POV: An American’s FIRST Time in Croatia

POV: An American’s FIRST Time in Croatia

Živjo. This week I’m coming at you from the 
Croatian Coast. This is my first time visiting the Croatian Sea and it is stunning. I know 
Slovenia also has an amazing coastline. I’ve been to Piran. If you haven’t seen that video, 
check it out after this one. But this week I’m on the beautiful coast of Croatia and I’m right 
here in Novigrad, Croatia. It is so stunning and I think you’re really going to enjoy the video. 
So stick around until the end and tell me where I should go next and what you liked about the video 
or didn’t like. Cheers. [Music] Hey, just want to pop in real quick. Please hit the like button 
below, subscribe, turn on notification bell, and tune in every Sunday for a new video. Thanks. 
See you. Our journey begins in Motovun, Croatia. A stop that we made on the way to the seaside and 
it was absolutely stunning. After leaving Motovun, we arrived in the beautiful city of Novigrad, 
Croatia. The city was full of character. There was people all around. The first couple days in 
Novigrad, we really just soaked in the sun and stayed low-key. On Saturday, we traveled to 
Poreč, Croatia, further south from Novigrad. This city was a bit bigger. It was full of people 
and there were beautiful churches. There was also a very old part of the city that we visited. And 
the most stunning thing of all was the Euphrasian Basilica. This is the oldest preserved cathedral 
in the entire world. Its origins date back to the 4th century and its current remains 
are from renovations in the 6th century. [Music] One of the best parts of the church 
was that we were there basically all alone. We got to take in these mosaics and the 
views from the beautiful bell tower by ourselves. At the end of the day, we took 
in the beautiful sunset and just admired Poreč. This city was truly special 
and we had an amazing time there. [Music] The next day, we explored a 
little more of Novigrad. As you can see, there’s a soccer stadium. There’s also an area 
with these blowup water slides and more of a resort style area with a beach full of these 
tiki bars. It was a little windy this day, but everyone was still out enjoying 
a bit of the sun. It’s always Yeah. Since it was a little windy and the sea was 
a bit rough, we decided to travel to Umag, Croatia. This was just about 15 or 20 minutes 
north of Novigrad. There we saw this old boat that had just been pulled from the water. It 
had been wrecked. It seemed like there was a lot of cracks along the hull of the ship. After 
that, we went into the old town of the city. We also observed the breathtaking views from the 
coastline. [Music] And we saw probably the two most iconic things in the whole city, the bell 
tower and the church. In the side of the church, there’s a stunning artifact, a cannonball 
from 1810 that’s from the Napoleonic Wars. The church itself was beautiful. We stepped 
inside for a minute, but when we got there, the mass was actually starting. So, we wandered 
through these winding streets. And we took in a bit more of these side streets of the city. 
And then we went back to the harbor where they have this beautiful promenade. It’s 
full of people. There’s all these pop-up shops and stands. It was really nice 
to walk along that part of the city. Then we made our way back to Novigrad where we 
took in a beautiful sunset before this incredible show called Circus kicked off. It was meant 
for kids, but we even had a good time as well. [Music] [Music] [Music] Every night in Novigrad was really special. 
There was people everywhere. The city is so cute and colorful. And of course, we 
enjoyed an ice cream every single night. [Music] [Music] Živjo, my friends, I am in Noviad, Croatia this 
week. It has been absolutely amazing. As you’re watching this video right now, I hope you just 
realized how beautiful this place is. It is really stunning and I’ve absolutely loved it. If 
you’re looking for an amazing family beach spot in Croatia, Novigrad might be your spot. Every 
night in the square, they have something going on. Last night, they had an amazing performance 
with some dancers and it was just really nice to see all the families there and the kids were so 
happy. But yeah, there’s amazing ice cream here, the food’s great, and the vibe is just awesome. 
The beach is also perfect. The Adriatic Sea behind me is beautiful and it’s actually been 
perfect weather. There’s been a little bit of rain this week, but it’s kept the water it’s kept 
the water very cold and so it’s been really nice. But yeah, the Croatian Sea is so nice and I’m 
sure we’re going to have another amazing sunset. Every day here, the sunset has been absolutely 
breathtaking. I’ve got to visit Umag and Poreč. If you haven’t seen those yet, those will be later 
on in this video. But yeah, I just want to jump in and say cheers from Novigrad. And I hope you stay 
to the end of this video because it’s going to be really beautiful and hopefully it can inspire you 
to take a trip to the beautiful Croatian seaside. Cheers! The next day there was an absolutely 
stunning sunset that we had to capture. Seen that before. [Music] The whole time we were 
there, the sunsets were absolutely perfect. This is actually a really interesting part of the 
video. On an American beach, it’s all sand. So, basically, everyone has to bring umbrellas 
or tents to the beach in order to be shaded from the sun. But here in Novagarad, there 
was a ton of cypress trees, and everyone would stay on the grass under these trees, and 
that’s where they would settle down and relax. In Novigrad, there’s this train that 
goes all around the city center. I didn’t have a chance to get on it this time, 
but as you can see, it is full of people. These trains are really cool and it’s a good way 
to see the city if you’re visiting. Also, there was an amazing market happening in the 
evening. There was all kinds of local people selling everything from swords to coins 
to necklaces and bracelets. Fun fact, I actually used to collect coins. So, my favorite 
part of this entire market was the coin spot. It’s really so amazing to walk down these 
lively streets full of people at night because everyone’s just so happy soaking in 
the atmosphere and enjoying an ice cream. Hallelujah. [Music] [Music] [Music] It’s hard to describe how beautiful these 
sunsets are. Every night we were there, the sunset truly took our breath away. [Music] [Music] [Music] On our last day in Croatia, 
the weather wasn’t amazing. So, we decided to drive an hour south to Pula, 
Croatia. Pula is a very ancient city. It’s known for its Roman vibe and all 
of the Roman artifacts that still remain [Music] with the most prominent being the 
Roman arena that is left behind. This is one of the most well-preserved 
Roman arenas in the whole world. And to say I was stunned is an absolute 
understatement. This thing was amazing. We spent the first hour and a half of 
our time there just soaking in this history and trying to picture what 
it was truly like 2,000 years ago. This is amazing. [Music] This is 
unbelievable. This is my first time in a coliseum and it’s not in Rome. 
This is in Pula, Croatia. [Music] Look at this place. It’s amazing. [Music] [Music] After walking around the arena and going 
underneath to the museum, it was time to head into the city. I had no idea Pula was home to so many 
Roman artifacts. To be honest, I only knew about the Roman arena. The next Roman thing we saw was 
the twin arches. These arches dating back to the Roman times 2,000 years ago were so cool to see. 
We continued to explore the city and we made it to the Augustus Arch, the most prominent arch within 
the entire city. It was in the most touristy area leading to the busiest street within the city. And 
there’s a reason why. This arch was so awesome. I couldn’t get enough of it. And as you can see, 
it was so detailed and ornate. On top of that, it was absolutely huge, expanding meters and 
meters into the sky. It’s hard to believe how they built this so long ago so that it can 
withstand all of this time. Walking down the streets of Pula was really cool. It was full of 
people, enjoying the city, taking in the views, and just being a part of this amazing day. 
Walking through the Augustus Arch and down this busy street, we made our way to the Augustus 
Temple. And this temple was huge. It was a temple dedicated to Augustus himself. After that, we 
stopped at La Familia for an incredible lunch. I had a delicious fish called orata with potatoes 
and it was truly truly exceptional. [Music] Want to give a shout out to Kristina for buying 
me a coffee via my link. I want to give a shout out to Kristina for buying me a coffee via my 
link below. Buy me a coffee. Cheers, Kristina! After lunch, we stopped by Pula 
Cathedral and the Cathedral Bell Tower. It was really cool and amazing to 
see. We didn’t have a chance to pop inside, but just from the outside, I can imagine how 
amazing the inside of the church would be. Look at it. Wow. I like the beach that we are at, 
but in terms of the city vibe, this is really cool. We spent our last hour 
in Pula walking down these amazing streets, visiting the amazing shops, and just taking in 
a lot of that old historic vibe that the city has. It’s so interesting to me because right in 
the center of Pula are Roman remains of a home or some former building, but there is nobody 
here. I’m the only one walking right here by the Roman remains. Maybe that’s because it’s new 
to me and everyone else has fatigue, but to me, this is like the coolest thing in the world. So, 
anyways, this is an old Roman house or building or factory or something. It’s right here in 
the center of Pula, as you can see behind me, center of the city. And there’s apartments back 
here. But this is Roman ruins. Very cool. Cheers. [Music] When we made it back to Novigrad, one of the churches that had been closed was 
open for a visit. So, we had to step inside. [Music] This church was stunning. And there were the mass had just ended and there was an amazing 
choir singing beautiful beautiful songs. [Music] It’s prstiči. These things right here are to 
die for. They’re basically like these bread sticks. They’re full of this salt water. Some 
kind of salt something they put on top of them and it looks like this. This is the salt. It is 
so delicious. prstiči in Croatian is finger. So they’re like fingers kind of really big fingers. 
Anyways, it’s like the best possible snack you can have and they’re really cheap. I think I think one 
of these is like.70 cents in euros which in USD is like 90 cents maybe. So it’s under a dollar. 
It’s a really good deal. If you’re at the beach or a bakery in Slovenia or Croatia or anywhere 
that has these, you should get them. Cheers. prstiči. After grabbing some prstiči from the 
bakery, we made our way to our apartment. [Music] Luckily, our last night in Novigrad ended with a 
beautiful sunset. This night also was a night full of musicians which we were able to capture and it 
was an incredible ending to our time in Croatia. [Music]

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I spent an unforgettable week soaking up the magic of Croatia’s stunning seaside, exploring some of Istria’s most beautiful coastal towns. In Pula, I wandered through ancient Roman ruins, stood in awe inside the grand Arena, and watched the sun dip below the horizon, painting the sky over the Adriatic. Umag welcomed me with its laid-back vibe, charming streets, and crystal-clear waters that were perfect for swimming and relaxing under the warm summer sun. Novigrad felt like a hidden gem — its colorful old town was full of character, and I enjoyed some of the freshest seafood I’ve ever tasted right by the harbor as fishing boats drifted by. Poreč was the perfect place to wrap up my trip — I got lost in its narrow stone streets, discovered cozy cafés tucked between old buildings, and marveled at the stunning mosaics inside the UNESCO-listed Euphrasian Basilica. Each town had its own personality and reminded me why the Istrian coast is such a drea

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