Travelfood

Did I tell you before that Croatia is my favourite country for tourism? After spending the whole month of April in the country, I re-confirm the statement. This time I, and partly  we, sent the time in an apartment on the island of Ciovo, just south of Trogir, and close to Split. The apartment had everything a fairly independent and self-sufficient traveller would need, and for a moderate price. The locals were still in the processing of refurbishing the island and the apartments because clearly they do not believe in off-season business. Only one of five restaurants were open for business.

In April maybe half of the days were cloudy or rainy. The other ones were sunny and warm as in Scandinavian summer. We went to see a stunning world-class nature wonder – a set of lakes and waterfalls in Plitvice in the inlands close to the Bosnian border. We also visited the island of Hvar. I also visited the capital, Zagreb, which has a peculiar airport transport. From the airport you take the bus to the city center, but the city bus station is so far away from the city center that you need another public transport to reach the center. Maybe they should at least combine the ticket system for the two public transports? One memorable day trip by regional bus was from Split to the Bosnia-Hercegovian town of Mostar. Yes, the Mostar bridge is gorgeous, but so are the views along the way: the Croatian coastline along the Makarska Riviera as well as the stunning mountains and the picturesque countryside of both countries.

Croatian food differs from Balkan food by taking the best of Italy along. There is well-made pizza and pasta, but also grilled meat, fish and seafood. And I just cannot get enough of Croatian air-dried ham, prsut. This time I also tried the traditional Dalmatian meat stew, pasticada, and fish stew, brudet. I also had delicious green beans stew, mahune varivo, with pork. Even the side orders are exciting: for example blitva is a mix of boiled potatoes and mangold leaves.

Croatia has everything: the climate, the closeness, the food, the sights, the functioning tourism service and: the people. I stayed there for a month and I was treated with a helpful but distant manner, just as it should be. I feel uncomfortable with an utterly cheerful friendliness that I encounter in very tip-centered cultures. But in Croatia the people are proud and real, but still thankful for their guests. Considering their low average month-income and their high foodstuffs prices, life especially outside tourism income centers can be hard.

Croatia, Europe, food, travel, travel experiences