Croatia and Iceland 2019
Check out our 2019 Croatia and Iceland photos.
Entries Categorized as 'Europe'
Croatia and Iceland 2019
September 16, 2019
Slovenia / Croatia 2015
August 17, 2015
We had 2 fun weeks on the beach in Croatia. Gabe loved diving for seashells and Zara love finding the neighborhood cats.
Check out the Slovenia/Croatia Trip pictures.
Vacation 2013
November 9, 2013
We wanted to take a trip to see our families before Z got a new job so we decided to see both sets of parents in a combined trip. We planned for a little over two weeks and we went from Seattle to Chicago to DC via airplane then drove to PA to visit Amy’s family. We decided to put Amy between Gabe & Zara on the airplane and this proved to be a smart choice. The kids did really well on the flights and since Amy was sitting between them, they were not able to fight and hit each other or fight over toys. We loved seeing our family and friends and the kids had a great time playing in the yard.
View our pictures from our PA vacation 2013 photos.
We drove back to DC after 5 short days and had a night flight to Munich, Germany then on to Split, Croatia. We were able to get 4 seats together and again put Amy in between Zara and Gabe. Our flight took off after 10pm so the kids were very tired. The personal TVs on each seat were very exciting to the kids and as a result they refused to sleep. Zara fell asleep first and while Gabe was tired he refused to sleep until about midnight. We arrived in Munich tired and hungry but in relatively good moods. We ate a quick sandwich and boarded our flight to Split. Baba and Dide greeted us at the Split airport and helped to entertain the kids while Zvonimir got the car seats into the rental car. The night flight worked out perfectly as we arrived in Murter late in the evening and were able to escape the jet lag that usually comes with international travel.
Our house in Murter has a great outdoor space so we spent the majority of the week outside playing in the courtyard. We took the kids’ life jackets with us and the kids were very excited to try them out with a ride on Dide’s boat. Every day after breakfast we took the boat to a beach. The kids don’t really remember the ocean from our past trips so they were a bit scared of the water and Zara is cold when it’s 80 degrees out so she had a difficult time adjusting to the chilly water. The kids loved playing with their shovels and buckets and spent the majority of time doing this.
We enjoyed some great food while in Croatia. We love when we fire up the grill and make cevapcici (a pork/beef patty). This year we were lucky enough to be in Croatia during fig season so each day we picked fresh figs off of the tree. Amy had made figs wrapped in prosciutto in the states but this year we were able to make it with fresh ingredients and it was delicious. Zvonimir’s dad and aunt thought this sounded strange and is not something the locals eat but they also enjoyed the new treat! We also celebrated Amy’s birthday while in Croatia with a wonderful cake.
We were also very excited to spend some time with Aunt Lucija and cousin Eva who came to visit us from Munich.
On our flight back we flew through Frankfurt and spent a night there before having a direct flight back to Seattle. The hotel we stayed in was right in the airport and train station and there were plenty of food options. We picked a traditional pub and enjoyed a wonderful German style dinner before calling it a night. The next day we had an early flight. The kids did a really great job on the flight back. They never cried and we had plenty of toys to keep them busy.
After the flight landed and everyone was standing and waiting to get off the plane (and it was exceptionally quiet) Gabe announced that he had a penis. At least we ended the trip with a bit of humor!
View our pictures from our Croatia vacation 2013 photos.
Slovenia and Croatia 2012
August 22, 2012
The week before we left for Europe there was an article in the Seattle newspaper that talked about how a father and child were kicked off of a flight because the child was throwing a fit. We were a little worried this might also happen to us when Gabe decided to throw a major fit for the first 45 minutes of our flight. We have no idea what was wrong but he was not a happy camper and did NOT want to be strapped into the seat. Once he calmed down they were both in a great mood. In fact, they were so giddy that they kept each other awake until we were an hour from Germany. Every time Gabe would fall asleep Zara would hit him and yell “Babriel. Babriel Karl.” Gabe he would return the favor yelling Zaza or Zawa. We tried our best to keep them entertained by offering them something new every hour and with the exception of a yell or loud giggle, they did pretty well. It was a really long trip and pretty tough on us all so we were very happy when we arrived to Europe.
The kids were super excited to see Baba and Dide (Grandma and Grandpa) in person. The kids are usually very shy when they don’t know people well but since we often skype with Baba and Dide, the kids were comfortable right away. We were able to spend a few days with Aunt Lucija and cousin Eva in Slovenia before they returned to France. Zara and Eva were fast friends. Zara was super interested in Eva and wanted to hug, kiss, and hold hands with her. It was super cute. Gabe was too busy to care about the girls and didn’t really know what to make of them. Zara fell in love with an old teddy bear that Eva had claimed so it will forever be known as “Eva’s bear.” Zara was surprisingly good about giving Eva her bear back.
After a few days we headed to our house in Croatia. Zara and Gabe had a lot of fun running on our outside terrace playing with the large toy truck and wheel barrow Baba and Dide bought. These were a huge hit and provided hours and hours of entertainment. The kids had a blast in Croatia. They loved going to the beach and playing in the sand, running with their toy truck / wheel barrow, and swimming.
Europe was much hotter than we’re used to in Seattle! We forgot how miserable hot summer nights can be! The kids didn’t mind the heat – this meant more playing in the water and more ice cream – a novelty they experienced several times on this trip!
View our Vacation 2012 photos.
Europe 2011
July 24, 2011
We took a few thousand pictures so it took us a while, but we’re finally getting around to posting our Europe vacation photos. Below are 5 new galleries.
We wanted to make the trip to see Zvonimir’s parents before Gabe and Zara needed their own airline seats. Airline tickets to Slovenia were much more expensive this year compared to years past so we ended up buying tickets to Venice, which is about 3 hours from Ljubljana. An added bonus was that our connections were through Philadelphia so we were able to find a 24 hour layover and meet up with Grandma, Pap, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Patty, and Aunt Sue before our flight to Europe!
It was great to see our family and perfect timing that Pappy could give Gabe his first haircut. We saved the cute little curl for his scrap book.
View the pictures from our Vacation 2011 – Philadelphia family visit.
The next evening we had an overnight flight to Venice. We assumed that since it was a night flight that Gabe & Zara would sleep through the flight. We assumed wrong!! The kids are not used to being held while they tried to sleep, so that was a problem, as were the lights, people were walking around, and not having any room to spread out (you can’t sit in the same row with twins because you need an extra oxygen mask). They also started the I want mommy and no one else phase so they were only happy when Amy was holding them (which a stewardess pointed out was not allowed). Unfortunately, we were “those people” with the screaming kid (times 2!) and nothing we did made them stop crying.
We arrived in Venice with two grumpy kids and 2 very tired and stressed out parents. We were very happy that we booked a hotel in Venice because we were exhausted and in no shape to drive the 3 hours to Slovenia.
After trying several cars before we found one large enough to fit us and our stuff, we headed to the hotel, just outside of the old city. After we took a nice nap, we took the bus to the old part of Venice and rode the water taxi around the city. We enjoyed a beautiful dinner al fresco in the back streets of Venice. It is a beautiful place and worth the visit. I wish we had more time to explore!
View our Venice pictures.
The kids were wide awake at 2 am so it was a rough night with little sleep, but overall we were glad we stayed overnight in Venice. The next day we headed to Slovenia to see Baba and Dide (Grandma and Grandpa). It was much warmer in Slovenia than at home so was a tough adjustment. The kids also did not adjust well to the time change so sleep was tough for everyone. We had a great time taking walks, visiting the playground and markets in Slovenia, and catching up with friends. The kids had a great time with their grandparents and loved spending the days watching dogs and playing in the park.
View pictures from our Vacation 2011 – Slovenia visit.
Next, we headed to our family house on the Croatian coast. Lucija, Erwin and Eva flew in from France to meet us in Croatia. The kids are only a month apart so it was really fun to have the whole family under one roof. It was also great to catch up with our Croatian family and friends in Murter.
The weather in Croatia was quite warm but the kids loved exploring the patio at home. When we arrived in Croatia, both kids were still pretty shaky with their walking so they often ended up crawling then pulling themselves up. They did not like crawling on the rough patio stones so they learned to walk a little more quickly as a result. Grandpa also taught the kids to throw stones into the sea in Croatia so this was hours of fun.
View our Croatia pictures.
After our visit to Croatia, we returned to Slovenia for the remainder of our trip. On the drive back to Ljubljana, we stopped at Zvonimir’s grandparents homestead in Slovenia. The area looks very similar to where Amy’s grandparents lived in Pennsylvania. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch on the stairs of the house and were greeted by a very friendly cat whose calm demeanor, despite 2 non-gentile kids, earned him some prosciutto from our sandwiches! Before the final leg of our journey to Ljubljana, we visited our cousins who live nearby. We had not seen them in a few years so it was great to say hello!
View our pictures from our last week in Slovenia.
The flights back to Seattle were very long but luckily we had an awesome gate agent who, not only blocked the entire bulk-head row but also gave us 3 seats behind that road so we had enough room to spread out and for the kids to take a nap. Unfortunately Zara flat out refused to sleep so she was a mooing mess (she sounds like a cow mooing when she is tired, upset, etc.). Gabe was a little happier after a 3 hour nap but the flight seemed never ending. When we finally got to Philadelphia the kids we had to rush to make it through customs and to our next flight. By the time we got on the flight the kids were so exhausted that they crashed and slept the entire trip to Seattle. We were extremely happy to be home after a 26+ hour day!!