Kuna to Euro

On the 1st of January, 2023 (in less than three months as of this writing), Croatia will become the 20th member of the Eurozone, a collection of countries in Europe using the euro currency. A fixed conversion rate was set at 1 € = 7.53450 kuna. Since our previous Croatian visit in April, businesses have begun advertising their prices in both kuna and euros. I had over one hundred dollars worth of kuna cash that I’m now getting rid of, since the next time I’m in Croatia they’ll be using the euro instead.

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On Thursday I finally visited the free small museum with a long name: The Memorial Centre of the Rocket Attacks on Zagreb 1991/1995, provided by the city itself. It’s a mostly visual presentation of the aftermath of Yugoslav bombings in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb. The city was spared the worst of the fighting, but in 1991 there was a failed attempt to assassinate the Croatian president, and in 1995 there were multiple bombings of civilian areas around the city, as the Serbians were retaliating for losses they had suffered from the Croatians (the war for Croatian independence ended later in 1995).

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There’s a Russian bistro in downtown Zagreb that Colleen and I have visited and enjoyed a couple of times in the past year. The service was friendly and the food was tasty. Unfortunately their name is literally “Rusko Bistro,” which as you might imagine doesn’t go over all that well nowadays. They’ve kept the name, and I’m happy to see that they’re still in business, but I notice that their Google Maps reviews average has decreased lately. I see that two months ago there were multiple 1-star reviews, and these are not reflective of reviews from before two months ago. So I wonder if there was a bit of an effort to make the restaurant owners and staff suffer some by submitting intentionally poor reviews (irrespective of whether the reviewers had ever actually tried the food). Who knows, but it does seem like a possibility.

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Today’s limerick:

Next year Croatia will switch their money
With euros you'll buy figs, wine, and honey
The kuna will be no more
The euro shows it the door
But the coast will remain just as sunny. 

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Today’s travel quote:

Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.

Paul Theroux

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Below is a rehash from a post from the Mezera Rok blog from last year.

Here are some funny Google Maps translations I ran across – this time for thrift stores in Zagreb.

• “Great for rolling over looking for a good piece of clothing.”
• “Too much hoarse.”
• “Second hand shop at the top of the supreme store with elite merchandise”
• “Service staff. There is a lack of clothes that captivate with their uniqueness.”
• “Served and supplied.”
• “Good branded goods and sizes Hope!”
• “How to dress for a $120 knot?”
• “Good choice, too expensive, except for the action.”
• “It hurt something new.”
• “their actions are too good”
• “They look nice to me, do not overdo them, cloth!”