In this episode I speak with Cody McClain Brown, author of Chasing a Croatian Girl and now professor at the University of Zagreb. The book tells the true story of how he fell in love with a Croatian girl and eventually leaves his life in the U.S. behind to move to Croatia. He talks about the culture shock that he experienced like propuh, coffee, and rakija! Cody gives a relatable opinion on life in Croatia from an outsider’s perspective, both the good and the bad, as we discuss his books, blog, and his new career in Croatia.

Website/Blog https://www.codymcclainbrown.com/zablogreb

In this episode we hear from the COO of Submarine Burger, Luka Jureško. Submarine is a Croatian burger joint known for using natural, organic, local, and homemade ingredients. They were recently listed in the Financial Times as one of the 1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe, and included in Big7Travel .com’s list of 50 best burgers in the world. They have 13 locations across Croatia and just opened their first Submarine abroad with more plans to expand. We talk about their mission to support local Croatian farms, their dedication to corporate social responsibility, and the expansion of Submarine into Eastern Europe.

Website: https://submarineburger.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/submarineburger/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/submarineburger/?hl=en

In this episode our special guest is Croatian comedian Marina Orsag. Marina started her comedy career in 2004 and since then has put on thousands of shows, and among many other projects, opened up the first standup comedy club in Croatia, Studio Smijeha. She was also just featured in Croatia’s reality singing show Zvijezde Pjevaju and took 3rd place! In this episode we’re going hear about all of this and some other projects she’s working on while we learn about the start of the Croatian comedy scene.

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marinaorsag/?hl=en

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Comedian/Marina-Orsag-149021095108191/

Studio Smijeha http://studiosmijeha.hr/

In this episode our special guest is Sanja Bubalo from the Tourist Board of Ston. She tells us everything we need to know about the “hidden” gems of Ston and Mali Ston, and what those cities have to offer. We talk about the world famous oysters that are only able to be found there, as well as the famous walls of Ston; the longest in Europe! We hear about the traditional salt fields, special events, and what we can expect this summer season to look like!

Website https://www.ston.hr/?l=eng

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/visitston/?hl=en

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/StonTouristBoard/

https://www.allthingscroatia.com/stoncroatia/

Our special guest in this week’s episode is the band Gavrani; a father and daughters trio from Melbourne, who recently moved to Croatia and signed with Croatia Records. Growing up in Australia, they often performed at Croatian events and now have moved to Zagreb where they continue to write original music and perform. They already have a few hit songs such as ‘Nema te’ and ‘Svirači, hvala vam’. In this episode I speak with Tamara, Jasmina & Mijat Gavran about their roles in the band, their move to Zagreb, and working with Croatia Records. The band also talks summer plans and about their performance for the Croatian music channel CMC.

Website https://gavranimusic.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gavranimusic/?hl=en

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gavranimusic

Newest Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipK8gSpyI90

In this episode our special guest is Ante Kvartuč. Ante is from San Pedro, California and is the founder of CroatianSports.com which is a website dedicated to ‘Uniting Croatian Fans Around the World.’ CroatianSports.com was originally founded as a way to bring Croatian soccer news to readers in English, but now has expanded to include all Croatian sports. Ante talks about how he got that started and how it evolved into countless interviews with Croatian sports stars including his favorite interview with Luka Modrić! Stay tuned for his upcoming world cup prediction and how we can expect the team to look.

Website https://croatiansports.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/croatiansports_com/?hl=en

Twitter https://twitter.com/croatiansoccer?lang=en

Natalie Franćeska is an Australian-Croat who recently published a children’s book called My Grandma is Like the Sea, which pays tribute to her Croatian grandmothers and her summers spent along the Dalmatian coast. In this episode Natalie talks about her cultural and familial inspirations for the book as well as her popular feature in CroatiaWeek, ‘20 Teachings and Words of Wisdom from my Grandmothers’. We also learn about her blog, Nala’s Den, where she shares resources and inspiration to help families along the parenting journey. Stay tuned to hear what Croatian basketball legend Dino Rađa thinks of her book!

Link to Natalie Franćeska’s blog Nala’s Den;

https://www.nalasden.com/

Link to purchase My Grandma is Like the Sea book internationally;

https://nalasden.com/shop-international/

Link to purchase My Grandma is Like the Sea book in Australia;

https://nalasden.com/shop-australia/

Follow Natalie on Instagram @nataliefranceska

https://www.instagram.com/nataliefranceska/?hl=en

In this week's episode our special guest is Zrinka Šapro. Zrinka is originally from Konavle and now works as a tour guide in the city of Dubrovnik. She gives multiple tours including the City Walls and Game of Thrones and offers them in 4 languages! In this episode we talk about the history of Dubrovnik and how the city and region operates today. Zrinka will also be giving an exclusive tour to National Geographic this summer as part of a project to capture the best of Croatian life. She talks about how that will work and where she will take them to give an in-depth look the language, culture, and history of Croatia. Stick around for recommendations of the best beaches and best restaurants to eat while in Dubrovnik!

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/zri.neverland/

Today our special guests are Mate Pavković, and John Gašparac, President and Vice President of the organization CroDiaspora. CroDiaspora is a nonprofit organization that is run by Croats passionate about improving Croatia through economic solutions and assisting those abroad with their challenges in doing business and returning to Croatia. More specifically, they run webinars, organize events, and develop resources to help Croats around the world to do more business and ultimately return to Croatia. In this episode we hear how that started and how CroDiaspora can help. We also talk about Croatia's change to the Euro and the effects that will have on the economy, as well as ways to go about promoting better policies from the Croatian government.

Website: https://crodiaspora.com/

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/crodiaspora_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crodiasporasummit/

Our featured guest this week is Andrea Pisac. Andrea is a Croatian writer and anthropologist who moved to London and then came back to Croatia for a greater sense of purpose. She is the author of several famous Croatian cookbooks, as well as novels and other works, and also is the creator of the blog Croatia Honestly, where she writes about food, history, and culture. In this episode we talk about why she left her old life behind, her passion for blogging and writing, and definitely learn about some of her famous Croatian recipes and why she decided to write two cookbooks!

Check out her Cookbooks here! https://croatiahonestly.com/products/croatian-classics-cookbook?ref=cw

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/CroatiaHonestly

IG profile: https://www.instagram.com/andreapisac/