Blogs from Plitvice Lakes National Park, Central Croatia, Croatia, Europe - page 6

Today we have spent time in one of the most picturesque natural landscapes we have ever seen. In this National Park a series of lakes on different levels is linked by spectacular waterfalls. Paths and boardwalks are supplemented by electric boats and buses to help visitors get around the large area. Great efforts are made to preserve the lakes and surrounds, and many visitors from different countries come to enjoy the experience. Registration plates from all over Europe were evident in the car park today. We were pleased to have manageable temperatures today after all the recent heat and welcomed the breeze and even the occasional cloud cover. We decided to take the bus to the highest lake, where we fuelled up with a large slice of apple strudel and began to walk back down, following ... read more

Days 18-20 7th, 8th & 9th June Murano-Palmanova-Plitvice (Croatia via Slovenia) Day 18 7th June - Murano It was raining. Not just outside but, sad to report, inside too. The skylight in the living area had developed an ominous leak, not a waterfall but a continuous drip drip onto the seating area. Immediate action was required as the forecast was for thunderstorms & intermittent rain for the next 3 days. Il P instantly became Mr DIYer and scrambled onto the roof. After mobile phone (on loudspeaker) consultation with the lorry builders there was nothing for it but to gaffer tape the skylight. We set up weather proofing arrangements in the living and left…. Murano was a vap ride of 45 minutes from Punta Sabbioni. The lagoon was grey, misty & uninviting and spirits were somewhat low ... read more

Plitvice Lakes! The Jiuzhaigou of Croatia! That’s what I imagined the lakes to be, and they were exactly that, except these lakes were bigger and there’s more water in them. Jiuzhaigou had lakes of blue, yellow and green colours, whereas Plitvice Lakes were just emerald green. They were very clear, and had more fish. They formed a total drop of 600 meters, so there were small or large waterfalls almost everywhere. We took the H Program which started with a bus ride up to the highest point at the Upper Lakes, then we walked down the steps on wooden paths built above the water or right on the edge of the water. It was very picturesque, tall green trees framing the lakes, affording shade on the walkways. Sometimes the paths were a little further from the ... read more

As I had mentioned in the last blog, we left Italy for Slovenia, but were only there for one night as we passed through the small passage of land that is Slovenia's coast. This largely consists of the charming port town Piran which is still a small marina village at heart but after a few hours wondering around we were beginning to see its value as a potential holiday destination. The Slovenians, on first impression were a charming bunch, cheery and amused by our attempts at some Slovenian phrases. At a population of 2 million, they have their own unique language, but are also masters of other languages. Slovenian schools offer students the option to study English, German, Italian and sometimes French. At a minimum it seemed most people were bi-lingual. Even the lady at the ... read more

My last stop in the Balkans before flying off to Germany was a national park located between Zadar and Zagreb. The trip there from Split was a bit strenuous, especially considering that I had an early morning flight to catch out of Zagreb the next day. This in combination with the fact that the bus from Split arrived there late meant that I only had a total of four hours to explore a park that should really be given the better part of a day to fully appreciate. Even without the glitches, I knew I'd be cutting it close when I planned this trip, but I decided the lakes needed to be included no matter what, since no Pipaya adventure is complete without a trip to see some waterfalls :) Plitvice came through and more than ... read more