Croatia has been playing in the World Cup, so maybe it’s become a better known country… even so, most people probably could not find it on a map. Croatia is one of the more recent countries that I have traveled to, and I so wish that I could have stayed longer and seen more of the country. The part that I did see though, was beautiful.
When we visited Croatia, we flew in to Trieste, Italy, and took a bus across to Umag, Croatia. I think it was about an hour and a half drive along the coast, which let us see a little bit of Slovenia as well! When we travel for fun, there are two types of trips that we usually take; we categorize them as educational or relaxing. Though both types of trips are vacations, the former involves a lot of sightseeing and learning about countries, while the latter type of trip involves less activities and takes a slower pace. So the trip to Croatia was a relaxing trip 🙂
First of all, the weather was absolutely perfect. We were there mid-March, and the temperature was mid 70s Fahrenheit and sunny the entire time. A refreshing ocean breeze made it all the better. Umag is a resort town in western Croatia, which hosts an annual tennis tournament on clay courts, if any of you happen to be tennis enthusiasts. As it is a seasonal tourist town though, if you go outside of the tourist season, the city is much quieter with less to do. But you can still walk around and enjoy it. You can also rent bikes for the day and bike around the city and along the coast.
When we first arrived, my first impression of the quaint city was that if I had to ever live somewhere for the rest of my life and spend my days reading books, this would be the perfect place. Especially outside of the tourist season, this is not the place for a city lover who enjoys lots of activities all the time, but if you want to catch your breath with a peaceful vacation, this is a great option. Budget wise, Umag is much more affordable than big cities as well, if you are trying to travel but don’t want to break the bank.
Most of the food that we ate there was prepared by the hotel where we were staying. They did cook some Western style food, but a lot of it was similar to food in other Balkan or former Soviet countries. Bureks were one of my favorite things that we had there. This cheese filled pastry type dish was delicious. They also had a lot of fresh vegetables to accompany most meals. Also, during this trip, I discovered one of my new favorite fruits: blood oranges. These oranges have much darker meat, hence their name. They taste a little bit like a cross between an orange, grapefruit,and maybe a pomegranate or raspberry? It’s a little hard to describe, but I loved them. Blood orange juice is a reddish pinkish color depending on the color of the original fruit, and that is delicious as well. Oh, also, I tried my first piece of shark meat there. I wasn’t too impressed, it was a little too mushy for my taste, but I’m glad to have tried it.
Language wise, if you’re at a hotel, you can probably find someone who speaks English, if you’re outside, most people will be able to understand you if you speak Russian. Italian is also a big language there, as Umag is not too far from Italy. If those languages don’t work, your best bet may be charades…
While Dubrovnik and Zagreb may receive most of the tourism in Croatia (and I have had friends visit those cities, and they loved them), if you would like to retreat somewhere for some peace and quiet and experience a new country, Umag is a great option!
Delectable 
