20: to the states via eastern europe

for this return visit, i had plotted out a round-the-world train trip: the 6-day mongolian express from beijing to moscow was to be my first leg, and then on to late-october birthday parties in zurich via berlin. from there i'd planned some stops in eastern europe, then on to london by eurostar, then dublin by train and ferry. from there i would fly to new york, make my usual u.s. circuit by train, get to seattle in time for mom's 85th birthday on thanksgiving weekend, and fly back to beijing on the first of december. things didn't turn out that way...

the mongolian express was the first casualty, as tickets weren't confirmed until after i was committed to a presentation for the office; later tangles forced me to lop off zurich, too. i finally got away on a hong kong-to-london flight, and caught a ryan air connection back to zadar, croatia, to visit with my old friend darko franceschi.


































darko had worked with me for several years in the states, and we had made several american road trips together. now i was to see my dalmation friend in his native habitat. he has set himself up in his family's vacation house in the village of petrcane, just a few minutes up the adriatic coast from the bigger city of zadar. follow the coast north and west, and you'll hit venice (in about 5 hours by car).

































































pretty spectacular set-up, huh? darko has his studio set up on the second floor; with such a view, i'd never get anything done...

at the tip of the point where the house is sited, there is a big resort development underway; previously, it had been the largest nudist colony in europe. soon the nekkid germans will be replaced by big hotels and condos. this is the view back to petrcane from the point.


















he took me to visit nin, a nearby roman village that has long been a salt works. there we found what they call the worlds' smallest cathedral; several other early christian buildings in the area, too.



























































the other churches in the village were packed for sunday mass, and since it was a few days after all saints day, the waterfront cemetery was all decked out and full of visitors.














































zadar is also a roman town, though much larger. the venetians had ruled the place occasionally, and there was a fair amount of destruction during world war II. the most recent war spared the town for the most part. today's fabric is an interesting mix of eras, with a good bit of 1960's postwar infill, surprisingly sensitive and successful.