The unspoiled Baranja region, whose name means "Mother of Wine" in Hungarian, is located in northeastern Croatia on the borders of Hungary and Serbia. It begins on the other side of the Drava River from Osijek, but seems a world away from city life. It is full of farmhouses and quaint villages with only a few thousand residents at most. Life is lived around the Danube, in vineyards and fertile fields, in Pannonian mud houses, and near the swamps of Kopa?ki Rit. There are fish-stew cook-offs, harvest festivals, labyrinths of flowers, wine, goulash, and everything is sprinkled with paprika (just one aspect of the strong Hungarian influence here).
The best village to spend the evening is colorful, rural Karanac. You can have lunch or dinner at Baranjska Ku?a, stay at Ivica i Marica for the night, and spend a few hours riding a bike around the gently sloping fields and vineyards. The entire region is quite compact, but it is tricky to get around Baranja by public transport. Arrange a day tour from Osijek if you don't have a car.
