Croatia extends from the foothills of the Julian Alps in the north-west and the Pannonian Plain in the east, over the Dinara mountain range in its central region, to the Adriatic coast in the south. Croatia has an amazing 5,835 kilometers of coastline, 4,057 kilometers of which belongs to islands, cliffs and reefs. There are 1,185 islands in the Adriatic, but only about 50 are populated. The largest island is Krk. Croatia is unique, not only for its crystal clear blue sea, but also for a thousand years of different cultures that have replaced each other. The Adriatic Sea is not only a deep gulf in the Mediterranean cut into the Continent of Europe thereby creating most economical trade route between Europe and the East, but it is also the cradle of ancient civilizations. For visitors of Croatia, who want to travel around this country, is recommended to go with a car; that way they will see a lot of different towns and seaside tourist point. Car rental agency is located at larger airports in the country, where travelers can pick up their car. Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as the cuisine of regions. Its modern roots date back to Proto-Slavic and ancient periods and the differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those on the mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Proto-Slavic and the more recent contacts with the more famous gastronomic orders of today - Hungarian, Viennese and Turkish - while the coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine - Italian and French. Croatia is proud of its broad palette of high quality wines and brandies, fruit juices, beers and mineral water. In the south, people drink bevanda with their food; richly flavoured red wine mixed with plain water, and in north-western regions, gemisht; dry, flavoured wines mixed with mineral water.