Captivating Croatia: Land of a thousand islands

When Alfred Hitchcock traveled to Croatia for the first time in 1964, he fell in love with the breathtaking, colorful sunsets that can be seen from the coastal town of Zadar. At that time, the country was still part of Yugoslavia; since gaining independence in 1991, it has been on a real high. When the makers of the series "Game of Thrones" went to the rugged Adriatic coast to shoot many of the show's iconic scenes, Croatia experienced a real hype on social networks. Many of the 20 million or so posts that can be viewed at #croatia on Instagram show shimmering, crystal-clear waters, pebble beaches lined with dark rocks and picturesque coastal towns with ancient walls and buildings, some of which date back to Roman times, such as the metropolis of Dubrovnik, Split or Zadar.