Croatia Tournee July 2924
Without the help, Croatia would have remained only a dream!
We would therefore like to thank:
Romano Malinarić from 52220 LABIN - It was an incredible amount of work to get permits from the municipalities.
Tholen Reisen from Frisoythe: Our band bus was badly damaged and is in the workshop. We were given an offer to replace the bus incredibly quickly at a fantastically low price!
Dörthe Königshoff: Bus driver at Tholen Reisen, got immediate vacation and drives us on the Croatia tour for free!
LABIN Old Town at 14. July 2024:
We only had two hours between arriving at our accommodation in Rabac and the concert in the old town of Labin.
Nevertheless, we easily got through the concert in 1.5 hours. We're professionals!
RABAC Stage at the harbor 15. July 2024:
IWe moved into our quarters in Rabac for a week. The very next day there was a concert on the harbor stage. Romano, our organizer, was always there.
As a musician, he played with us from time to time. We quickly realized that without his organizational talent, it would be very difficult to give concerts in Croatia.
The Video, recorded from Romano
PULA at 16. July 2024:
Pula, the capital of Istria, has a huge theater from Roman times. It is still used today for plays and concerts. Opposite our concert venue was the large fish market with an incredible range of fish.
The Video, recorded from Romano
Newspaper report from the Internet
The translation of the text:
Puljani at the market, accompanied by cheerful bagpipers. Everyone took photos of them (gallery and video)
The people of Pula were given a boost this morning by the town market and the Germans playing the bagpipes like the best Scotsmen. An interesting combination, you will agree. The walk was easier, whether to go shopping, to brunch or, less pleasantly, to work, with the sounds of a folk wind instrument and the cheerful rhythm of a grey-bearded drummer. "Happy German Bagpipers", as this most unusual German bagpiper show band is called, attracted the attention of passers-by, among whom could not resist taking photos of the team in colorful uniforms.
They are obviously on a tour of Istria, because on websites announcing summer events we read that they will play in Rabac on the coast on Wednesday 17 July and in Buje on Tito Square on Sunday 21 July.
The composition, which consists mainly of younger members, combines the ethnic sound of the bagpipes with samba, rock'n'roll and numerous show elements. In addition to playing all over Germany, they also played in Croatia, Hungary, India and of course in many Scottish cities. Watch the video to see what it was like. (I.R.)
Ship passage with the Monsun to the island of CRES 17. July 2024:
We gave a few concerts on the Monsun during the crossing. After docking, we had either cutlets or grilled mackerel. The break before dinner was used for swimming.
We gave a concert in the town of Cres. At 34°C it was nice and warm! Nevertheless, we played for an hour. Afterwards we treated ourselves to a large Ice cream sundae!
A little video from the tour recorded from Romano
RABAC at the light house 17. July 2024:
After arriving in Rabac, we gave a concert at the lighthouse. Needless to say, we were totally exhausted afterwards. The long way also contributed us.
What was surprising was the large newspaper article that took up almost the entire page.
Self-catering
We also prepared for self-catering. Valentina turned out to be a master cook! Of course, we also practiced a lot!
ROVINJ habour concert 19. July 2024
From Rabac we went to the other side of Istria to the port town of Rovinj. We started our concert at 6:00 p.m. The thermometer showed 32 degrees. Despite this we gave a full concert lasting almost two hours. Here too it was interesting to see how many countries the tourists came from. Milena, our youngest, was fully occupied every day collecting money. No one could sneak past us! Romano, our organizer, accompanied us from time to time with his trumpet.
ROVINJ habour concert 20. July 2024
Today we got a better place and were not allowed to start our concert until 8 p.m. That made a lot of sense because that was when the place started to fill up with tourists. We were particularly pleased that we received special praise from Scottish tourists! There was another advantage too: it was much cooler. A landlady bought us drinks during the break.
Change of accommodation from Rabac to Groznjan 21. July 2024
Today we changed quarters and drove from Rabac to the museum town of Groznjan. We will stay there for a week. The town began in 1103 and was expanded until 1300. It is almost completely preserved from that time. Many artists live in the town. Groznjan is world famous. Even in the heat, it is visited by many tourists. Many come from Germany. There are very large parking lots for cars and buses. There is a concert stage in the town that has been reserved for two days. We are more than excited!
It is worth taking a closer look at Groznjan: The town is on a hill. The second picture is our quarters. Then the old streets of the town.
BUJE concert 21. July 2024
Buje is a small town near Groznjan. Before the concert we had a great meal in the Rondo restaurant. Well fortified with food and drinks, we gave our concert in front of a memorial.
LOVRAN concert in the old town 22. July 2024
From Groznjan we went over the mountains with lots of winding roads to Lovran. The girls first visited the beach. Bad weather prevented us from swimming. We gave the concert in the old town in front of the bell tower. Zvijezdana Klobučar Filić, director of the Lovran Tourist Association, provided us with drinks.
GROZNJAN concerts 23. und 24. July 2024
It was something very special to be able to give a concert at this place!
MOTOVUN concert 25. July 2024
Motovun is an absolute tourist stronghold. I think it was our most athletic performance so far. A good 500m steep uphill with the instruments. We are now well trained from the mountains. Nevertheless, this was an extremely big challenge in the heat. Our musical performance was still perfect as always. A Canadian was sitting next to us at the table. An absolute bagpipe fan. He was crying during our entire performance because he was allowed to hear bagpipe music again. That's life.
UMAG our penultimate concert 26. July 2024
If we are in a country with the best olive oil, we have to buy it. Umag, a modern city with an old town that is almost falling apart. The girls went swimming again. When we arrived at the square, there were problems with the barrier. It opened at some point and then closed again. Too briefly to get the bus onto the square. When it opened again, we blocked the light barrier. That meant there were no more problems and we were able to unload the instruments. Then we took another look at the old town. The two children who sold real Croatian mussels and snails from the Caribbean were cute. We gave our concert in the usual way.
MOTOVUN Closing concert 27. July 2024 - The final conclusion
That was it. We experienced an incredible amount. We had great accommodation and lots of helpers. Our band kept conjuring up great food. Some spectators followed us to the various performance venues. It was also amazing how many people we met from our region. The surprise and joy were great. Of course, we were often mistaken for Scots. But that quickly cleared up. All in all, with the help of Romano, an absolutely successful tour. A very special thank you to Dörthe, who drove the bus with incredible calm through the narrow streets and many serpentines. Of course, thanks also to the band, who played their concerts professionally despite the heat and the strenuous routes. Each concert lasted 1.5 - 2 hours! The temperatures were always above 30°C! Now we're on to Salzburg for an overnight stop. Let's see where our tour takes us next year during the long holidays.
