Croatia! Hrvatska! New Country Souvenirs! Ura!
Croatia, a.k.a. Republika Hrvatska, is a centuries-old country that is situated between central and eastern Europe and the Adriatic Sea. It covers 56,594 square kilometers (21,851 square miles) with a population of over 4.3 million. Croatia has it all – mountains, beaches, bustling cities, big outdoor adventures, culture, art, and of course, geocaches. Lots and lots of geocaches.
Country Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art that are displayed on your Geocaching profile page when you find a geocache in certain locations.
Today we proudly unveil the Geocaching Souvenir for The Land of a Thousand Islands: Croatia! To celebrate, we are also highlighting five must-see geocaches from this marvelous land. Ura!
1. GC34ZA7 – Tkalca – Zagreb – Traditonal Geocache
We begin our tour in the capitol city of Zagreb on Tkalčićeva Street. Full of restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, and plenty of nightlife, this is a great place to meet up with friends, take a stroll, or grab a traditional geocache. And while you’re there, make sure to visit the statue of Marija Juric Zagorka, a Croatian journalist, novelist, and dramatist.
2. GC1FNKR – plitvice lakes – Earth Cache
Next we head south to the very famous series of 16 cascading lakes known as Plitvice Lakes. This breathtaking natural wonder ranges in color from tropical blue to slate grey depending on the amount of minerals and/or organisms, and the angle of the sunlight. At 282 Favorite Points, this geocache is the most geo-beloved in the entire country.
If you need more, check out this link to a virtual panorama and an interactive map from the Plitvice Lakes National Parks website.
Third stop on our tour is in Cape Kamenjak. So says the geocache page:
…one of the most beautiful areas in the vicinity of Pula, near the small and pittoresque village of Premantura. It’s the southernmost part of the peninsula of Istria, a strip of land fully exposed to the sun and the sea.
The coastline and beaches of Cape Kamenjak are rocky, some small gravel beaches are situated in beautiful coves – and you wouldn’t believe it, but there also exists a tiny and small sandy beach in this area, one of the very few sandy beaches all over Istria! In summer it is crowded, of course, but in spring or autumn it’s a nice place to take a bath in the clear and blue waters of Cape Kamenjak. This little traditional will lead you to this cove…have fun!
So grab a picnic basket, some sunscreen, and your cache-bag, and start searchin’!
4. GC322MF – Zadar Sea Organ – Zadar – Traditional Geocache
The amazing sculpture/instrument known as the Sea Organ (Croatian: Morske orgulje) is made up of tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps underwater. The movement of the waves crashing over the tubes creates music. At sunset, the Sun Salutation switches on and displays a series of bright colorful lights. The motion of the lights depends on the solar energy collected throughout the day as well as the power of the waves and mimics the motion of the solar system. All eight planets are represented by solar lights placed at their proportional distances from the sun. Both installations were designed by the architect Nikola Bašić. Far out!
5. GCG8XE – Port a Foot – Dubrovnic – Virtual Geocache
Our final destination is Dubrovnik (also spelled Dubrovnic), known as the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’. Dubrovnik is believed to be one of the ten best preserved medieval walled cities in the world. It’s full of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces, and fountains. Absolutely gorgeous!
Yep. It’s definitely time to book your flight to Croatia to see the amazing sites and earn this sweet souvenir!
We will unveil two new souvenirs each week until all SIX are officially released and awarded on Monday, December 22, 2014 to be proudly displayed on your profile. Souvenirs that are currently available can be found here. You can view which ones you’ve already earned by checking out your Souvenirs on Geocaching.com.
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