Julia Molden, our intrepid roving blogger and punster, gives us the lowdown on what really happened on the 2025 Croatian Language and Culture Course, this year based on Brač island. She starts with the events of Sunday, following the group’s first get together over wine and nibbles, the previous evening.

No More Monk-ey Business

Sunday dawned bright and early and, while we were having breakfast, the rest of the group arrived, as well as our guide for the day, Zoran.  Off we set in two minibuses and drove for about half an hour on the winding roads of Brač, which provided scenic views of the hillsides covered in olive trees, followed by fifteen minutes off road to our first stop which was to be Hermitage Blaca, founded in the 16th century by the Glagolitic priests who came to Brač fleeing the Turks. The walk down to the hermitage was very challenging because of the rugged stones and rocks strewing the path, on which it was very easy to slip.  In the museum there was a grand piano, which had been carried down the very same one-and-a-half kilometre path by twelve men, many years ago, which gave everybody food for thought.  The hermitage had remained in use until the death of the last priest Father Nikola Miličević in 1963.  The hermitage’s origins were in a stone partitioned cave which was the first refuge of the Poljica hermits.  Through diligence and hard work, they went on to build a church and residential and farm buildings in the cliff face, and they turned the forests into rich vineyards and olive groves.  They also ran school lessons for the local children, who had to make their way down to the hermitage and back up, after lessons, by the rocky track every school day.  By the time our group re-emerged, some three and a half hours later, we all appreciated the feats of the piano carriers and the local village children.

Then we moved on to a family olive museum, which started making olive oil in the late 19th century and fell into disrepair when the traditional methods could not compete with the latest technology.   A younger member of the family returned to Brač, over a hundred years after it was first opened, with the intention of turning it into a museum.  His first job was to install a new roof as, by now, all the equipment was open to the elements.  On the insistence of the local government, this new roof had to be built in the traditional method using dry stones without any fixings.  The best people for the job were a 72 year old roofer and one of 92 so, unsurprisingly, they chose the 72 year old, who was so sure of his workmanship that he offered a life time guarantee.  Fortunately he is still around to this day but has not had to be called upon to honour his guarantee.

After sampling their wares, we then drove to Vidova Gora which, after a short uphill walk, provided us with a panoramic view of Bol, Zlatni Rat and part of neighbouring Hvar.   By then it was 5pm and time for our much delayed lunch in Donji Humac, at the Kopačina Konoba, after which we returned home as the sun was setting, providing a glorious sunset, which bodes well for tomorrow.