Croatia 7 April 2019

This morning I was up at 0515, wanting to be the early bird t the Plitvice National Park. We don't

really do crowds well and this time it paid off.

The weather was lousy but it made up for no crowds as it must be horrendous to have hundreds of visitor on these wooden walkways that wind over the water and through the forest.

We had our rain macs, beanies, gloves and brollies and all I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

The National Park is world famous for its sixteen lakes arranged in cascades.

We did the long loop which takes in the lower and upper lakes.

You get bussed to the first walking station and what should have taken us two hours turned into three because we could not just rush through the lower lakes.

We then took a ferry across the lake and did the walking loop to the upper lakes and the Veliki Slap (Big Water Fall)

All in all, that was a nine-kilometer hike, so can you imagine what we feel like tonight. No actually, the bodies don't feel anything tonight

Enjoy the slides here: Plitvice Lakes - Croatia.

Croatia 6 April 2019

Medevja

Rijeka is not at the top end of our best cities list. In fact, it is a not to do again city. It is crowded and

Opatija

awkward and we could not even find a good restaurant. You have millions of coffee shops/bars everywhere and that is all they serve. No food.

The downside has also been the weather that has been very wet.

Yesterday we did take to the coast, north of Rijeka towards Pula through Opatija and Medevja. The road winds along the cost and the businesses are starting to open

Richard at Mrežnica River

for the spring, awaiting all the tourists. It must be a madhouse in summer.

Mrežnica River

Today we made our way to the Plitvice Nationaal Park which is way more our scene.

As usual, the GPS took us on a scenic route and we landed up in the forests just outside

Apartment at Rakovica

Rakovica where we have an apartment.

Along the route, there was a thirty-kilometer stretch that took us into the forest, in Karlovac County, and over the Merznica River where they river raft. The rapids are stunning and the colour of the water is out of this world.

Excited about tomorrow. Plitvice National Park, here we come.

Croatia 4 April 2019

Medvednica National Park

My Ditch

Zagreb is clean and organized.

The Medvednica National Park, situated on the outskirts of Zagreb is stunning. We could not get to the Ski Resort as the road was closed but made our way up for a while into the forest.

This must be a wonderland when covered in snow. Now it has the most amazing hiking trails into the forest up the mountain towards the Slovenian border.

Tuesday morning we made our way to Rijeka on the coast.

Leo & Ena - Zagreb

Rijeka

I think I am a bit disappointed. It is really cramped and built up. The streets are narrow with the
house entrances on street level. It is not an easy town to get around.

We met Josipa, an agent from Delnice, who showed us some properties in forests, in this area. Some of these villages are on the River Kupa which is the Slovenian/Croatian border.  Stunning scenery but the north of Croatia is still prettier.

Rijeka

Lokve Near Delnice

Our weather is cloudy, with a drizzly now and then, but no rain that has kept us from sightseeing so far. Maximum temperatures are 16 deg and a minimum of 3 deg.