Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

May 20 – 21, 2011.

With GPS, maps, and a packed lunch in the car, we’re ready for another road trip.  Our destination was Plitvice Lakes National Park, about 5 hours from Pula.  True to form, our GPS took us there by the scenic route.  We’ve learned that’s not necessarily a bad thing as we’re seeing parts of this country that many Croatians probably never see.   

This trip was over and/or through some tall mountains.  Sometimes we were reminded of West Virginia with narrow valleys between the mountains and sometimes we felt like we were in Germany with wide valleys between the mountains, or in Colorado with the barren mountain sides.  All are very picturesque in their own way.  On this winding road we saw evidence of the war that was fought here in the early 1990’s.  It was very sobering to see small stone monuments erected where once stood houses.  These monuments were often placed at the top of steps that once led to a house.  Other houses on this road still have bullet holes all over the sides of the houses with the concentration of damage surrounding the windows.  I just can’t imagine what life must have been like living in the middle of a war zone like that.

On the way back to Pula we went on different roads and came upon a large monument to those who lost their lives during World War II.  It was quite sad as the site was overgrown with grass and weeds.  And right behind this monument, a shepherd was trying to get his sheep to move further up the slope and not having an easy time of it.   

Okay, enough of the road stories.  Now on to the beautiful Plitvice National Park with water, water everywhere.  400 waterfalls, but we stopped counting after 179…don’t worry, I restrained myself and didn’t take pictures of all of them…but it was tempting!  And the absolutely beautiful lakes in between the water falls with their deep waters of a shimmering green.  I’ve never seen lake water the color that it is in this park.  

To give you an idea of the size of this park, we walked for 6 hours and still didn't see it all.  Lots of walking trails, a few caves, a short boat ride to get from one side of a lake to the other, and a “train” ride too are all included in this park.  The train is actually 3 small bus-like vehicles attached together.  We were enjoying the day so much that we decided to walk back to the beginning instead of taking the train.  And we’re so glad we did, as that’s when we saw so many more beautiful spots in this park.  And it wasn’t crowded like the regular trails and the boats.

                                            A 12 second video of some of the waterfalls.

On our way out of the park we stopped at the souvenir shop and finally found some things that are made in Croatia.  So, another goal met!  We now have a few small trinkets to remember our time here: a small vase with a hand painted scene from the park, the standard refrigerator magnet to add to our collection, and a small “bottle” that is made from pine cone seeds with another hand painted picture of another scene from Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Enjoy the photos.  I promise I didn’t take a photo of all 400 waterfalls!  But I did have a hard time deciding which photos to include in my online photo album and managed to stop at 21 photos.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100390625521976559356/PlitviceLakesNationalPark#

Eco-Tourism in Istria, Croatia

Eco-Tourism in Istria, Croatia

May 18, 2011. 

Our guides for this adventure were two faculty members from the University of Pula, Robert and Sanja.  They both have Eco-Tourism properties that they rent with vineyards and fruit trees, wild asparagus and strawberries and cherry trees and…you get the idea.  They make wine from their vineyards for their own use and for family, friends, and visitors.  Robert’s place comes with bikes and a boat at the nearby marina for his guests.  Very nice!  The original house has been renovated and added to using natural materials with lots of beautiful wooden beams, floors and ceilings with very stylish and modern bathroom facilities.  The furniture included the bed his grandparents used throughout their married life together (new mattress of course) and an ornamental brass bed that Robert designed and his father made.

                                                  Villa Angelina

 

Our first stop was in Laban to visit the Underground City XXI:  From a coal mine to a culture mine.  Yes, the organizers of this project hope to build an underground city in an old coal mine!  What an interesting way to utilize an unused coal mine!  Check out the website:  http://www.undergroundcityxxi.com/

From the Underground City project we went to the old part of Laban, on a hilltop where so many old towns are located on the Istrian peninsula of Croatia.  Beautiful views and an interesting museum with Roman artifacts and many artifacts from the Croatian culture, including musical instruments and the traditional clothing that used to be worn here.  Again, very interesting to see all these things and to hear the kind of music the instruments made and the type of singing that only the older women know how to do now.  It’s called “thin and thick” and is becoming a lost art.  I hope the schools will keep it going by teaching it in their music classes, along with teaching the dances in their physical education classes.  

And we’ll never forget the exit to the museum.  You go through part of an old coal mine.  At first, the way out was of regular height but soon we were almost crawling to get out.  A surprising and fun way to exit a museum!

Our next stop was at Robert’s Villa Angelina, his Eco-Tourism friendly property that he manages with his father.  What a lovely spot.  Unfortunately I didn’t get enough photos to really show it as it deserves to be shown.  By this time we were late for our reservation at an Eco-Tourism Restaurant.

                                     View from Laban, Croatia

The restaurant, I never did learn its name, was near the village of Barbar.  And we sure felt special.  We were the only guests for dinner.  We were glad Robert was driving – no sign to indicate where the restaurant was.  In addition to the restaurant, the owner also had several properties for tourist rentals.  Robert made the reservations and asked for specific Istrian dishes to be served.  He chose well and the owner of the property served the best prošut I’ve had here with delicious cheese and home-made bread.  Next, was home-made minestrone soup that was also the best I’ve ever had anywhere.  The next course was gnocchi with mushrooms that came from the forest on the property.  Very distinctive flavor so it’s a good thing we like mushrooms!  Then, we were served ravioli with wild asparagus in a mild cream sauce.  The taste of wild asparagus is stronger than what you buy in the store and, again, delicious.  Then a large serving plate of noodles (different from any noodles I’ve seen before) with Istrian beef and chicken with a gravy.  This is the Croatian version of goulash.  Again, really delicious and the meat was so tender.  By this time this was served, I had to ask Robert how many more courses are there?  I was already very full!  Fortunately, this was the last course except for the “sweets” and coffee.  For desert, we had what I’ll call small fritters.  I couldn’t understand the Croatia name for these but that’s what they were.  And they were also excellent.

Well, it was past mid-night by the time we finished this gourmet meal and time for Robert to get us home so he could get home.  Sure am glad we didn’t have to get up early the next day.  It’s 11:00 AM the next day and I’m still not hungry!  

Click on the link below to see the photos, only 16 of them!

https://picasaweb.google.com/100390625521976559356/LabanCroatia#

Venetian Lion with Open Book means this building was built in time of peace. In time of war, the book is closed. 

Thank you Robert and Sanja for a wonderful Croatian afternoon and evening!

Spring Break. Another Road Trip. Destination: Germany

May 3 – 9, 2011.  Road trip through Croatia and Slovenia to Austria and Germany.  

The Alps, sunny side up for us please.  Driving through the Alps in Slovenia was beautiful – lots of sun; verdant, fertile land; huge castles; the Alps! and a good highway.  The Alps reminded us of the Rocky Mountains in the US:  rocky peaks still snow-covered and no trees near the tops of the mountains.  Did I mention sunny?  

A few very long tunnels as we left Slovenia going into Austria and we hit gray skies, colder temps, and rain.  But at least it wasn’t snow!  The Slovenians say they live on the sunny side of the Alps.  The Austrians don’t like this saying!  I guess because it appears to be true…Although when we checked in to our hotel, we were informed the rain would end that day.  And it did! 

And it only took 2 different GPS’s and a couple of good maps to get here.  One GPS covers Croatia and Slovenia and Austria.  The other GPS has Germany and other countries on it.  Quite tricky but the GPS informed us “We have arrived” so we were happy.  Just had to stop often as we approached the Austrian border to see if the second GPS could find us, which it didn’t until we were in Austria and not one kilometer sooner!

Our week was filled with mostly sunny days with a few cool days thrown in for good measure.  We spent the week in the Bavaria region of Germany looking at castles, climbing mountains, enjoying the exhilarating views, and also re-examining German history at the Dokumentaion Obersalzberg, Hitler’s country retreat.

We spent the week in 2 different places:  Bayerisch Gmain and Bad Hindelang.  One of these places is in Berchtesgadener Land in Germany; both were so beautiful!

Highlights of the Week:

Another road trip experience.  A mountain road was closed but was the only way to reach our hotel.  Not one detour sign to help!  So we went on ahead anyway and made it safely – but just barely.  This road really was closed!!!

Hornbahn Hindelang:  Gondola up the mountain, climb to the summit, then walk down.  What gorgeous views and we even heard a cuckoo bird calling.

Dokumentation Obersalzberg and Kehlsteinhaus (The Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s “Diplomatic House.”   Historical look at all aspects of the Nazi period, including the propaganda and the Holocaust.  Only one building was left standing along with the Eagle’s Nest at the top of the mountain of Hitler’s second seat of power in Obersalzberg.  We spent a very thoughtful day here and was glad the sun was shining.

Mad King Ludwig II’s Castle, Neuschwanstein.  He only lived here for about 6 months before his “untimely” death.  Building the castle began in the 1860’s and was never completed.  The rooms are painted with scenes from Wagner’s operas…

Ehrenberg Castle:  what a climb, what a view, what a castle it must have been!

Alpsee Bergwelt:  Just for fun, a gondola up the mountain and a very fast toboggan ride down.  

To recap:  climbed 4 mountains, not every mountain.  Found our dream…design for the porch for our house in Texas.  Not quite “The Sound of Music,” but pretty close with the cuckoo bird calling to us on top of one of the mountains!

 For more photos, click on the link to my web album for Germany

https://picasaweb.google.com/100390625521976559356/Germany2011#

News Flash

May 2, 2011.   

We woke Monday morning with the news of the death of Osama bin Laden.  Hooray for our military for taking out this horrible person who has master-minded the death of thousands of people all over the world. 

 

I wish his death meant the end of terrorist attacks.  But, I fear a surge in the frequency of these cowardly attacks against civilians and military targets is eminent especially since the escape of so many of the Taliban prisoners in Kabul, Afghanistan.  It seems to me they are gearing up for a deadly season in Afghanistan and elsewhere now that the winter is over. 

Just a few weeks ago we heard from our son, a U.S. Marine, that he is deploying to Afghanistan by the end of the month.  Now you know the real reason why I am fearful.  My son was born to be a warrior…but his mother and father were not!   So, now all we can do is pray for his safety and the safety of all our troops wherever they are stationed.  And support them by sending “care” packages as often as possible.

Semper Fi, Lance Corporal Smith!  Hoo-rah!

May God Be With You!