Is Croatia Taylor-made for that honeymoon?

Having just returned from Dubrovnik in southern Croatia, I found it interesting to read that the central European country is on the New York Times’ speculative list (paywall) of places Taylor Swift might honeymoon with Travis Kelce.

Not just because Croatia has sparkling beaches, beautiful seas, clear blue skies, green-clothed hills, some 1,200 islands and a rich history that stretches back to the Middle Ages.

Mr Kelce is of Croatian ancestry.

His mother, Donna, is descended from folks who originally came from Brod Moravice  and Velike Drage in Croatia’s Gorski Kotar region. Brod Moravice is in western Croatia and Gorski Kotar is to the north, near Croatia’s border with Slovenia.

Donna Kelce (nee Blalock), who is divorced from Travis’s father Ed, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Blalock’s mother was Ina Marie Petranek, and her maternal grandparents George Stajduhar and Mary Jurkovich had emigrated to the United States from Croatia. Blalock was reportedly raised in a small house with her grandparents living upstairs, so she must have imbibed a knowledge of the Croatian way of life.

The New York Times piece suggests that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce might do the following on a Croatian honeymoon:

“A luxury yacht, like Satori means exploring wherever you want — maybe the coves of the Pakleni Islands or the windy cobblestone streets of Hvar or the harbor at Korcula where they can spend a few nights in the Lesic Dimitri Palace. Somewhere in there, the pair might want a few nights at Lopud 1483, a 500-year-old monastery that has been converted into a high-end resort. Or they could book a few spa treatments at San Canzian Hotel & Residences in Istria. For their final stop, we’d suggest cruising over to the One & Only Portonovi in Montenegro.”

Tanzania and Zanzibar, the Pacific Northwest, Antarctica, Bhutan and Versailles are also on the NYT list but my vote, FWIW, would  go to Croatia.

Here are glimpses of just one part of that beautiful country. The views are of the following:

Photo 1: A stop while climbing 37 metres above sea level to Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress. Sometimes described as ‘Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar’, the fort stands just outside the western city walls of Dubrovnik in Croatia

Photos 2 to 7: From the top of Fort Lovrijenac

Photos 8 to 10: From the top of the Dubrovnik city walls. These stone walls were started in the Middle Ages and improved significantly in the 15th and 16th centuries when Dubrovnik fended off efforts by the powerful Venetians to annex them (as they had other parts of Dalmatia). The walls run an uninterrupted course of roughly 6,360 feet, encircling most of the old city and reach a maximum height of about 82 feet