Opatija, Croatia

My friend Anna visited the region of Istria a few weekends ago and brought me back this lovely postcard.

It’s from the town Opatija, located right on the coast of the Adriatic sea, in the Gulf of Kvarner. It’s a popular summer and winter resort, with average temperatures of 10°C (50°F) in the wintertime, and around 25°C (77°F) during the summer.
It’s a very pretty town, but I personally didn’t enjoy the amount of traffic going right through the middle of the town. Also, even though it has beaches, they’re not the kind I like – I really, really don’t like the large pointy rocks. How do you chill there? Where do you put your towel? How do you not hurt your feet trying to get in and out of the sea? I don’t know. :(

Greetings from… Croatia

I’m sure you all are familiar with the whole Postallove Greetings from… series of postcards. I know a lot of people are big fans of those postcards and I know many who are trying to get all of them. As for myself, I think they are cute. I have a few of them that I randomly received from postcard pals & through official Postcrossing site. I’m not passionately trying to collect them all, I don’t look for them or ask for them to be sent to me. If I get one, I’m happy. If I don’t, I’m still happy. ;)

But I was really happy to get my hands on this one:

My friend was ordering some online & was kind enough to get one of these for me. :) I have to mention that I have only this one, therefore please don’t ask me for a swap as I simply don’t have any more to send out. (sorry!)

I like that they used Dubrovnik as the background picture, knowing it’s one of the most known locations in the country and if you mention the city’s name to foreign people – most of them will be familiar with it. I like the little facts on it as well, although it feels like there’s nothing more to Croatia but the sea and Dalamtian region… and there is, a lot more. I’m not picky though, it’s cute & it’s a great way to share the knowledge about the country through Postcrossing!

Do you collect these Greetings from… postcards? How many do you have? I’m curious.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

I’ve had these two postcards of Dubrovnik for a while now, I just never posted them here on the blog.

Dubrovnik is a town in Croatia located on the shores of the Adriatic sea. It’s one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean sea.

According to historians, Dubrovnik was founded in the 7th century on a rocky island named Laus, which is said to have provided shelter for refugees from the nearby city of Epidaurum. For more detailed history of Dubrovnik, CLICK HERE.

A feature of Dubrovnik is its walls (910.584 visitors in 2014) that run almost 2 km (1.24 mi) around the city. The walls run from four to six metres (13.2 to 19.8 feet) thick on the landward side but are much thinner on the seaward side. The system of turrets and towers were intended to protect the vulnerable city.
The walls of Dubrovnik have also been a popular filming site for the fictional city of King’s Landing in the HBO television series “Game of Thrones”. In 2016, the historic centre of Dubrovnik will also be used as a set for the new movie in the “Star Wars” franchise.

Also worth mentioning is that  the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

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UPDATE: Since I mentioned how bits of the new “Star Wars” movie will be filmed in Dubrovnik, I’ll just leave THIS , THIS and THIS here for you to click on. ;)

Novigrad, Croatia

Recently I’ve been getting more and more Croatian postcards. Quite cool, honestly, as it’s mostly smaller places that I’ve never been to, even though they’re part of my country.
Today, I’m sharing this Novigrad postcard.

Novigrad is historic little town on the southern side of the Novigrad sea and is situated in a narrow bay. The Novigrad sea is abundant in fish and shellfish, which is why Novigrad fishermen are well known. The town has preserved its Mediterranean architecture, and partially also its system of fortification. The vicinity of the Zrmanja River allows for attractive canoe, kayak or rafting excursions.

Cute, isn’t it?

Lopud, Croatia

A friend of mine, Marija, visited the island of Lopud during the summer and she was kind enough to bring me this lovely postcard back.

Lopud is a small island, approximately 4.63 square kilometers (1,79 square miles) in size, located just off the off the coast in the southern Dalmatia. It is the second largest island of the Elaphiti islands, and is mostly known for its beautiful sandy beaches. One of the easiest ways to reach Lopud is by boat, it’s a short boat ride from Dubrovnik.

Karlovac, Croatia

My dear friend Thea sent me this lovely postcard from Karlovac. It’s such a nice town, not too far from Zagreb (and yet, I raraly go there). It’s funny to see snow on two of the photos, especially since it’s summer here and it’s really hot! <3

Belgium & Croatia & Canada

This first postcard is an official Postcrossing card I got on Friday. It’s showing different views of Antwerpen, a city in Belgium. Or, as the sender said: “A city of art, culture, beautiful buildings, world-restaurants, shops and the zoo. One of the largest sea ports in Europe.” And, considering it’s in Belgium, I’d also guess a city with a lot of tasty chocolate. ;)

 

This second postcard is coming from my dear friend Thea, and is showing a city called Karlovac here in Croatia. Quite a charming little city during the day, with four rivers and loads of cafe’s.

Last, but not least – a postcard from my Canadian pal Karen. It’s one of the postcards from Paul Frank’s Love Is The New Black Postcard book. Cute one, too. I’m trying to find out what the rest of those postcards look like, but lately – it feels like Google hates me. ;)

Poland, Slovakia & Croatia

Three postcards straight from my mailbox!

The first one is from my friend Thea, who sent me this nice green postcard from her area, Jastrebarsko, Croatia. Kind of a nice postcard, makes me think of sunny (and warm) days!

The second postcard comes from Slovakia, from a town called Bardejov. It was a swap with Ivana.  This postcard is showing Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve, one of Slovakia’s UNESCO sites. Bardejov is a small but exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a fortified medieval town, which typifies the urbanisation in this region. Among other remarkable features, it also contains a small Jewish quarter around a fine 18th-century synagogue.

The third postcard comes from Poland, and is showing the main town hall in Gdańsk. Thank you Martyna, I really like thi spostcard! :)

I’m off to see if I have anything to post on my other blog now. It’s always somewhere in the back of my mind… but I so rarely do something there. :-/

They exist!!!!

A map card of Croatia! I always thought it’s just a myth, but they actually exist!!! I can rarely even see one, and I can only dream to actually find one in a shop – so when I saw what my friend brought me from her vacation down at the coast I was quite stunned! So it goes straight to my collection. <3

Varaždin, Croatia

Last weekend two of my friends and I decided to go on a short trip to a town called Varaždin, located in the northern Croatia. It has an interesting history… and loads of old buildings to look at. And, cheap ice cream. :) Here’s a link if you’re curious to read more about it -> CLICK ME <-

I bought some postcards there for my friend, but decided to keep these two for my collection. :) The first one is showing the old town from the air. We figured it must be a cool thing to roll down the steep embankment surrounding the castle when it’s covered with snow. [btw. is embankment even a proper word for it?? Google says it is. :-/ ]

The second postcard is showing three different pictures of the city. I love the colors in these pictures. :)

PS – My little fellow Steven had fun there too, HERE are some of his photos to peek at. :)