Croatia
From Eastern Europe & Greece - 2007 in Croatia on Jun 10 '07
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June 11. We left Lujubljana on a morning train to Zagreb, Croatia. The train was uneventful. Getting our rental car was another matter. Jeff and Ian got lost on the way back to the train station after getting the rental car. After two and a half hours Emily and Irene became very concerned and went to the police to file a missing person report. Just as the police officer arrived so did Jeff and Ian. Ian was hanging out the window waving his arms in jubilation. It has been a long and exasperating search for the train station and we were all happy to see each other.
We drove to Plitvice National Park arriving just before dinner.
Jeff and Irene immdiately took a nap while Emily and Ian went in search of new friends, and cats and dogs to play with. They found gold in the family next door. Three little girls, one Emily's age and their german shepard. Even better, the girls uncle was the cook at the restaraunt across that street that served PIZZA in addition to a few Croation dishes. Margarita Pizza has become Emily's staple on our travels and spaghetti has become Ian's. It is fascinating how different a cheese pizza and spaghetti can be from country to country.
June 12. We started the day at 7:30AM, with a hike through Plitvice. Plitvice is a series of 16 lakes separated by natural limestone dams and interconnected by beautiful waterfalls. The lakes are lined with preciptated calcium carbonate, which gives the bottoms a dusty white coat. The clear waters are interesting shades of blue, green and turquoise.
After a few hours at Plitvice, we started a 500 mile journey to Split and along the Dalmatian coast. The landscape changed from lush forests, to mountains, and barren, rocky moonscape. Along the Dalmatian coast, mountains plunged into the sea with houses dotting the hillsides and rocky pebble beaches at waters edge. Lots of tourist hotels here. Finally, we entered less mountainous regions with fertile farmland and roadside stands selling olive oil, honey, fruits, and wine. Definitely less touristy.
The initial streches to Sibenik were on toll roads where speeds averaged upwards to 100 MPH. From Sibenik, onwards we were on windy two lane roads hugging the coast. It was punctuated by frequent construction delays.
We stopped at Trogir, driving through Old Town and a brief stop at the beach. (Beach here means anywhere land meets sea-not necessarily the sandy American definition.)
Our route took us through Bosnia & Hercegovina-a 2 mile strip of coast betweenb parts of Croatia. We tried to get a Bosnian stamp in our passports, but the guards just laughed. Apparently, Bosnia is not Disneyland yet.
At 8PM, we finally arrived in Orebic on the Peljesac peninsula. Orebic is across a small channel from more toursity Korcula. We're spent 3 nights at a resort to recharge the batteries. The kids enjoyed swimming, kayaking and paddleboating in the Adriatic, and looking for shells and crabs. Irene and Jeff enjoed the locally grown chilled red and white wines served with every meal (even breakfast!).
After a few days of R&R in Orebic, we finished our drive down the Croatian coast. We drove through Dubrovnik, and stopped in a small coastal town called Cavtat. After a quick lunch, we took a ferry back to the Old Town of Dubrovnik. The ferry provides a dramatic approach to the Old Port. Dubrovnik is called the Pearl of the Adriatic. In this case, we have to agree. The Old Town is ringed by a medieval wall enclosing churches and scores of red tiled roof buildings.
The two big attractions in Dubrovnik are walking the wall ringing the city and strolling the main Plaza. We set out in the heat of the day to walk the wall. Probably a mistake, since you're baked from above in the mid-day sun, as well as heat radiating from the stones under foot. It was probably close to 100 on the ramparts. But the views were outstanding, and we stopped for water along the way.
The Plaza is a great marble-lined promenade. Restauraunts and museums line both sides. After getting some gelatto, we caught the ferry back to Cavtat. That night we had a seafood dinner overlooking the Bay.
Did we mention gelato? Emily has a gelato fix as often as some smokers have a cigerette. Ian and Emily may have enjoyed the wall of the Old Town but they both also loved all the cats they found in the Old Town. If it was possible, I'm certain we could have added several cats to our luggage. Ian is really missing Mort. Emily is eatting lots of gelato to comfort her sorrow of missing Hugo.
Looking back on our time in Croatia, we would skip the interior, as well as Split. The real destinations are Korcula, Orebic and Dubrovnik.
We're updating our blog on Saturday, June 16th, while waiting for our flight to Crete. More to come!
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