PLITVICE

Hello, luv!

Hi there!

My name is Martha and I am a single, retired woman from the Denver area who is a big fan of Rick Steves tours. Since my first trip to France in 2012 I have been hooked! I am in love with England and decided to take the Villages of Southern England tour in the fall of 2018.

Day ten: On the road to Croatia

This was a long day on the bus, transitioning from Hungary to Croatia. Just before noon we hit the border where a couple serious faced officials boarded the bus, collected our passports, and returned them after (presumably) reviewing and stamping them. It was a bit of time, but no hassles at all.

At lunch, and many other places, George offered us a shot of a local liqueur. This one was Unicum, a Hungarian speciality. I tasted some and others declined. In this picture it looks like Kate enjoyed it!

Our first Croatian stop was lunch at a family run buffet just over the border.

As the afternoon progressed we drove through a number of villages which showed the effects of war in the 1990s. Many buildings still have bullet holes and other damage and the area is slow to recover. We made one stop in a small town to view an open air museum of war equipment. Planes, tanks, artillery that were in use in the not so distant past. It was all very sobering.

We arrived at our Plivitce hotel late in the rainy afternoon. This hotel was more basic than any other on the trip but was still clean and efficient. It looked like it was going to be a cold and wet walk the next day so a number of us hit the gift shop for another layer to wear. The tights I bought helped keep me warm while the poncho kept me dry.

Day ten: Plitvice's natural wonders

Plitvice (said plit veet saw) is an amazing natural wonder in Croatia! Our morning for hiking in the park started out with a bit of wet white precipitation. Regardless of the weather, almost the whole group put on several layers of clothing and made the six mile walk. While we didn't have blue skies we did have lovely moody mist and rushing waterfalls. And, we were fortunate that the weather kept away the crowds and we were pretty much alone for the upper half of the walk.

The early morning view out my window. BRRR...

We took a small bus to the upper lake and then walked down the wooden walkways, through the woods and beside the rushing water. The lakes were crystal clear and the colors so vivid!

My getup for the day kept me mostly dry and warm. Stylish, maybe not!

We had a quick lunch at a grill in the park and met back up with Mitch and the bus in the afternoon. While the walk was beautiful, the heated bus was welcomed!

The afternoon drive across Croatia was quiet, everyone was recharging after the morning walk. We flirted with Adriatic vistas and finally arrived in our next stop of Rovinj. We stayed on an island so we caught a boat for a short ride to the lovely hotel.

We were welcomed with a glass of bubbly and given a bit of time to get settled. Dinner that night was a sumptuous buffet right in the hotel.

A beachy vacation day

Lessons from Eastern Croatia: George spent a generous amount of time explaining the recent history of the area that was once Yugoslavia. The story of Tito's brand of communism and how the people were so strong in their ethnic identity to fight about boundaries. I was struck by the residual damage to the buildings and the stories of the struggles of the Croats.