Good morning Croatia!! After my train back to Munich, I stopped at the hostel bar for one last Ausutiner Dark Wheat beer, which was amazing! I then walked to the bus station and got on an overnight bus from Munich to Croatia. I fell asleep and was woken up to go through customs on the side of the road! I climbed back on the bus and it was around 6:30 in the morning when I arrived in Zagreb. So I walked towards the train station and found a coffee shop where I charged my phone, drank a cappuccino and read a book for two hours. It was wonderful. Actually. It was a great was to freshen up after the long ride and get ready for my day. Just after 8:30, I meet Nicole and Dan (Nicole is a friend from olin and Dan is her boyfriend) at the train station. After their own morning drink and freshening, we enjoyed the day wandering around Zagreb. We enjoyed beautiful gardens and some great architecture. In our loop, we found a great market! It was incredibly inexpensive and the fruit looked great. So we tried a fig and collected other fruit and veggies for tomorrow's hike. We continued to climb up the hill and found a great view of the whole city. Of course we also saw few more cathedrals.
We decided to go into one of Zagreb's recommended attractions, the Museum of Broken relationships. The museum is about marking the end of relationships, not just the ones that succeed. So people send in mementos with stories of relationships or breakups. It was a very interesting museum. They had contributions from all around the world. We certainly enjoyed it.
We made our way back into the city and found a local pub for lunch. Nicole and I shared an amazing salad and a stuffed chicken leg with mushrooms. It was all amazing! I really enjoyed it.
After a little stroll, we headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. We are driving around Croatia! However, automatic cars are much more expensive to rent in Europe... So we are driving a manual car, and I'm the most experienced stick shift driver of the group. For the record, I hadn't driven a manual car in at least two years! I was so nervous that I would embarrass myself in front of the rental car people or not even get out of the parking lot! But, there was nothing to worry about! While maybe it took a bit of time to get used to, I had little trouble driving the car! It was amazing. We drove to Plitvice Lakes, which is a famous national park in Croatia and found our small and adorable hostel. These small hostels are the best. You get to know the people around you and the owners. That night, we got food at the market and cooked at the hostel on a wood grill. I don't think I've ever cooked dinner with a better view. We are quite excellent cooks. The view from the hostel was also very nice. I enjoyed being out in nature and the peace and quiet. We went to bed early for a early day tomorrow.
After a little stroll, we headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. We are driving around Croatia! However, automatic cars are much more expensive to rent in Europe... So we are driving a manual car, and I'm the most experienced stick shift driver of the group. For the record, I hadn't driven a manual car in at least two years! I was so nervous that I would embarrass myself in front of the rental car people or not even get out of the parking lot! But, there was nothing to worry about! While maybe it took a bit of time to get used to, I had little trouble driving the car! It was amazing. We drove to Plitvice Lakes, which is a famous national park in Croatia and found our small and adorable hostel. These small hostels are the best. You get to know the people around you and the owners. That night, we got food at the market and cooked at the hostel on a wood grill. I don't think I've ever cooked dinner with a better view. We are quite excellent cooks. The view from the hostel was also very nice. I enjoyed being out in nature and the peace and quiet. We went to bed early for a early day tomorrow.
The next day was spent exploring the national park Plitvice Lakes. We were out there quite early to beat the crowds, and may I sat, it was well worth it. We hiked up a path that brought us past many lakes and waterfalls. The water was so clear and incredibly gorgeous. The paths were on this wooden walkway that went over the water. We had a fantastic time! We enjoyed our packed lunch on the side of the path in a tree with a gorgeous view of the lake. Much of the day, we were enjoying taking beautiful pictures of our surroundings. It was incredible.
We then made our way past a huge canyon to a very big waterfall. It was spectacular!
But at that moment, a storm rolled in. We saw the ominous clouds and knew it was about to pour. I spotted a cave and we made a run for it. Somehow, we made it there quite dry and got to watch an incredible thunderstorm from the safety of a cave. The rain poured down and it was pretty to watch. There were lighting strikes that I could see dip clearly it was incredible and the thunder boomed. Eventually, the storm settled and we took off in a much quieter park. As we walked back, the clouds looked incredibly cool. Some were like marshmallows! After the long day in the park, we made it back to our cart to head to Split.
But at that moment, a storm rolled in. We saw the ominous clouds and knew it was about to pour. I spotted a cave and we made a run for it. Somehow, we made it there quite dry and got to watch an incredible thunderstorm from the safety of a cave. The rain poured down and it was pretty to watch. There were lighting strikes that I could see dip clearly it was incredible and the thunder boomed. Eventually, the storm settled and we took off in a much quieter park. As we walked back, the clouds looked incredibly cool. Some were like marshmallows! After the long day in the park, we made it back to our cart to head to Split.
The drive to split was gorgeous. We took a bit of a scenic route through the mountains and it was incredible. We must have stopped at least 3 times to look at the view and take pictures. I've really enjoyed this rental car. It gives us so much flexibility and we get to go on little adventures like this.