Famous American journalist Ashley Colburn finished filming the TV-series about Croatia
Quote: “I wanna live in Rovinj! But on vacation only to Slavonia!”
Ok, ok, maybe we’ve exaggerated a little bit the words of the famous American journalist Ashley Colburn said when she finished shooting her new travel show in Croatia. Actually she didn’t use those exact words, because all parts of our beautiful homeland equally amazed her, but the four days that she spent in our “neighborhood” had definitely enchanted her!
We heard about Ashley last spring when our media literarily buzzed about an American who had won the prestigious Emmy award for a tourist film that she had made a year before in Croatia. Naturally, we wanted to meet her but as our tourist season peak was starting, our rush of adrenaline went down little by little until we almost forgot all about our big wish. But destiny had another plan, luckily! Our dear colleagues from the Dhar Media PR agency and the Internet television station Touristar.tv asked us, yes, yes, US really if we would be interested in accompanying Ashley and her TV crew in Slavonia and Baranya? What do you think, how long did it take us to give them an answer? A millisecond, maybe! – as it is truly a great honor to introduce the Emmy-awarded journalist to all the beauties and wonders she can experience while traveling thru Slavonia!
In less than a week, a detailed route plan for the four days filming in the east of Croatia was finished. Ashley told us what she would like to see and experience – a slice of culture and tradition, a slice of adventure and adrenaline and a slice of gastronomical delights. Actually, make that two slices of the last one because she was to visit the region of Slavonia and Baranya, and if there is one thing we can do really well it is to feed our guests with plenty of delicious food!
And so there came the 8th of November 2011. The morning before, Osijek was snuggled and lost in such a dense fog which can be seen only here, believe us, and we were afraid that the TV-crew would be deprived of the really warm experience of our “City on the Drava river”, and right on the first day of shooting. But luckily a beautiful sunny day arose that morning and a cheerful but very professional team (made up of two Americans: journalists Ashley Colburn and Ashton Lynch and two Croats: cameramen Mario and Roby) joined us, two typical Slavonian natives and tour guides, Igor and Mislav, on a tour to “meet” Osijek – the city of parks and baroque buildings, city of the “first Croatian beer” and tasty honey-made “Licitar” gingerbread biscuits.
The next day, 9th of November, we experienced something we could call the most dynamic day of all four days of filming in Slavonia and Baranya. The morning mist among the hills around the town of Đakovo was hiding the Lipizzaner horses on their “Ivandvor” farm and, together with the autumn colors of the nearby fields and woods, gave our guest, dear Ashley, a hint of what kinds of beauties were hiding there, just waiting to be discovered on that day. The hardworking people of the Đakovo State Lipizzaner Farm opened the stall-gates at precisely 8:30 am, and dozens of magnificent and gracious animals were on their way to the morning pastures. The sight of the motherly gentle mares and their young ones left us breathless as they were passing us in a light trot. That day really couldn’t have started in a nicer way. As the mist was rising up, the sight was becoming even more beautiful: the vast fields of snow-white Lipizzaner horses! In the whole wide world there certainly isn’t a more gentle and to a man more loyal animal than a horse!
The morning slowly turned into a day and we continued our tour of Slavonia. First we stopped in the center of the town of Đakovo for a quick bite and then we took an hour drive towards Orahovica, a small town hidden between the vast woods of the Papuk and Krndija mountains. Our destination was the big and mighty gothic fortress called “Ružica Grad” and our hosts, who else than it’s faithful guardians, the “Knights of the Ružica Grad”. A legend says that this ancient fort got the name after a beautiful princess named Ružica (Little Rose) who once plummeted from its highest tower, sad because she wasn’t in love with the evil “Black knight” who had won the knights’ tournament for her hand in marriage. The modern knights re-acted the legend just for us, with Ashley in the leading role, of course, so we spent the whole afternoon at an actual movie set. This episode of Ashley Colburn’s new travel series will, without any doubt be, a real delight to watch and surely will serve as the best invitation for you to visit the Lipizzaner horses in Đakovo and maybe already next August, the town of Orahovica for the Medieval fair and Knights’ tournament!
November, in Croatina called “Studeni”, meaning “the cold month”, really justified its name – the 10th day of November was icy cold with only -3 degrees Celsius (26°F) when we took a fisherman’s boat thru, overgrown by willow trees and teeming with life, channels of the Kopački rit Nature Park. Ashley was especially amazed by being so close to the wild birds, this park is famous for throughout the World. The fact that most of them had by now left for the warm south made us seriously think of joining them, but only for a moment! That day we came to know the Baranya region as a place of unspoiled nature, dear people and great cuisine as the afternoon was reserved for the “little school of life in the village”. A visit to the Sklepic family in a typical small village, Karanac, made Ashley feel like they’d known her forever and in return she cooked (almost on her own), we must admit, one of the best fish-paprikash stews we had ever tasted! Accompanied by doggies, piglets, chickens and geese and surprised by a man selling fresh cabbage and potatoes from a mini-van, (Ashley thought he was selling ice-cream in the street), this third day in Croatia’s east came to a quick end. It was time to get back to the hotel. She and the crew were feeling kind of sad as tomorrow was their last day of shooting the TV-series in Croatia, but the thought of Friday’s big wine celebration of St. Martin’s made their faces smile all over again!
Friday, 11th of November 2011. Place – Baranya region. Time – morning. Cold morning. A very cold – morning. No, that is not a typo, it really was so cold we had to write it twice! We told you earlier that Ashley also wanted to experience a real, bold adventure, right? Well, that morning, thanks to the Baranya Adventure Team, in a matter of seconds she forgot just how cold it was, and oh-boy so did we, when our colleague Ricky took us thru the hills and groves for an off-road drive in his jeep! For a few moments it was just like riding on a roller-coaster train in some amusement park. However, Italian “Gardaland” or even Disneyland don’t come even close to this unique experience of the “Baranyaland”! Our guest Ashley was thrilled with it, especially when we toasted with some home-made local schnapps, happy we made it back in one piece! After a short brake and a quick visit to the local bakery (we were hungry but didn’t want to spoil our dinner) we were ready for the grand finale of that day – a big wine celebration on St. Martin’s Day that we had to attend! A small village of Batina above the Danube and a breathtaking view of the plains on the other side, vineyards frozen by the cold wind coming from the mighty river and the warmth of the Kalazić vinery, were really the best introduction for the last evening with our guests in Slavonia and Baranya. Ashley, Ashton, Mario and Roby realized very quickly that we truly brought them to the very source of the finest nectar and we didn’t have to wait long until one glass of wine turned into two, then three, and after some tasty appetizers, a bean goulash and various desserts we burnt the calories teaching our guests how to dance typical local dances like the “czardas” and the cheerful Baranyan “kolo” dance.
And that was it. The four days of traveling thru Slavonia and Baranya in the company of the world famous American journalist Ashley Colburn passed too quickly. We could tell you that we are sad, but we’d be exaggerating again just like with the quote at the beginning of this report. Well, we are sad that this tour had to end, but at the same time we are happy that we had a chance to help Ashley to open the window to the wonders of Croatia. At the same time we kind of opened it for the whole wide world because everybody will have a chance to watch her show on TV and the Internet in the spring of 2012. So, don’t forget to tune-in sometime in spring next year! Be sure not to miss the last, seventh episode of “Wonders of Croatia” when Ashley and we will be taking you to the always amazing – Travelling thru Slavonia!
See you!
(in the photo: Ashley Colburn cooking the “fish paprikash” stew with her tour guide Mislav Pavosevic and Denis Sklepic, owner of the Sklepic B&B in Karanac village)