For The Love of Travel

A delish dinner of tuna, monkfish and sea bass @ 2Ribera (2 fish) last night in Zadar Old Town, which is where I’m staying.

The city is known for the Roman-laid cobblestones and ruins within Venetian-built city walls with decorative gates. Built in 1543, this decorated stone sea gate once served as the main entrance to the city. Love the winged lion sculpture.

An early start to avoid the hordes and see some of the historic buildings – the rather simple design of the 27m high circular church of St Donatus from the 9thC; the elegant 4thC Roman Catholic Cathedral of Anastasia, the largest church in Dalmatia and with a three-nave Romanesque-style building design; the Bell Tower that provides awesome views over the Old Town – but can’t beat a drone’s perspective 🙂

A ferry ride with sea breezes was just the ticket and I wanted to see the Island of Ugljan (named after the island’s product, olive oil), its main village Preko and the adjacent islet, Galevac. The island has quite a history of occupation – Liburnians in the 4thC; Romans in the 1st century BC; the Republic of Venice in the Middle Ages; French in the early 19thC; then Austria until the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Its been in ‘Croatian’ hands since 1918.

The idyllic islet of Galevac is 80m offshore Preko, with a circumference of 650 metres. It’s a favourite destination for swimming and sightseeing of the old 15thC Franciscan monastery, its library having a collection of rare and old books dating back to 1527.

I relaxed at a little cafe by the sea, watching kiddies and their parents frolicking in the shallow waters, while I sipped a refreshing and delish Cosmopolitan.

Back at Zadar that afternoon, wandered down to the esplanade to experience the “Sea Organ”, 70 metres long series of stairs crafted at the ocean’s edge, designed to hum to the tune of the ever changing waves, creating a symphony. A beautiful amalgamation of art, architecture and nature.

Right next door, there’s a 22 metre diameter circle with solar panels, consisting of 300 multi-layered glass plates placed on the same level as the stone paved waterfront – it creates a colourful light show at night. It’s called “Greeting to the Sun”. (Full disclosure…I pinched someone else’s photo to include in the blog for effect….much better than what I came up with ! )

It was 5am start out of Zagreb driving my hire car, a Mercedes C class 220! (no I hadn’t booked it, but got upgraded, woo hoo). Very comfortable, I could get used to it….:). Freeways have a speed limit of 130kms but I was the slowest in the right hand lane with others zapping past me at a breakneck pace. Some 10 or so bikies past and pulled in too sharply in front, causing my Merc to automatically brake severely, causing a seat belt ouchy! I’ll have to be on the lookout for those who don’t leave enough room pulling in front. GRRRR.

Anyway…on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979, Plitvice is a breathtaking park featuring 16 terraced lakes, cascading waterfalls and lush forests. With 1.3 million visitors a year, I booked the earliest ticket (7am entrance) to avoid as much as possible the busloads that would be descending on the day. 🙂

There are 7 walking routes split between the upper and lower lakes, graded in terms of difficulty, the longest walk being 8 hrs. And 2 entrances to the park. I went for entrance 1, the closest to Veliki Slap, the Great Waterfall @ 78 metres. Quite the sight as you get to the lookout platform viewing downwards into the valley and then across the valley floor to the waterfall in the distance. There’s a series of stairs, boardwalks and boats that take you around the incredible visual experience. NO DRONES though.

And I researched that if you drive to a village called Plitvice Selo, and walk 500m in from the road, you get to a slightly different viewpoint over the lower lake.

I feel very lucky to have experienced just a tiny bit of that fabulous landscape! Off to Zadar on the Dalmatian coast.

The Republic of Croatia lies on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, with 1244 islands, islets and reefs. Only 50 are inhabited by people. Island hopping is a big thing. 4 million people and an EU member since 2013. Zagreb is the nation’s capital. There are a dizzying array of local dialects with city folk often not understanding their country cousins and vice versa.
10% of Croatia’s landmass is National Parks, a staggering stat.

26 hours after departing from Melbourne, thankfully arrived, feeling much the worse for wear, nursing a bad flu. Spent most of the days resting and trying to rid myself of the bug, but did manage a ‘hop on, hop off bus’ to see some sights.

Poor Zagreb, in 2020 it was hit by COVID as well as an earthquake of huge magnitude – over large, densely-built and architecturally sensitive areas of the Upper and Lower Town, with extensive damage to religious, government and historical buildings. Zagreb has been successful in getting EU funds to assist with reconstruction and scaffolding is everywhere in the capital.

The weather has also hotted up here, with 35 degree days and 24 degree nights.