SPENDING THE EASTER WEEKEND ON ISLAND HVAR, CROATIA

If you're still about where to spend your Spring break, island Hvar (Croatia) is a pretty good choice, especially if you're looking for beautiful nature paired with sights. Island Hvar has a lot to offer (more about that a bit later). It's also rather peaceful this time of year. So, simply perfect if you're looking for some peace and quiet (see more here, here , here , here , here and here). 

As for me,  like many times in the past, I decided to spend my Easter weekend on island Hvar.  Many do so for touristic reasons, but I've actually have roots here (as regular readers of my blog know). 

Eastern traditions on island Hvar are not also elaborative and interesting UNESCO protected. I didn't take a lot of photos this year, so if you want to see more, you can revisit my old posts. Speaking of that, a warning- this post is going to be link and photograph heavy. 

BAY TVRDNI DOLAC, GDINJ VILLAGE, ISLAND HVAR, CROATIA

Gdinj is a village my mother was born in. Just in case the Polish readers are wondering, its name is possibly related to both Gdansk and Gdynia in Poland, as both might originate from an old Slavic word but I don't really have a definite proof from this claim. Etymology is not an exact science and sometimes it provides us with multiple answers. I'm not exactly an etymology, even (like my fellow students of Slavic languages) if I spent months of my life in self isolation studying Old Slavic. Anyway, I blogged about Gdinj before and shall do so again.

Photo diary / Fotodnevnik 2.4. 2015 (MAKARSKA, DRVENIK, ISLAND HVAR) (modaodaradosti.blogspot.com) - a link leading to a post that includes photographs from Makarska, Drvenik (where I usually catch a ferry to island Hvar) and the Torac bay (one of bays belonging to Gdinj village). This year I travelled to Hvar from Herzegovina, not Split because that's where I live and work (for most part) now.

A STROLL (BAY TORAC AND BAY TVRDNI DOLAC)

We'll start with some photographs from the stroll I took from bay Torac to bay Tvrdni dolac.  Both of them belong to village Gdinj. When it comes to tourism, Gdinj is more oriented to family tourism. Mostly oriented towards apartment tourism, Gdinj is not a classical touristic hotspot by any means. It's architecture is typical rural Mediterranean, dominated by stone houses. I just love this kind of architecture. Stone houses are always so beautiful and historical ones especially so. Gdinj village is composed of many smaller villages but at the moment, only two of those smaller villages are inhabited: Visoka and Dugi Dolac. Most younger villages have migrated to the coast, only visiting in their free time and when they do visit, they often stay in bays, so even these two inhabited parts of the village feel deserted at times.

Most tourists that stay in Gdinj stay in its bays where most of the apartments are available for rent in the summer. In the village itself, there aren't any houses available for rent here (there is a hostel, though) but I have a feeling that might change some day. Not everyone likes to vacation in the immediate vicinity of the sea, some people like the peace and quiet you can find in these island villages that are located a bit further away from the sea. As I explained, the bays are actually also part of Gdinj village, but when I speak of the village I mostly mean the part of it that is a bit away from the sea, not the bays themselves.  The thing is that I love this part of the village as well. 

  I'll link up a few of my older posts about Gdinj so you can have a look right now if you don't feel like waiting:

GDINJ VILLAGE AND DIY NECKLACE- In this post you can see more of Visoka and its arhiceture.

GDINJ VILLAGE AND DIY NECKLACE - In this post you can see my oil painting of the school building and the new church. 

VISIT BAYS TVRDNI DOLAC AND RAPAK (GDINJ BAYS, ISLAND HVAR)

BAY TORAC & TVRDNI DOLAC & RAPAK

TVRDNI DOLAC

I blogged about Tvrdni dolac  a number of times, some of them really years ago (here ), but it won't hurt to give you another view of this beautiful bay. Both Tvrdni dolac and Rapak belong to Gdinj village. Gdinj, like most villages here, encompasses many bays. It is placed in the middle you could say, meaning that you can see both sides of the island from the village itself. Some of the bays are located a bit farther away, some closer but the average distance from the village itself is about 4 km. Both bays I'm showing you today are located on the southern side of the island. They are about 5 kilometres from the village itself. 

Both Tvrdni dolac and Rapak have two beaches. These two bays are a bit similar in appearance, with most of the houses being placed in the middle of the bay itself. As I explained in many posts in the past, most of these houses date back way back. In Gdinj and other  island Hvar's villages, people would typical have a few houses, one in the village itself, typically placed at the middle of the island (it was safer to live a bit further away from the sea, because of pirates) and one where they would stay when they would work the land near the sea level and go fishing. Some of them are hundreds of years old but most of them have been renovated and modernized. From what I've seen, Tvrdni dolac is not that different from back when I was a kid. Houses have been renovated but they still kept that historical appearance. For sentimental reasons, my favourite houses in these days are those that look exactly the same they did when I was a kid. However, most of the houses are really lovely. 

TRAVEL WITH MY ART #29: BAY TORAC AT SUNSET,

 Island Hvar has played a fundamental role in my artistic journey. To see how often I paint this island, you just need to have a glance at my 'Travel with my Art' posts. 

#1 PALERMO ISLAND SICILY (ITALY)    #2 BAY MALA STINIVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)   #3 IRKUTSK, SIBERIA (RUSSIA) #4  MATEJUŠKA, SPLIT CITY (CROATIA)
#5 HVAR CITY, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #6 ZENTA MARINE, SPLIT CITY (CROATIA) 

 #7 ZAVALA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #8 SUCURAJ, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)
#9 MALA STINIVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #10 HVAR TOWN, ISLAND HVAR ( CROATIA)
#11 JELSA TOWN, DANCE O THE SAILS (CROATIA) #12 ZAVALA, ISLAND HVAR, (CROATIA)
#13: SUCURAJ, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #14: BAY BRIZENICA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 
#15 BAY LOZNA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #16 BAY VEPRINOVA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)
#17 BOL, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #18 PLANINICA, (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)
#19 SUCURAJ, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) 

#20 BEACH SOLINE,VRBOSKA,  ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)
#21 STARI GRAD, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #22 MAKARSKA (CROATIA)
#23 ZAVALA  PANORAMA (CROATIA) #24 ŽNJAN BEACH, SPLIT CITY (CROATIA)
#25 JELSA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #26 ZAVALA BAY, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)

#27 MALA STINIVA IN SUMMER, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA)  #28 TRAVEL WITH MY ART, BASINA BAY, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #29 TRAVEL WITH MY ART, BAY TORAC, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA) #30 TRAVEL WITH MY ART, VALETTA, ISLAND MALTA (MALTA)   #31 TRAVEL WITH MY ART : CAPE PLANKA (CROATIA) #32 TRAVEL WITH MY ART: ZAVALA (CROATIA)

#33:TRAVEL WITH MY ART  LOZNA, ISLAND HVAR

#34 TRAVEL WITH MY ART BOTA SURF CENTRE, VRBOSKA, ISLAND HVAR, CROATIA

TRAVEL WITH MY ART #35: BEACH KAMENJARA, VRBOSKA, ISLAND HVAR (CROATIA ) (modaodaradosti.blogspot.com)  2023 

¸

SOUTHERN GDINJ BAYS ARE A GREAT OPTION!

If you want, you can read about and see more of beautiful Gdinj's bays on island Hvar: 

1. JEDRA, SRHOV DOLAC AND VEPRINOVA

2. SKOZANJE BAY

3. SOCA BAY

4. BAY TORAC

5. BAYS TVRDNI DOLAC AND RAPAK

Heaven on Earth( island Hvar, bays Torac and Tvrdni dolac)- in this post from 2015, you can see a Summer version of this stroll. 

DISCOVER SKOZANJE BAY (GDINJ, ISLAND HVAR) WITH ME- In this post, you can read about Skozanje bay. 

NOTABLE SIGHTS IN GDINJ VILLAGE AND HOW I PAINTED SOME OF THEM

A SEASIDE PAINTING INSPIRED BY BAY TORAC

WATERCOLOUR PAINTING OF CHURCH OF SAINT GEORGE (VILLAGE GDINJ, ISLAND HVAR)

During this Easter weekend, I revisited my late grandmother's house. This painting was still inside her now empty home. The tulips are still blossoming in front of her home. I found it hard to fight back the tears, but what else is there to do? We must remember our loved ones and try to make them live in our memory.

The subject of this painting is a church of saint George in Gdinj. This church dates back to the sixteen century and it is build in the Renaissance-Baroque style. It is often called the old church by the residents of Gdinj village (located on island Hvar). There is another church in Gdinj village, the one we call the new church, a fact that sometimes makes me giggle because 'the new church' is more than a hundred years old, just not quite old as this one. I'm afraid that sometimes in Croatia we take history for granted, just because we're surrounded by so much of it. I suppose this is true for other European countries as well. 

The church of saint George is one of the most significant churches in Gdinj village. It has been restored in recent years. This painting was gift for my now late grandmother and I used one of her vintage postcards.  

The house my grandmother was born in (Gdinj, island Hvar) - In this 2015 post, you can see the house my grandmother was born in.

Where to set our gaze when the sun is setting in Gdinj? - in this 2015 post, you can read a poetical description of Gdinj village. 

Torac bay, Gdinj, island Hvar

EASTER WEEKEND 2024 

I enjoyed my stay this time around as I usually do. We stayed one day longer than it was planned because the ferries weren't working due to strong winds.  I was both surprised and not surprised by it, as the news hardly never reports about anything that is going on the islands.  I think the news was significant enough to be reported, especially as there were a lot of people who slept in their cars and so on. Not to mentioned that some had to be back to work and things like that. I don't get our news. They will report if a kitten gets lost in Zagreb, but the fact that all the island were cut of isn't interesting to them at all. Well, for me it wasn't a problem as fortunately, as I didn't have to get back to work, and I had a place to stay. Anyway, staying a day longer wasn't kind of nice for me. The ferries not sailing doesn't make me anxious as it does some people. If you ever lived on an island, you take it for granted.

I did less walking and strolling around then expected because the winds were quite strong. However, I did manage to see family and friends, some of whom I haven't seen in decades, and that was more than wonderful. So, I'm really happy I got the chance to spend my Easter weekend here.

A BEACH OUTFIT (TORAC PHOTOGRAPHY)

SUMMER ( BAY TORAC, ISLAND HVAR)

ART UPDATE: BAY TORAC- in this 2020 post, you can see landscapes and illustrated inspired by bay Torac. 

 If you want to know more about bay Torac, you're welcome to visit my older posts. If you would like to see more photographs from Torac bay, you can check out my old posts  here, here and here. If you want to vacation here, I can probably  help you get in contact with the locals.

1. BAY TORAC SUMMER 2015

2. BAY TORAC SPRING 2018

3. BAY TORAC: SUMMER 2019

4. BAY TORAC: SUMMER 2019

5. BAY TORAC: SUMMER 2019

Thank you for visiting!