As you had requested of me, I have done my best to acquire, photograph, and taste a pastry in your honor. Indeed, I have done even better by enjoying a bit of local dessert every day. It was challenging, I assure you, and sometimes, I did not have my camera at the ready to capture the delicious goodness of my chosen desserts. Still, I think you will not be disappointed. (Except maybe in the quality of some of the photographs…I need practice J)
My first choice of pastry was a tart cherry strudel. It was still warm when I opened up the bag and positioned it for its debut as a food model. The blood red cherry filling oozed from between the flaky layers, hinting at a sense of danger and temptation (too much drama? J). While most sane people would tear into it with their teeth, ripping through the pastry, I took a more delicate approach, using my hands to create smaller bite-sized pieces. The sweetness of the powdered sugar contrasted nicely with the sour cherry, and it made for a pleasant afternoon snack. Still, nothing in particular struck me as being uniquely Croatian, so I vowed to continue searching for something different.
Another day, another pastry. I chose a different bakery today in Zagreb, and I opted for another strudel, this time filled with something between cottage cheese and cream cheese. (Maybe kind of like ricotta in texture.) The filling had a hint of sweetness, but nothing like is typically found in American desserts. I will refrain from describing the filling sans pastry as it could easily devolve into something vulgar, disgusting, and well…yeah. I’ll leave it at that. However, that aside, it tasted great. I am not sure whether I would say it was better than the cherry or not since both were distinctly different flavors. But, I wasn’t satisfied, so the quest continued.
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| Image www.zagreb.hr/ |
(On a side note, to supplement today’s choice of pastry, I opted to indulge in Vinček (pronounced vin-check) ice cream…what I think was a mixture of chocolate and vanilla swirled with hazelnuts. Outside of the life-threatening hazelnuts, I think you would have enjoyed it!)
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| Image From chicgalleria.com |
The heavens opened up, and all seemed destined for misery on the day we headed to Plitvice National Park. Despite the fact that Plitvice is one of the country’s most famous places to visit (and one of the world’s most beautiful), the gray weather made it seem a little less than appealing. The crowds also did not bode well for my enjoyment of the day, but in the end it all worked out , and I had a lovely time. My quest for dessert was limited today, although a small piece of apple strudel offered by my good Canadian friend, Tom, helped tide me over until later. (It wasn’t really all that exciting, but it was something, right?) Still, later that evening, I felt it my duty to find something more, and so I sampled the palačinka (pala-chinka), a crepe filled with apricot jam and sprinkled with powder sugar and drizzled with honey. (imagine the chocolate to be honey on the stolen picture above.) Again, no pictures by me, but it was amazing. What better food to sustain international talks about politics, government intervention, and the role each country has in helping out in the global community? I cannot think of any J
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| Image from croatia.org |
(I stole this photo from the internet…I wasn’t good about keeping my camera handy)
On the third day, after hiking up to a castle and then up top for a beautiful mountain view, we stopped in the town of Samobor. There, we enjoyed the most delicious of cakes—kremsnite—as we relaxed after our (not so) arduous journey. The kremsnite is best described as a custard filling (vanilla in flavor this time around) topped with a thin pastry crust. The top is removed and eaten first, like a small appetizer before the main meal. Then, you delicately eat the filling, airy and light with a hint of vanilla sweetness. It almost seems insubstantial as it dissolves in your mouth, so you are compelled to eat more to be sure it is not just something you have imagined. It is definitely something to savor and enjoy—even as the skies darken and the thunder rumbles in the distance. Not a bad way to end a fabulous hike!
On the fifth day, if I had known the splendor of the dessert that awaited, I would have brought my camera. (Lucky for you and me, it was served again a couple nights later—the picture included is from then, but it looked much the same.) I also photographed my lunch, a delicious polenta
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| Image from http://www.sarahs-blueberry-recipes.com |
Palačinka for dessert again, but instead of a fruit filling, this time there was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and instead of honey, it was covered in blueberries. After sea kayaking along what had to be Croatia’s (if not all of Europe’s!) largest nudist campground on the Adriatic, I think I deserved to enjoy the light crepe with its deliciously cool ice cream and beautiful blueberry sauce. Kayaking is hard work, and I was exhausted by the time dessert hit. Still, I couldn’t let such a delicacy go to waste, so I managed to keep my head upright long enough to finish it. Seriously, if you ever find yourself in Delnice, Croatia, do yourself a favor and visit Hotel Risnjak for dinner and dessert! (Closest image I could find to stealJ)
On the final day of the tour, we had a choice of strudel for dessert. I probably should have stuck with the blueberry (pictured above), but I decided to go for apple because, well, that is usually my preference for pastries. Don’t get me wrong, it was still utterly amazing! And paired with the sour cherry ice cream, it served its purpose quite well. As you can see, I came prepared for dinner tonight, so I was able to capture photographic evidence of just how good it was. (And Davor, our guide, was kind enough to let me photograph his blueberry strudel as well…when I had explained the task you had given me, my entire group thought it a grand idea!) Anyway, the tart flavor of the ice cream in the cool medium of ice cream is delightful to the tongue. I have never had sour cherry ice cream before (only very sweet), and after a long day of good hiking, it tasted divine. It was consumed far more quickly than perhaps it should have been, but it was a fitting send off for Croatian desserts. My next stop was Slovenia, and I had no idea what to expect. Still, you really cannot go wrong with sweets anywhere, so I wasn’t too worried…
I didn’t have a Slovenian pastry on the first day there. Instead, I went ahead with ice cream, Nutella-flavored because I have a hard time resisting a chocolate-hazelnut combination. I have to admit, my heart wasn’t really into finding a treat on this day. Something about saying good-bye to Tom, Marty, and Davor made me far sadder than I thought possible. That put a slight damper on my arrival in Slovenia, and really, it didn’t improve a whole lot as time passed. It was lonely without my trusty travel companions, and I found myself wandering Slovenia feeling conspicuously alone. Thankfully, I had the task of finding sweets charged to me, so I at least had that to spur me forward and out of my hostel room. When I did get my ice cream, it started to drizzle, an apt reflection of my mood. Still, you cannot help but smile a little with an ice cream cone in hand, so all was not wrought with misery. It just happened to be a different experience that I think all who travel have at some point during a trip – the crash of adrenaline, the realization that the trip is winding down, and the reality of the world looming over you. That is why God made such things as ice cream (and strudel and sweet crepes and anything in between) – it makes the not so fun parts bearable!
The final night away from home. The day began in Ljubljana, and overall it went better than the day before. However, as I was heading to the train station, I found myself with far too many Euros (Croatia is still not a part of the EU), and not wanting to have to endure the hassle of converting it back, I figured purchasing food was the best way to go. One of those purchases was this chocolate-filled donut that would serve as my pastry for the day. Sadly, it took me until late in the evening to be hungry enough for it, so it was not as fresh as it could have been. (It managed to stay fairly unsquished in my backpack through a long train ride and the seemingly impossible search for the bus that would take me out to my final hotel.) It managed to have a nice balance of chocolate and fluffy donut dough, and it was a lot of fun having a chance to eat it in my adorable little hotel room. (Seriously, this place was a five minute walk from the airport—key to arriving in time for an early morning flight—and it had the best shower ever, beautiful furnishings, a fabulous television AND the owner made me sandwiches and gave me an entire liter of juice for the next morning since I was leaving before breakfast. I left the juice behind because there was no way I could consume an entire liter before hitting security, so I didn’t want to waste it.) Funny, the last night in Croatia, I spent organizing my things and watching television. There is a strange mix of programming on Croatian television –several familiar American shows like Friends and Sex and the City, a slew of telenovellas from South America and even a few soaps from Turkey. I always find European music videos enjoyable for all their absurdity, and don’t get me started on the commercials. It was a nice, quiet way to unwind after several days on the go.
Thank you for asking for this souvenir! Seriously, it not only made me venture out to try different things, it helped spark (at least a little) an urge to do a little crafted writing. The biggest challenge (besides the torture of eating delicious food!) was trying to describe eating without sounding horribly…sensual J I remember a professor once saying that anytime an author wrote about food, s/he was really writing about sex. I truly understand that now…all kidding aside, I hope that this wasn’t TOO much information, and I hope you are satisfied. If not, I will be more than willing to go back and try again…but this time, I would encourage you to tag along and guide me away from making the same mistakes again!
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