More than a few pretty islands

Our tour through the Balkans (or the countries of the former Yugoslavia) began on May 10 with a brief stopover in Ljubljana on our way from Italy to Croatia. We enjoyed our previous visit six years ago to Slovenia’s capital but our visit this time was more of a logistical necessity for reaching Croatia than a desire to undertake any sightseeing. We were content to enjoy the nice sunny day at one of the many riverside bars.

Jess enjoys Slovenia's finest, Laško Pivo

It was my third visit to Croatia but I had yet to see much of the country having previously visited the capital, Zagreb, for less than 24 hours and spending two nights in the beautiful but completely over touristy Dubrovnik at the very southern tip of the country. Jess had spent nearly two weeks sailing the islands off the Dalmatian coast after business school and loved it, but the popularity of the coast and islands as an English / German holiday destination and the country even appearing on the radar of American travelers has given me apprehension in the past when thinking about visiting.

After a 2 ½ hour scenic train ride from Ljubljana we arrived in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. While the city lacks the sights or architectural charms of other European capitals, there was much more character and life than I had remembered from my brief visit six years ago. We spent some time wandering around the small old town and had a tasty lunch at a čevapi shop just outside the large open air vegetable market. Our day and a half definitely served to change the somewhat indifferent opinion of the city I had formed on my first visit. That said, there isn’t any change to my opinion that Zagreb has one of the least interesting main squares of any large city I’ve ever visited.

View from clock tower over Zagreb's old town and cathedral

Trg Jelačića - Zagreb's main square

I really don't get it.

From Zagreb we took the bus south 170km to Plitvice National Park for some outdoor time. The highlight of the park is sixteen different lakes of different sizes that cascade from one to the next creating a series of unique waterfalls, covering a distance of 8km and an elevation change of more than 400 feet.

Waterfall in the upper lakes

Enjoying the peacefulness

Two connected lakes

We also were able to get off the well worn trail around the lakes and go for a nice 10km walk through the surrounding forest. While not as picturesque as the lakes, the serenity of walking through the forest and the fact we encountered a total of two people over the entire walk made for a nice afternoon.

Through the woods

Jess shows off her amazing balancing skills

We had planned on spending a few more days seeing some of Croatia’s national parks but not having a car made this logistically challenging so we headed on the bus to our final destination in Croatia, the coastal city of Split. We stayed for two nights, exploring the tiny, charming old town (formerly Diocletian’s Palace) after our arrival and ended up stumbling on two weddings clashing with rowdy Hajduk Split football fanatics as we were trying to visit the cathedral.

Bell tower of the Split Cathedral

We were thankful these didn't ring when we were up!

Spot the bride - and the crazy football fans with their flags

Our second day was spent exploring the small hill of the Marjan peninsula overlooking city where we happened upon a little street fair where we enjoyed some excellent čevapi for lunch, after enduring one of the most disorganized line processes I’ve ever experienced; it was worth it in the end though.  (Editor’s note: Patient wife queued while exasperated husband bought beer and moved as far away from chaos as possible.)

Mmmm čevapi

Monastery in the mountainside... nobody was home

While we only ended up spending five nights in Croatia it was much more enjoyable and less touristy than I had feared and I’m definitely excited to come back in the future.

South of Split on our way to Bosnia