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| Dolac Market |
The entire market is covered by red umbrellas...a symbol of Zagreb. The fresh fruit and vegetables were irresistible, so we stocked up for the next couple nights. The people here are so friendly. Many times they even tried to help us with our Croatian by telling us the names of all the money...a lost cause really. One thing is for sure, you will never be shorted on any of your purchases...in fact in most cases they added stuff to our order.
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| picking out fresh produce |
We also made a short stop in the fish market...if I could smell I know I probably wouldn't have stayed as long, but there were so many different kinds of fish I couldn't resist. It was incredibly packed and very slippery....thank god I didn't fall!
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| lots of seafood |
Croatia is well known for it's seafood and there is lots of squid, octopus and cuttle fish...all foods we still have to try.
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| slimy!!! |
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| octopus anyone??? |
While at the market we came across a group practicing the Changing of the Guard. We stopped for a few minutes in a small alley to grab some shots.
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| practice makes perfect |
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| Attention! |
After the market we stopped for some coffee...Croatians love their coffee...it's all about the social experience, so coffee on the go is definitely not the norm. Before arriving back at the apartment we came across the Grounded Sun. This is a sculpture, created by Ivan Kozaric, that inspired artist Davor Preis to create an add-on installation called Nine Views. The nine models of planets are placed all over Zagreb, which along with the Kozaric are often referred to as Zagreb's Solar System. Each planet is designed to scale and the distances from the sun are also to scale. I'm sure if we had more time, we would have headed out on a scavenger hunt to find them all.
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| the Grounded Sun |
At the apartment we grabbed our things and headed out to meet our taxi that Dora arranged for us to take to the car rental place.
"Did you know we have a car?" ...
This became our saying for the rest of the day as we headed south to Plitvice National Park. Lisa did a great job navigating us out of the city onto the highway and after I figured out how to find first gear and remembered that reverse was not in the same location as my car at home, we were well on our way.
Just when we thought we were in the clear, we arrived at the highway toll. To most this would be an everyday occurrence, but for two Canadians who could not read Croatian, it was a whole other story. We ended up in a lane we thought had a person inside the booth, only to see a MasterCard symbol...which neither of us have...and a car right behind us. After sitting for a few minutes unsure what to do, the guy behind us got out of his car, pushed a button for us to produce a ticket and in Croatian we believe he told us we needed to pay at the end of the highway...
Did you know we had a car??
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| look out…here we come! |
We followed the signs to Plitvice, drove the standard 130km/hr as cars flew past us, changed highways and even successfully paid our toll....I must say we were very excited to see the word "cash" and see someone's hand hanging outside the toll booth. We had no idea if we were on the right road...it turned out we were on track the entire time...either way we enjoyed the beautiful lush green scenery, with rolling hills and swerving roads.
About 10 minutes from our destination and an hour and a half after leaving Zagreb, we stopped at a cute little caffe/bar...these are all over the Croatia. Lisa especially loved all the smoking going on inside...not!!!! The waitress helped us figure out where we needed to go, while we enjoyed a delicious cup of kava...I think I'm starting to like coffee.
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| coffee time |
It was about 4:00pm and before we checked-in to our accommodations we decided to check out the Barac Caves.
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| heading on an adventure |
We walked along the wooded trail…I loved hearing the birds chirping in the distance. When we made it to the top of the trail, we discovered we missed the last tour of the day, so unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go in...that was fine with me as I don't really like closed spaces anyway.
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| Up, up and away |
From the caves we headed back in search of our accommodations, Apartments Sanja and found our lovely host Sanja waiting along the road for us. Once again another lovely and extremely helpful Croatian...I love it here! She showed us our mini duplex and gave us a map of the area with some suggestions for places to eat and a supermarket.
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| our cute little abode |
Our accommodations for the next two days is off the beaten track in a rural community. It is so peaceful and lush...the lilac trees are even in bloom.
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| the view along the road to our apartment |
Did I tell you we had a car?
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| vroom, vroom |
After dropping off our stuff we decided to see where the park was and get our bearings. We finally found the park and where were told parts were closed today due to flooding ...I guess we will see what tomorrow brings. Apparently it has been raining all week in the area...only minimal rain forecast for tomorrow; our full day at the park.
On our way back from the park we saw a sign for a "wine shop". We turned around and decided to take a peek. What we discovered was not exactly what we expected. When we drove in it looked like the shop was locked up. The son came out to greet us and told us it was open. We walked over to where they were doing some work on a new bar and were greeted by the father...what a colourful character to say the least. He gave us shots of red wine from a large plastic bottle he apparently made himself. After hearing about the wine making process...in broken English...we then decided to buy a bottle of his concoction. To our surprise it came out in a two litre plastic bottle like one you might find from a bootlegger at home...all for a whopping 50 kuna (10 $ Canadian). It was hilarious. When we asked if we could take his picture, the father brought out a hand made guitar that had an intricate carving on the back made by his father...he was quite the character and a great example of Croatian spirit. "We love Canada."
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| our colourful Croatian friend |
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| showing off his prized pocession |
With our 2L of wine in the back of the car, we headed off to the grocery store and then home to cook up some supper. Today we made stir fry with the fresh vegetables from the market...fried in red wine of course...and enjoyed some wine and cheese as we prepared our meal in our quaint little apartment.
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| Master Chef Lisa |
So far Rakovica has been a pleasant surprise and we are looking forward to a day of hiking tomorrow at Plitvice National Park. Cheers to that!!!
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| homemade Croatian wine |
Time for a little R&R, some Croatian homemade wine and a little TV.
Until tomorrow ...
Lisa & Lisa
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