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with Fr. Lim October 14 to 26, 2009 A diary of the Pilgrimage to Croatia: Day 1 - Oct 14, 2009 Wed - Depart USA / Venice via ParisThere were twenty-six pilgrims that departed from San Francisco on Air France AF 83 to Paris on the way to Venice on October 14, 2009. One pilgrim did not come on time for the van from San Jose to SFO, but she was able to catch up with us at the SFO airport later. The flight left SFO without any incident, except the slight turbulence as we passed over the Canadian air space. Day 2 - Oct. 15, 2009 Thur - Arrive Paris / Venice We landed in Paris fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. The food was fine. Most of us were placed in the front section of the plane, a departure from the usual dumping all big groups in the back of the plane. It was slightly bumpy part of the way, but nothing much to complain. In Paris we had to get off the plane, board a bus to get to the terminal since there was no space for the plane to dock to unload the passengers. Day 3 - Oct 16, 2009 Fri - Venice / Bled, Slovenia Wake up call was at 6:15 am, followed by breakfast at 6:40 am and we were on the bus to attend a concelebrated Mass in Italian. Originally we were to walk to the Sacred Heart Church, but Kristjian wisely changed his mind at the last minute. It would have been a long and tortuous morning walk for all of us. At first we thought we had our own space for Mass, but we had to simply attend the Mass or get very much delayed in our program for the day. The whole Mass was in Italian, but the Capuchin Fathers were very kind and the pastor actually suggested that Father Lim to say something on behalf on the pilgrims after the gospel reading. The Mass continued in Italian leaving us to pray in our own language since we did not know Italian. After Mass we got back on the bus to return to take the boat that would bring us to Venice. Federica took over as our guide on the island of Venice. Since St. Mark continues to be flooded, the city has put elevated walkways for people to move from one part of the basilica to the other. One has to be careful when using those wooden elevated walkways. Federica brought us to the Murano glass shop and the Great Council Hall. Doge’s Palace & State Apartments. After a group photo we headed for the boat that took us back to the bus. Our driver Tihomir drove us to the Italian border into Slovenia and into the town of Bled which is located in the middle of an Alpine lake, embraced by a necklace of majestic peaks. Travelers from all over the world have frequented this beautiful charming mountain resort. We stayed at the Park Hotel in Bled, Slovenia for two nights.Day 4 - Oct 17, 2009 Sat - Bled Wake up time was at 8:00 am, but breakfast was at 7:00 am. A good number of the pilgrims came sometime after 7:00 am. At 9:00 am we were on the bus to climb the castle of Bled. The castle was actually a few minutes walk behind the hotel, but we took the bus to tour the other area of town-the main street, the railway station, the villa Bled, hotel where tourism started and little pier that took people to the island where the Church of the Assumption is located. Our excellent driver Tihomir droved that bus through those narrow mountain roads that eventually led us to parking lot of the castle. It was a short five to six minutes very steep climb to the castle entrance. It was a joyful and peaceful day! It was photo op time when we got into the courtyard of castle. It overlooks the lake that is surrounded by majestic mountains. Clearly visible from the courtyard is the island where the Assumption church is located. It is a place for photo taking and for keeping memories forever. Kristijan showed us the museum of the castle and he pointed to us the indigenous people who inhabited the area during various stages of the development of the region. When we finished the tour some walked down the castle and headed for hotel, about a ten minutes walk; while others took the bus to return to the hotel where we gathered to head to tour Ljubljana in the afternoon. Ljubljana is a vibrant city, lying between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. It has the amenities of a modern capital, yet the charm of a small city. We first stopped in front of the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation. Kristijan also pointed out the statue of the Slovene national hero France Prešeren. The Ljubljana River flows through the center of town, past Baroque buildings and under the ramparts of the ancient castle on the hill. Bridges crisscross various parts of the city. There are riverboat tours, but the routes are limited. We visited the meat market, the flower market, the vegetable market and the city center. It is a clean and beautiful city. Work is never done. We passed by construction sites, old sections of pavements being dug for repairs. The locals come to buy from the market and support it. They do not seem to have the supermarkets we have in California. We celebrated Mass at the cathedral of St. Nicholas. We had to finish the Mass on time since there was another Mass following us. We returned to the hotel for a well-deserved rest and good dinner. Hotel Park for the night.Day 5 - Oct 18, 2009 Sun - Bled / Plitvice Lakes
Wake up call was at 6:00 am, followed by breakfast and our luggage was
out of our rooms by 8:00 am. We
were ready to go by 8:00 am. It was quite cold by California standards,
3 C or 35 F. We made a stop
at a gas station on the way to Opatija. It is one of the most beautiful
resort towns along the Croatian Adriatic coast.
A fourteen-century Benedictine monastery stood there but a
gentleman from Rijeka, Iginio Scarpa, built Villa Angelina in 1840 and
this gave tourism boost.
Today restaurants, hotels and other amenities that cater to
tourists are found in Opatija. When
we got off the bus people were not yet ready for lunch and so they took
a long walk with Kristijan along the sea walk.
After the walk most the people came to Kamelja restaurant for a
bite to eat before we headed for our next stop Rijeka, to visit the
famous shrine of Our Lady of Trsat.
We celebrated Mass at the church of Our Lady of Trsat. For
hundred of years it has been a pilgrimage site for the Catholic faithful
since it is where the St. Luke’s painting of Mary is kept and
venerated. Friar George was helpful in setting up the altar and getting
Mass for ready for the pilgrims.
We sang and prayed in Mary’s home.
There were also people from the community who came to receive
communion. Day 6 - Oct 19, 2009 Mon - Plitvice Lakes / Medjugorge
Wake call was a 7:00 am, followed by breakfast and we were on the bus to
walk through the park by 9:00 am. When
we got off the bus we headed for the entrance office where we got out
tickets to walk the trail and later to catch the short boat ride.
It was a total of two hours walk, riding and fun through one back
to nature experience. It was
quite cold for Californians and some did not bring warm clothes with
them for the cold weather. The
morning weather felt like freezing temperature.
Walking the wooden walkways on the park was a great way to see
park that would normally not accessible to almost everyone.
To visit Plitvice is to experience nature at its best. One can
see falls dancing in the distance and enjoy the beauty of heavily
forested park. We finished
hiking the trails by noon time and then headed for Medjugorje by about
1:00 pm. We didn’t reach Regina Hotel in Medjugorje until about 7:00
pm. Mass was celebrated in
the prayer room in the hotel followed by supper. It was long day.
Medjugorje, Boasnia-Herzogogina is a country of 4.5 million
inhabitants. It is not yet part of the European Union, but when we
entered the Bosnian checkpoint we had to be ready to show our passport.
However, border security isn’t that strict after the driver
spoke to the guards and they found out we were Americans they let us go
on our way, Day 7 - Oct 20, 2009 Tues - Medjugorie
Wake up call was at 7:00 am, breakfast at 8:00 am and concelebrated Mass
at St. James Church at 9:50 am. Kristijan
took us on a short tour of the parish church before the Mass started. He
pointed to us the hill that takes three hours to walk and showed us the
back of the church where outdoors Masses are held. Fr. Benny McHale of Ireland said the Mass in the packed
church. It was difficult to hear what he said because of the acoustics,
but people in the church could hear him and enjoyed his homily.
He was entertaining and made sense. After the Mass we got on the bus to go to the Hill of the
Apparitions, the sight of the first apparition.
We first had to pass by the shops that sold all kinds religious
and secular memorabilia. One
can purchase hats, rosaries, candles, canes, T-Shirts and other
articles. Then going up the sharp edged rocks was a real challenge.
One had to have steady steps and falling or tripping would be a
disaster. Most people went
to the first level of the hill where there is a statue of Our Blessed
Mother. But it takes another
20 to 25 minutes to reach the top of hill where a giant statue of Our
Blessed Mother is found. It
takes about 20 minutes to climb to the top of the hill and on it another
shrine built in honor of the Blessed Mother. People pray in front of the
statue while others linger a bit and head down to the shops.
Day 8 - Oct 21, 2009 Wed - Medjugorie / Dubrovnik
We left Medjugorje this morning for Mostar. It was a two-hour long
drive. Mostar is a
Moslem-Christian town that was heavily damaged during the recent
conflict. The city has been
rebuilt, but the scars of the war are still visible in the walls of some
of the buildings. Live
ammunitions are sold in the shops as souvenir items.
The city is clean and the river Neretva runs through it, but
plastic bottles pollute the river. We passed by the famous bridge of Mortar; Completed in 1566 by the Turkish architect Mimar Hayruddin, and it was destroyed in the 1993 conflict. Rebuilt today it stands as symbol of unity of a divided people. The group had lunch and did shopping in Mostar. Some tried the local favorite-Mostar sausage with dough. Food was reasonable. However, people mistook us for Japanese tourists. They couldn’t realize we were Americans mostly of Filipino descents who come from California. The rest of the journey was long, but rewarding one. We passed by lively towns with potential for development. One valley is called “little California” because that is where they grow lots of fruits and vegetables. Then when we hugged the beautiful Adriatic coastline we saw nothing but God’s wonderful creation. Islands after islands dotted the seacoast all the way from moment we left Mostar until we reach Dubrovnik. We didn’t get to Hotel Valamar until about 6:00 pm. We celebrated Mass in one of the conference rooms of the hotel before dinner.
Day 9 - Oct 22, 2009 Thur - Dubrovnik It was a leisurely day for all. We left the hotel at 9:00 am and when we passed by the pier we saw the four cruise ships yesterday were gone. That meant there were fewer people in the city. But unfortunately, it rained the whole morning and it was windy which tended to wreck havoc on flimsy umbrellas. The local guide, Darko, was kind enough to show us around his city. He first brought us to the pier explained the purpose of fortress, the origin of name, the ownership of the coffee shop and the future development of the hills. Then he led us through the ancient town also known as placa or stradum. We saw the Dominican and Franciscan Monasteries: we stopped by the Franciscan Monastery museum to see the collection there. It is still a functioning religious community, but only five members live in it. The Rector’s Palace is an interesting piece of history; one man was elected Rector for a month by the Great Council to take care of the business of the state. His main concern was for the welfare of the state, not his during that his tern of office. At that time Dubrovnik rivaled Venice as a maritime power. We stopped to visit the Cathedral on our way to St. Ignatius church where we celebrated Mass for the day. Since was raining we all decided to come back to the hotel and have some rest since tomorrow would be another day of long travel.Day 10 - Oct 23, 2009 Fri - Dubrovnik / Zadar We left the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, the capital of ancient Croatia, on rainy day. But the discomfort was made up by the breathtaking view of the Adriatic shores as we moved from Dubrovnik to Zadar. We actually backtracked part of the way to Mostar and we headed towards Zadar. Those who sat on the left side of the bus had the view of the ocean all the way to Zadar. If it hadn’t been raining we’d have stopped at Makarska, a beach resort, for coffee break, but Kristijan decided go to restaurant where we paid 2 kunas per person to use the restrooms. Then it was on to Split where we had our lunch. After lunch our guide Garona led us through the ancient palace of Diocletian, a cruel emperor who killed many Christians in his lifetime. Later on his palace was turned into a church. After Split we stopped at Trogir, a small medieval town with narrow streets reminiscent of Spain and France old cities. Kristijan led us through the old town showing us the best Romanesque-Gothic buildings and castles. Then it was time to drive to Zadar. We arrived at Zadar about 7:30 pm. It was a long drive for us. After Mass we had dinner and then a good night sleep. The Hotel Kolavare had free access to the Internet which allowed us to use the “magic jack” to call the US for free.
Day 11 - Oct 24, 2009, Sat - Zadar / Zagreb - Capital of Croatia Wake up call was at 7:00 am: breakfast at 8:00 am and by 8:30 am we were ready to visit the city of Zadar. Lillian, the local guide, was in front of the hotel to lead us through the rainy day at Zadar. She said it was unusual to rain in that part of the country, but the locals welcomed it because they needed the rain. We left hotel Kolavare, a good hotel but nothing in comparison to Valamar. The city, as Lillian explained, is very rich in history. It has connection with the Greek, Roman and Venetian cultures. The Venetians controlled it for many years, and eventually Zadar became part of Croatia. The first place we visited was the church of St. Donatus. Originally called the Church of the Holy Trinity, it is renamed the Church of St Donat in honor of a famous bishop. The circular shape church is typical of the early Byzantine style. It is no longer used for liturgical purposes but only for concerts. After visiting to the church Kristijan brought us to the magnificent Zadar seaside promenade. It was a lovely morning walk where we took pictures, listened to the music of the sea and enjoyed the beauty of the ocean. But we had our lunch first in one of the side streets. Most of the meals are served outdoors since it is really quite pleasant to have lunch in the open. When everyone had his or her fill we headed for the church located not too far from the church of St. Donatus where we celebrated Mass. It was a small chapel dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. When we got on the bus we were the long ride to Zagreb. It was a long ride over the hills of Croatia that were not as productive as the other parts of the country that we saw. The soil is principally limestone based and the rains tend to sip right into the rocks and aquifers making if difficult to do any farming. We stopped twice before reaching Zagreb for pit stop and when we got to Regency Hotel we were told that the president of the Canadian senate was visiting the country and the hotel was crawling with security people. We had to get off the bus at the curb instead of the front of the hotel because the security cars were in front of the hotels. We arrived at the hotel at about 7:30 pm, had dinner at 8:00 pm and enjoyed the evening at the magnificent Regency Hotel. Unfortunately Hotel Regency locks us out of the use of Magic Jack and so we cannot call the US for free.Day 12 - Oct 25, 2009, Sun - Zagreb Today Martin was our guide. The high ranking official
from Canada left this morning just as we were leaving for our tour of
the city and what a relief. We had to walk to the other side of the
street to get on the bus because of security measures. Our first stop of the tour of the historic city of
Zagreb is the Miragol cemetery. It is strange to visit a cemetery and it
is functioning cemetery for the city residents.
People of all faiths are buried in this cemetery including the
national hero. He holds a prominent place behind the mausoleum. Poets
and the first president of Republic are buried in a special section of
the cemetery. After our visit of the cemetery we headed for old
city. We passed by St. Mark square, St. Mark church and St. Catherine
church, the Cathedral, the parliament building. We didn’t have much
time to stop at the churches, but when we wanted to stop by the
cathedral to pray, Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral Church policy
was very clear – No one could go in and disrupt the Mass nor to go in
for a short visit. So none of us could go and pay a visit to the Blessed
Sacrament. After lunch Tihomir brought us to his hometown of
Marija Bistica where a famous statue of Our Blessed Mother is enshrined.
That statue goes all the way back to 1545. Pope John Paul came to Marija
Bristica in 1998 to beatify Cardinal Stipenac. The shrine attracts more than 600,000 people every
year. Many of them make the Stations of the Cross located behind the
parish church. Local sculptors and artists helped in the creation and
continue to maintain the shrine today. Day 13 - Oct 26, 2009, Mon - Zagreb / San Francisco
Flight to Paris from Zagreb was 6:30 am and it meant we had to be up at
3:30 am so that Tiho and Kristijan could bring us to the airport at 4:30
am. We were there when Air
France opened its check in counters.
We flew back to San Francisco full of wonderful memories of a
rich spiritual and cultural journey.
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