Waterfalls, Rainfall and...Stilettos

magnificent!!!

Today was an incredible day at Plitvice National Park, one of Croatia's many UNESCO World Heritage sites. The park consists of the Upper and Lower lakes made up of 16 interlinking lakes and a series of waterfalls encased in a lush forest. Describing this magnificent place in words can not do it justice and to be honest, it really should be viewed in person to fully capture its true beauty...but I'll try my best. 

park logo

We headed on our 12km drive to the park around 9am and began our journey from Entrance #2.  From here we took a 15 minute electric train to the Upper Lakes...

ready to go...

although for the longest time we thought we were actually in the Lower Lakes...yes we have a great sense of direction I know!

our first view of one of the many falls

The path along the lakes is constructed of logs made into a boardwalk, with some sections simply made of well groomed dirt paths. Along the way we would stop to look at the fish in the beautiful aqua coloured lakes, watch the rushing water run under our feet, or just stop and admire the beauty all around and listen to the sounds of the many birds in the extremely dense and lush forest.

fishy, fishy where are you??

be careful you don't slip!

During our first attempt to explore this area, we were soon greeted by a "no entrance" sign, as parts of the path were flooded from the heavy rain this past month. 

lots of flooded paths

We met a couple from the US  along the trail who had a map, so we decided to join them as they headed off the path, up the hill to the main road and then back down the hill where we reconnected with another path. To be honest the maps and signs are not all that great in the park, which makes it a bit challenging at times to know where you are and what path leads you where.

right or left???

From here we toured around a number of waterfalls of all sizes, taking in this vast area and finally enjoying some welcomed sunshine.  There were definitely a lot of photographs being taken at this point, but none really captured the sheer beauty of the falls and thundering sounds of water falling all around. 

lots of water spray from this one

even the tress are big here!

At times the path was somewhat submerged in the water, so we had to cross over on a ladder that was put on the path for traction…just don't fall!!

a little balance beam act

At around 12:45pm we arrived at the electric boat we were to catch to take us to the Lower Lakes...just in time for the rain to start!  While waiting for the boat, we ate the lunch we brought with us and suited up in our rain gear. The ride to the Lower Lake was about 15 minutes and the views of the lush greenery along the ride was absolutely stunning. 

electric boat

On arrival at the Lower Lakes we headed up the hill to a few viewpoints of the falls. At this point the rain was coming down pretty hard and we were seriously wet...but we journeyed on. From the look offs we saw waterfall after waterfall.  Every now and then we would stop and try to figure out where we were and how to access the path below where we could seen large numbers of tourists. 

view of the many falls from above

The incredible sights just motivated us more to keep investigating the area, even though I eventually had to stop taking out my camera because of the rain. Finally we arrived at Velika Slap (The Big Waterfall).  To get there we had to walk down a number of very slippery stairs, pass through a tunnel and whenever possible find a bit of shelter from the rain.  

slippery when wet!

At the bottom, the spray from the falls was fairly intense, making it difficult to take pictures...the view was nice, but to be honest I was so tired of being wet and worried about my camera I didn't stay long. 

The Big Waterfall

From here we finally connected to the pathways we saw while up above...and we also finally found all the tourists along the paths!!! Lines of people walking on narrow log boardwalks...single file at its best.  It was especially dangerous passing by people in areas where the boardwalk was flooded and sitting under the rushing water of the falls...plus people were almost hitting you with their umbrellas as they tried to stay dry. 

beep, beep…here we come

The best moment of the day was when we passed an Asian women walking on the boardwalk in stiletto high heels...yes you heard me correct.  One slip or push and I'm sure you would have seen a domino effect of people falling into the water below...only wish we had a picture to demonstrate this highly effective hiking footware!!

Along our trek back up the other side of the falls we came across Supljara (hollow) Cave...a ceiling and floorless cave. We decided to head down the cave where we had more incredible views from below. 

hollow cave on the left

The trek up and down the cave was a workout in itself and once at the top again the rain eased off and out came the camera. We walked until about 3:00pm when we caught the electric train back to the main entrance where we made it back to our car...again we had challenges paying for our parking and getting through the toll...we really are hopeless!  

What an incredible way to spend 5 hours...rain or shine!

after 4 hours of trekking

From the park we decided we needed to get our daily dose of kava, so we headed to a nearby caffe/bar, only to be smoked and pickled by second hand smoke inside.  It was so smokey you could cut it with a knife...did I forget to mention Croatian's love their cigarettes?!?!

Back at our apartment we changed, checked out our pictures and then went to Restoran Degenja at the recommendation of our host Sanja. The best part about this restaurant was that there was no smoking aloud!  We had great service, enjoyed our meal and also tested out two new local beer...Toceno pivo for me (a local draft) and Velebitsko pivo for Lisa (dark beer).  It was a nice multicultural evening out....I think every table was from a different country...and a great way to finish such a spectacular day. 

Today is our final night inland and we are heading south to the coast of Croatia for the remainder of our journey....Trogir, via Zadar tomorrow. Can't wait to see what lies ahead!

Until then...

the Two Lisa's

We Have a Car!!!!

Today was our last day in Zagreb. Since it was raining so hard yesterday when we went to the Dolac Market, we decided to check it out again today. It's Saturday, so there were lots of people out and the market was in full force.

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. 

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!

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. 

slimy!!!

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. 

practice makes perfect

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.

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??

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.

coffee time

It was about 4:00pm and before we checked-in to our accommodations we decided to check out the Barac Caves. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

the view along the road to our apartment

Did I tell you we had a car?

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." 

our colourful Croatian friend

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. 

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!!!

homemade Croatian wine

Time for a little R&R, some Croatian homemade wine and a little TV.

Until tomorrow ...

Lisa  & Lisa

  

Zagreb...City of Hearts

the City of Hearts

Today we slept in until 10am...although at 1am I woke thinking it must be time to get up...love jet lag. We made a delicious brunch from food we bought at the supermarket and headed off by noon...in the rain. Glad Dora had complimentary umbrellas for us to use at the apartment.

Breakfast of Champions

We started out on our way to the Upper Town. The first thing we noticed was that everyone here uses an umbrella...no coastal winds like home...and the city is very clean and not overly congested. There are tons of shops and boutiques...great for any shopper out there...and they have an excellent streetcar system. 

We finally found our way to the Dolac Market...this is where locals buy everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, to fish, meat and even some preserves. It was raining a fair bit, so we decided to head inside. On our way to the museum we came across the most unique little souvenir shop...the Take Me Home: Croatian Design Shop.  LOVED everything in this store...and the woman who helped us was so lovely...made it that much better.  Everything was made my artisans from around Croatia, all items were small enough to take home while traveling and the designs were all unique...and yes I did get a couple things to take home with me. 

www.takemehome.hr

From here we climbed up a large set of stairs to the Museum of Broken Relationships. This is one of Croatia's "quirkiest" museums, that grew from a traveling exhibition revolving around the concept of failed relationships and their ruins.

welcome

the concept

We spent about 1.5 hours reading the stories from around the world of people's relationships and some of the ways they came to their demise. We even found out they are having their first Canadian exhibition in Whitehourse this year to coincide with the ice "breaking up"...how funny is that!

the exhibits

After we had a good dose of relationship stories, we decided to grab something to drink at the museum cafe. Here we finally realized that "kava" meant coffee...duhhh...and Lisa and I tried a latte macchiato and a kava sa slagom (coffee with cream).

I think we are hooked…yummy!!!

From here we headed to Lotrsak Tower...Croatia's only preserved medieval tower from the 13th century. From the lookout post we had some incredible views of downtown...especially since the rain stopped and the sun was trying to peak out. 

views of the city and Cathederal

another arial view

from inside out

And we couldn't resist our daily selfie...check out the cover over the scaffolding on the tower...pretty ingenious if you ask me. 

creative disguise

Since we could see the cathedral from the tower we decided try and find it.  Along the way we came across the Stone Gate. This is one of four gates where you can enter into the Upper Town and the only one still intact. Inside is a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary where people can stop to pray. 

prayer time

We finally arrived at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary...one of Zagreb's defining symbols. What a beautiful piece of architecture inside and out...even while being renovated. 

the entrance

intricate artistry

from the inside

a lost language

At this point we were getting very hungry so we started to head back towards the market area. Along the way we ended up on Tkalciceva...one of downtown's most colourful streets. It was filled with lots of shops, restaurants and of course pubs...I must say people here really like their wine, beer and cigarettes.

finding our way to Tkalciceva

Tkalciceva

One of our favourite shops along this street was the Cookie Factory Cafe....couldn't resist. Yummy!!

Cookies!!!!

We finally found a restaurant closer to home...but not before asking a waiter where we could actually order more than just alcohol...I tell you it's hard to find!!!  For dinner we enjoyed lots of delicious pizza.  I think the waiter thought we were crazy when we ordered two pizzas...and of course a local beer. Great end to our first full day in Croatia.   Cheers!!!

our first local beer…nice!

On our way home we walked through the many flower carts selling a huge variety of flowers…Croatian's like their fresh flowers.

Flower Market by night

fresh flowers

Tomorrow we are heading south to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Plitvice National Park for a few days. We are renting a car, so I'm sure the adventure will continue on. 

Until tomorrow...

L & L