After going from St Petersburg to Helsinki - neat, clean, expensive - I flew down to Split, Croatia's second city on the Dalmatian coast. It has a quaint old town, a well-preserved Roman palace and a nice harbour, all frequented by Western and Croat holidaymakers. Having picked up our hire car and Rob, we drove inland to Krka National Park, a beautiful protected area of lakes, waterfalls and wildlife. You can jump off a bridge into the largest natural pool so we did, along with a local whose bellyflop caused winces all round. Croatia does seem to have it all - great weather, good food and an amazing coastline - though it's very reliant on tourism. The locals are friendly, proud and pragmatic. Nearly everyone I asked said they don't want to join the EU, but
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