Exploring Croatia

Around the time of our move to Europe, I did a search on the Internet for “Must See” destinations to visit. We were compiling our bucket list of places to go and things to see. Locales in Croatia showed up no fewer than 3 times in the top twenty places to go while in Europe. I have to admit that I really had no idea where Croatia was, nor could I name one city in the country, but we put it on our list as a place that we were unlikely to visit if living in the U.S., but a relatively easy destination from Germany, and that’s why we recently spent 10 days traveling there.

Croatia is a small country of 4.5 million people. It was a 12-hour drive from Cologne to Zagreb, the capital, and we transited Austria and Slovenia while enroute. We had the good fortune to arrange for Caitlyn and Corey to join us for the first week, via Zagreb, and Patrick and Raha to meet up in the city of Split, during week 2. We had 3 days of overlap with all 6 of us staying at another one of Caitlyn’s Starwood property resorts, this one the Le Meridien Lav, Split.

Hundreds of waterfalls - all shapes and sizes

Cait and Corey flew into and adjusted to European time in Zagreb, while Janice and I met up there, and almost immediately headed out to the largest park in Croatia, Plitvice Lakes National Park. Plitvice is a series of lakes in Central Croatia, along the Bosnia and Herzegovina border. Mountain runoff has formed 16 lakes, descending in altitude from 2000 ft. to 1600 ft., and as a result has formed the most incredible display of waterfalls. The unspoiled natural beauty of this UNESCO Heritage sight is something we’ll never forget. Hundreds of waterfalls dot the landscape and the watercolors vary from green to blue to grey depending on the sun and minerals. We spent 2 days and over 7 hours hiking an extensive network of trails and bridges to just get a taste of Plitvice. This was a real test for Janice’s recently healed leg, but she rose to the challenge and never once held us back.

Lodging in Plitvice was less than stellar, and our accommodations brought lots of nervous laughter, and possibly a tear or two. We rented an entire floor of a bed and breakfast that was ranked very high on Trip Advisor. 2 Bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and DR, with a porch overlooking the waterfalls. What they failed to mention was that guests living on the upper floors would casually stroll thru our apartment enroute to their rooms. At one point, as I was on the balcony admiring the view, the B&B owner just showed up, standing beside me. No knock, nothing, he just felt like talking. Later that night, before lights out, I told Janice “ this place gives me the creeps.” If Caitlyn heard me say that, she’d be sleeping in the car. Spartan would be a step up...

Great displays of ice cream!

Gate to the city of Zadar

Next stop was the town of Zadar on the Dalmatian coast. A small and pretty seaside village, with over a thousand years of history and architecture present, what I’ll probably remember most is the presence of the “sea organ”, a series of underwater pipes that react to the tide and movement of the waves, resulting in a relatively soothing yet random melody.

Seaside town on the way to Split

Hvar, Croatia                

A 3-hour drive along the Adriatic was our first real exposure to the beauty of the Dalmatian Coast. Winding roads and dramatic landscape brought us to the city of Split, where we arrived just as Patrick and Raha had flown in from Philadelphia. 3 days basing in Split brought us on a fantastic sail to the island town of Hvar. If visiting Croatia, this town is a must see. Sea kayaking and relaxation rounded out the remaining time here. We parted ways with Cait and Corey as they flew back to Boston, Patrick and Raha rented a car and set out for Dubrovnik, while Janice and I headed north, for a weekend in Venice before the drive to Cologne.

View of Hvar from the sailboat

Hvar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sailing on the Adriatic Sea

Patrick and Raha

Kayaking at Split, Croatia