Sure Travel Journey Vol 4.1 Summer 2018 | Page 55

STEALING THE SHOW
T H E R E S A S Z E J W A L L O G E T S A TA S T E O F C R O AT I A N C U L T U R E
© ATLETIC/SHUTTERSTOCK
Left: Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic.
Above: Traditional Osojnik dancers.
“
WE ENJOY THE FIERY
WARMTH OF HOMEMADE
BRANDY, DRIED FIGS
AND CANDIED ORANGE
AND LEMON PEEL, A
FITTING START TO OUR
TRADITIONAL CROATIAN
DINNER
“
© ADOBESTOCK
Much the same as in the animal world,
the males of Osojnik’s KUD stole the
show. Their dapper scarlet-red and gold
embroidered jackets added a dash of
much-needed colour, as the otherwise
dourly dressed circle of traditional dancers
revolved, twirled and thump, thump,
thumped to the repetitive sounds of the
tamburitza in the town square.
Just over 20 years ago the village of
Osojnik lay in ruins – the stone walls burnt
to the ground during the 1990s civil war.
The village has since been restored to
its former glory against the backdrop of
vineyard-clad hills and olive groves, which
for centuries have been the livelihood of
families like the Muhoberacs who we’ve
travelled from Dubrovnik to meet.
Dubrovnik is where most trips to
Croatia begin, as did ours. The coastal city
drops dramatically into the Adriatic Sea
and it’s impossible not to be drawn in by
its many charms, which have lured visitors
for centuries. It also serves as the perfect
base from which to explore the rest of the
country, which is rich in Slavic heritage.
Despite being rebuilt after the
devastating war, I imagine Osojnik looks
today just like it must have 500 years
before when the Muhoberacs’ ancestors
decided to settle in this picturesque part
of Croatia, a half-hour’s drive from the
mesmerising Pearl of the Adriatic.
Red-tiled roofs and white-stone walls
peer out from between the terraced
carob, oak and pine trees. Flavours of
fig and cherry, lemon, orange and apple,
honey and wine lie ahead on this Be My
Guest gastronomic experience we’re
enjoying as part of Trafalgar’s Balkan
Delight guided holiday. Osojnik has every
luscious Mediterranean flavour you can
imagine and more.
Under the vaulted ceilings of Anton and
Marja Muhoberac’s farmhouse, we enjoy
the fiery warmth of homemade brandy,
dried figs and candied orange and lemon
peel, a fitting start to our traditional
Croatian dinner, which they say will be
cooked over a 250-year-old fireplace that
survived the war. This same fireplace is
used to this day by the Muhoberacs to
dry meat, bake break and roast meat and
potatoes just like their ancestors used
to, using a traditional iron bell to cover
the meat to retain its juices. And we
have an opportunity to indulge our inner
Masterchef and do the same, piercing
fresh farm ham and potato pieces onto
twigs and letting them sizzle in the flames.
In the oldest part of the house, we
settle in for a meal of zelena menestra –
steaming cabbage, potatoes, smoked ham
and sausages paired with the Muhoberacs’
homemade wine. The sombre stories of
surviving the civil war eventually give way
to family tales and explanations of the
traditional garb and dance that we
MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE // 55