Fascinating Vučedol culture and Luca from Sotin

Our itinerary for the last day included a visit to the Vukovar Water Tower, a symbol of resistance, but also a token of unity of this heroic city, the Vučedol Museum, and the village of Sotin some ten kilometres away, where we had a wonderful meal at the restaurant Gondola.

Just as fortune follows the bold, the fog started to lift as we climbed to the top of the Vukovar Water Tower, which took more than 600 direct hits in the Croatian War of Independence, and has been converted into a memorial site. The Vukovar Water Tower is not a place of accusations. It is a place of facts and testimonies that are built into the foundations of modern Croatia, which a society of tolerance, inclusion and unity is built upon today.

The weather had improved, but it made no difference for our visit to the fascinating Museum of Vučedol Culture, which flourished in 120 other localities between the Danube, the Alps and the coast in 13 European countries, in addition to this region. The Vučedol culture people were predominantly cattle breeders, but they were far more sophisticated than other globally renowned cultures, such as the Egyptian culture.

Among other things, they invented serial metal production, forged the first bronze items, and made the first saw. Rather than eat their food from the same bowl, they each had their own plate. They invented beer, and made shoes specially designed to fit the right and the left foot. They also invented a calendar that tracked the Orion constellation, which is believed to be the oldest European and Indo-European calendar. Our guide informed us that only about ten percent of this culture’s heritage was discovered, and that the Museum has big remodelling and expansion plans.

Having concluded our visit to this compelling place, we headed to the last destination on our itinerary, the Gondola country estate in Sotin. Formerly a restaurant that our hostess Luca Štrobilijus opened in 1981, when she was only 26, the Gondola was destroyed in the war, and then rebuilt with plenty of love.

Young cheese and “čvarci” (greaves) as an appetizer

“Čvarci” (greaves), young cheese and Slavonian “pogača” (flatbread), chicken soup, homemade fried sausages, breaded chicken, braised pork, veggies, roast potatoes, exactly as Luca’s grandma used to make them, and “salenjaci” (jam-filled pastries made with lard) completed our experience of Podunavlje and its sights, smells and tastes.

We will be back for sure!