Beach Vacationing in Croatia!

    As soon as I got back from London I was told that everyone I knew was planning a trip to Croatia. So of course I decided I needed to be a part of it. We compiled a nice small group of eleven people and went out our way. We went armed with train tickets to Zagreb, backpacks and no plans past that. As we got to Zagreb we decided we should get our act together and think about what to do for the next four days. So we looked at the bus schedule and hopped a ride to Zadar. Zadar is a mix of history and the coast so it has the great vibe of tourism and relaxation. When we got to Zadar we were smitten, although we still had no where to sleep that night. After haggling with a Croatian woman about staying at here house we decided to hope for the best and go into the city to find a hostel. Luckily the whole city of Zadar has wifi! So we quickly found an excellent location in the middle of the city and headed off to the sunset. According to the crazy woman at the bus station Zadar has the third most beautiful sunset in the world, so we were anxious to test this out. It was definitely the truth. There is also something called the Sea organ on the water which was were excited to check out. According to  my trusty source wikipedia  "there are 35 musically tuned tubes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. The movement of the sea pushes air through, and – depending on the size and velocity of the wave – musical chords are played. The waves create random harmonic sounds." This may not sound cool but standing by a beautiful sunset on the coast and listening to this is really a unique experience. 

     The next morning Mindy and I set out to find coffee while everyone was getting ready and we stumbled upon a huge open market. Everywhere you looked there was amazing fruits and veggies so of course I had to stop and buy the most perfect tomato in the world. Awesome purchase on my part. Did I mention that Croatia is super cheap? For the two of us to have some delicious pastries and coffee it was approximately 4 euro. So as a tourist Zadar is definitely a bang for your buck city. So since we are all so spoiled we decided that we have had enough history and wanted to hit the beach. So we packed lunches and trekked to the coast. The rock coast, because there is no natural sand on their beaches. It was in the low 70s but still sunny enough to have an enjoyable time on the beach. Especially when we all decided to get into the freezing cold Adriatic sea. The water was amazingly clear and beautiful and I likened the temperature of the water to the ocean in Maine around July. So it was actually pretty nice for me coming from the Northeast. Of course all of my warm climate friends didn't feel the same way but regardless we enjoyed it. 
   After a quick nap we decided to go out to a great dinner of seafood! I ordered so delicious seafood pasta and if I have to say so it was better than my grandmas. Which is really saying a lot. It was a great meal, in a beautiful place with great people. The next morning I set off to Zagreb, wandered around there for the day and then made me way back to Graz. It was honestly the trip of a lifetime. How often do you get the chance to take 11 of your friends to Croatia to go to the beach and just kick back. Its probably something I will never do again, and thats what this experience is all about.