154 per pax

             8.  Do fill out Liz’s form telling when you’re arriving in either Zagreb or Athens so we can meet you at the airport. Spencers only arrive in Dubrovnik.
              That’s enough for this week’s blog. But if you have questions, email me and I’ll include answers in next week’s Update Blog.

 Mark’s email: mstoddard1776@gmail.com     Elizabeth’s email: LizStoddard@gmail.com