Beach Day and Final Dinner

May 28th, 2010

After a long couple weeks of company visits we were finally rewarded a free day to do what ever we wanted. For the most part, everyone enjoyed a beautiful day on the beach swimming and tanning. The beach was pearl white while the ocean was crystal blue surrounded by mountains on one side and two of the largest islands in Croatia on the other. The water had a chilling feeling to it but once in the water you wouldn’t want to get out.
Later in the day we ventured our way over to another side of the beach. There we found a practice course set up for a Jet Ski competition that started the actual racing on May 29th. The Jet Ski’s at the competition were like no others we have ever seen before. They had been customized with graphics and also increased with horsepower to make them go faster.

That night we went out to dinner, as our final dinner together in Europe. On our walk up to the dinner we visited a small cemetery where the captains from the sea were berried. And in honor on the gravestones they had the boat steering wheel engraved. We then proceeded to dinner and sampled a couple of Croatia’s different liquors. One of those was wal nut and the other was grass. Both of them had a very different taste from each other. For dinner we had pork, liver, chicken, and cevapcici with a side of potato fries. For desert we were treated with crepes (chocolate and marmalade).
Before and after dinner most of us got to play boche ball. This game was played with two teams of two players on each team. It started with one person tossing a ball down the court. From there each team had to try and place their ball closet to the ball that was thrown first. This quickly became a huge hit with us, with the competition getting quite heated.
Tomorrow we leave for Dubrovnik where we stay for two nights.

Final Day

For the final day in Croatia a large group of us went to the city center to explore the walled city. The city originated as a maritime center with a long period of prosperity and development in the 15th century. Within the city are many Churches from different periods, the place and the university Collegium Rhagusinum, which was created in the 1600’s. The city received much damage during the conflict in the 1990’s but has been preserved and fixed since then.


After our travels to the old city many of us chose to spend our last day on the coast at the beach. It was a wonderful day to lay on the beach and swim. Now as the night is coming to an end we are all packing up our things and getting ready for a very early morning tomorrow and a safe trip back to the states.

-Amber

another day in the life

The day began at the crack of dawn in a hot and crowded youth hostel. Everyone was ready to make the journey from Zagreb to Split and to reach our final destination, Baska Voda. The cargo area of the bus was packed to the limit with just enough room to fit the last bag. As we traveled out of the city of Zagreb I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Our first stop was at a roadside rest stop/gas station for breakfast. As I stepped off the bus it became clear that Croatia has a lot more to offer than Zagreb’s urban wonderland. Mountains stretched off into the distance and the ground cover was an interesting mix of cracked stone and lavender bushes. Under a clear blue sky we ate our breakfast and jumped back on the bus.

We arrived in Split, Croatia’s second largest city, about six hours after leaving Zagreb. Immediately, we set out to explore the ancient ruins of Roman Emperor Diocletian’s retirement fortress. The narrow streets and alleys were lined with vendors of all types selling a wide variety of goods. After exploring the fortress I decided to grab a beer and watch the promenading people as they enjoyed the beautiful seaside views.



After meeting at the bus for the last leg of our trip to Baska Voda, the landscape began to change rapidly. As we climbed the mountains out of Split we could see vast plots of terraced land. The people of the region used to plant a variety of crops from olives to vegetables but have since abandoned the labor intensive practice. The resulting green steps up the sides of the mountains are like a sceen from a movie. One hour later we arrived at a scenic vista which was the site of an ancient fortress and stepped out of the bus to take a few pictures. The view was incredible and it was clear that the location of the fortress was perfectly planned to prevent attack in all directions.

As we approached the city of Baska Voda Boris told a story about his grandfather who was from this region. In the 40’s and 50’s he was a bus driver on unpaved and unprotected mountain roads. The cliffs on the sides of the 1.5 lane roads drop about 100 meters to the sea. As Grandpa Jukic was rounding a corner, the steering column on his bus broke. The bus eventually came to a stop hanging over the edge of the cliff. He had to hold the foot brake while his passengers made an emergency evacuation. After the last person got off the bus Grandpa Jukic said a prayer, pulled the hand brake, and jumped for his life. Thankfully he made it out and no one was injured.

Upon arriving at our hotel in Baska Voda we were pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the rooms and the premium beachfront location. The lobby of the hotel has a very nice bar and restaurant with a nice beachside patio. We settled into our rooms and headed out for dinner. After dinner we took a stroll down the pier and watched the full moon from the sea wall. It was the perfect end to an amazing day.

Francis' Birthday

Everyone was excited to get the day started as this was the last day of company visits before we headed to the coast for the last leg of our trip. We began the day with a visit to a company called elektro kontrakt. The company specializes in producing the electrical components that regulate appliances and other automated processes. I believe the speaker was one of the most intelligent we have heard from thus far. It was interesting to learn the unique method in which the company was able to survive through the crisis in the 90’s and the economic recession of the last two years. The most important piece of information he was able to share was that in order to succeed one must always research methods to change and improve themselves. This can be applied to facets of life, business, personal, and extracurricular.

After the meeting at elektro kontrakt we had a short break before we headed to our final business meeting of the year, Atlantic Grupa. Atlantic Grupa is a company that produces healthcare products and who’s ultimate goal is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Their most recent product, Cedevita GO, is a vitamin drink that can be taken on the go. In addition to vitamin drinks, the company also produces other healthcare products.

After finishing up our last company visit, we were free to do what we wanted the rest of the night. Some of the group went with Marta on a bar crawl with some other university students. Others went out to celebrate Francis’ birthday at a nightclub called Galleria.

Long day of three companies

Today was the only day on the trip that we visited three separate companies in one day. We knew that it was going to be a long day but also knew that free time was right around the corner. The first company on the list was Oglasnik, a subsidiary of Trader Classified Media. The focus of Oglasnik is internet advertising similar to that of Craig’s List. Due to the current economic situation, they have had to make some cut backs and employ a new strategy of cost management. The speaker seemed confident that since costs are so low, once revenues raise again the profit will be better than before. If all works out, the company can start to grow again within the next few years.

After stopping at the mall for a brief break, we continued on to the local hospital. We all got the grand tour of the facilities. This included different machines like the MRI and standard x-ray machine. However, they did not have a complex surgical wing because they only perform small and minimally invasive surgeries. Also, for some reason I kept seeing doctors that were well above six feet tall. From the tour we continued on to the presentation that included a part about the specific hospital and a second part about the health care system of the country. Two things said that I feel were interesting was that Croatia has a public health care system and that doctors are paid considerably less than in the U.S.

The last stop of the day was a cell phone service provider called VIP. VIP is one of the top cell phone providers in the area, which is evident by the amount of advertising found throughout Croatia. It runs through a GSM network, which is through SIM cards. The company spends a lot of time on marketing and image branding. It was interesting that the top marketing professional was previously an engineer. The current focus of VIP is upgrading their products to allow more amounts of data, since the demand for data is on the exponential rise.

Beginning of another week in Europe

Today we went on our first company visit in Croatia, to The World Bank and Erste Bank. The World Bank is an international organization that provides “financial support, technical assistance, policy advice, and analytical services” to Croatia. We were given a short presentation about what the bank has loaned to Croatia and current projects they were working on. One thing we found that was interesting is that one of their main goals was to fund projects to ease Croatia’s acceptance into the EU.

After the company visit, we all went our separate ways for lunch, the group that I was with, continued our sampling of kebabs from local establishments in the countries that we were traveling to. The restaurant of choice today was King Kebab. While there was only a choice of beef, there were a few different sauces as well as a new ingredient, cheese that gave this kebab a distinct flavor. Here is a picture of the Kebab store.

Following lunch, we visited our second business of the day, Erste Bank in Zagreb Croatia, Like most of the banks around the world, the recession has hit them hard, but their corporate leadership has vowed that no one section of the company would specifically suffer, that each section would have to bear some of the burden of the companies downfall. To counteract this, the company has created a unique rewards system for employees who can brainstorm innovative ideas that will help the company move forward. After the visit, we got to go to the top floor of their building and here is a picture of the view of the city.

Finally, after a long day of company visits, Marta a student from the University of Zagreb took some of us went out for a traditional Croatian dinner that included chevachichi and several other local meats of the area. They also, had a unique way of serving beer called a giraffe and here is a picture of that. Tomorrow we have 2 more company visits and then a few days to enjoy ourselves on the beach.

Kevin and Zack

National Park-国家公园

On May 23, 2010, we decide to go to the national park. In the morning, there may be ten more people that want to go to the national park. The bus drives us to the national park that use two more hours. It is a long trip. Everyone just sleep on the bus, the time goes so fast. When we wake up, we already stay in front of the national park. The stuff takes our student card to change the ticket. When we get the ticket, we just start our two more hours’ trip.

This picture is that the national park’s map. The map shows all of the national park's way to our tourists. Let the tourists know their way, and let us easy to understand about the national park.

This picture is our first part in the national park that is a huge waterfall. I take the picture on the top of the hill, and we can see all of the views about this waterfall. We also go near to watch this waterfall, and we walk on the bridge, and we watch the little fish in the water, and we talk about the view together. When you go near the waterfall, you can feel the water split on your body.

This picture is that another little waterfall in the middle of the national park. This waterfall is smaller than first one. But the view also is good for the tourists. Moreover, the time is going so fast, after three hours we done for the national parks’ view.

When we finish viewing the national park in Croatia, we cross the bridge together. Even though you see our back, you also can feel our enjoyable. Today we have a good time, and we view a good place in the Croatia.

the largest waterfall "最大的瀑布" in the national park.

Internazionale

We started off today by touring various symbolic sites in Zagreb. The first consisted of visiting a religious relic where many assembled to pray. Hundred of years ago this historic symbol represented one of few entries into the city of Zagreb. The next site that we visited was the Cathedral in Zagreb. The cathedral was a great representation of Eastern European art and reflected the Croatian culture. After our tour, we ate lunch and headed towards the mall. The girls ended up buying a lot of clothes but I didn’t have an appetite for the European taste of clothing. After the time that we spent at the mall, all of the sports fans were heavily anticipating the soccer European Cup called the Champion’s League. In the city square, many resembled around a huge screen TV to watch possibly the most prestigious game in European soccer. This game was particularly important to Croatia because two Croats were playing in this contest. Henieken, the biggest sponsor of this event, organized a tent where they invited to purchase and consume their products while watching the game. They also held Video game and foose ball tournaments to build hype before the grand event. I took this opportunity to put in to practice my FiFA 10 skills in Europe against various competitors. After an hour of Fifa 10, it was time to watch the Champions league Final . The game was highly contested but Inter Milan ended up winning to the dismay of Croatia but delight of myself and Tim Sweeney.

Gravity At Its Best

They say the water flows with an accent here, I have yet to hear anything though. Sunday was funday in Croatia, the greatest soccer nation not represented in the World Cup next month. Most of the group ventured to the mysterious and majestic cascading lakes and waterfalls of Plivitch, while some bummed around the capital, and one continued his stay in Italia. The lakes are of the the true national treasures of Croatia and are unparreled in the U.S., however its not handicap excessible and the restriciton of swimming was a major dissapointment to those aquatically skilled, this dissapointment should be countered once the coast is reached. The sun was shining, as it does at least 5 times a week as required by law, and the air was crisp. The fish were friendly and the water is the clearest in all former Yugoslavian lands. The trip included a small detour to a village with waterfalls and connecting streams. For some this was the best 15 minutes of the trip, and perhaps the cheapest. The trip was accomplished in a few hours and allowed for additional venturing throughout Zagreb, the greatest city in all the Roman Empire at one time. The nightime involved the watching of a heated soccer match between Croatia and Wales, as well as some American-Canadian hockey. The city remains alive until the wee hours of the morning even on a Sunday, a testament to the vivacious spirit of the locals. If New York is the city that never sleeps, Zagreb is the city that sleeps during the day. Througout the evening the cafes are still bustling with activity and at least one member of the group has posed the question ˝Does anyone work here?˝ For the time being, the answer might as well be no, since there is always an abundance of beauties walking the streets. According to an anonymous New Zelander Croatia ranks 4th in the world in terms of the beautyof its citizens, behind only Denmark, Holland, and Czech Republic. Company visits restart tomorrow, bringing great joy to everyone since we can get up early.

-Tim

From Vienna to Zagreb, Croatia

Today we ended our short but sweet time touring Vienna. Although it was a rainy day, there was still plenty of sightseeing and tasty food to be consumed. A few of us broke away from the group and saw this spectacular palace. They were doing some kind of reconstruction, but it was amazing and the architecture was even better. It seemed as though ever building that we looked at had a different style of architecture. We also found the United States embassy when we were adventuring. Do not worry nothing happened, but it did feel reassuring when people were speaking English.

Now today was not all fun and games. We had an intense bus ride that took a good 8 hours if you include all the border crossings and stops we made along the way. We arrived at Zagreb, Croatia around 7pm local time, which is around 1pm Eastern time in the States. We are living in a hostel until Thursday, but do not get the wrong impression. This hostel is actually really nice; it comes with sheet and the works. The weather got better as soon as we got to the hostile; nice and sunny. Now it is time to do some exploring and try to figure out what is around us.

Matt Staiano