Croatia – Part 2

January 12, 2015 by Angelika Schwarz 10 Comments

Do you know what Croatia was called before it was Croatia?

Yes!  Yugoslavia.

If you should ever travel to Croatia I recommend renting a small sail boat, or hop on as a passenger and allow yourself to enter the land of Peter Pan. You can sale to the small picturesque harbors and dock on one of the 1,186 islands (of which 60 are inhabited), along the Croatian’s coastline. There you can explore the villages tucked away on slanted hillsides. The natives live in stone cottages that blend into the surroundings. Their camouflage served to hide their dwellings from pirates so long ago.

Just imagine − their fishing, farming and handcrafting techniques have hardly changed in more than 2,000 years. The Croatian industry is dominated by shipbuilding exports, followed up by organic foods, such as Croatian wine, olive oil, and lavender.

The states in former Yugoslavia, which were held together by the communist President Tito, separated in 1991. Now each one rules as an independent country, and Croatia, the coastal country is, like the other, a democratic country. In 2013 Croatia joined the European Union, and unfortunately has the third highest unemployment rate of 18,3% in the Union, after Greece 27% and Spain 26,8%.

Some fun and interesting facts that I have collected for you!

• The White House was built out of Croatian stone, obtained from the island of Brac.

• The necktie was invented in Croatia and is locally known as ‘cravat’.

The Dalmatian dog, also known as the Dubrovnik hunter, originally came from a region of Croatia known as Dalmatia.

•Croatians can vote at the age of 16, if they have a job, but if they are unemployed they have to wait till they are 18.

• Croatia is ranked among the top 20 most popular tourist destinations in the world.

• Tamburitza, related to the Russian balalaika, is the Croatian national string Instrument.

 

• The majority of Croatians are Roman Catholic.

 Hope you enjoy my own photos of  the cities
Poric, Reminj and Vrasis
and the northern Croatia Coastline.
CLICK ON PHOTO BELOW TO WATCH THE  6 MINUTE  VIDEO

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

AND here is the
REAL STORY!
I’ve listed some facts and personal experiences we have had…
that you won’t find in a travel  catalogue. 

1.  Be aware! Credit cards, especially in restaurants aren’t  accepted – only Euros!

2. Gypsies have knocked at our caravan door, and on opening it, suddenly pile into your caravan selling you sunglasses! They were harmless… but very insistent. Yes, I bought a pair. 🙂

3. Be prepared to see some depressing  sights,  like  sad fishermen, that  don’t even bother to sail out on their  rusty boats… because the coastlines have already been fished clean from larger industrial fishing boats.

4. The camping ground grocery stores in May were all closed.  We had to do our shopping outside of the camping areas. This might be very important for RV owners.

5. In northern Croatia we  didn’t find any sandy beaches, but  as you could see in the photos, beautifully tiled swimming areas with stainless steel  ladders  leading into the water were everywhere. It was like stepping into a huge saltwater swimming pool. Also fresh water showers, for all to use, dotted the coastline.

6. Don’t be surprised by the nudist areas, which are zoned off between textile bathing areas.

7. Last, but certainly not least…plenty of public rest rooms are everywhere…and they were all  sparkly clean! As a matter of fact Croatia may have poverty stricken areas, but everything is very clean.

8.  And a special note for  seniors. We felt very safe, even when walking through dark streets at night. People are friendly  and tourists feel welcomed.

Copyright © Angelika Schwarz, https://write2campeuro.wordpress.com/ (blog), 2015. All rights reserved.