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Uplifting stories and hidden gems of Croatia with Iva Silla. If you'd like to get a taste of Croatian cultural and natural diversity, there is a chance you might enjoy this podcast. Let's share the fascination with the underrated side of Croatia! Short episodes talk about little-known places and stories of Croatia, about hidden gems that sometimes even the locals don’t know much about... There is a share of Croatian legends and dark history, unique folk customs, historical anecdotes, and cur ...
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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 y…
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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. Support…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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 …
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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. Y…
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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…
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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! Support…
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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. Support the showDi Croatia Underrated
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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 …
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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 ra…
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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. Support the showDi Croatia Underrated
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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 mappin…
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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 …
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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 …
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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. Support the sh…
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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". Support the show…
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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. Support the showDi Croatia Underrated
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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 …
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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 t…
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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 fri…
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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. Y…
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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. F…
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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 p…
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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 o…
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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 i…
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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 absolute…
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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 th…
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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. Support the show…
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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 …
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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…
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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. Support the showDi Willow
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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. Support the showDi Willow
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