When I launched this project in September 2023, one of my goals was to explore parts of Croatia that were unfamiliar to me, particularly Istria, Dalmatia, and the northern regions. Since I was already familiar with the eastern part, best known as Slavonija, I put that region aside for a while. But as I started visiting more places around Croatia, the map looked a bit empty on its eastern side. I couldn’t ignore that gap, so I planned a day-and-a-half visit to Slavonia to photograph and explore as many locations as possible in that short time.
My idea was to start from Zagreb around 6 am and head to Croatia’s easternmost town—Ilok. I had never been there before, so I was excited about the visit. A few months ago, I read that the city had completed renovations on the walls surrounding the oldest part of the town, so that became my main objective for the visit to Ilok. The next location was Vukovar. My first stop, naturally, was the famous water tower, which has been renovated and turned into a museum. After the water tower, I strolled around the city center. After Vukovar, I continued to Vinkovci. I had been there once, around 2010, without my camera, so this visit felt like my first time seeing the town through a photographer’s lens.
At this point in the day, I was quite tired, but I still followed my plan and headed to Đakovo. This was my first visit there. After a brief walk around Đakovo, I decided to catch the last rays of the setting sun on my way to Osijek, where I would spend the night. I made a stop at the Kolođvar Fortress near Čepin, which had been on my wishlist for a while. That wrapped up day one.
On the second day, I planned two stops on my way back to Zagreb. The first was Old Town Kaptol. The drive was mostly foggy, which dampened my spirits a bit, but it was clear skies when I came to Kaptol. I parked next to the old town, which, unfortunately, is permanetly closed. But I walked around it and took a few photos. My next location was another old town – Cernik. Sadly, this time the skies weren’t as clear, but the fog gave the abandoned castle a more mysterious look.
As always, you can find of of those locations, and many other, on the Showcase page.