Click Here: Crown Home PageAs you can see, The Orange County Register has irked me again so I wrote the following letter yesterday (bellow). Today I received a nice letter in return, that I am sending you after this one. (Have not figured out if both can be sent in the same e-mail - there is nothing like being a computer dummy!)Hilda To: gettingaway@ocregister.comDate: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 20:04:10 -0800Subject: Lake Balaton mapDear Mr. Warner:Looking at this Sunday's Getting Away Section article and map about Hungary's Lake Balaton, I noticed that Croatia is not shown on the map. It shows Bosnia which does not border Hungary and Yugoslavia with a short border, while omitting Croatia which has a long northeast border with Hungary. This is the second time recently that Croatia is being left out on the maps of that region by the Register. The last time it showed Yugoslavia stretched out over what is Croatia. The question is: Why? Since Croatia is a very beautiful country with the gorgeous Adriatic coast and islands, perhaps next Summer Getting Away could visit and enjoy its beauties and acquaint its readership with Dubrovnik, islands Korcula, Hvar, Mljet, the unique, fabulous Plitvice Lakes and many other charming places.Sincerely,Hilda M. Foley 13272 Orange KnollSanta Ana, Ca 92705--------- Forwarded message ----------From: gettingaway@ocregister.comTo: Hilda FoleyDate: Fri, 11 Jan 2002Subject: Re: Lake Balaton mapMs. Foley: Thanks for your note. I've called the omission to the attention of our graphics staff. I don't know if the problem is the maps we are getting with the stories that are coming from our wire services or that we are using some map in our system that is flawed. Thanks for pointing it out.One of our staff writers, Jeff Miller, went to Croatia in 1999. In case you missed it, here's his story. I apologize in advance for the jumbled paragraphs in the computer-generated version.The Adriatic is a lovely area and I hope we'll get back there sometime in the not too distant future.VOYAGE CROATIA DALMATIAN RHAPSODY Fears slip away on the blue Adriatic JEFFREY MILLERPublished: SUN, June 27, 1999`You're going to Croatia? " The intonation varied when friends, family and co-workers questioned our plans to spend a week in the Balkans at the height of NATO's bombingcampaign against Serb forces in Kosovo. But the implication was always the same: Are you nuts? My wife, Kathie, and I had started planning the trip last year, before events in Yugoslavia reached crisis stage. Kathie suggested we visit Hvar, an island in theAdriatic, because her grandmother was born there. My interest was piqued when I read that travel writers had proclaimed Hvar one of the 10 most spectacular islands on the planet. After NATO began its nightly sorties over Pristina, Novi Sad and Belgrade, we looked at a map. The area of the Dalmatian coast we planned to visit is about 120 miles fromKosovo as the F-18 flies, too close for comfort for most vacationers. Tourist travel to Croatia is down by as much as 80 percent this year. Cruise lines have scratched ports such as Dubrovnik, Split, Korcula and Hvar from their routes. We debated changing our itinerary for several weeks, then decided to gofor it. We left with high hopes and a wee bit of anxiety. We came back with a few regrets that we didn't spend more time in Dalmatia, that we didn't get to visit more islands in the Adriatic, that we didn't pack sunscreen. Even though we visited at the worst of times, Croatia was the clearhighlight of our three-week vacation. By comparison, tourist meccas such as Venice, Italy; Innsbruck, Austria; and Munich, Germany, seemed overcrowded and artificial. Croatian tourist officials have spent the past decade trying to attractforeigners to the Dalmatian coast, a tourist destination since the mid-19th century. So far, it's been a tough sell, as one crisis or another has scared off visitors. If the recent peace agreement in Kosovo leads to a lasting peace in the region, tourists may again discover one of Europe's best-kept secrets. The overnight ferry that carried us from Ancona, Italy, to Split,Croatia, had a few dozen passengers, about one-fourth of its capacity. Thebiggest contingent was a group of Brazilian nuns on a pilgrimage to the shrine in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. There were three other Americans aboard _ two youngwomen working with a Baptist missionary group in Sarajevo and a United Nations monitor also bound for Bosnia. The monitor, a retired police officer from Tucson, was chatting with aCroatian woman returning home from vacation. She spoke at length about thebeauty of Dalmatia and the nuances of the Croatian language. "The English alphabet has how many characters? 26? In Croatian, we have30," she said. "And in English, you have only a few bad words," sheadded,firing off a string of choice examples. "In Croatian, we have many, many more. " I asked herhowshe felt about the NATO operation. She waved her Lucky Strikedismissively. "I'm not much interested in politics," she said. Ironically, the war in the Balkans seemed more distant in Croatia thaninany of the other countries we visited last month. Anti-NATO graffiti was a frequent sight in Germany, Austria and Italy.U.S. = assassini read one spray-painted message that greeted tourists asthey rode gondolas through canals in Venice. In Split, taggers seemed largely apolitical, preferring to adornbuildings with names of rock bands, depictions of marijuana leaves andexpressions of loyalty to Hajduk Split, the local soccer club. During our first night in the city, the neighborhood around our hotelechoed with shouts, gunfire and explosions. The reason for the outburst:Hajduk had just tied the Croatian United club from Zagreb, earning the team a chance to playRijeka for the national championship. The celebration was boisterous, butessentially nonviolent. We later heard that disappointed fans in Zagreb had rioted that night,injuring three police officers. Split, a city of about 300,000 residents, is a curious mix of old andnew. Its old town, or grad, boasts beautiful stone structures dating fromthe reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the third century. However, its skyline is dominated byhideous, Soviet-style high-rise apartments built during the Marshal Titoera. Under capitalism, many residents _ at least those prosperous enough tocruise the town in shiny new Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs _ are abandoningthehigh-rises to move into brand-new homes and condos. The subdivisions sprouting aroundthe city have a look that would be familiar to anyone from Orange County:rows of peach stucco exteriors and red-tile roofs. After two days in Split, we took the Jadrolinija ferry to the villageofHvar, the largest town on the island of the same name. The two-hour journey, which wends past the islands of Brac and Solta,seems to span two worlds. Stepping out on the balcony of our room at Hvar's Hotel Palace, we tookin a scene of perfect tranquillity. Late afternoon sunshine glittered off the multihued blues of theAdriaticand bathed the town's ancient white stone buildings. Sparrows swooped from the hotel's bell tower and settled on thered-tiledroofs of nearby homes. The clamor of children playing soccer echoed fromthe town's piazza. It was the best hotel of our three-week vacation in Europe _ and thecheapest. In May, the nightly room rate is 327 Croatian kuna _ just under$49 U.S. _ with the price doubling during the peak summer period. The scenery of Hvar is an odd but stunning amalgam. Think of the SanJuanIslands of Puget Sound or maybe the Monterey peninsula, but with betterweather. Throw in a bit of Kauai. Or maybe Arizona. Pines, palms and cactuses grow next to each other. The Adriatic,turquoise along the shore, suddenly turns an intense indigo where thewaterdeepens. One day we took the bus to the village of Starigrad, where Kathie'sgrandmother was born, a 12-mile ride that was spectacular and harrowing.The road that creeps along the island's mountainous spine is about 1 1/2 lanes wide, which makesfora tight squeeze when a bus and cement mixer going in opposite directionsmeet. People in Hvar come off as friendly and boisterous. After dinner,restaurateurs insist that their guests enjoy a shot of grappa _ "Croatiancognac," as one described it _ a high-potency brandy with the fine bouquet of butane. One Fridayafternoon, scores of Hvar's teen-agers celebrated the warm weather andtheend of the school week by jumping _ or being pushed _ into the harbor. Merchants, hearing thescreams, came out of their shops to view the spectacle. They shook theirheads and smiled. We left the idyll of Hvar on a Sunday _ Super Bowl Sunday for Croatia.The boat was packed with young male fans of Hajduk Split, all sportingtheteam's logo on T-shirts and scarves. Some climbed onto the roof of the boat to wave the teamflag. Most were singing the team's song. All were pounding large amountsofKarlovacko beer. Game time was still seven hours away. "If we win, we will represent all Croatia," one fan told us, trying toexplain the frenzy. "If we lose ... there might be a war. " The scenearound the stadium that afternoon was a cross between game day at theOakland Coliseum and Independence Day during a bad year in HuntingtonBeach. Fans hurled beer bottles at police in riot gear, smashing windowsofcars and buses. For a minute, I thought the guy on the boat might be right. I alsoremembered that the other team, with police escort, was staying at ourhotel. Hajduk ended up losing, 3-1. But aside from a few minor incidents, likesetting the netting of the visiting team's goal on fire, the fans behavedthemselves. We left Dalmatia the next morning, sunburned, exhausted and vowing toreturn. There had been minor inconveniences and discomforts _ workingATMsare rare, exchanging currency is a much bigger hassle than it iselsewherein Europe, and almost everyone in Croatia chain-smokes. But these wereoutweighed by the stunning scenery and fun-loving spirit of the people.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------It was such a seemingly insignificant small step, writing about the mistake on the map, but look what it resulted in - no more dumb maps in the O.C. Register! Croatia will be on the appropriate map from now on - or they will hear from me again - trust me!!HildaDear All, After several weeks I finally found late last night a little time to lookup the web page of the HINA news and to my surprise and personal delightthe first article was about my cousin Mladen Tarbuk having been appointed Superintendent of the Zagreb National Opera House. The mandate from theGovernment is for four years or possibly eight. It is a great honor forhim, he is still quite young (40) He is the son of my uncle Milan Tarbuk,retired music professor, my Mom's brother. Mladen is also a composer andconductor of the symphony orchestra of Radio Zagreb, as well as directorand conductor of the Puhacki orkestar HV, the Croatian army's orchestrafor wind instruments. Besides that he is a professor of music at theZagreb Music Academy and guest conductor at the Zagreb, Prague and otheropera houses with excellent critiques. So I just had to brag a little,please excuse me! Anyway, with all this, don't ask how much he gets paid!Sometimes months late and peanuts!HildaDear Hilda,We congratulates you on everything. From the world politics and Media Watch to your personal happiness and successes. In short. We truly love you and we do appreciate you.Nenad BachEditor in ChiefCROWNdistributed by CROWN - www.croatianworld.net - CroWorldNet@aol.comNotice: This e-mail and the attachments are confidential information.If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail and the attachments is strictly prohibited and violators will be held to the fullest possible extent of any applicable laws governing electronic Privacy. If you have received this e-mail in error please immediately notify the sender by telephone or e-mail, and permanently delete this e-mail and any attachments.