CROATIA – MEDJUGORIE

ZAGREB · MARIJA BISTRICA · ZADAR · NIN · SPLIT · TOGIR · MEDJUGORIE · MOSTAR · DUBROVNIK ·  MAKARSKA RIVIERA · PELJEŠAC KORČULA · MALI STON · ŠIBENIK

DAY 1

Arrival in Zagreb. Dinner and an overnight stay in Zagreb and its vicinity.

DAY 2

Breakfast. We drive to the capital of Croatia. Walk along narrow cobbled streets of the Upper and Lower Town.  Visit to Neo-Gothic cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, rebuilt during 1880s. The added facade was topped up with two neo-gothic belfries with the height of 104 and 105 m – are the calling card and symbol of the city. We will also see St. Mark’s Square, the Stone Gate with the image of the Mother of God - the patron saint of the city of Zagreb. After this we continue our trip to the “bana square” of Josip Jelačić – the central square of the capital of Croatia, where the statue of the national hero is situated. Transfer to Marija Bistrica. Our last stop is the shrine with the wonder working statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the Infant Jesus from the fifteenth century. Transfer for dinner and overnight stay.

DAY 3

Breakfast. We start our day with a visit to Zadar. City tour:  the old town with monuments from the ancient times - Roman Forum, the cathedral and round church of St. Donat, Sea Organ - an unusual attraction of the city, a system of pipes, controlled by wind and sea currents. Visit to the royal town of Dalmatia - Nin, where  the Nin Saltworks are situated, where to this day a number of products based on salt are produced in a traditional way. The museum of salt has a collection of exhibits, which have been used for boiling, transport and production of salt since Roman times. The opportunity to purchase local products. Transfer for dinner and overnight stay in the area of Split.

DAY 3

Breakfast.  We start our day with a visit to Split. A walk along the old town : the Diocletian’s Palace from the second and third century of our era, the cathedral with the bell-tower of st Domnius, the cathedral of Jupiter, remoulded to a christian baptistry, the town hall, the church of st Francis, the town gates and the remains of the aqueduct. An opportunity to  see the scenic harbour. We continue with a visit to Togir. A stroll along the Old Town, which is situated on an oval island, between the land and the Čiovo island. Admiring the Greek, roman, early Middle Ages and Reneissance antiques. On our way back we’ll stop to see i.e. St Lawrence Cathedral – the most precious antique of Togir, Kopena Wrata, Stalifeo castle, Ćipko castle, the town loggia and the clock tower, as well as the towns’ defensive walls. Lunch. Dinner and overnight in Medjugorie.

DAY 5-6

Breakfast. Day devoted to personal prayer and reflection. We start our day with a visit to the Church of St. Jacob, where we will see stained-glass windows depicting 14 scenes, from the life of the Virgin Mary and scenes associated with the apparitions. Participation in the mass. Climbing to the Apparition Hill, where a cross had been placed in the memory of the 1900th anniversary of Jesus’ torment. We head to the Apparition Hill in Podbrdo - the place of the first apparitions, where Our Lady gave the call for peace to the visionaries.  At the feet of the mountain there is another place of the revelations, where a blue cross was raised. Our last stop is the sanctuary is said to often “bloom” in personal transformation of the pilgrims hearts.

Optional – a trip to Mostar, situated at the Mostar Basin, on both shores of Neretva. The name of the city comes from the name of the mostar i.e. the guardians of the bridge. Sightseeing of the antique centre. Visiting i.e. the Old Bridge – a symbol of the, which is written down in the UNESCO heritage list – the symbol of the reconciliation of the East with the West – of both Christianity with Islam, along with the catholic Croatians with the Orthodox Serbs. Visiting the Koski Mehmed-Pasza mosque, the Turkish house and the Old Čaršija district (traditional agricultural workshops, restaurants with local kitchen, mosques from which one can hear the sounds of the muezzins calling for a prayer).

DAY 7

Breakfast. We head to Dubrovnik – “pearls of the Adriatic” (UNESCO) – a picturesque situated in a wonderful climate, with multiple antiques and remarkable streets. We’ll see i.e. over 20 bastions and towers from the X-XV cent., the Rectors’ Palace, Sponza Palace – the Dubrovnik archive, the guardroom with the clock tower, the gothic Franciscan monastery, the oldest farmacy in Europe (since 1317), the renaissance church of Spas, baroque church of st. Vlahos’ (Blaises’ – the cities’ patron), the Large Onofrio Fountain, as well as many antique structures. Transfer for dinner and an overnight stay in the area of the Makarska Riviera.

DAY 8

Breakfast. Free time for a rest at the Makarska Riviera. Dinner and an overnight stay.

Optional – a fish picnic with lunch and degustation of local beverage – Croatian wine and national beverage rakija.

DAY 9

Breakfast. We head to the Pelješac peninsula. A short ferry trip to Korčula. Sightseeing of the main town of the peninsula, where there will be an opportunity to see the architecture of the medieval city, as well as the structures from the Venice Republic. We stop for a while at the st Mark cathedral, as well as the museum of Marco Polos’ house. The Croatian version of the story says, that the infamous traveller was born in the city of Korčula. Cruising back. A stop in a popular harbor town Mali Ston, situated over the Gulf of Maloston. At the shallow gulf is one of the biggest Croatian cultivation of oysters and shellfish. An opportunity to try the local seafood and wine in the local restaurant. Return for dinner and an overnight stay.

DAY 10

Breakfast. We start our day with a visit to Šibenik. A stroll along the Old Town, situated at the Šibenik Canal, right next to the vent of the Krka river to the Adriatic Sea.  We head to the Gothic-Reneisance cathedral of st Jacob, the Old Town streets, the Bishops’ Palace, the Rectors’ Palace, town loggia. Return for dinner and an overnight stay.

DAY 11

Breakfast or lunch boxes. Transfer to the airport in Zagreb. Departure. Ending of the Pilgrimage.

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