The second in a two-part series on Viking Cruises’ Italian Sojourn cruise
This is the second in a two-part series on Viking Cruises’ Italian Sojourn cruise. Today, we explore the trip’s only port of call outside of Italy — Sibenik, Croatia — before continuing around the boot of Italy. Part 1 covered thestart of the tour in the magical, floating city of Venice.
After walking down a country lane, overlooking a 400-year-old olive grove, the first thing I noticed entering the courtyard of the Jurlinovi Dvori estate is a thick stone table, with a prominent chipped corner.
On top are glasses of grappa and a wooden bowl of almonds, produced in this area of the Dalmatian coast and placed there for our Viking Cruises’ tour group.
My sister and I are on the eight-day Italian Sojourn cruise, visiting seven ports from Venice to Rome. Our second stop after getting on the small ocean-going ship in Venice is Sibenik, Croatia — the only other country the cruise visits outside of Italy. The other ports include Bari, Crotone, Messina and Naples.
We’re among 30 passengers on a hot spring day at the ancestral home of retired Roman Catholic priest Stipe Perkov. He was born at the Jurlinovi Dvori estate, located in the small village of Draga, about a half-hour drive from Sibenik.
I first spot the spry 82-year-old walking down a stone staircase, adjacent to one of the eight terraced buildings that make up the centuries-old estate. Smiling widely as he approached us Perkov places a wicker basket on the table beside the drinks and almonds. It’s full of figs, and after embracing two local Viking guides motioned for us to help ourselves to the local bounty.
Since Perkov does not speak English, one of our guides, Dario Biocic, acted as his translator.
“This is the house of his ancestors who came here in the 16th century,” said Biocic, as Perkov waits for him to finish before continuing his story. “The courtyard is protected from cold wind and in the middle is a stone table symbolizing his family.”
He said the table was damaged during the Second World War, which is our only indication this once serene setting wasn’t always so peaceful.
Perkov said all of their family celebrations happened in the courtyard, even during the war, like one that took place Nov. 4, 1942 — the day of his birth. He moves adjacent to the stone table to show us exactly where his grandfather stood to show off his grandson. Everyone in the village had been invited to celebrate. Perkov smiles mischievously when he added his grandfather praised the Lord for giving him a grandson after three granddaughters.
That joy was short-lived. Two days after his birth Perkov’s grandfather was killed by “fascists,” in a war that would eventually kill six of his family members.
After he retired from the priesthood Perkov, who lives alone on the estate, returned to the home that had been in his family for generations and began working to restore it (the estate had no water pipes until 2003).
Perkov still leads Sunday mass for community members at a small chapel in one of the stone buildings adjacent to the courtyard. The chapel has two stained glass windows made by a German tourist who visited his home and was so touched by his story she sent them as gifts of forgiveness for the role her country paid in the Second World War, when Croatia was a puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
As we continue drinking our high-proof spirit made from the leftover solids (grape seeds, stems and skin) from winemaking, Perkov explained they came from the grape vines planted 125 years ago on the estate.
Since 1978, Perkov has been providing work opportunities for locals by operating the grape vineyard and olive groves and providing a place to welcome visitors wanting a true experience of rural Croatia.
Two of the locals working there that day were musicians, one strumming a guitar and the other on accordion, who sang traditional Croatian songs for us and a handful of others who prepared and served the home cooked of meal of fresh bread, soup, lamb and vegetables on two communal long tables.
On the bus drive back to Sibenik our guide said Jurlinovi Dvori is his favourite place to bring tourists thanks to Perkov, who had done so much for both villagers and visitors.
“I like to go there, I like the ambience up there, the music and the food. It doesn’t function like a restaurant, it’s something else,” said Biocic. “It’s very special.”
I agree. The excursion was one of my favourites Viking outings since we had an opportunity to get to know the locals and experience Croatian culture. Best of all, the visit allowed us to partake in the Croatian practice of fjaka — which means slowing down to embrace a relaxed way of being.
Besides visiting Jurlinovi Dvori the tour also brought us to the old town of Trogir, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here we visited Saint Lawrence’s Cathedral, a 13th-century building. This medieval city served as the setting for the city of Qarth in season 2 of the popular HBO series Game of Thrones.
While Viking Cruises always provides an included excursion at every port, with local guides available to explain top tourist sites and attractions they also provide other unique tours, like our visit to a Croatian village and Trogir, for an additional cost.
Our next port the following day was Bari, located in the heart of Italy’s boot, another picturesque location with colourful fishing boats and honey-toned houses.
While my sister opted to explore the city with an included Viking excursion, I took another special tour, this time to the “white cities” of Alberobello and Ostuni in the Puglia region of southern Italy. Alberobello was a highlight because of the unique “trulli” white-washed homes and business with conical roofs throughout the city – another UNESCO World Heritage site. My excursion here included lunch at Restaurante L’Aratro. The restaurant itself was interesting because it’s in a trulli building, where we enjoyed pasta, salad, wine and ice cream under its domed roof.
Our next port was to the region of Calabria to visit Crotone, which was founded in 710 BC and has an amazing archeological museum for such a small city. The exhibits included a treasure trove from the Iron Age, which includes coins, pottery and small sculptures but its most valuable display is a bronze Corinthian helmet from the fifth century.
If you go be sure to explore the nearby Castle of Crotone, built in the 9th century to protect the city from foreign attacks. The castle has a commanding view of the city and the Ionian Sea, and was the perfect place to snap a photo of our Viking ship, the 930-passenger Viking Sea below.
Because the ship is a smaller vessel, compared with many of the larger ocean-going ships where passengers can number in the thousands, the Viking Sea was small enough to get into smaller ports that larger ships could not manoeuvre. (In Sibenik, for instance, most large ships can’t pass through its narrow passage entry, ranging from 140 metres to 220 metres wide.)
In Crotone I had time to do both the included Viking excursion in the morning and a special excursion – this time to see Le Castella Castle, located on a small strip of land at the town’s seaside.
The castella, which resembles a child’s classic sand castle, has amazing, panoramic views and is considered one of the Calabria region’s iconic symbols.
Our next excursion was in Sicily, where my sister and I took the included Viking cruise to Messina’s historic centre with a scenic drive on the waterfront, as well. The highlight of that excursion was seeing the Astronomical Clock of the Cathedral of Messina, located in the bell tower of the Duomo. Crowds cheered when the lion first roared in a spectacle of clock movement, sounds and music lasting nearly 12 minutes after the clock struck noon.
And finally, our last Viking excursion was to Naples, know as the birthplace of pizza, where we did the included Viking excursion to the city that was again within walking distance from where our ship was docked. Naples has long been a major centre of Italian culture where great architecture and art abound. Here we explored sweeping public squares and the Castel dell’Ovo (Egg Castle), an imposing castle built in 1266 located on the seafront.
One of the special excursions that is offered by Viking in Naples is an excursion to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, preserved by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption. However, having been there prior on a Mediterranean cruise I opted not to return this trip, but I would highly recommend taking this special excursion to see its ruins.
Kim Pemberton was hosted by Viking Cruises, which did not review or approve this article.