Our first blog post! And I'm so excited about it.
I simply have so many topics for you that I will probably be supplied with articles for the whole next year.

But I have to be honest: I'm not a professional writer, but I really enjoy talking and telling interesting stories about things that I enjoy. I hope that I can write down the topics for you as unchaotic as possible and that I get straight to the point.
What is most important to me is honesty and authenticity.

But let's start from the beginning. Most people probably know me from Instagram. I am (mostly at least) behind the profile nextstop.croatia . And those who came across this blog via other means:

My name is Danica Kovacevic, I am 31 years old and I am currently sitting at my desk in Croatia with my husband Marko and our 2 (+5) dogs and writing this article for you. Originally I wanted to tell you our emigration story first. I have to put you off until the next article. Because somehow it seemed more important to start a little round of introductions. And since you don't say your name first, I'll start with Marko.

Marko was born in Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg / Germany and has practically spent his life with Ritter Sport chocolate.
His parents, both Croatians, once moved to Germany for work and have always been employed there.
Maybe that's one of the reasons why he's not so keen on chocolate. ;-)

He left home when he was 18 and then worked from job to job. He ended up in Hamburg before we got together. After that he moved back to his old home and to me because the search for an apartment was unsuccessful even after a year.
But you will learn more about our story in the next article. :-)

Marko is a trained industrial mechanic and has worked as one continuously since his apprenticeship.
Learning was never his thing, he can't concentrate for long and has always had difficulties with it.
In return, he worked even better and always found a solution to technical problems.
Ultimately, being an industrial mechanic was not his passion.

He started flying drones with me and somehow it became his great love. Especially on our trips. Now he mainly takes pictures and videos with the drone, as well as filming and editing.

And, I almost forgot: He loves tattoos. :-)

I will try to describe Marko with a few words that first come to mind:

It's always difficult to introduce yourself. I always have the feeling that nothing is interesting. :-)

I was born and raised in Bietigheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. I actually spent my childhood there.
My parents, like Marko's, are Croatian natives and came to Germany for economic reasons.

In fact, not much else happened.
I completed my intermediate school leaving certificate, then I went to a vocational college for foreign languages ​​(I speak German, Croatian, English and a little French) and then I received my general higher education entrance qualification at a business high school.

After all these qualifications, I didn't get a training place or a university place where I wanted to go, so I started working. It wasn't until later, when Marko and I were already married, that I started my training as an office management clerk. And I only got this place because I'm Croatian and can speak Croatian.
All other applications have not been processed to date.

Actually, I still don't understand it because I completed my training with additional qualifications and a 'very good' grade and then I completed further training as a business administrator through self-study.
But well, I don't want to go into any more detail about the system itself.

But like Marko, I wasn't really satisfied.
I enjoy the work itself, I like to organize myself and I've always been really keen on advising customers.
But I just loved spending time with Marko. And not spending 9 hours of his daily life together wasn't so nice for us anymore.

I started taking photos as a hobby, I think in 2017 (?) and yes, that's where I am now. :-)

I asked Marko what words he would use to describe me:

"Creative, fun to be with, loves to travel and just loves dogs to no end."

What else important can I say to both of us?

Dogs have somehow come into our lives and are now everything to us. So far we have shared everything with them, gone to the seaside, experienced road trips and camping with them and spent our days at home with them.

Apart from that, we both love to travel, which is something we are really missing at the moment. We have a lot planned for the future in Croatia and abroad.

And we love property renovations, remodeling and interior design. It's definitely a secret love of the two of us.

In terms of character, I would describe us both as very sensitive and empathetic people. These are probably our greatest strengths and weaknesses at the same time.

Is there anything else you're interested in about us? Then write to us in the comments so that we can answer your questions. Feel free to leave us your feedback too.


Preview:
Next week's topic is our history.
In love, engaged, married - within 6 months.