Dobro Jutro Hrvatska!

Mariya has done 2 very comprehensive blogs about Croatia so I'm going to keep mine short and go over the things that really left an impression on me.

Firstly, and most importanly, the people. We stayed with an absolutely amazing family; Petar, Nena (Mariya's cousin) and Vlad (Petar and Nena's son). Nena offered her home to us when she found out we were coming to visit Croatia and their hospitality was absolutely amazing. Petar is charismatic, humorous, friendly and intelligent with a vast knowledge of all things Croatia. Couple that with a great grasp of the english language and Mariya and I couldn't have asked for a better tour guide of Eastern Croatia than Petar. Nena was a phenomenal chef of the greatest proportions. We ate bigger and better in Croatia than anywhere else in Europe so far thanks to Nena. Mariya has even been inspired to learn how to make her own salami. Nena's parents took us into their home for both Easter Friday and Easter Sunday lunches. They were so friendly, we felt right at home and even though our communication boiled down to hello's, good bye's and thank you it felt completely natural. As always, the people make the holiday and we were surrounding by lovely and interesting people. We've made great, new friends in Croatia and already planning our next visit to catch up with them all as soon as possible.

As far as Croatia itself goes, our time here was very different to any other coutry we have been to.

Some parts of the country are still war torn and leave you with a real sense of melancholy. Many towns and villages still bear the marks of a war 15 years past and there is no escaping the realities of the impact this had on Croatia. Land mines are still a serious issue for Croatians even now, with constant warnings to never leave the road in your car or walk too far from common areas. This is the first country I have visited where the ravages of war are unhidden, for all to see and it leaves you unsettled.

On the other hand, some parts of Croatia are absolutely stunning and words can't express the beauty of some of the locations. The Danube (pronounced doo-nab by the locals) is huge and majestic, parts of the country side are green and lush and the coastal areas in Western Croatia are simply breathtaking. Croatia has a lot to offer the adventurous tourist and I'm without doubt that it will become a popular location in the years to come.

The food, oh my god, the food! The food the Croatians cook and eat is amazing. They eat a huge variety of food with things like pork, beef, chicken and seafood making regular appearances on their plate. Almost all of their food has chilli of some sort and they cook enough to feed an army with every meal, yep Mariya is definitely Croatian. The list of amazing foods is almost endless but the big standouts for us were things like cevapi, paprikash, rissoles with cheese in the middle, shish-kebabs and their hundred varieties of home made salami. The food is to die for and there's always more than you can eat. I think even Brock would struggle with their portion sizes.

The travel in Croatia is challenging, I'm sure you've read Mariya's blog by now. I told her she should name the blog "EURail to Fail", it was pretty bad at times. Needless to say, both Mariya and I breathed a sigh a relief when we found out we could get a taxi, cheaper than public transport, to get to Trieste in Italy to continue our journey to Rome.

Our time in Croatia was educating and enlightening. We met fabulous new people and saw both exciting and disturbing sights. It's certainly an experience that neither of us will forget.