I am reminding myself throughout each just how special this trip is. This is truly a once in a lifetime thing, and I am visiting places I never dreamed of going. I mean, I didn't two weeks ago, I had no plans or intentions of ending up in either Slovenia or Croatia. Even more, as much as I would like to revisit many of these places in the future, I know that for some if these places it will be my first and last visit. I guess I am just trying to soak it all in. I am so privileged and blessed to be able to take a trip like this.
I left Ljubljana early this morning on a direct train to Zagreb. The bad news: I finally caved and had to do something overtly American. Over my 10 minute walk to the train station, I did not pass a single open bakery, coffee shop, or other establishment to grab breakfast. Making the problem worse, the only thing open at the train station was a McDonalds. Not knowing when I would get my next meal, I gave in and had McDonalds.
The real excitement of the day came at the Slovenia and Croatia border. First, the train was quickly boarded by sizable number of Slovenian police and military. They searched the train upside and down, and passenger by passenger. I caught it a lot worse than most, I suppose for being an American. For about five minutes, I was thoroughly grilled by a security officer about my trip, followed by him taking my passport and barking all of my personal info into his headset. After the hounding and examination, my passport was then taken to leader of the squad, who also gave me more interrogation and examination. It finally ended, and there was only one other guy in my car who received this treatment. The Croatian's were very mild compared to this, just stamp the passport and continue.
In Zagreb, I hastily made my way ATP the bus station, which was about a mile walk. I picked up some local currency--the first of 3 non euro countries in the coming days. Like Ljubljana, much of the city looks very rough. However, again I saw no squatters, loiters, or shady characters. I encountered one gypsy at the bus station, who was immediately scolded by some very friendly locals who chatted with me. The bus journey was uneventful, and showcased two very different views of Croatia. We went through areas that very clearly showed the conflicts that went on even over the last 20 years. At the same time, much of the countryside was really lovely.
On to the real show stopper: Plitvice Lakes National Parks. This place is an absolute gem, something which the pictures will not do justice to. The park is composed of lake after lake of some of the most clear water I have ever seen in my life. You can see right to the bottom of the lakes, and the water has an glowing blue-green tint. Connecting the 16 or so lakes are an uncountable number of waterfalls, ranging in all sizes, shapes, and forms. There is no fishing or swimming allowed, and the park is preserved in an unbelievably pristine manner. The hiking around the park is fantastic, and very accessible...if you can handle the boardwalks described in the next paragraph. Throughout my time here today, I couldn't help but thing of you all--family and friends who I wish I could share my experiences of today with. I especially kept coming back to how much my mom would love Plitvice. It was a sizable amount of extra travel to get here, but it would do it again in a heartbeat. This place is up there with Supai (Grand Canyon) and Gimmelwald for jaw dropping natural beauty.
Connecting everything are well marked trails and miles of boardwalks. These boardwalks deserve their own description. These things wouldn't pass any kind of building code, inspection, or safety standard. The planks are basically just uneven chopped up tree trunks, with gaping holes between almost all of them. These boardwalks run up, down, and every which way. There are virtually no railings, frequent uneven steps, banked areas, and loose boards. The best though were the many areas where waterfalls bubbled over parts of the boardwalk, now introducing an incredibly slippery element. It was all a lot of fun to me, but I am sure that each year people end up swimming!!!
Upon arrival at about 2:00, I tossed down my bag, bought a hiking map (absolutely necessary), and immediately got adventurous. In keeping with the common theme of the trip, I was about as ambitious as possible. I figured I had about 6.5 hours of daylight, and the map said it takes 10 hours to hike all of the trails. The challenge was then set, and successfully completed as I strolled into my hotel at the park entrance at 9pm. No worries, I didn't rush! I probably took more pictures today than any other day of the trip. I did however move exceptionally fast...something that Andrew appreciates and an advantage of traveling solo! Another thing that Andrew loves are my hiking snacks. Understanding my timetable, I chose to pack my dinner for the hike: two apples,
various American and Austrian granola bars, and the old standby--butter cookies!
All in all, I would guess I plowed through about 20 miles of hiking--basically the whole park. It was as magnificent and stunning as can be. Turn after turn, boardwalk after boardwalk, there were more and more waterfalls. It seemed simply endless as the trails led everywhere but under the falls. It constantly reminded my of Supai, but with very different geography.
Tomorrow is back up to Vienna, in what should be a very calm day! From Vienna, I have yet to decide how adventurous I want to be. We will see!
Like I said, these pictures really don't do this place justice, but here are quite a few!
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