hours a day in a salt mine or building nuclear weapons guarded by secret service agents packing kaleshnakovs or the 1970's equivalent whilst taking notes on the performance of each of You know that the mainstream tourist industry isn't pushing a particular country when you can't find the language in the multi-lingual European phrase book. "And what language do you speak in Croatia?", I ask the friendly information helper in Zagreb. "Croatian" she replies.

That simple eh?

You can also tell, when all the trains in Italy going to Italian destinations are full, yet getting a ride on the Budapest Special is as easy as falling off a log, or in this case, a web log.

For a large part of my life, I has this impression that people in the old Eastern Bloc countries of which Croatia as part, were dour people who dressed in grey and went round with sour looking faces. I suppose that came with working 15 hours a day in a salt mine or building nuclear weapons guarded by secret service agents packing kaleshnakovs or the 1970's equivalent whilst taking notes on the performance of each of t

peak in Croatia?", I ask the friendly information helper in Zagreb. "Croatian" she replies.

That simple eh?

You can also tell, when all the trains in Italy going to Italian destinations are full, yet getting a ride on the Budapest Special is as easy as falling off a log, or in this case, a web log.

For a large part of my life, I has this impression that people in the old Eastern Bloc countries of which Croatia as part, were dour people who dressed in grey and went round with sour looking faces. I suppose that came with working 15 hours a day in a salt mine or building nuclear weapons guarded by secret service agents packing kaleshnakovs or the 1970's equivalent whilst taking notes on the performance of each of

destinations are full, yet getting a ride on the Budapest Special is as easy as falling off a log, or in this case, a web log.

For a large part of my life, I has this impression that people in the old Eastern Bloc countries of which Croatia as part, were dour people who dressed in grey and went round with sour looking faces. I suppose that came with working 15 hours a day in a salt mine or building nuclear weapons guarded by secret service agents packing kaleshnakovs or the 1970's equivalent whilst taking notes on the performance of each of

that people in the old Eastern Bloc countries of which Croatia as part, were dour people who dressed in grey and went round with sour looking faces. I suppose that came with working 15 hours a day in a salt mine or building nuclear weapons guarded by secret service agents packing kaleshnakovs or the 1970's equivalent whilst taking notes on the performance of each of hours a day in a salt mine or building nuclear weapons guarded by secret service agents packing kaleshnakovs or the 1970's equivalent whilst taking notes on the performance of each of the workers.

While that might well have been the case then, (it must have been, our government told us so), it is certainly not the case now. Fashion retailing seems to be the main industry, and by what is to be seen on the Zagreb city streets, it is a great success story. Fashion and shoe shops line the streets with neither nuclear contaminated overalls nor salt encrusted work boots in sight.

The young people are right into fashion with many dressed to the nines whilst sipping a drink in the many cafes and pubs that line the city streets. This is especially true in "Upper Town" where there are dozens of such establishments with patrons enjoying the alfresco atmosphere adjacent to historic buildings.

Whilst the