Our big summer trip, week 3 - From Rijeka to Bol, Croatia

Zagreb

The weather had taken a turn and it was quite a wet journey to Zagreb, Cam catching some zzzz’s on the way. We had arrived into the bus station about 3pm and on the tram to our hostel, hoping to get some late shopping in as we had heard some good things about the shopping here. We didn’t get into town until after 5pm and of course everything was closed. And we though Perth, Western Australia was the only place where the shops were not open on Sunday! Damn!

So we spent our time looking a couple of the major sights, the cathedral and city square etc, before heading for dinner in a restaurant that had been recommended by the hostel and the Lonely Planet! It was a lovely place. The food was great, the choice was huge! There were about 14 pages of tasty food to choose from. Great prices, wine, service and company made for a great night! We walked out very satisfied back to our hostel for a nightcap (free beer supplied by the hostel!) Cam headed down to the common room to take advantage of the free Internet and catch up with the goss from the other backpackers staying there. It is always great to meet so many people for all corners of the world. But quite scary when you meet people from your home town, Perth!

Day 14 – Sunday 07/10/07

The started a bit cloudy but up at a reasonable hour to see the city. After latching onto some free Internet in our room we didn’t get out until after 10am! Speaking to the hostel owner, we were informed of a cheap caffe-bar and bakery near the hostel. We stopped by to pick up some unknown pastries and get some coffee goodness. So cheap! It worked out about 5 euros for the two of us for breakfast (albeit a simple one). Today being a Sunday all of the shops were closed, so it was a day of sightseeing. We had discovered that most of the galleries and museums were only open until 2pm. So we made a bee-line to the tourist office (also closing at 2pm) to get a map and off to Mimara museum.

This is an impressive building in the new town that is also surrounded in lovely architecture. We got in there about 12:50 with only 1 ½ hours to explore all the old and not so old art. But it was a great experience. There were some impressive works. And the fact that it wasn’t too much in there made you enjoy it even more. Places like the Louvre in Paris are very impressive but the amount of art it all becomes a little overwhelming after a while. We were the last visitors, with the doors locked behind us.

After some time getting our bearings, we decided to do some more of the walking maps marked in the tourist map. A long walk ahead! The city has parks throughout sort of linked together in a horseshoe shape. Arriving at the botanical garden, they have over 1800 species of plants throughout. It was a very relaxing stroll, stopping at the lilies we discovered a frog watching us. Elusive little bugger but eventually we got a few pictures of him. Moving on we found the other parks which were very beautiful with large trees and fountains laid out in symmetrical patterns.

There are many street vendors selling roasted chestnuts and popcorn! It was the best popcorn that we have ever tasted. We then moved onto the old town, stopping by St Mary’s Cathedral, which is a very impressive place. Walking on from there the town is beautiful place of restaurants and bars. We hit some massive stairs to the real old part with gas street lights etc and ended up at the funicular overlooking the city. After walking down we were pretty much back in the middle of the city. Off to dinner at another famous restaurant underground. Not a bad dinner! It was time to head home and rest the weary legs as we had a big day ahead, collecting our car to start our driving adventure. First stop, Plitvice Lakes National park.

Day 15 – Monday 08/10/07

The started a bit cloudy again, but this soon cleared. We were up early to hit the shops before heading off. First to say goodbye to the house dog at our hostel. She is such a sooky dog who loves her attention. But we had forgotten it was Croatia Independence day, with none of the shops open! What a tease. There is so much great stuff in the city, but we couldn’t get to any of it! So try to find our hire car company just out of town.

We collected our speedy red Seat Ibiza. It is a beauty! Navigated to the hostel to collect our bags and then off south towards Zadar/Split. Plitvice was about 1 ½ hours away, first stopping off for lunch (lamb spit roast). Great service, meal and the prices great again!

We pulled into Plitvice mid-afternoon finding our accommodation just out of the park in a very weird a-frame building that looked kind of cool. After a rest we went to find some supplies nearby and then got back for dinner downstairs. With all local ingredients it was a lovely meal. Another early night!

Day 16 – Tuesday 09/10/07

After a big, hearty breakfast at our accommodation today would be one of our most anticipated days of the holiday. We would be visiting the biggest tourist attraction of Croatia. Plitvice Lakes National Park consists of three lakes in the mountain range connected by many waterfalls. The water is crystal clear azure water with many different plants, fish etc inhabiting this place.

We caught the bus (included) up to the top and trekked down. It is just postcards around every turn and being autumn it was every shade of brown, red, yellow and green scattered around the place. All the tracks are well marked and there are board walks over the water sections. It is truly an amazing place that words cannot describe, so you best be checking out these pictures!

Our walk was only meant to be about 3 hours total, but after 3 hours we were only half way! Cam could not stop taking pictures! The sun was shining and the weather crisp. We made it half way to the ferry terminal, where you can catch the boat down to the lower lake to carry on your journey. After recharging with a coffee, the next stop was the ‘big’ waterfall. It is 87m high, and although not actually part of the Plitvice water system was still very impressive as was the walk there. Eventually making it to the other side of the lake, we scaled through a massive cave around 80m high, with marble steps up to the top. It was really a special moment and one we will not forget. Got to the bus stop with 5 minutes spare and back to our car. We had made it! We were quite exhausted as it had been a lot of trekking!

The next stop in our journey was Zadar, about 1 ½ hours away. It was a lovely drive along a new motorway, with many tunnels cutting through the mountain range, one of the tunnels being 5km long! Arriving into Zadar we needed to find somewhere to call home for the next couple of days. We located a travel agency in town, who lined up an apartment out of town for us. We had discovered it is easy to find a room for the night but not with a car as parking in town is hard to find. Not to worry we would prefer to be out of town.

Our boarders collected us and we were on our way out. What a great place! It is a two bedroom place, fully self contained etc for only 30 pounds per night! Down to the local restaurant for a decent dinner and then off to bed. Writing this blog, it has been so nice to reflect on a great day, although quite tiring has been really great. It still seems so surreal to imagine we are in a small town in coastal Croatia mixing with the locals. Off to bed about 11pm.

Day 17 – Wednesday 10/10/07

After a slow start we thought we would have a lazy day to get organised with our washing etc. After getting a café from down the road we had our home breakfast. We headed into the city to find a Laundromat with no idea of where it was or the name for it! We found a drycleaner but he had no idea either. So we went home and spoke to our apartment host who said she would do the washing for us! That was great news. So Nat had a siesta, while Cam was chilling out. We then went back into town to have a look around.

There isn’t too much to see in Zadar, but the few sights were the Natural organ. This is a series of pipes built into the side of the marble boardwalk that made different musical notes from the water passing through them. It was quite haunting. Then a big ferry came past bringing some decent swell past creating some really loud and differing sounds through us. It was a lovely way to waste away some time. Time to head off and explore some more.

There are several roman ruins around that have been found are still being discovered around the city. They have some nice churches, but you cannot go inside most of the churches as they are only open during mass times. But they still look pretty impressive from the outside. The old town city walls are still preserved and they look great. The atmosphere is really nice, with lots of caffe-bars and boutique stores. We spent many hours just walking around soaking up the sights. Of course finding some time for a coffee! The locals all love to have coffees and chill out catching up and chatting with each other.

After all this exhaustive sightseeing it was time for dinner! We were recommended a small konoba (restaurant). Cam opting for the tuna steak with side and Nat have a mushroom pasta, both of which were quite tasty! A few night photos and we were on our way home to rest up for a big day tomorrow, off down the coast!

Day 18 – Thursday 11/10/07

We were up quite early to get a good start. Our fantastic host had all our washing drying, some more than others as it had been a wet night with intermittent rain. After some iron drying we were on the road, next stop Trogir! There were some enchanting marina towns along the coast on the way which we stopped off for coffee, pictures etc. This town was a big marina town that had many beautiful yachts moored in the marina. Obviously there is a lot more money here the meets the eye.

On the way we had stopped off for lunch in a town called Sibenik. This has a Unesco world heritage listed cathedral in it’s old town walls. The cathedral of St. James has been lovingly restored on the outside lined with 71 heads on the exterior walls, all sorts of expressions shown. We had a pizza for lunch which was very tasty and cheap! The fresh food markets were great also. It was time to head off down the coast towards Trogir. A lovely drive through some small coastal towns, with the pick of the bunch being a town called “Marina”, pretty original huh? But it was the most beautiful with some amazing boats moored up in this lovely natural harbour and not much else other than many homes overlooking the bay. Very enchanting!

Without realising we had arrived in Trogir. It is an amazing little town with a well preserved old town well worth exploring on a small island in the middle with a marina etc and a bridge on either side, lined with long boardwalks, magnificent power and sail yachts lining up along every available space. This town is traffic chaos! With scooters, cars and trucks going every which way continuously it is crazy to drive around.

Finding our tourist agency, they pointed us in the direction of a nice private apartment nearby. This was a lovely place and only 31 pounds per night! The apartment was really nice with a decent bed and shower etc. And the host was very friendly also! After getting organised we were off into town to explore.

The old town is beautiful with a maze of streets, lined again with caffe-bars, restaurants and boutique shops. It does have a different feel to Zadar with more of a local, intimate feel about it. They have the usual shops and market stalls. Got some great low light photos and then it was time for dinner at a little outdoor restaurant as it was a lovely night. (And a persuasive bloke out the front) Cam opted for more seafood, this time being a mixed fish platter and Nat choosing the Seafood Spaghetti.

The home made wine was terrible! We knew when we saw it coming out of a keg and there was a weird white powder sediment we may be in trouble. But we necked it anyway, and after our dinner made it home up a really steep hill! Off to bed after watching some dodgy 90’s movies.

Day 19 – Friday 12/10/07

Rise and shine quite early so we can split for Split to have a look around. We needed fuel desperately so of to search for a service station. We thought it might be best to back track on ourselves, but this was no good as we could not find one anywhere! After stopping for a coffee we headed towards Split and found one straight away. Fuelling up the car and ourselves we were back on the road to Split.

Arriving in mid-morning, this city is the second largest in Croatia. It has a large industrial area as a welcoming sight, not very attractive. But once we found the harbour we had discovered the jewel of this town. There is a lovely promenade lined with palm trees and fancy boats of all descriptions. Then we entered Diocletian’s palace. It is an amazing place with beautiful chambers underneath the walls, full of souvenir stalls. We then entered the square with a lovely old cathedral, bell tower and lots of remains of what must have been an amazing setup in it’s day.

Of course with there being a Romanesque belfry Cam had to go up. This was an amazing sight and an amazing tower built between the 12^th and 16^th century. It was then reconstructed in 1908 after it collapsed. The climb up was a little scary as it was quite open and easy to fall down but it was worth the concern. The views are amazing as you will see in the picture.

Two large cruise ships were moored in the town harbour, and as the palace area is the best tourist attraction in town there were many, many groups of tourists being herded around the place. It did take away from the appeal from town as it was very busy around, but it still had it’s charm in place. There were many great shops hidden around the many small streets inside these walls. We then stumbled on the seafood market. This is an amazing place with beautiful fresh seafood big and small being sold at great prices. Even got to see some weird deep sea fish with the little glow worm that they have built in to attract fish and the biggest choppers we have ever seen! Check out the picture! It was then time for lunch. After eating too many local meals we folded and had Macca’s for lunch. After the obligatory rubbing of the biggest toe in town (Gregorius of Nin), to bring us luck we were to head off out of town.

We drove the car on to the ferry, for our next stop of this amazing adventure, Brac. This is the largest island in the Dalmatian islands. Even though this is the region of Dalmatian dogs, we have only seen two so far in our travels. We arrived in Supetar on Brac Island mid-afternoon. Avoided the town of Supertar, we were then off to Bol, a lovely town on the other side of the island. The drive was incredible. The island is famous for its white stone, the rode was surrounded in massive rock boulders and the road snaked its way down to the coastal town of Bol. Amazing scenery, still blue ocean, islands in the distance and the huge rock boulders.

First stop was the tourist information office, we organised a ‘sobe’ and the little man came down to meet us and navigated us up the narrow little streets for our apartment. Amazing hospitality, his wife met us and ushered us in, sat us down for drinks. She bought us juice, then an aperitif, a coffee liquer and Zagreb biscuits. It was like drinking Kahlua with milk arrowroot biscuits!! Nat was knocked out and went for a nana nap. Cam headed down to the dive shop and organised his dive for the following day. On his way back he ran into our new friends from the boat trip, Kyle and Karen! What a small world! Not only were they staying in Bol tonight, they were staying only around the corner from us and were recommended to the same restaurant that we were! Incredible!

We met them down at their room for a couple of drinks and headed for dinner. The restaurant was amazing. The waiter couldn’t do enough for us. Cam had an amazing meal of grilled lamb, Nat had the fried squid. All the food was brilliant. The waiter even bought Nat a poncho to keep her warm as it was getting chilly out on the terrace! We bid Kyle and Karen farewell after a very enjoyable evening.