Back from Croatia

Croatia's current tourist slogan is "the Mediterranean as it was." And that is so true. It reminded Greg and I a lot of the Mediterranean-esque places we've been to - Israel, Italy - and pictures of other places - California, Greece. However, it has a unique vibe all its own - not really picture perfect, but very much real with all the good and bad that goes into being real.

For example, Zadar was our last stop. A beautiful city with old, twisting marble pedestrian streets lined with cafe tables and chairs. People sitting out at all times of the day and night chatting over kava (coffee) and pivo (beer). Spotless? Not exactly. Well-preserved buildings? Mostly not, due to wars (WWII and 1990s conflicts). Variety in food? Not enough for vegetarians, but the cheese burek, pastries, pizzas, and fresh fruits and veggies were delicious. Safe? Definitely. It also didn't hurt that the city was steps from the sea shore. 

That example best depicts our time during our slow trip south - we traveled by train, bus and boat from Munich to Ljubljana, Slovenia, to the islands of Cres and Mali Losinj to Plitvice National Park to Zadar all in one week (and then took an hour and a half flight back to Munich ;-). There is still a lot more to see in that region, but it was a fantastic week-long trip.