Plitvice National Park

On our second Croatian day we boarded the early bus (which took three hours and cost us roughly 12 euros) and headed to Plitvice National Park in the mid-north part of the country. We were greeted with another bit of UNESCO loveliness that can barely be described and to which pictures do it little justice.

They will have to suffice.

There's history...apparently the park is where the breakup of Yugoslavia began, where a park guard was taken hostage and i suppose the rest is history. alas, I can't remember too much about this at the moment. But the park was acres and acres and acres long, wide and across. Plitvice's 16 lakes are joined and crisscrossed by wooden boardwalks that take tourists down, around and over various waterfalls, fish filled bogs and travertines. and the colours of the water range from azurey blue to grey to green depending on the life and crustiness below.

the park has its own tram system, cafe and ferry boat from one side to another. In August, it was rammed with tourists--mostly from eastern europe, which was a nice surprise compared to the usual loud english/american/australian tourists (of one which i count myself).


boardwalk, feet, tan!


fish!






on the way to the big waterfall












view from nearly the top


we started near the bottom

in total jen and i spent roughly six hours wandering through the park thirsting for diet coke and shade. at the end we picked up our bags from the strudel man who kindly held them in his strudel man stand and then went home with strudel man's wife to their strudelly house. for this i broke my mother's cardinal rule and got into a car with a stranger; it's the thing to do. people approach you holding signs that say 'zimmer', or room, in german (def not weird to be speaking german in croatia). then you go back to their rooms for rent/bed and breakfasts and spend a delightful night in a clean room with a big bed and a warm shower. for mega cheap too, something like 12 euros for the night.

so in the end, we spent a day in a beautiful national park and a night gesticulating bad german in a house full of croatians.


and waiting for the bus at the 'station' (read: half covered wooden shelter)with some french tourists the next morning we had the added bonus of decking ourselves in strudel, which would turn into the only foodification we'd receive until Zadar several hours later.

But oh the bus ride was worth it. coming up...how much fun you can have in a croatian rest stop!