The Croatian Kuna (HRK) has been the currency of Croatia from 1994, taking over from the Croatian Dinar which was used as a transitional currency from when Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. One U.S. dollar is worth about six and a half Croatian Kuna, though that value can go up and down a bit. One Lipa is 1/100 of a Kuna (just like the penny is to the dollar). Kuna means Marten in Croatian. A marten is a small furry animal that looks similar to a raccoon and was prized for its fur. Because of that, it became a unit of trade in the Middle Ages. Lipa means linden tree, a type of tree common to this area of Europe. Because Croatia has been ruled by so many different empires and been part of so many other countries in its history, it has used many different currencies. In just the last 200 years, some of the other currencies used in what is today Croatia include the Dinar, Krone, Gulden, Thaler, Forint and Ducat. To compare, the U.S. managed to stick with the dollar during the same timeframe.
Usually a bottle of water costs around 5 Kuna which is about 80 U.S. cents, although this can change based on where you are and what time of year it is. Summer means tourist season, and that means prices go up.
Christmas turkey and mlinci (a type of flatbread that is dipped in the fat of whatever it's being cooked with to give it more flavor).
