Slovenia and Croatia

I took my first steps into Eastern Europe in the last days by visiting Slovenia and Croatia. I have to say that there is a very big difference between the two countries in terms of wealth and friendliness. Slovenia in many ways can no longer be called an Eastern European country. The people are quite wealthy, similar to the wealth of western countries, they are already using the Euro, their capital is modern, clean, and functional, and they have adopted many other western customs. The people are also very friendly and helpful and Ljubljana, the capital, at least is in many senses a western city. The only complaint I have with the capital is that there is not a whole lot to do for tourists in the winter, you have to go to the mountains for that and I did not have the time or money. Ljubljana is more like a big small town and I imagine that it would be a very nice place to live. Croatia is much different. The two cities I managed to visit, Zagreb and Split, are both very beautiful but not the cleanest. The cars are old and smoky, and the areas outside the immediate centers are quite run down. In saying that the city of Split is beautiful and full of beaches, must be a great place to visit in the summer, it was quite dead in the winter. My major complaint with Croatia is that you are allowed to smoke in public and there are often no non/smoking sections. In least on trains there are non/smoking cars. The people of Zagreb tended not to be too friendly to non Croatian speakers, but in Split everyone was really helpful. I am now in Budapest, Hungary and will send a report in a few days.