Greetings from Murter, Croatia!  I am halfway through my month-long European vacation and wanted to give a quick summary of the places I visited so far.

It’s been a tiring and frenzied pace, with only 1-3 days per destination. Fortunately I slowed things down on my 2nd day in Belgrade to recover energy. I’m going to need it this evening at the Defected Croatia house music festival.  I’m going to keep every city summary short and sweet with only one or two photos. If you want to see more, follow me on Instagram at @karlbonner82 …

REYKJAVIK 

The flight from Portland to Keflavik (small town near Reykjavik) was long and sleepless, contributing to several jet lag on my one day in Iceland. The plane just barely passed north of the Arctic Circle over Greenland during the “nighttime,” and I was able to view the midnight dusk from my south-facing window.  Looking south into the darkness at lower latitudes:

 

Reykjavik was a beautiful city surrounded by maritime subarctic moorlands.  Though very mild for its latitude, it is still a very cool and gray place in the summer with daytime temps around 13-15°C (55-59F).  I did visit one majestic cathedral, the Hallgrimskirkja. Iceland is VERY expensive to stay and dine in, on par with San Francisco or NYC.  So it’s probably a good thing I was only there for one day.

PRAGUE

The most cosmopolitan city in central Europe, along the banks of the Vltava (Moldau) River.  Like Portland’s Willamette, the Vltava is strewn with many bridges including the famous Charles Bridge for pedestrians. I saw a string quintet concert in a church the first night and explored the national museum and Prague Castle on the second day.  Climbing the 285-step staircase in the tower is exhausting…be sure to pace yourself and bring plenty of water!

BRNO

Brno is the second largest city in Czechia, about 150km southeast of Prague. Compared to Prague it is much slower and less economically bustling, kind of like a Midwestern “rust belt” city in the U.S.  I had a friend there show me around, and afterward we went to his house.  He played house music tracks while I jammed on the saxophone. Unfortunately there was no way to record. 

VIENNA 

Vienna is the music capital of Europe. I toured the famous opera house, but had to take a German language tour since English (and even Spanish) tickets were sold out.  Fortunately another tourist was able to fill me in on the details.  I also visited the apartment where W.A. Mozart lived during his last few years. There was lots of information about his operas and his relationship with Antonio Salieri – which was not nearly as adversarial as popular myth makes it out to be!

I also saw an all-rhythm jazz quartet at the Porgy and Bess club that night…amazing what a bunch of 60-70 something musicians can still do!

BUDAPEST 

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. I visited one of the city’s famous mineral baths and took a very long walk down the Danube in 32-35°C heat, including a hike up the Citadella on the second day.  This was about when I realized I was beginning to wear myself out. In addition, I tried a traditional Hungarian veal dumpling meal on my first night…but it was not my cup of tea.  

BEOGRAD (BELGRADE)

There are no trains between Budapest and Belgrade so I had to go by bus.  We had a long and arduous double passport check at the Serbian border, and had to stand outside in 37-degree temps for nearly an hour. The city of Belgrade was uniquely beautiful IMO, especially the Kalemegdan fortress park.  I even saw my first palm trees there; apparently the winters are just barely mild enough for them to survive despite a handful of cold, snowy days each season. 

On the final evening I met up with another DJ friend, Marko (aka Mark Funk).  While we didn’t have time to jam, we had a great conversation about music, world affairs, Serbian nightlife and even Game of Thrones!  I definitely hope to return here someday. 

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After Belgrade I had a two-leg flight to Zadar, Croatia- followed by a short bus drive to Tisno that evening.  

Some things to note:

The weather was very dry, sunny and warm ever since Prague. Apart from a few sprinkles in Vienna it was mostly sunny and 28-35°C almost the entire time. That was a bit of a surprise; I was expecting more summer monsoonal rain & T-storms over here.

Lots of wildfires in Croatia, though probably not as bad as what Oregon is currently enduring. The native landscape over here looks a little like Southern Oregon or Northern California; think Grants Pass or the Redding area, but with the Adriatic Sea adjacent. 

Café customs are a little different over here.  More of a slow pace where you sit down, order, partake and then pay several minutes after finishing. Not the grab-and-go mentality of many American establishments. It can take a little adjustment, but it was a healthy reminder for me to slow down and RELAX.

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That sums it up.  I will write about the 2nd half of my trip once I get back.  For now, it’s off to Defected Croatia for 4 days of dancing!

Karl