1936 On the Continent

travel alone. The Jugoslav is by nature helpful, especially if he realises that he is dealing with a foreigner. The peasant has a traditional respect for women. In trains there are special compartments for ladies who wish to travel alone. In fact, unless a lady herself desires to seek adventure, Jugoslavia is neither safer nor more dangerous than any other country in the West. Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana have their English and American clubs which the tourist may join even for a few days for a nominal fee of a few shillings, and where ladies, in addition to newspapers,periodicals, and facilities for rest and light refreshments, may find congenial company over a cup of tea, and any help they may require. The larger towns and chief resorts all have beauty parlours, should they—which heaven forbid—be required to supply what nature has denied. The smaller towns, on the other hand, have chemists’ and hairdressers’ shops that have been trained by conscientious Jugoslav ladies to cater for all the needs of a modern woman.
What G. B. S. Said
    And if, in spite of all this, you still hesitate about coming to Jugoslavia, then listen to the authoritative voice of the greatest scoffer in England, the man whom it would be impossible to bamboozle however hard you tried, to wit, George Bernard Shaw:
    “Englishmen, Irishmen, Americans, and holiday-makers of all civilised nations, come in your millions to Jugoslavia. You will be treated like kings! The government will provide you with a perfect climate and the finest scenery of every kind for nothing. The people are everything you imagine yourselves to be and are not. They are hospitable, good-humoured and very good-looking. Every town is a picture and every girl a movie star. Come quickly before they find us out. It is too good to last.”
    * * *
    In conclusion a few words of practical advice. When obtaining a visa, ask for a tourist visa, which is supplied at a special rate. When crossing the frontier, say “tourist,” and the customs officer will treat you with special consideration. You may bring into the country twenty cigarettes or 100 grams of tobacco, but you need not, as you will find good cigarettes and imported English pipe tobacco in Jugoslavia. If charged any duty, keep the receipt, and the money will be refunded to you on leaving the country. Foreign money should be declared. If it exceeds the amount a traveller may take out of the country you will be given a special voucher authorising you to take it out again within a month from the date of entry.
    All registration formalities are arranged by the hotels where you have only to show your passport. Visitors who spend seven days on the coast or at any of the resorts areentitled to a free return journey. All they need do is to keep the single ticket bought on entering the country. The days are reckoned from the date of entry on the passport, and the days spent in travelling in the country are included. Reductions are also allowed on the return journey by the steamship companies.
    The Jugoslav currency is the dinar, which is equivalent to one penny or two cents. All taxis have clocks for ordinary distances. For longer excursions there are special tariffs which you may obtain at the local “Putnik” office. “Putnik” also makes arrangements for cars to be shared for day excursions. Porters should be tipped about two-thirds of what they would receive in England. In most hotels 10 or 12 per cent. is added for service to bills for rooms or meals. Otherwise a tip of about 10 per cent. is the normal one for waiters, chauffeurs, porters or any person whose services one engages.
    The Jugoslav spelling of place-names has been used throughout this book to help identification. Pronounceandas “tch,”
dj
or
dž
as “g” in George,
š
as “sh,”
ž
as “s” in usual,
nj
as “gn” in cognac,
lj
like “l” in failure,
c
like “ts,” and
j
like “y” in yonder.
Dalmatia and the Sea-coast
    Dalmatia is the part of Jugoslavia most favoured by foreign tourists. And no wonder. For its fjordlike coast, lined in the north with terraced vineyards, broom and stone pine, and in the south with olive, palm and lemon groves, and guarded throughout by stately cypresses which stand out against the grey rocks, combines at once the rugged austerity of Norway with the sub-tropical luxuriance of the Mediterranean. Some of the islands, like Korula, Hvar and Lokrum have “Gardens of Eden” that waft in the spring a sweet