Sunday, February 10, 2013

Culture Corner: Croatia - the Zadar Region

Almost twenty years have passed since the Balkan wars.  Talking with Croatians, however, one is hard-pressed to realize the time lapse.  Bullet holes and signs warning of undetonated munitions appear here and there, but by and large the people and country are relaxed, a timelessness lightly permeating the sun-baked atmosphere.  There is little that is exotic about Croatia—no world wonders or places of natural beauty that make the jaw drop.  I will admit I went there expecting something of the like, maybe some spectacular Roman ruins or a secret waterfall that few know of.  But I learned Croatia is about the enjoyment of the simpler things in life.  I cannot speak for Zagreb, but the beaches, the sea, the restaurants, the small towns and villages, and markets we saw were all on a small scale.  Little is hurried and even less is worried over.  The people were generally light hearted, and though not rolling out the red carpet for tourists, didn’t seem to mind the influx of people in the summer.  The following are some of my photos from my time there.

Having only a little more than a week of holiday, we opted to drive straight through the night, Poland to Croatia, to economize time, the whole trip taking 12 hours.  Everything went ok until we hit got within an hour of our destination.  There had been a terrible bus accident that blocked the entire highway, which meant sitting for six hours in the longest line of traffic I’ve ever been part of.  Eventually the police herded us onto another, much smaller road, where the line continued.  Half asleep, we decided a side road may get us to our destination quicker.  Not only did we arrive sooner, the road also provided us some spectacular views of the Dinaric Alps.  
The Dinaric Alps….
More of the Dinaric Alps….
A chapel in the hills…
Our destination was the town of Zaton on the Adriatic Sea.  Nearby was this small village, Nin.
More of Nin...
Being on the sea, fishing was “big” business, and markets overflowed with fresh fish everyday...
One day during the week we took a boat trip to the Kornati Islands, a National Park.  This was along the way…
And yes, this water was delicious to swim and snorkel for hours in the hot sun...
Some of the actual Islands…
A city slowly rebuilding itself after the Balkan Wars, these are the streets of Zadar.  At 75,000 people it is the fifth largest city in Croatia—and a nice place to spend a day.
The fruit, cheese, meat, vegetable, and, if you look closely in the middle left, homemade raki market of Zadar.  (That's not water in those soda bottles.)
More of Zadar—the Cathedral of St. Stosija…
Zadar’s town square…
Zadar’s waterfront in the late afternoon…
And, before we knew it, the week was up and we had to make the night drive back to Poland.  Might as well put my feet up; it’s going to be a long night.
The End

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