Zagreb to Zadar, Croatia, 12/1 to 12/2

The airline found Daddy's luggage in Paris and delivered it this morning at the hotel. Good thing too, because he needed his heavy coat here. Wish I had brought some boots, but they weigh so much in your luggage.
Croatia is a socialist country that has been dominated by so many other countries throughout their existence. They were ruled by the Greeks, the Romans, Hungary, the Ottomans from Turkey, the Huns, the Haspbergs, and Venice. From 1945 to1995 it was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which included 6 republics: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Slovenia. Yugoslavia means Yugo-south and Slavia- Slavic homeland. Croatia gained it's independence in 1991 and covers 57,000 square kilometers and has 4.8 million people who are 90% Roman Catholic. Zagreb has a population of 1 million, is the capital and is on the 48th parallel which is the same latitude as Montana and Canada. The trees around Zagreb are pines and oaks and right now they are covered in snow. We are in the mountains and the highway goes through tunnels that are built as overpasses just for the wildlife; very similar to those we saw in Canada. Split is the second largest city with a population of 250,000. The Sava River is their longest river. The Croatia flag is red and white from the Republic and blue from the Adriatic Sea. The Coat of Arms for Croatia is a crown with 5 old coats of arms from the old countries:: Debrovnik, Zadar, Split, Bosnia and Hvar. HRVATSKA is Croatia spelled in their native language. Their native animal is the brown bear which is also protected.
We are on our way to Zadar on the coast to board the boat. Zadar is a modern yet 3000 year old city. It is a UNESCO site because the 3000 year old buildings were built without the use of cement and are still standing. The area of Croatia that touches the Adriatic Sea is called the Dalmatian Coast. This coast is rocky and has forests and the farmers grow olives and vineyards. They are known for their red wines. they also are the origin of the Dalmatian dog.
Croatian people living here 30,000 years ago were Neanderthal. By 3000BC they were called the Vucedol with an advanced culture. The town of Hvar came with the rise of the Mediterranean culture. In 1000BC the Illyrians from Greece came here. Croatian natives fought the Greeks in 231BC and lost. From there the Romans obtained control and renamed it the Illyrium Province in 11BC. The Dalmatian Roman town called Jadera is now called Zadar. Croatia is related to the Slavic nations and call themselves HRVAT which is actually a Persian word. They were a Slavic tribe that was previously ruled by Persian speaking Arans from Central Asia.