Although it’s only been just over a week since our trip to Croatia, it feels like months ago after a busy first working week back in Berlin. In a city that seems to be in a decidedly autumnal mood, with lots of rain and chilly evenings, summer days at the coast seem a lifetime away. So this morning was a good time to look over our souvenirs from the trip. I decided to put them all together for another post in the travel memories and trinket series.
It’s always fun seeing what items other countries have for sale. In Croatia, many of the towns have the distinct scent of lavender, with all the lavender sachets sold. The climate on the coast allows many aromatic herb plants such as lavender and rosemary to flourish, we saw a lot of it growing wild, and on the mountain we also saw sage. Olive trees and fig trees were also common, and delicious figs, both fresh and dried, were easy to come by in the markets. Candied orange peel was another sweet treat available. There were also many people selling honey, both along the roadside and in towns, from many different flowers including lavender. A liqueur containing honey, called medica, was also available and we saw lots of bottles of it for sale in Primošten.
A big surprise was coming across the multitude of souvenir stalls selling their wares in the basement level of the palace of Diocletian. Amongst other things, jewellery and other objects carved of local stone were for sale. We found a stall selling products made from onyx and bought two little cups as well as some beautiful dice.
Our final souvenir we bought on our very last day in Croatia, in which we spent the morning on one of the pebble peaches swimming in the clear, green waters of the Adriatic coast. It was a huge beach towel on which a map of Croatia was printed. The reason we liked it is that during our road trip we’d been to many of the places on the map. Every time we use the towel we will remember our wonderful trip to Croatia, the beaches, mountains, ancient Roman ruins, fish dinners and lively towns.
Have you been to Croatia? Which were your favourite local products, and did you take anything back home?
