A Slice of Croatia

Many of you will remember the name, Yugoslavia, but some may not recall what happened to it. Yugoslavia had a turbulent 20th century. It was reincarnated a number of times under various political regimes until following the second world war it became a communist country. Then in the 1980s, as a result of an economic and political crisis, broke into 5 separate countries, Bosnia / Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia. There were ethnic tensions and instability within Croatia culminating in a 4 year war of independence. The war ended in 1995 and the Croatia of today emerged.

By now you may have guessed, Marlene and I are heading to Croatia for a few weeks. When we say heading there, our plan is to  cover only a small portion of the country, or as I have termed it, a slice of Croatia.

We will spend about a week in the historic city of Debrovnik. Debrovnik is on the Adriatic Sea, near the southeastern tip of the country. The Adriatic Sea is a northern arm of the Mediterranean Sea, with the boot of Italy to the west, and Croatian coastline to the east.

We'll then rent a car and drive up the coast to the city of Split.

From Split on bicycles, we'll island hop through the Dalmatian Islands back to Dubrovnik. In a little more detail, we'll ferry from Split to the Island of Brac, then to Hvar, hopping again to the island of Korcula , and finally back to the mainland making our way toward Debrovnik. We will cycle and stay over on each island. We'll only be cycling about every other day, leaving those in between to soak up the culture, take in the seascapes, admire the architecture, and taste a little Croatian wine. From all accounts, the historic architecture and coastal scenery are quite spectacular. We've taken some care planning this leg of the trip, with hopes the cycling will be more leisurely than challenging.

We're expecting  the elements of unfamiliar language and currency will add to the adventure. Even though Croatia is part of the European Union, it has its own currency, the Kuna.

As for the element of language,  Croatian is its official language, with some Croatian people speaking English as their second language. However, we have found in other foreign countries, that English as a second language is often limited to urban centers, whereas, most of our touring will be rural, along quiet secondary roads and in small villages. Hopefully, they'll appreciate a wave and a smile, and help us along our way.

So now as always, we're inviting you to join us for some fun, adventure, and of course the unexpected, as we explore a slice of Croatia.

Click this link for the next story in this series: Dubrovnik, Once Bombed but now Bustling