Poslije dugog putovanja uzeli smo predah pokraj rijeke.

Poslije means after. In this sentence, it introduces the time phrase after a long journey.

Yes, you could also say nakon dugog putovanja. Both poslije and nakon are common and both take the genitive case.

So these are both correct:

• Poslije dugog putovanja...
• Nakon dugog putovanja...

They are very close in meaning.

Because poslije requires the genitive case.

The basic form is:

• dugo putovanje = a long journey

But after poslije, both words have to change into the genitive:

• dugog = genitive singular of dugo
• putovanja = genitive singular of putovanje

So:

• poslije dugog putovanja = after a long journey

This is a very common pattern in Croatian: a preposition forces a certain case, and the adjective changes along with the noun.

Putovanje is a noun meaning journey, travel, traveling.

It comes from the verb putovati = to travel.

This kind of noun is very common in Croatian:

• putovati → putovanje
• studirati → studiranje
• raditi → rađenje / rad depending on meaning and style

In this sentence, putovanje refers to the whole trip or journey as an event.

Because smo is a clitic in Croatian, and clitics normally cannot stand at the very beginning of a clause.

Croatian past tense here is built like this:

• uzeli = past participle
• smo = we are / we have auxiliary, used to form the past

So uzeli smo means we took.

At the start of a clause, smo uzeli is not the normal order. Croatian prefers:

• Uzeli smo predah.

If something comes before the verb, the clitic usually goes into the second position:

• Poslije dugog putovanja uzeli smo predah.

Yes. It is very close to English take a break.

Literally:

• uzeli smo = we took
• predah = a breather, pause, short rest

So uzeli smo predah is a natural Croatian expression meaning:

• we took a break
• we paused to rest
• we had a short rest

It is idiomatic and completely normal.

Both relate to resting, but they are not exactly the same.

• predah = a short pause, a breather, a quick rest
• odmor = rest in a broader sense, and can also mean holiday / vacation

So in this sentence, predah suggests they stopped briefly during or after the journey.

Compare:

• Uzeli smo predah. = We took a short break.
• Trebamo odmor. = We need rest.
• Idem na odmor. = I’m going on vacation.

Because pokraj takes the genitive case.

The dictionary form is:

• rijeka = river

After pokraj, it becomes:

• rijeke = genitive singular

So:

• pokraj rijeke = beside the river / by the river

This is the same kind of case change you saw in poslije dugog putovanja.

Pokraj usually means beside, by, or next to. It suggests physical closeness.

So pokraj rijeke means:

• by the river
• beside the river
• next to the river

It is similar to kraj rijeke, which is also common.

It is not exactly the same as a vaguer near. Pokraj usually feels more like direct proximity.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not random.

This sentence is natural because it starts with a time expression:

• Poslije dugog putovanja = setting the scene first
• uzeli smo predah = main action
• pokraj rijeke = location

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Uzeli smo predah pokraj rijeke poslije dugog putovanja.
• Pokraj rijeke uzeli smo predah poslije dugog putovanja.

But the original sounds very natural and neutral.

Yes, aspect matters in Croatian.

Uzeti is a perfective verb, so it presents the action as a completed whole:

• uzeli smo predah = we took a break / we stopped and had a break

That fits this sentence well, because it describes one completed action after the journey.

The imperfective partner is usually uzimati:

• uzimali smo predah = we were taking breaks / used to take breaks

That would suggest repeated or ongoing action, which is not the meaning here.

Yes, absolutely.

• Uzeli smo predah pokraj rijeke.
• Odmorili smo se pokraj rijeke.

Both are natural, but they are slightly different in focus:

• uzeli smo predah focuses on taking a break
• odmorili smo se focuses on resting

So the original sentence emphasizes the pause itself, while odmorili smo se emphasizes the act of resting.