Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
One last look at Varazdin's City Hall before I headed out of town.
With much reluctance I headed out of Varazdin today. I could
have certainly stayed longer and just relaxed at street cafes with wine
watching the world go by. Ahhhhh the simple life. I love vacations. But it
really was time for me to head south and check out more of this great country. My destination today was the must see location of Plitvicka
Jezera (Lakes) National Park. It took me about 3 hours to get there with a couple
stops to check out hilltop churches.
The view from one of those hilltop churches. Everything here is just so pretty.
This is the Church of the Holy Three Kings. I know I mentioned before that Croatia is filled with hilltop churches. Every little town you drive by has one. I decided that I had to just stop at one of them to take a look. It was a total fluke that it happened to be this one. I had read about it while out at Trakoscan. It was on a list of historic buildings/churches worth checking out in the area. I couldn't tell from the map where any of them were so it was just by chance that I chose this town to stop in.
The church was constructed sometime in the 17th century. It is a rare church in that the interior is almost entirely covered in frescoes and mouldings. Unfortunately it was closed and locked so I could not get inside to see them.
The backside of the church where you will find the cemetery and a great view. The church itself is surrounded by an arcade that offers shelter to pilgrims.
After a quick stop at the church I was back on the road. I should probably mention that the main highways are all toll roads here in Croatia (very nice actually) and the speed limit is normally about 130 km/hr (80mph) although even if I was driving that fast people were normally flying by me like I was standing still. At one point in time I looked down at my speedometer and realized I was going 150km/hr (93mph) and I was still holding up traffic (don't worry I don't like driving that fast so slowed down). But the highways are pretty nice so driving wasn't really a problem. Reading the road signs....well that was an issue but I'm pretty sure I didn't break any laws.
One of the early views once you arrive at the start of the trail. So pretty. I will be saying that a lot.
If you look closely along the far side of the lake you can see the trail I will soon be walking along.
Getting closer to the water. Before you ask....no swimming allowed.
Enjoying my afternoon in the sun. I probably should have brought a hat.
I soon found all the rest stops and restaurants necessary because of the lack of
hiking that most people seem prepared to do. I felt a little overdressed and very
over prepared wearing my Merell mid-weight hiking books and shorts with a
backpack full of provisions when I could have walked (very annoyingly slow I
might add) in a pair of gladiator sandals or flip flops and most certainly
wearing a bikini top. Seriously I saw everything on this walk from plastic SAAN
store shoes (you Canadians know what I’m talking about) to 1.5 inch heeled
wooden flip flops. I guess that’s why the hike I did today takes some people 4
to 6 hours. I did it in 3…..and that was mostly because slow moving families
with kids in strollers were slowing me down.
That trail along the lake you could see from above in my earlier pictures. I love the colour of the water.
Beautiful little water falls and flowing water everywhere.
The first rest area you come across. The toilet facilities were very nice here. This is also the spot where I picked up my boat ride. They have several trails set up and the one I picked out for today included a short boat ride across one of the lakes in the middle and then a bus ride at the end.
On the boat making my way across the lake. The Park contains 16 lakes that vary in size but all appear equally as beautiful. On this day I would only get to see a few but tomorrow I would get to see more.
All the lakes are connected in some way. There are lots of little (and large) waterfalls to be found along the way.
Some more of the trail.
One of the larger waterfalls you will find along the way. Would have loved to have swam across the lake to get a closer look but sadly that is not allowed.
Another beautiful waterfall.
I think this was at the halfway point. It would have been nice to just stop and sit here but there were way too many people around. Not relaxing at all.
Everything being said, I did enjoy the hike. It is a beautiful park and the trails well
laid out. They have put up lots of boardwalks to protect the plant life and keep you out of the water to protect the fish (although it was super...and I mean like really irritating to see people throwing coins into the lake at a couple locations. That's good for the fish). Tomorrow I will do the longer hike, which should take 6 to
8 hours…….I’m sure I can do it in 5.
Once my hike was
done, I needed to find a place to stay. There are not a lot of hotels out here
but there are a few hundred private accommodations that offer rooms. I was told
to just drive up to one and see if they have space for the night. I found
one nice and close to the park (so tomorrow I can just get up, have some
breakfast and go). Life just seems so peaceful here. No Internet access,
minimal cell service. It was nice to disconnect and enjoy the view. A wonderful
place to do kick back and relax.
You get a little distance from the lakes and you get to walk through beautiful forest. I didn't see a lot of wildlife (just birds). Apparently there area is home to bears and such but I assure you there was way too much noise to spot anything like that.
Back above the lake. In case you weren't sure, this hike took me down one side and then back up the other side. It's a big circle.
I walked across that boardwalk much earlier on in my hike.
The patio at the place I stayed.
A good night's sleep was in order. Tomorrow would involve some more hiking and a little more driving.
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