Eastern. Europe 2026: Croatia

After a couple of wonderful days in Budapest, Danelle and I boarded the AmaVerde for a cruise down the Lower Danube.  First stop: Vukovar, Croatia.

We took a guided walking tour of the city in the morning, and saw many unsettling reminders of the area's violent recent history such as the Phoenix Monument -- a bombed-out building left in its ruined condition after the 1991 war with the sole addition being beautiful planters of flowers to remind everyone that new things can rise up from tragedy.

World Cup fever was evident in at least one of the local eateries, with columns wrapped in the signature design of the Croatian national team's jersey.

The Heart of Vukovar symbolizes the city's efforts to emerge from its troubled recent history.

In the afternoon we took a coach to the town of Ilok and toured first Odescalchi Castle, with its strategic view of the Danube... 

...and the nearby Church of Saint John of Capistrano, a gothic church dating back to 1349 where the Catholic site reportedly came to die.  Our tour guide said that nobody knows where the saint's remains are actually buried, but most suspect that the monks hid them when the Ottomans conquered the area.

Last but not least, the delightful Winery Kast.  The winery was opened by a brother and sister in 2023, and while neither Danelle nor I are big wine drinkers we could both still appreciate the giant copper wine glass in the courtyard.

We made just this single stop in Croatia, but our wonderful tour guide helped us better understand events we only dimly remembered from 30-year-old news reports.  She recounted how she had helped her father smuggle guns into the country as a young girl during the Croatian War of Independence, a reminder on the 250th anniversary of our own independence of the high cost of freedom.

Related Links:

• Eastern Europe 2026: Budapest
• Eastern Europe 2026: Fisherman's Bastion
• Eastern Europe 2026: Buda Castle