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We arrived in Split and went to our new hostel on the other side of Diocletian’s Palace. We had decided to stay in a new hostel to get a change of scenery, but decided to meet up with people from the other hostel later. We had a delicious and cheap 3 course fish dinner at a local restaurant and met up with the guys from the other hostel just as they were heading off to a pool hall. Luckily, most of them were people we had already met on Split and Brac, so we had a great time hanging out at the pool hall with a large group of friends.
The next day, Alex, Emma and went in search of a rental car to drive to Plitvice (pronounced “Plit-vitz-ah”) Lakes National Park, about 2 hours away by car. We decided to spend the extra money and take the car because the only bus out to Plitvice left at 8am and left the park around 3, so we would have had to get up early and not have had much time there. I would definitely say that getting a rental car was a good idea. We didn’t have to pay too much more than the bus fare (aside from gas), and had complete freedom to decide when we wanted to leave. We got our car and made our way for the lakes.
The drive was relatively uneventful. I was the self-appointed navigator who took the passenger seat and was dubbed “Number 1” by Alex, who instructed me to give him directions like the British lady who gives directions on the GPS in England. I shortly had difficulties giving directions (although my accent was bangin’) and was demoted to “Number 2” (second to Emma and her iPhone) and had to move to the backseat. Not to worry, though. By the end of the day I worked myself up to “Number 1.5”.
Anyway, back to the trip itself. Plitvice is easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life. It is a series of ponds connected by massive chains of waterfalls that stretches out for miles. Apparently it used to be a river that wound through the hills. It left so many mineral deposits that the river would get backed up and created ledges for the water to fall into the next pond. The water was absolutely clear and so blue that you would think someone had dyed it. The surrounding hills were filled with thick, lush woods that stretched back for miles on each side of the river. We wandered from one end of the park to another using a tram provided by the park, a boat from one side of the largest lake to the other, and an intricate series of wooden paths that were even built on top of the water for the majority of the length of the path. We spent about four hours at the park and I took so many pictures it needed its own album on Facebook. If you make it out to Croatia, PLITVICE IS WORTH THE DRIVE!
We stopped by one of the few restaurants that was not simply pizza or kebabs in the area on our way back. If you plan on going to Plitvice, I would recommend staying in a nearby city and making the drive. There aren’t any hostels in the area, only B&B’s, and very few restaurants. The place we ate at was cheap, but low quality, so plan accordingly.
We made our way back to Split and everything went fine, minus Alex getting antsy and complaining that neither Emma nor I could drive manual. We got lost getting into Split and Alex got cranky, but we finally made it back to our hostel and went to sleep.
The next morning we woke up and returned the rental car. We had to get change for our large bills, so Emma and I went into a corner shop and asked for change. We were rudely turned down with a sharp “no”, so we attempted to buy something and pay with the bills, finding ourselves facing the same “no”. The jerk woman had been extremely nice to all of the Croatians who came into our shop, but apparently had some prejudices against tourists. This was our first experience with Croatians being rude to tourists, but it would not be the last. We finally tracked down some change and went back to the hostel. Later, I had the most efficient shoe-shopping extravaganza of my life. I bought some boots in Liverpool during the fall semester. They were the only shoes that I had brought with me on our trip and had accumulated large holes in the soles and around the edges almost as soon as we made it to Croatia, so new shoes were necessary. Normally, I hate shoe shopping because my feet are so narrow and I never find shoes that I like that fit. In the main city centre of Croatia, there are about 50 million shoe stores all in the same area and I went into almost all of them, but found two pairs of shoes that fit me in about an hour: the most efficient shoe shopping trip of my life. I had to deal with more Croatians being rude, but I got by. You could tell that tourist season had begun.
We decided to meet up with Alex for lunch. Emma had one of her many sandwich cravings but Alex and I both wanted pasta so we split up. We had a delicious appetizer of octopus and I had seafood with spinach pasta. I quickly realized why Croatians have issues with tourists. Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating areas so we took advantage of that, but the tour groups would stop near the restaurant and come inside the barrier, surround our table and take pictures of the buildings nearby. The people working at the restaurant would have to shoo them away so we could enjoy our meal in peace. I never really realized how obnoxious some people can be when they’re in new places. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my last meal with Alex. We met up with Emma at a café and had a glass of wine before returning to the hostel to pick up our things and make our way to our cruise to Ancona, Italy. We said goodbye to Alex and boarded our cruise, after some difficulties, which will be detailed in the next blog. (I know it’s way after the fact, but I will eventually blog my entire trip. Halfway there!)
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Make Money and Travel
I just thought of a way for you to work and travel in Europe. Get a contract to write a travel guide for young adults. Use your blog as a resume. I am serious!