Any Travels

Croatia is a beautiful small country situated on the Adriatic coast. It is known as the country of a thousand islands. If you have ever dreamt about being on a small island alone with someone, this is the place for you. If you are a nature lover, Croatia offers: camping, mountain hiking/biking, spelunking, rafting, scuba diving and skydiving. Besides its natural beauty, it also offers: a unique history, a unique mixture of cuisines, many internationally recognized hotels and helpful individuals.

Zagreb is the capital of the country. It may not attract as many visitors as the coastal towns of Rijeka or Split or Zadar or Dubrovnik but is well worth a visit. There are many museums in town and at night there are lots of things going on.

The Croatian coast is among the most beautiful in the world. It has unique cities like Split with its Diocletian palace or Dubrovnik which was the rival of Venice for centuries, great beaches and more than 1001 islands to choose from.

Plitvice is Croatia's most famous National Park. It has many lakes and waterfalls and is ideal for hiking or trekking.

Don't forget Fazana and the islands of Brioni! Just a little north of Pula... You may not see them on a map... but it was a summer home for Tito (his choice of all Yugoslavia) and farther back the Caesars during the Roman empire (even farther back, stone age man and before him dinosaurs. You can see footprints in stone!) Think about it... with all of Italy why choose to live here? Thats right!

Twentieth century sculptor Ivan Mestrovic is the pride and joy of Croatia's art world. His work can be seen in town squares throughout the country, and he has also designed several imposing buildings, including the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb. Croatian literary figures include 16th century playwright Marin Drzic and 20th century novelist, playwright and poet Miroslav Krleza - the latter's multi-volume work, Banners, is a saga about Croatian life at the turn of the 20th century.

Croatian folk music is a hotch-potch of styles. The kolo, a lively Slavic round dance, is accompanied by Roma-style violinists or players of the tambura, a Croatian mandolin. Dalmatia's gentle guitar and accordion bands have a distinctly Italian flavour.

Croats are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, while virtually all Serbs are Eastern Orthodox. In addition to various doctrinal differences, Orthodox Christians venerate icons, let priests marry, and couldn't care less about the Pope. Thoroughly suppressed during Yugoslavia's communist period, Roman Catholicism is now making a comeback, with most churches strongly attended every Sunday. Muslims make up 1.1% of the population and Protestants 0.4%. There's a tiny Jewish population in Zagreb.

Croatians love a bit of oil, and among the greasy delicacies you'll find here are burek, a layered pie made with meat or cheese, and piroska, a cheese donut from the Zagreb region. The Adriatic coast excels in seafood: regional dishes include scampi and Dalmatian brodet (mixed fish stewed with rice). Inland look for specialities such as manistra od bobica (beans and fresh maize soup) or struki (baked cheese dumpling). Virtually every region produces its own varieties of wine.

Some Useful & Practical Info
- Croatia controls most land routes from Western Europe to the Aegean Sea & Turkish Straits, so the roads are quite OK [new highways also being built...] - although the literacy in Croatia, considering total population, is 98.5% (2003 est.), unfortunately not so many people speak English - the conventional long name form is Republic of Croatia, the conventional short form is Croatia; the local long form is Republika Hrvatska & the local short form is Hrvatska - the age limit is 18 - the currency is kuna (HRK) - telephones: main lines in use: 1.825 million (2002); mobile cellular: 2.34 million (2002) [tending to grow because of the three new providers, two of them fixed & one mobile] - Internet country code: .hr - Internet hosts: 29,644 (2002); Internet users: 789,000 (2002) - railways: total: 2,296 km [983 km electrified] (2002) - highways: total: 28,123 km, paved: 23,792 km [including 410 km of expressways] - ports & harbors: Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar aso. - airports: 68 (2003 est.); the biggest one is Pleso, Zagreb [17 km from the city center; daily busses by Croatia Airlines] - visas: Citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, the USA & most continental European countries can enter Croatia for stays of up to 90 days without a visa; however visitors must hold a return / onward ticket, all documents required for next destination & sufficient funds - time zone: GMT / UTC +1 [Central European Time (Rome, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris etc.)] - dialing code: 385 - electricity: 220-240V, 50Hz - weights & measures: metric