We landed in Croatia around noon Sunday. Our transatlantic flight to Europe was long, crowded and bumpy. We had landed in Amsterdam and passed through passport control into the Eurozone, of which Croatia is a new member. We will get one passport stamp for this trip.

We took a cab to our hotel, a former ballet school that lies on the Adriatic. Still dazed from sleep deprivation, we walked north along the coast. Pomegranates grow here, which struck me as exotic, but I guess they have to come from somewhere. We dined on pizza and then headed back to the room. I couldn’t stay up to sundown.

Tomorrow we will have to find someplace to stay, because I screwed up our reservation. We will hookup with Amee and then join the bike tour.

Vitturi Castle is the biggest and the best preserved Renaissance fort in Kastela. It was constructed by two brothers Jerolim and Nikola Vitturi, in the turn of 15th to 16 century in order to protect their estate from Ottoman Turks attacks. Two-store residence rises from the sea on the south, and on the north stands the defensive part with towers surrounded by defensive moat. Courtyard of this defensive part is adorned by two-story high Renaissance gallery. The rooms where the owner used to spend his time were abundantly decorated with openings, balconies, fireplaces and washstands. The wine and oil were made and kept on the ground floor. In 2001 the Castle was completely renovated and today its content makes it the cultural center of the Town of Kastela.