A beautiful story comes from Novi Vinodolski — private hosts Marija and Vladimir Plješa have welcomed their Czech guests, Mr. Petr and Mrs. Aranka Pulec, every summer for 30 years. Sometimes the couple come alone, sometimes with children and grandchildren, but they’ve been visiting Novi every season since 1992.

Mrs. Aranka once spent summers on the island of Brač and elsewhere across Dalmatia. During the wartime years, they decided to come to Novi by chance, where they met Mrs. Marija — and that’s where their wonderful friendship began, leading to a three-decade-long tradition.

Since 1992, they’ve returned every year to stay with Marija and Vladimir — friends tease them, asking, “Don’t you ever get bored of coming to the same place?” Yet they always return gladly. They’ve grown to love the town; the children made friends with neighbors, learned the language, and say they feel completely at home.

The pandemic of the past two years didn’t stop them. Mrs. Aranka jokingly said that during her vaccination she was told it was wise to come for her health — to which she replied, “I came mostly so that I could visit Novi again this summer!”

To mark this wonderful 30-year anniversary of summer visits to Novi Vinodolski, Tena Peričić, the Director of the Novi Vinodolski Tourist Board, visited the hosts and their loyal guests, presenting them with a handmade souvenir from Drveni val, a bouquet, and a commemorative certificate — and spent an hour of delightful company. They welcomed her with big smiles and gratitude, though they modestly said they weren’t prepared with a gift in return.

“But what could be a better gift than 30 years of loyalty to our Novi Vinodolski by such dear people, who still return year after year to see how the town evolves? It was truly heartwarming to hear how they observe every change, know the people and language, feel at home — and even joked that they hope to see us again at their 50th anniversary. Stories like this give us new strength to keep improving and inspire more experiences like this,” said Director Tena Peričić.