Bok from Hrvatska

Where the Queen stays speechless for a moment (not too long)

Why Croatia?

Oh, first let me educate you : Croatia = Hrvatska.

It took me a while too, these two words are equivalent, except that the first one is actually pronounceable, while the other requires four mouths.

So, why Croatia? Because I had heard countless praises about the country and specifically the town of Dubrovnik.

So I had to go, and most importantly, it was on my way from Athens to Nice.

I did the usual modern nomad thing, booked an AirBnb that was not too expensive and not too cheap, a little bit off where everyone seems to go, and called ahead to make sure that my vital line of high-debit Internet was present.

When I arrived, my pre-ordered taxi was waiting for me: Igor. Bone-crushing handshake. Igor is a strong, somewhat slavic person, perfect English. He drove me to my apartment while telling me all about Dubrovnik. Not the tourist stuff, although he did vaguely point to some sites, but the political stuff, the fact that no one here is willing to work, that they have to bring in laborers from Bosnia.

He keeps referring to Bosnia with some disgust. He is very satisfied to tell me that there is now a bridge to drive over the only narrow piece of coastline belonging to Bosnia, entrenched within Croatia.

"So we don't have to drive inside Bosnia, you know?" I don't know. I ask if this is a problem, driving through Bosnia. He says "No, of course not". I will never know I suppose.

He explains to me that most of the people living in Dubrovnik make a living from AirBnB, and that is enough to live. So, no workforce for other type of labor.

wanna swim?

While he goes on and on about the state of affairs in Croatia, Bosnia and Europe in general, I start to discover the amazing beauty of the coastline: Mountains pouring into the Adriatic sea in countless reefs and creeks. The sea itself is shining like a million diamonds. Rocky islands here and there making it not beautifully boring.

I am floored by the beauty

The town itself of Dubrovnik is small, clean, pretty and different. Not your typical European town with its old glory, and old buildings.

Still a fortress town, with an old city, but a style of its own, and a vibrance beyond any expectation.

Extremely touristic, but in a good way.

And the beaches....the beaches.

No sandy beaches here. Rocky beaches, hidden beaches, beaches you need to find the entrance to, guided by the sight of an emerald glitter. But there are plenty of them, and they are waiting for you.

The old city, surrounded by walls, has all the trappings of every medieval old city I visited: old churches, narrow streets, walls, gates, and tourists by the million. Souvenir shops, expensive restaurants, people taking the same selfies over and over and over again. I guess it is part of the deal.

I paid my dues, visited the thing, and ran away.

My part of Dubrovnik is called Palad, surprisingly pronounceable.

It is a section of Dubrovnik reputed as fancy. I did not know that when I booked, but Igor filled me in.

I could not have planned it better. A stone throw away from Sunset Beach, a nice little touristy beach I have no intention of swimming in, but is a nice spot to go for a stroll and sit down by the sea and have a drink.

Sunset Beach

And of course, as its name hints, the beach is beautiful during sunset.

Unfortunately, I am not the only one who heard about sunset.

During the evening hours, hundreds, probably thousands of people flock to this beach, and take it all in.

Then, they pick one of the many restaurants on the adjacent promenade and spend some euros.

I did the same.

What can I say, Dubrovnik is a nice place to visit.

The Queen does not speak Croatian either

If the Queen thought Greek is a challenge, Croatian proved to be the ultimate challenge. She tried, she really tried. But even the Croatian people were unwilling to cooperate.

First, let's integrate one crucial fact : Croatian do not like vowels.

For whatever reason, entire words are spelled without one. It almost looks like they are trying to go as far as possible without a vowel, then they throw one in, and back into a series of H, V, and K's.

The first test of "how do you say thank you" resulted in the word HVALA. Thanks for the two vowels, but not sure what to do with that H. One of the cashiers I interacted with tried to teach me how to pronounce it. The H must be pronounced gutturally, and then the V becomes a O sound (hiding vowel?).

I gave up. They all get "Thank you".

Actually, they all speak quite good English, and are happy to do so. This makes every interaction quite simple and productive.

What is Croatia anyway?

Dare I admit I had not idea about the past of Croatia? I dare. I had zero clue. But I did my reading and I learned a few things. Not all those things are glorious. But today, since 1991, Croatia is a parliamentary republic with a diverse cultural heritage, beautiful coastline along the Adriatic Sea, and a growing tourism industry.

I will gladly be a part of that growing tourism industry for the week to come.