By Kaye Ketterer

May 2026. It was just two weeks ago that John and I returned from Croatia. This country was not on our list to visit, but John received a brochure about it and wanted to go, as most of the trip was on a sailboat down the Adriatic Sea to Montenegro. This was a trip with Road Scholar, so we signed up and left on April 3. This gave us three days before we joined the Road Scholar tour and gave us time to deal with jet lag and get familiar with the capital city Zagreb.

My first impression was positive. As John and I walked around the city, I noticed red hearts in many stores. There were hearts as magnets, as ornaments, and hearts made of cloth filled with lavender. Many of the heart magnets had a tiny mirror in the middle, and I thought that was odd, and knew there must be a story about it. 

When we joined the Road Scholar group, we did a walking tour of the city and loved the limestone buildings with the mountains in the distance. It is an old country, and on one of our tours, the guide told us about the red hearts. She said it was a nice thing for a gentleman to give a woman a red heart with a mirror in the middle. He would then tell her if she wanted to know who he loved, she should look in the mirror. I loved the story, as I love hearts, and when I travel I carry with me a small bag of cloth hearts that I make, and as I meet people that make an impression on me, I give them a heart. It is my way of sharing kindness and love with people I probably will never meet again.

When I travel, I enjoy the people, and sometimes just watching them is fascinating. John has a way of talking to people and making friends quickly. In Zagreb, we talked daily with a Yackoff. He worked at the reception and was helpful with where to eat, what museums were in the city, and where to get good decaf coffee. There was a wonderful coffee shop in the hotel, and we went there several times and met Igor, the barista. He was interested in the USA and how we liked Croatia. He had been in Colorado and asked why we didn’t have a good health care system.

I sarcastically said, “Oh we do, it’s called the haves and the have-nots!” Each time we saw Igor, we talked about justice issues, and he invited us to move to Croatia. We said we had family and friends in Wisconsin and he said, “Bring them all here.” We’d love to have them! Igor received one of my hearts.

There were nineteen people in our tour group, and we had a tour leader from Zagreb who stayed with us for the entire two weeks. After three days in Zagreb, we went to a National Park with sixteen lakes and boardwalks throughout the park and over the lakes. It was treacherous walking with no handrails, but we did it and saw beauty in the water and the mountains and even got a little wet from the waterfall spray.

We spent seven nights on the sailboat. The cabins were very small and cold and every day we had tours in the towns, and some meals on the boat and some in local restaurants. John and I thoroughly enjoyed each other, and most of the other guests. Some days were long, and some were shorter as we had free time to do whatever we wished.

One of the cities, Split, had a farmers market where people sold produce and handmade items and other goods. I like to buy myself a scarf wherever I travel and I found a booth at the market that had some scarves. As I was looking, I heard a quiet voice say, “Would you like to try something on?” I looked to where the voice was coming from and looked down to see this little girl about 5 or 6 years of age. I said “I want to buy a scarf, do you work here?” She said, “I do, but this is my first day.” Just then a woman came from behind the booth and said, “I see you’ve met my helper.” I assured her that her helper was doing a fine job, and being a fine employee! I did buy a scarf, and the little girl put it in a bag for me. This little girl received one of my homemade hearts 

At that same market, I bought some lavender, as it’s grown on one of the islands off of Croatia. John was with me, and it was lunchtime, so we asked the woman who ran the booth about a good place to eat. She recommended a small place off the beaten path. We took her recommendation and were very satisfied! After we had lunch, I went back to the woman with the lavender booth and gave her a heart.

There were many cities, many cathedrals, palaces, and wonderful people on the trip. The Adriatic Sea is spectacular with its turquoise, clear water, and picturesque seaside cities. The water was cold, but John and I waded into it and collected a few rocks from the beach.

As the two weeks came to a close, several in our group had their return flights cancelled with Lufthansa as pilots were on strike. John and I felt fortunate as we flew home on Swiss Airlines. The trip home was challenging as there were crowds in all the airports, flights were delayed, and we missed our flight from Chicago to Madison. We eventually returned to Madison a few hours late, but home safe and sound.

After the nine-hour flight from Zurich to Chicago, John and I were wobbly! We both slept a little on the flight, yet couldn’t decide if we were hungry, tired, or both. We had time in Chicago to buy some Garrett’s popcorn, which was a treat! When we finally sat at the gate to return to Madison, I looked for a charger to charge my phone. I needed a charged phone as I was texting with my son, who was going to fetch us at the airport. Airports have them under the seats at the gates. The first two I tried were hanging just from a wire and didn’t work. I went to another one, and a man said, “I tried it, but it doesn’t work.”  I tried another one, same thing. Then a woman asked me what kind of phone I had. I said, “A cell phone.” Another man said maybe I needed a different cord. I said I was so tired after a long flight and had always used this cord. Finally, checking another charger, it worked. Then, while sitting at the gate, two young children came with their parents. The little girl, about two, was crying softly and kept saying, “I want a sandwich.” The little boy was about 4 and he was talking about magic.

The parents had gotten a bagel for them to share and a glass of orange juice. They too seemed tired. I quietly went over and gave the little girl and boy a heart and said maybe there was magic in the hearts to help her not cry. The little boy asked where the magic was and I said, “It’s all around”. The parents thanked me, and I told them it was my pleasure.

The trip is over and I’m home, yet I still feel tired and achy, but that’s another story. I always learn more about myself when I travel. I’m so fortunate to be able to travel and to have a wonderful travel partner in John.

Now Thursday I’m off to Iceland with my daughter!

© 2026 Kaye Ketterer

Kaye lives in Monona, Wisconsin, and keeps her country roots close to her heart. Along with writing, her interests include music, traveling, children, and the elderly.