Here is a short video of the sights of Trogir.

Here is a short video clip of Plitvice National Park.

I hope someday I wake up and find this type of delivery on my front door.  I would take fresh bread on my doorstep any day.

I guess they are short on space for soccer fields.  They built the fields around the castle next to the Adriatic Sea.  It was early in the morning and there was a team practicing on a little field next to the field.  I guess they practice in tight spaces so they learn to keep the ball in control and not kick it into the sea all the time.

The drive from Plitvice to Trogir (along the Adriatic Sea) was about 3 hours.  Trogir is an island that is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Driving instructions weren’t the greatest to the room we were renting.  The streets were narrow, full of cars and people and then you have the Vespas cruising by you on either side.  It took us about 3 times driving around trying to find the sign that sounded like would be a big sign we couldn’t miss.  In fact, it was a little brown sign, and the turn wasn’t really onto a street but a little ally way.  Driving in Trogir really helped my confidence with the stick, but I have determined that I think it is way easier to backup than it is to go forward.  The room we rented also said parking is no problem that they have a spot.  They didn’t mention that it was a very small street and hard to get in and out of.  I was just hoping nobody would come down the street at the same time we go up. There isn’t room for a person to walk by the car so I’m not sure what you would do if a car came.

We knocked on the door and waited.  Knock again and still nothing.  Check in was to start at 2 and we were there around 2:30.  Hmm we didn’t have a phone to call so we weren’t sure what to do.  Really doesn’t help when you have to go to the bathroom.  We tried to see if the WiFi was unprotected so we could email, but no luck.  We had no way to contact the owner.  So we left a note on the car and headed into town with as much of our valuable belongings as possible because we need to find someone with a phone.  We walk to the tourist office which was closed (Sunday).  We then walk over a bridge and into old town.  We find another tourist office and the lady kindly called the owner for us.  The owner lady drove and picked us up.  (Turns out she was busy cleaning a room in the back of the house.)

Trogir has a long history but you can tell by the architecture that Venice had some influence.  The white cobblestone walk ways are so clean that it is easy to slip.  It almost seems like you are walking on marble.

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Here is a video of different scenes of Zagreb.  There is plenty of music on the streets, the tram system seems efficient and the market is full of action.

The first day at the park was one to remember but the second day was still full of amazing water features.  We had a wonderful dinner the night before to give us the energy to get back up in the morning and hike around the other part of the park that we couldn’t see the first day.  We stayed at a little pension that was amazing.  The dinner was a 3 course home cooked delicious meal.  The mother made the food and you had your choice of a meat version or fish.  You can guess, I picked the meat version and it was amazing.  The first course was chicken noodle soup which included pasta that she made.  The main course was salad, vegetables from the grill, rice and meat.  The meat was 2 little sausages called ćevapčic.  I know the name of these sausages because I asked the daughter if she could write it out for me.  They were so good that I wanted to make sure I found them again.  She told me that they were sausage from Bosnia & Herzegovina.  Then there was another sausage but more spicy.  There was an amazing chicken skewer and a pork chop.  All the food was prepared from the grill.  For dessert there was an apple strudel.  Oh and I tried the plum brandy as it is suggested to have before you start your meal.

I was still pretty stuffed the next morning but then she made breakfast.  I was ready for a nice walk in the park after all the food I enjoyed.  My day at the park almost got off to a bad start as we were going to get off the boat to start our walk when a man in front of me whipped his backpack around and knocked my lens cap off.  It rolled to the edge of the boat and the man’s wife was able to catch it just in time.  Phew…

We walked around the lakes at a pretty good pace because we had to be back to our pension to check out by 11.  I have never seen so many lakes that create such beautiful waterfalls.  I always think that I will get tired of seeing another waterfall but when I come around the corner, there is just another different waterfall awaiting.

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From Zagreb we drove about an hour and half to our hotel by Plitvice National Park which is the largest national park in southern Europe.  The park consists of 16 lakes and creates stunning water falls and beautiful green/blue water.  The drive was pretty easy.  There are toll highways in Croatia so it is always fun to try to guess how much our toll will be and if we have the right amount of change.

Finding our inn could have been a little easier.  We drove by it the first time, but we only had to turn around once and found it the second time.  For some reason, I have a feeling I will be good at turning around after this trip.

We checked in to the hotel quickly and headed over to the park.  We wanted to try to cover half of the park in the afternoon and save the other half for the next morning.  We covered the lower lakes first.  There are plenty of lakes and waterfalls but I was always amazed at what the next view could offer.  This really is one of the nicest parks I have ever been to.  I hear that in the summer the waterfalls are not as impressive because there isn’t as much water run off.  Fall is supposed to be nice because the leaves change.  I can’t say I was disappointed with my views so I would say spring is nice.  Just be prepared to walk and to walk on boards that wobble and have big cracks in them.  Between walking in Zagreb and walking around the park, I did over 16 miles and 115 flights of stairs.

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One fun thing about Europe is that they always have the best markets.  Zagreb was no exception.  Zagreb might have one of the best markets I have ever visited.  They had an outdoor area where you could buy fruits, vegetables, eggs and cheese.  They actually were working on making the cheese at the market.  Also all stands used some very old fashioned scales that worked great.

They had an indoor market under the outdoor market that consisted of all the meat, chicken and fresh made pasta vendors.  There was also a fish market next to the outdoor market.  Pretty easy to do all of your shopping in one location.  Hard not to cook all your meals when you have a market this great.

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Our arrival into Zagreb was anything but sunny and easy.  In fact, it was very rainy.  Besides being tired and hungry, the rain didn’t make it very pleasant to walk around.  After grabbing a slice of pizza, it was basically bedtime for me.  Can’t say the sleep was great.  Zagreb is a city that likes to be out late and staying in the center of the city makes for one loud night.  I swear there were fireworks at one point, but why would there be fireworks at 2 in the morning?

We headed out at sunrise for a walk which turned into us climbing a lot of stairs.  The streets were quiet (except for the people walking home from the bars), and the sun was shining.  A perfect morning for a stroll.  Zagreb has a lot of cute charm.  They have a tram system that seems very efficient.  They have a market like I have never seen before.  They have more outdoor cafes than I usually see.  Streets lined with umbrellas and tables.  It is a cute city to walk around.

We even went to the Drazen Petrovic (former Portland Trailblazer) Square.  He passed away in a car accident some years ago.  He is considered a basketball legend in Croatia, and there is a museum dedicated to him.  His mom was there working at it.  She seemed very happy to talk about her son.

The morning went by fast, and next thing I knew we needed to drive to Plitvice National Park.

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