Krk is a place that I can only liken to the most beloved town of my life – my hometown, Szentendre. No matter how many times you visit, you will always find a corner that pleases your eye and warms your heart. Take a stroll, admire the scenery and … − have an ice-cream! According to my taste, ice-cream in Krk is as good as it gets on the island. All the places we tried were wonderful. Which one is your favourite? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

So it was ice-cream why we went back to Krk this year. I had been there a number of times before, and I always adored the historical charm of the old-town. I was well aware that it flourished in the middle ages under the Frankopan (a branch of the Italian Frangipani family). Hard to notice, right? Almost all the sights bear their name. This time, though, something else captured my attention.

As you ramble about the streets of the old town, you might notice around a dozen of boards on the walls of some buildings by which you are invited to take in some history. I was reading one of them then. It was about the characteristic narrow streets of Krk. They have a special name in this area, which derives from a Latinate language that was spoken on the island before the spreading of Slavic languages in the coastal regions. As a curious mixture of the two words (the Latinate one and the Slavic one) locals still call these streets…

And here I made the stupidest mistake I could by not recording it in any way. A moment after I left that spot I already felt that something wasn’t right. But I already started walking – and I’m not a quitter… So hereby I swear that the next time I visit the region, I will bring that word to you. Or does anybody actually know?

I’m a linguist. Therefore, I’ve learnt how to write in a responsible way, so I amassed a considerable amount of information about EVERYTHING before I started writing. (Waaay too much for a blog, I know.) And again, I stumbled upon the Dalmatian language and Krk’s Latinate name: Veglia. I became all the more interested in this age old, mysterious language (have I mentioned, I’m a linguist) so I decided to write an article about it. It is something you will never see or visit when you walk in Krk. What this information can bring you, though, is a deeper understanding of the atmosphere, the people and the stories behind the sheer stone you can touch and feel throughout your wanders. If you are interested, you can read the article about Dalmatian in the Culture section.

However, it took me real effort to find another topic to write about in connection with Krk. Honestly, I was really bored by all the articles and guide books which mention the same sights in each and every one of them. Of course, the sights won’t change… I know… And even though Krk is a wonderful place, it’s nothing like Rome or Paris which excite you and wrap you in history by surrounding you with their atmosphere aaand their widely known buildings. So I asked myself: what would have made me appreciate the town more for what it is? What could have made my own experience better? And I found an answer which is really trendy – maybe too trendy – but true: stories. At the end, this is the solution that Game of Thrones found for the problems of the realm when choosing their king…

As a result of this, I dug deep. I put together some routes to follow in the town, and I found interesting stories about lifestyle and culture to show you another perspective. They are coming up in a series of articles, so click the links below.

The first tour is an elementary text which leads you around Krk looking for sights from the antiquity:
Beginner Roman Route in the town of Krk

The second tour will be an intermediate text coming up next week. Don't forget to come back and read it! 

VOCABULARY
liken to - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liken%20to
derive from - https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/derive
stumble upon - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stumble-across-on-upon-sth-sb

PS: I didn't write a task after this article, because I wasn't sure about which words might be interesting for my Dear Advanced REaders (a.k.a. DARE). Please, comment and let me know!