Explore every episode of the podcast Croatia Underrated

In this season’s last episode and the very last episode in this first year of Croatia Underrated, I'm bringing you an end-of-the-year special.  An overview, the best of this podcast in 2021.

This podcast covers a variety of topics. I’m hoping this episode will help you understand better what to expect, in case you haven’t listened to it yet. Maybe you bumped into just some of the episodes that weren’t really your thing. For those of you who enjoy listening to it regularly, I'm hoping to bring back some fun moments.  

Enjoy the selection with small sound bits:

• Top 5 most popular episodes ( 01:13 )
• Top 5 most popular in their first week after going live ( 06:28 )
• My personal top 5 (10:04 )
• Plans for next year (19:12 )

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A special tradition of crafting licitar heart has been preserved for centuries. One of the oldest Croatian souvenirs still exists thanks to the rare craftspeople who continue it with love. 
This is also this year's last Xmas special since the little red hearts make a perfect Christmas tree ornament, and a typical one in Northwestern Croatia. 

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Here we are with another Quick Croatian Class. 

In these past few months, it so turned out that I prepared a bunch of seasonal episodes. There were several episodes inspired by the Halloween season, and then, throughout December, you’ve been listening to the episodes inspired by the Christmas season in Croatia. It’s about time, then, I tell you more about the names of various holidays in Croatia. Maybe you can use some of this word wisdom for your holiday greetings this year. 

I’m going to cover various holidays, but let’s start with the ones that are currently on our minds. Let’s start with Christmas! 

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I'm back with some more Croatian Christmas customs. Let’s meet Saint Lucy!  

Just like St Nicholas from the previous episode, Lucy is a gift-bringer. It’s another one of those days of joy for Croatian children. Joy with a twist, I’d say. Luckily enough, usually, it’s not the same parts of Croatia that give gifts for St Nicholas and St Lucy’s. Because I’m sure the kids wouldn’t survive both. 

Learn about the feast day of St Lucy's colorful customs and traditions. Learn how to foretell the future Croatian way and much more. 

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There are many symbols of the Christmas season, and the joy of children is definitely one of them. That joy is often connected with receiving gifts.  Here in Croatia, the first important gift-bringer is usually St Nicholas. He visits the homes somewhere in the night before his feast day, and that’s December the 6th. He leaves gifts for good children and ceremonially opens up the joyful Christmas season.

We could call St Nicholas Day an overture to Christmas. Small gifts, children’s anticipation, seasonal magic, even a saint, so the religious side of Christmas doesn’t slide through. On St Nicholas Eve, children will clean their boots and put them in their windows. In the morning, they will find a present inside!

Oh, wait! There is something else in those boots! Golden twigs? What's with that? The answer will unlock the secret of that concerned look in the children's eyes. St Nicholas never travels alone...

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It’s 25th November, people! St Catherine’s. We have this saying in Croatia: Sveta Kata snijeg na vrata! Find out what it means as a small introduction to wintertime in Croatia. 

The first thing winter brings is Christmas festivities. The end of the year is one of the most magical periods in Croatian folklore. All over Croatia, you will find curious customs, strange beliefs, fortunetelling routines, throughout December. Actually, you won’t always find them, they are sometimes forgotten, lost, or seemingly outdated. Fear not, Croatia Underrated is here to help unveil them! 

 This is the first one of Xmas Special episodes. It takes us to Zagreb, or more precisely Love Zagreb. I'm sharing the stories from two articles that I wrote for Love Zagreb blog.  Find the written version of these stories on lovezagreb.hr under Untold Stories.

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This is our very last of Halloween Specials. In this short episode, I’m bringing you a bunch of recommendations. 

Have you already made a list of movies to watch this Halloween? Fear not (or be afraid, be very afraid), Croatia Underrated is here to help. Even if you’ve never been to Croatia, you might be more familiar with it than you’re aware of. You might have seen it - on the TV screen.

Learn about the movies filmed in Croatia, and links between the country and some famous horror movies. There is also my top 5 choice of horror movies filmed in Croatia! 

While we're at things to do on Halloween, I recommend a great new podcast about (dark) Slavic lore. 

Last but not least, who says Croatia doesn't have any ghost tours? 

Happy Halloween! Sretna Noć vještica!

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In another Halloween Special episode, i’s time to travel through Croatia in an attempt to find the most interesting cemeteries. I chose the ones that I had visited. The ones that surprised me and left a deep impression on me. 

In this episode, find out about All Saints' Day in Croatia. Learn about the most significant cemeteries that are part of the European Cemeteries Route, and about some smaller curious ones. 

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As announced in the previous episode, we are continuing with the Halloween Specials. 
Do you know how we call Halloween in Croatian? Noć vještica. The Night of the Witches. 
I guess that it’s only fair to dedicate the entire episode... to the witches! We have an abundance of both mythical and historical witches in Croatia.  Hear their stories!

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This warm-up episode of the Halloween season brings you the spooks and chills of childhood in Croatia. Squid Game, step aside! Meet Croatian scary children's games. 

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Mount Medvednica, popularly known as Sljeme, is a perfect weekend getaway for Zagreb locals. It has a special kind of magic in autumn. Enjoy this short story taken over from Love Zagreb blog. 

Love Zagreb is a blog managed by Zagreb Tourism Board and it gathers stories by real locals - I am one of the writers. You can find my articles in the Untold Stories section. 

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It’s finally time for another Quick Croatian Class. A lot of you told me that  you had a great time listening to the first Quick Croatian Class that was published as Ep08 of S01. In fact, it’s been the second most popular episode so far, believe it or not. That’s why I decided to prepare as much as two of those for this season.

With this one, I’m raising the bar for you. Now that you successfully mastered how to say Croatia in Croatian, I’m dedicating this entire episode to Croatian tongue-twisters. As if the entire Croatian isn’t tongue-twisting:) This could be considered another lesson in reading Croatian. Once you master the tongue-twisters, you will read Croatian perfectly.

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A story about Ivan Čop,  known as the blind watercarrier of Bakar.  There is no better medium to tell this story. This way, you will simply have to imagine how he and the world around him looked like. That’s as close as you can get to his experience of his own town.  

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There is a project called Living Castles, building a network of 7 castles in Croatia and our neighbor country Slovenia. The project is mostly funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The project partners invested in the enhancement of their heritage presentation. It's mostly through digital technology, such as virtual reality and 3D mapping. Without a doubt, it all adds to a more spectacular experience for a visitor. What I love most is the fact that together, they’re building a network. They're creating a route that could trigger us to visit the seven castles. 

This episode is a result of a press trip. 

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This episode takes us to Croatian coast, exploring the wonders of my favorite town on the Croatian coast - Rogoznica. Some call it the heart of Dalmatia. 

Listen to the story about the Dragon Lake, the medieval church of St Nicholas, and a mystical 13th-century graveyard that surrounds it, about the magical sunsets, the call of the waves, and about Punta Planka - one of the deadliest points of Adriatic. 

Join me in picturing a fantasy map of Rogoznica.  

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Perunfest is one of the most artistic and creative festivals in the country. It gathers so many artists, craftsmen, and performers who, through their shows, revive the myths of old. The name of the festival derives from the word Perun. That’s the ancient Slavic thunder god. Stories related to Perun bear some similarities to the Norse Thor or Greek Zeus. 

This year’s main topic was mythical creatures of the region called moguts. Zdenko Bašić, a famous Croatian artist, and the Museum of Turopolje region have joined forces in several projects, including publishing a lavish book about mogut creatures. Together, they have been organizing this festival, too, for several years now.

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1 Star Croatia episodes contain funny reviews of Croatian attractions. This episode is all about churches. 

It's not easy to please everyone. Even Croatian UNESCO sights easily receive 1-star reviews, let alone other churches. Check out what the travellers are complaining about when it comes to churches and chapels around the country. 

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This episode shares two stories from Love Zagreb. 

Love Zagreb is a blog managed by Zagreb Tourism Board and it gathers stories by real locals - including me. You can find my articles in their Untold Stories section and the particular stories from this episode are filed under "Z is for Zagreb" and "No Fish in Zagreb's Fishpond".

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This episode is an intro to Season 2 of Croatia Underrated. 
Find out what's new and what to expect from this season. 

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Zagreb lies on the banks of the river Sava. I bet that some of you who don’t live in Croatia, even if you visited Zagreb once, are asking yourselves as you’re reading this: “Wait, there’s a river in Zagreb?” 

If that thought occurred to you, don’t be too hard on yourself for not noticing. It sometimes even slips our minds to define Zagreb as a city by a river. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at blogs and info about Zagreb online. Or simply search for Zagreb images. Our river is rarely found in the first plan. 

Listen to the story bout the unique relationship of Zagreb and its river Sava.  This story was originally written for Love Zagreb blog / Untold Stories. 

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The spring arrives in Croatia today and it's brought to you by the Croatian version of the Green Man. We call him Green Jura or Zeleni Jura. 

This episode brings you the peculiar folk traditions related to St George's Day. Magical rituals left behind from ancient times, bonfires,  purifying rituals, and even a dragon, all come together on what used to be one of the most important holidays of old.

As promised in the episode, here are a few links where you can listen to traditional (or traditional with a modern take) songs of the day: 
https://youtu.be/1wQyQmPp6jM
https://youtu.be/2iv58YtfvRg
https://youtu.be/fc_2-S0h8Ow
https://youtu.be/VBzqs-ESj-Y

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This episode shares a story about a peculiar man-made sight in the woods of mount Medvednica and its curious builder Vladimir Horvat: 500 Horvat's Steps.

The story is based on an old article that I wrote for the Secret Zagreb blog. Click here to read the article.

You can find the Croatian version at Croatian blog Krajolici baštine, edited by my friend Silvija Jacić.  Click here to enjoy the text in Croatian.  

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Judging by the stats and your comments, you’ve been enjoying very much the previous 1 Star Croatia series - the episodes dedicated to poor reviews of Croatian sights. Some travelers are not easily fooled and their helpful reviews might save you the trouble!

This episode of the 1 Star Croatia series features poor funny reviews of Croatian castles. You can read what do particular travelers think about: 

• Old town of Samobor
• Dubovac castle near Samobor
• beautiful Trakošćan castle
• Kaštel Gomilica
• UNESCO's St Nicholas Fortress in Šibenik

If you're enjoying this podcast, please hit subscribe on your favorite podcast player and leave a review. 

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I've been writing for a blog called Love Zagreb since the beginning of this year. It's a blog run by the Zagreb Tourism Board and it gathers stories by Zagreb locals. I joined the Love Zagreb team in January and have been writing for the section Untold Stories. 

Some of my Love Zagreb stories are going to be included in Croatia Underrated podcast. For starters, enjoy this episode with stories about my favorite mystical creatures: the Black Queen, the green sleeping dragon, and the witch of Grič. Find the full article here: Mysterious World of Zagreb Legends.

Are you enjoying my podcast? Please, leave a review.

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It's Easter - and this calls for the first episode dedicated to Croatian folk customs. This episode brings you an overview of vivid Croatian Easter customs, such as:

• Croatian traditional Easter eggs pisanice
• Typical local children games, such as egg hunt Croatian way and the competition in breaking each other's eggs
• Magic of Easter - unique night processions and bonfires
• At the very end of this episode - a fun Zagreb tradition that caused this whole episode to be marked as explicit

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This is the first episode of the Quick Croatian Class series. In the future, when you find the episodes with this name, get ready to learn some Croatian!

More specifically, I will talk about how the Croatian language can be both familiar and unknown. The familiar part opens the door to friendship. But only when you unlock the unknown, you will be on the path to true appreciation.

This first episode dedicated to learning Croatia starts with a mysterious word that confuses the unsuspecting tourists. They notice it all over the country, but they often have problems deciphering what it means. The word we're discovering in this episode is - Hrvatska.

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Croatia owes its beauty to the powerful forces of nature. But every now and then, those forces come to collect their debt. We all hoped we wouldn’t meet those forces in our lifetimes, but boy were we wrong. 

In this episode, published on the first anniversary of the recent Zagreb earthquake, we remember two big earthquakes that happened in Croatia in 2020. 

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I received some feedback that you enjoyed the 1-Star-Review episode about Zagreb, so I decided to record another one, dedicated to some karst phenomena in Croatia. I will refer to some poor reviews in hope you will never do the same mistake as the travellers who wrote them, and actually visit the places. Btw, I visited all of these and was absolutely amazed, but hey, Tripadvisor is what counts, so let’s check what it says.

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In the first Croatia Underrated episode dedicated to curious historical personalities,  I’m going to talk about “the B-side of history”, and that’s herstory: about Croatian women. After all, I started this podcast in March - female history month - so it’s only fair to talk about women. Beware, tough, because I will keep mentioning them throughout the year, just as well. 

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In the Shout Out series of Croatia Underrated, I'm sharing my recommendations of experiences in Croatia. Just the other day, I finally tried the online experience called Dark Tales of Medieval Dubrovnik and I'm sharing my impressions in this short episode.

If you prefer to read about it, find the text here. 

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Some episodes of Croatia Underrated are dedicated to - underratings... that is, poor reviews of Croatian attractions or precious places. In this episode, Iva shares several bad reviews of the top attractions of her home town of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. 

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This is the second part of a two-episodes story about the Valpovo castle and its beautiful park. This episode shares the tales about the mysterious ghost lady and the strange dragon society that left a mark inside of the castle's tower.

Enjoy the first part here or read the full story on Croatia Underrated blog: Valpovo Castle - Pineapples, Dragons and Ghost Ladies.   

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This is the first part of a two-episodes story about the Valpovo castle and its beautiful park. Valpovo is a lovely town in Croatian region of Slavonia, off the path of the most typical tourist. In this episode, Iva is taking you on an audio-tour of the castle and its past, starting from the park that surrounds it. We will then enter the Museum of Valpovo Region within the baroque castle and hear about the interesting noblemen and women who lived there.

You can also read the full story on Croatia Underrated blog: Valpovo Castle - Pineapples, Dragons and Ghost Ladies.  

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Pozdrav i dobrodošli! Hello and welcome to Croatia Underrated - find out what to expect in the new podcast Croatia Underrated in its short intro episode.

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