Plitvice Lakes National Park–with a side of Zagreb
Our first stop, Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, was definitely worth the visit. It was an easy drive with Interstate roads all the way, where we were blessed with light traffic and, interestingly, no pick up trucks. I wonder how people cope when shopping at Home Depot? Even the 18-wheelers are smaller than the ones we see in the United States. I can only imagine what drivers from Slovenia must think if they rent a car in the urban United States.
Our GPS took us to a parking lot just across from the market district. We realized there that it is customary to sit in front of the closed gate at the parking lot and wait for someone to leave. That plan worked for us!
We found Saint Mark’s Square immediately and photographed the famed statue. It was a bustling square with lots of people watching and we wish we could have stayed longer. We passed through the crafty section of the market and then found the beautiful flowers, produce, and fish. George is always in search of the stinky fish markets .LOL. Our only purchase was a bag of walnuts straight from the vendor. We marveled at the low prices in the market.
We traveled the local expressway most of the way to our next stop, Plitvice National Park. We checked into our AirBnB, Area Natura, ate at a nearby restaurant and called it a night. Unfortunately, the following day was a rain out so we were forced to delay our exploration of the park. We looked for a laundry facility but without success. We did take the rainy day as an opportunity to utilize the sauna in our hotel! Local dishes of veal and fish from the Plum Restaurant were delicious. The clouds cleared and the next day was picture perfect. We spent most of the day wandering through the National Park, viewing beautiful waterfalls – too many to count, marveling over the crystal clear Lakes, and even taking a boat ride through the peaceful waters. The park trails were immaculately maintained and there were great boardwalks for long distances on the lakeshore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many waterfalls in such a concentrated area. I was happy to have my trekking poles and my bum knee was especially grateful. The hardest part of the trip was walking up the steep incline to our car! Of course, another good meal marked the end of the day. Next stop–Split!
