Croatia

Summing Croatia up in one word succeeds only inadequately with the word "varied". For on the 56,538 square kilometres between Rijeka and Dubrovnik, between the Adriatic and the Vukova, everyone so far has found the holiday spot perfect for them and many a person their chosen home. Croatia is a mountainous country, even if one no longer sees that immediately today, since the hundreds of islands are the peaks of a mountain range flooded after the ice age. But directly behind the coast the Dinaric and the Biokovo mountains rise majestically, which after a plateau in the interior run out into a romantic hilly landscape that reaches as far as the Danube, Croatia's national border. Because of the rather soft karst and limestone soil the mountainous country is criss-crossed by rivers and extremely fertile - no comparison with the rugged, grey Alpine peaks! On the broad river terraces of the Drava and Sava in particular, quite a few winegrowers and farmers still live as their parents and grandparents did - only somewhat more comfortably. Some of them also offer "holidays on the farm", including early rising and proper aching muscles. Should you have something else in mind for your holidays: culture and party tourists are drawn to the lively big cities; the stressed city dweller finds in the nature parks and the hinterland forests in which wolf and bear really do still bid each other good night; sportspeople seek and find challenges in the mountains; sun worshippers laze in the bathing coves of the islands and coast - only fans of bad weather could be disappointed by Croatia.

The already constant and friendly Mediterranean climate is particularly stable in Croatia. Protected by mountains, it becomes neither especially cold in winter, nor is the heat in summer unbearable, as in other Mediterranean regions. This is thanks to the downslope wind bora, which during the summer months blows the cool mountain air to the coast and into the plains. In winter the bora sees to it that there are indeed cool temperatures, but mostly a radiantly clear sky. When it is especially cool in the interior and the sea has just nicely heated up, short-term temperature drops of 15 degrees and more can occur - so in spite of the high season do take one or two pullovers along in any case! And should you be planning a sailing holiday, please do not underestimate the warnings of the local population, even if their fear of the sudden flaring up of a bora storm seems unfounded. The experienced people of the sea often recognise a change in the weather even before the scientific weather stations do. Considerably less dramatic is the maestral, which plays around the beaches with its refreshing breath. Its only danger consists in the fact that you notice the sunburn only once you are home. The third typical wind is the jugo, which establishes itself slowly, brings a few strong showers with it and thus puts an end to a long period of fine weather. When you know that the good wine and the tasty olives are thanks to it, you readily forgive it one or two rainy days too...

Popular useful plants that you can come across in almost every garden are olives, tomatoes, lemons, vines and olive trees. Beyond that, wheat is grown on the plains, and among these areas of cultivation there are wild-growing orchids, cypresses, hyacinths and thistles, to name only a few very popular plants. Each region is played around by its own scent, which gives the tourists arriving year after year the comfortable feeling of being "at home" again with the first deep breaths: be it the lavender on Hvar, thyme, oregano and sage on the mainland, or juniper, broom and laurel in the hinterland. In general one can say that in Croatia it is above all bush plants and herbs that are native. In earlier centuries there were also dense forests, but what you see today by way of trees such as pine, stone pine and beech has largely grown in the course of reforestation programmes intended to counteract erosion. This was necessary after nearly all the occupiers - and there were many of them in Croatia - cleared the existing forests in order to expand their own fleets.

Put simply, one can say: the higher you go in Croatia, the bigger the animals! Under water most animals (apart from the cute dolphins) are practically of a size that corresponds wonderfully with that of most restaurant tables: sea bream, perch, mussels and lobster are found here in abundance. In the rivers there are eels and trout in addition. The lowland is populated mainly by farm animals and reptiles. The goats, sheep and cows graze on the pastures and meadows; snakes and lizards seek out rockier ground instead. Anyone who looks for them will surely be able to spy one snake or another. Should you, however, set not the slightest store by that, it is advisable to tread loudly when walking: that scares off the shy animals! A few metres higher up, hare, marten, fox, badger and hedgehog frolic on the slopes. And in the dense forests of the mountains wolves, lynxes, chamois and even brown bears are sighted regularly. To increase their numbers further, or at least to keep them stable, is one of the primary aims of Croatia's national and nature parks. The same applies to the birds of prey already extinct in other parts of Europe, which in Croatia one not infrequently sees circling majestically above the summits.

As varied as the history of Croatia is its cooking too: the Austrians left strudel, palatschinken and doughnuts here, the Italians brought ravioli, risotto and olive oil, from Hungary came fish and meat goulash, the Ottomans brought baklava with them and the brief period of French rule left its traces in fish soup and white bread. Yet while the preparation is international, in Croatia value is placed on the foodstuffs themselves coming from the country — or better still: from the neighbourhood. As in times of everyday political surprises, many Croats still grow their own fruit and vegetables today, and farm animals in the garden are no rarity either. Besides the vegetables, oil, wine, cheese and meat thus produced, sea and rivers still supply plenty of delicacies despite the threat of overfishing. The fish are gladly eaten dried and salted, but seasoned with celery or garlic they are a local delicacy too. Inland, roast poultry is preferred; in the mountain regions goat and lamb. Typical of Croatian cooking is the stew pot “buzara”: in it scampi, mussels or sardines, for instance, are steamed, fried, deglazed, steamed further and finally served as well. The typical Croatian meal is made up of a soup or salad (gladly with squid or seafood), a large portion of the main dish (in poorer areas mostly fish or vegetables during the week — but as a well-situated tourist you should feel free to taste your way through the varied selection of meat!) and a pastry such as “burek”. If you prefer it more rustic and lower in calories, you can also stop at one of the rural konobas. These inns often have on the menu only what they produce themselves. This cheese or ham with bread mostly tastes delicious and is a welcome snack for locals too. If, however, you trust your own cooking more than that of restaurant chefs, you have almost everywhere the chance to buy tomatoes, steak, cheese, eggs, wine, oil, oranges, thyme and countless further delicacies at the weekly market directly from the producer!

The three main regions of Croatia, Dalmatia, Istria and the Pannonian plain, are for their part divided into 20 Zupanski, in English "counties", which in their history of origin and function correspond roughly to the German federal states. They are governed from Zagreb, which with almost 700 thousand inhabitants is Croatia's most populous city, ahead even of Split (175,000 inhabitants), Rijeka (144,000) and Osijek (90,000). Here sit the representatives of parliamentary democracy, the representatives of the individual counties, who at present come for the most part from the liberal-left camp. The president, always elected for 5 years, has since the year 2000 been Stipe Mesic, whose primary foreign-policy goal is to lead Croatia into the EU. In domestic policy Croatia is still fully occupied with the resettlement of war refugees; the clearing-up work and the reconstruction are largely completed. Apart from day-to-day politics and compliments on the relaxed situation in the country, visitors should not necessarily raise the subject of politics. Anyone not absolutely well versed in Croatian history can easily provoke misunderstandings with careless comments on the last war, the relationship with the Serbs or a spontaneous assessment of what could all have been done better, and put an abrupt end to the otherwise great hospitality. After all, you never know what opinion the person opposite you holds, and even the statistic that 89% of the 4.3 million inhabitants are Croats, 5% Serbs and 6% belong to other minorities gives only a rough orientation.

In Croatia you can not only talk about sport at any time (football, tennis, the Olympics) but above all also become active yourself. The most obvious thing is of course simply to go swimming or walking - and that is truly no bad idea! Anyone who sees Croatia only from the car or goes to the beach only to roast has not experienced Croatia. Better to discover a region on your own two feet or on a real horse: bicycle hire and riding stables are to be found in every smaller place, and often they provide you with map material free of charge or offer guided tours. Pony farms for children and adults are also becoming ever more popular in Croatia at present. If you would rather stay in one place, perhaps one of the countless tennis facilities is something for you - anyone who is not yet a Goran Ivanisevic can still become one... Or you swap racket for board, learn to surf or water-ski and take the opportunity - should you, contrary to expectation, fall into the water after all - to observe the colourful, glittering world of fish on a dive. Even a snorkelling tour conveys a rough impression of the animal world, which alone is already impressive. But anyone who has once looked around in one of the popular diving grounds (Rasip, Bisevo, Dubrovnic, Perljesac, and many more) knows what the term "species diversity" really means!