In September of 2018 a Facebook post written by a teacher from Vukovar seems to has started a tradition of children from Vukovar getting to go to Split.
The teacher from Vukovar in question in Ljiljana Radobuljac who teaches the Croatian language in the school there. She wrote an open letter to the Croatian President, Prime Minister, Veteran's Minister and Education Minister about the fact that children from all over Croatia come to visit Vukovar, financed from the Croatian budget. And, while she thought that it's perfectly OK for the children to come to the town which has suffered so much during the Homeland War, she wanted to ask the people in charge in Croatia if it was fair that nobody is paying the children from Vukovar to go anywhere on school trips, which puts them at a disadvantage - they'd love to go on field trips for free as much as all other students!
And while we do not know if she's gotten any kind of reply from those to whom the letter was addressed, Marvie Hotel & Health from Split invited a group of school children from Vukovar to visit them for a few days, giving them a free trip! The "Christmas in Split for Children from Vukovar" idea was a complete success, so it was organized again this year and Diana Rubić, the manager of the Marvie Hotel says that it's turning into a tradition. A group of students from the third and fourth grades of the elementary school were given the free transport from Vukovar to Split and back in a bus, accommodation, food and fun at the hotel, tours of the city of Split and the surroundings, tickets to attractions and presents under the Christmas tree. The trip lasted three days, from December 26th until 28th, and Diana Rubić adds that it was wonderful to see how much fun the children were having, how much they wanted to get to know Split and how much the trip meant to them.
When they arrived in Split the children from Vukovar first had a little party by the swimming pool, followed by dinner. After the breakfast on the second day, they took a guided tour through the Diocletian Palace, guided by Marko Rubić, which was his personal gift to the children of Vukovar. After that, they visited the Croatian Naval Museum, Poljud stadium and the Hajduk's Trophy Hall. Damir Žura took them on a tour of the Klis fortress. In the evening they had yet another party (we told you they had a great time!) with dinner and unpacking of their many presents. On Saturday morning they had breakfast again and the opportunity to say goodbye to the employees of the hotel, after which they were on their way back to Vukovar.
