Croatia
On Wednesday afternoon, we crossed the border from Hungary into Croatia. The cruise ship had to dock while a couple of ship officials went ashore to alert the border officials that we were arriving. The border officials came on board the ship, and we all had to go to the reception desk, where they verified our pictures on our passports. This is the first time we've had to do this. Apparently, things are different in Eastern Europe.
As we cruised along, we enjoyed the Croatian countryside.
On Thursday morning, we visited the Croatian towns of Vukovar and Osijek. Our tour guide, Marko, shared some general information about Croatia with us as we traveled to our destination on the bus.
The "official" population of Croatia is 4.3 million. They think it is less now, because in the last few years, there has been widespread emigration from Croatia. After Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, the laws allowed for freer movement within the EU countries, so many people left Croatia at that time.There is a joke here that the largest Croatian city is Zagreb (the capital), and the second largest Croatian city is Pittsburgh. Many Croatians moved to Pittsburgh to work in the steel industry.
Marko told us that he thinks things are better in the country since they joined the EU. But there is also more bureaucracy. A joke here is that the U.S. Declaration of Independence has 10 pages, the Holy Bible has 300 pages, and there are 3000 pages in the EU rules about exporting cabbage.
Like most of these countries, Croatia has "free" health care, but the story seems to be the same everywhere we go. To compensate for the "free" health care, the tax rates are extremely high, and the quality of health care is extremely low. They say that the health care system is great - when you're healthy! But when you get sick, it is very difficult to see a doctor. There are private clinics available for the wealthy.
College tuition in Croatia is based on grades. Free college is offered to those with the best grades. About 90% of the colleges here are state schools; there are very few private colleges.
There are lots of buildings here that were used as barracks during the war. Now these buildings are used as schools, apartments, and government offices.
Marko says that the number one favorite sport in Croatia is soccer. Then he said that the number two sport is soccer, and the number three sport is soccer.
Someone asked Marko what a typical Croatian meal would be. He answered that likely it would be shepherd's stew, which consists of 3 different kinds of fish, lamb, pork, beef, and of course, paprika.
As we cruised along, we enjoyed the Croatian countryside.
The "official" population of Croatia is 4.3 million. They think it is less now, because in the last few years, there has been widespread emigration from Croatia. After Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, the laws allowed for freer movement within the EU countries, so many people left Croatia at that time.There is a joke here that the largest Croatian city is Zagreb (the capital), and the second largest Croatian city is Pittsburgh. Many Croatians moved to Pittsburgh to work in the steel industry.
Marko told us that he thinks things are better in the country since they joined the EU. But there is also more bureaucracy. A joke here is that the U.S. Declaration of Independence has 10 pages, the Holy Bible has 300 pages, and there are 3000 pages in the EU rules about exporting cabbage.
Like most of these countries, Croatia has "free" health care, but the story seems to be the same everywhere we go. To compensate for the "free" health care, the tax rates are extremely high, and the quality of health care is extremely low. They say that the health care system is great - when you're healthy! But when you get sick, it is very difficult to see a doctor. There are private clinics available for the wealthy.
College tuition in Croatia is based on grades. Free college is offered to those with the best grades. About 90% of the colleges here are state schools; there are very few private colleges.
There are lots of buildings here that were used as barracks during the war. Now these buildings are used as schools, apartments, and government offices.
Marko says that the number one favorite sport in Croatia is soccer. Then he said that the number two sport is soccer, and the number three sport is soccer.
Someone asked Marko what a typical Croatian meal would be. He answered that likely it would be shepherd's stew, which consists of 3 different kinds of fish, lamb, pork, beef, and of course, paprika.
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