We started the day walking downhill from our hotel to an area where a trolley picked us up to go to Plitvice Lake Park. About 20 minutes later we reached the park. We hiked for about an hour, crossing small bridges, climbing and descending, all the while seeing some really impressive waterfalls. What I found unique about these falls was how they spread really wide- running around rocks and lots of moss- often splitting repeatedly en route to splashing down.

Wide spreading falls.	Many waterfalls from above.	More falls.	I liked the color of the water.
More falls.	More falls.	My favorite fall. I like all the trees here.	Nice view from above.

After this initial hour of hiking we had to take a boat to cross to the other part of the park. On the other side of the park we took a break to have some lunch. There were many options on the other side- lots of BBQs, ice creams, burgers, etc. Tobia and I shared a whole chicken and some fries, it was really good.

Big waterfall.

From there, we continued on to the remainder of the lakes and falls, including the final “big waterfall”. Ultimately there were 16 lakes in the park, and I believe hundreds of falls.

Following the park, we continued further West towards the Adriatic Coast of Croatia. Along the way we passed some war torn towns, with quick rebuilding going on. One such place was Zaluznica. In the town of Podum, later, I saw a sign on the road indicating not to get off because there were still live mines there.

First view of the Adriatic, Vratnik Pass.

Town of Senj, right on the Adriatic.

Somewhat later, we drove through part of Velebit Mountain, the largest in Croatia. At Vratnik Pass we stopped the bus for a break, and were able to overlook the Adriatic from high above. Shortly after that we took another break at the town of Senj, right at sea level, for some ice tea and coffee. It was really hot and humid there, but was still a really nice stop.

Ferry boat taking us and our bus to Rab Island.

After driving through miles of Croatian coastline, we eventually reached a port where a ferry took our bus, as well as many other cars and people to Rab Island. Once on Rab Island, we drove for a short while and checked into our hotel. But before I could bring myself to go upstairs, I got caught up watching the Brazil vs Netherlands World Cup match with Walker, dozens of locals, and some of the hotel staff. I couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying, but it was a lot of fun and the game was good.

We had a group dinner at 7:30pm at a wonderful restaurant in the heart of the island, on the 2nd floor of a small building, or maybe it was a house. There were tons of different, very good seafood dishes, and our conversation was very lively; we ended up staying there well past most of the folks in our group.

Following the long dinner, we went downstairs and sat at an outdoor bar with Barbara, Travis and Walker. In the middle of this loud, lively (and so full of cigarette smoke) atmosphere, we enjoyed the intense Uruguay vs Ghana World Cup match. We turned in pretty late, knowing that tomorrow had absolutely no schedule.

We left Hungary early this morning, headed South to Croatia. We spent about 30 minutes at the border crossing, all of us having had our passports examined.

Lunch in Croatia.

Right upon entering Croatia, we pulled into a family owned restaurant to have a group lunch together. There was a big table laid out for us inside (food was self-serve), and even though there was an option to eat outdoors, it was too hot to entertain that idea.

Our Group

After lunch, we took a group photo outside the restaurant yard, and continued on Westward in Croatia. We drove past Zagreb, the capital, but could only see lots of buildings and homes from a distance; we didn’t actually stop there.

In the town of Karlovac, we saw tanks and lots of bullet holes in buildings- in general just signs of the recent war that broke out in this area.

Grand Slunj, Croatia.

Along the way, we also passed Grand Slunj, a place with lots of flowing rivers and waterfalls.

Finally, we reached Plitvice, around 6pm or so, after a long day on the road. We wound down in our hotel room for a bit. I ended up walking down to the lake in the area, with Marie, to get a bit of exercise in for the day, and also ended up dipping my legs in the lake.

Dinner at Plitvice Hotel.

Shortly afterwards was a group dinner at the hotel restaurant. Conversation with Jill and Jane was very nice over dinner. Primarily, we chatted about travel, outdoor adventures, and seeing different things.

I recall going to shower, shave and wash my dirty shoes shortly after dinner. Then I came back out to the lobby, where the air flow was really pleasant, and I chatted with some folks, surfed the web and wrote my journal notes for the day.

Today we covered the Buda side. Apparently, our bus had some mechanical problems and we had to use public transportation. Our guide, George, who also took us around Pest yesterday, gracefully negotiated this tricky situation for us by leading us in two underground subways followed by a bus to get us to Buda Castle.

We saw the Castle grounds, Gate and spectacular views of the Danube and Pest. While still under some construction, we were able to enter St. Matthias Church. It was pretty nice, and as usual, my eyes searched for, and found stained glass windows. After the church, and because we couldn’t get to Statue Park (on account of no bus), our guide gave us the money for the tickets we would have instead used up, and also took us to Fisherman’s Bastion. It was there that we had even better views of the Danube and Pest, I thought.

Buda Castle Palace Grounds.	Looking out at Pest from Buda Castle area.	Parliament Building in Pest.	Pest.
Former Royal Palace.	Castle Theater.	Fisherman’s Bastion area.	St. Matthias Church stained glass.
Inside St. Matthias Church.	St. Matthias Church.	View of Pest from Fisherman’s Bastion.

Chain Bridge. Lions at entrance, said to roar supposedly if honest woman crosses the bridge.

That was it for the day’s activities, we had the rest of the time to ourselves. We ended up taking the bus back to Pest and eventually had lunch in the market again. We walked around, had some dessert, then some more dessert in my case, and eventually went back to the hotel to rest up. We had become quite tired over the course of the trip, and I think Tobia, in particular, needed the rest. I did some reading, watched TV and surfed online on my netbook in the room for a while.

After the rest, we stepped out to the Italian restaurant practically next door to our hotel. Many folks in the group had recommended it, and I think even our guide book mentioned it. We both loved the food.

Following dinner, we walked across the Elizabeth Bridge with gelatos. We climbed up the St. Gellert Hill on the Buda side and had great views of Pest and even the Danube from up above.

St. Gellert Statue on Buda side of Elizabeth Bridge.

Looking down at the Elizabeth Bridge running across the Danube from St. Gellert Hill.

Buda Castle complex.

Nice view of the Danube.

Eventually we returned to the hotel, sitting in the restaurant with Marie, drinking cokes/lemonades and “interneting” until eventually going to sleep.