German Family Has Been Coming to Gorski Kotar for 20 Years
What began as a two-week vacation in Kočičin has grown into a tradition, a friendship with their hosts, and a true second home for the Suerdienck family.
What began as a two-week vacation in Kočičin has grown into a tradition, a friendship with their hosts, and a true second home for the Suerdienck family.
The German Suerdienck family has been traveling to Gorski Kotar every year for two decades, where they have found much more than a holiday. Their story began in 2006 with a two-week stay in Kočičin, and today they consider the place and the people who welcome them there to be part of their own family.
Their first visit in 2006 was just an ordinary summer holiday. But the nature, peace, and quiet of Gorski Kotar, along with trips to Kupa, Golubinjak, Fužine, Zeleni vir, and Kamačnik, made the Suerdienck family return year after year. Their hosts, Silvija and Alen Sobol, have become like family to them, as they themselves say.
"They are our friends, like family. Every time we come here, it feels like we are a small family," Sasha and Barbara Suerdienck said for Kanal Ri.
Some family members have been coming to Kočičin since birth. Carlotta Handel points out that she has spent most of her life there and that the place holds a special spot in her heart. Today, they call their holiday home in Kočičin their second home.
The Mayor of Delnice, Igor Pleše, emphasizes that this family is an example of the guests Gorski Kotar wants to keep. Petar Hrg, Director of the Gorski Kotar Tourist Board, highlights the importance of hosts and personal relationships for the advancement of rural tourism.
After twenty years, the relationship between guests and hosts has changed. They are now friends, and Gorski Kotar has become a place to which this German family always returns.
