SALT LAKE CITY — This month's Max Tracks isn't a traditional one. My son just started college, and he started it in Rome. I'm going to see him, and for his fall break we're headed to Croatia, which happens to be the hometown of FOX 13 anchor Katija Stjepovic's father.
So before the trip, I sat down with Katija and her father, Stanley, for some local advice.
Stanley grew up in and around Dubrovnik. He calls it "probably the best childhood ever," even though it was a socialist, communist kind of upbringing. He has lived in the United States since before the Croatian War of Independence, which ran from 1991 to 1995. But he still has land and plenty of friends back on the island of Sipan.
When he was a boy, he says, there were no cars on the island. Maybe one guy had a plowing tractor.
Katija, for her part, loves knowing her heritage and learning how one side of her family lived. Her brother visited when he was younger and, as she puts it, spent his time chasing chickens around.
It was a simple childhood, in a place rich with history, surrounded by evidence of multiple empires:
- 7th century: part of the Byzantine Empire
- Next: Venice controlled the region
- Then: Dubrovnik ruled itself as a city-state, a period that included a devastating earthquake in 1667
- Early 19th century: Napoleon's empire included Croatia
- Afterward: the Austrian Empire took over
- World War I to early World War II: the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Stanley's childhood: part of the Eastern Bloc country of Yugoslavia
Stanley had advice on getting around, eating, and what to do:
- Transportation: Buses are the best way to get around Dubrovnik.
- Activities: Kayaking is available in Dubrovnik. And the cable car, a seven- or eight-minute walk away from old town, is a must.
- Food: He suggested a place called "Skola" on a side street, saying it's inexpensive and makes great sandwiches. He also suggested a couple more high-end places, like the Panorama restaurant at the top of the cable car ride.
Can I drop his name when I get there? "Yeah, you get free beer," Stanley said, if I mention it. (I didn't tell him I quit drinking a while back.)
I also asked whether there's any way to avoid immediately coming across as an American. His answer was a flat no. Maybe, he said, if I light up a cigarette.
"Everybody smokes," he said.
That became my takeaway from the conversation: Katija's dad recommended that I start smoking. (I've been told sometimes my jokes don't come across. Just so you know, that's a joke. Stanley doesn't really think I should pick up a pack.)
The real fun was being part of a conversation with this formidable father-daughter duo. When Stanley first greeted Katija, he called her "sunce moje." It means "my sunshine," and he's called her that since the day she was born.
I asked him if he has a nickname for Katija's daughter, his granddaughter. He does! It's "Pile," or "Pilići."(pronounced like PIP-lich)
"It's a little chicken, a newborn chicken," Stanley told me, saying it was the same thing his grandmother used to call him.