Croatia

Croatia:

After squeezing out one more evening (and one liter of beer) at Oktoberfest we boarded our sleeper train at 11pm. We got super lucky on two fronts: 1.) The SLEEPER CAR tickets were only $20 more than the dreaded FlixBus and 2.) We had the entire sleeper car to ourselves. Another perk of European trains, the 2nd class sleeper cars have a door that locks--we were able to lock our car while we slept and get some great sleep. I dreamed about the relative luxury we enjoyed compared to buses :).

Well rested, we arrived in Zagreb, Croatia the next morning. The road trip begins! We took a small “urban hike” to the car rental agency from the train station and got to see most of downtown Zagreb. Ok, in retrospect we probably should have taken the train, but all worked out. We threw our bags in the car and before we knew it we were off! Plitvice Lakes here we come!

The national park was breathtakingly beautiful, we walked on wooden platforms of varying elevations that took us weaving between countless waterfalls. The park has over 20 lakes that are all contained on different levels, but are all overflowing to each other. The elevation difference is what is so unique in causing the falls. It is also some of the clearest, bluest water we saw in Croatia.

After taking in the waterfalls, we resumed our journey to Zadar, our first Airbnb. Marinka the homeowner was quite the Croatian character. Animated, sarcastic and witty. She had great tips for us and warned us about all the designer fakes in the Balkans. She also told her poster of Che to watch over “her Americans” a few times, haha. We enjoyed her condo, with an awesome balcony that had a sea view and full kitchen.

One caution when renting a car in historic cities: driving in them kind of sucks. The cities were designed for pedestrians, great when walking; but when driving hilly and narrow streets in a manual transmission car, it can be a white-knuckle experience. Parking in the old city is another “experience”; in the US, we design parking spaces and lots for Escalades, in the old city, spots are more sized for mopeds. Luckily, aside from getting from one city to the next, we did not use our car for getting around. We walked and loved every second of it--soaking in the historic architecture and experiencing the centuries-old cobblestone streets.

Zadar

Zadar was a cool little beach town that enjoyed some R n’ R in. As mentioned before we had a wonderful balcony which we spent a lot of time sitting on enjoying beers, local liquors, food and great conversation. We ventured out into the town and discovered a way of life that seemed simple and pleasurable. There were a few historical and cultural sites and many little restaurants and small bars. A few high lights are the old wall that surrounds the city and the sea organ.  What is a sea organ you may ask? It’s a really neat set of steps when the waves of the sea hit the different levels the water that enters the holes pushes air through and creates musical sounds. Often, the sea organ sounded out of tune, haha, however it was pretty cool to sit and listen to the almost eerie sounds the waves can make. We rested well in Zadar before heading out in the car to our next stop. Split!

SPLIT

When we arrived in Split we found almost impossible to find FREE parking for 3 days- score!! We were staying at a hostel called Fairytale Backerpackers hostel.  Don’t let the name confuse you, it wasn’t really whimsical or filled with stories, but it was really interesting to see an entire hostel fit inside one large flat of an apartment, it was rather quaint and cozy.  Split is larger than Zadar and seemed to have more touristy and nightlife things to do. When we first went to get food we found ourselves mesmerized by the labyrinth style walkways in the old town center. There were cobble stone streets, old churches and an old clock tower, little pathways that almost seemed crevice like that you had to slip through. It was wonderful to wonder through.  You then find your way out onto this gorgeous promenade along the sea filled with restaurants, bars, lights, boats, and of course a great view of the sunset. We couldn’t party too hard the first night though ;) As we had big plans for the next day!

Our plan was to take a ferry over to the island of Hvar for the day and rent scooters to move around the island. It’s a good thing were a pretty flexible. Because it is the turn of the high season to low season (the time when there are not a lot of tourist) the ferry schedules were about to change and things were closing down. Thankfully we were one day before the season change, however it was a Sunday which means things are less frequently run. Ryan ended up feeling pretty ill and decided he would not be able to join Emily and I on the journey, which was unfortunate for Ryan, (poor guy!) but GIRL’S DAY for us (hehe)!

Lindsey and Emily’s Adventure!

Off Emily and Lindsey go! We woke up at 4 am in order to catch the ferry by 5 am, it was cold and dark and we almost missed the ferry because we couldn’t find it. It was a two hour ferry ride, we had nearly the whole thing to ourselves, we each found a couch and passed out for two hours. When we awoke to the ferry docking we made our way to the small bus stop where we caught a bus to Hvar, by this time it was only 7:30 am. The bus wound around the cliffs and watching the sun slowly creep up gave us energy. We made it to Hvar and had time to kill until the motor bike shop opened, so we took a walk and had some breakfast.

We made it to the motor bike shop and it was go time! We rented our scooters and we were off like a herd of turtles with no real destination in mind other than to see the island and the beaches. We had a blast. The views from our scooters as we went up, down, and around the cliffs that overlooked the coast were amazing and sometimes a bit scary. Cars would often pass us, which wasn’t an issue except for the fact that the roads were so windy. There was also a tunnel that freaked us out a bit, it was long, dark and difficult for cars to see small scooters, but we put our lights on, took it slow, and enjoyed the challenge. We drove all over the island and to many little villages. Because it was beginning off season the villages were sleepy and closing down, but we actually enjoyed the peacefulness. Our favorite spot of the day was this small beach where you had to park your bike, hike down the cliff side to a secluded, small beach that had one small coffee bar/snack shop. The beach was made of smooth rocks, which we could lay out our towels, and we plunged in to the chilly, yet refreshing water. The water was so clear you could see to the bottom even when you were out in the deep water, and it had a beautiful blue from the top view. We spent over an hour there, had some fresh peaches and a Croatian pastry that had fresh cream cheese in it, YUM, and the only thing missing was a glass of the local cherry liquor.

As it was time to head back, we had an interesting experience at the bus station. A man approached us and a few other girls to get into his taxi, yes this was a real taxi, and offered us a price a bit cheaper than the bus. He tried to cram us in his car and hurry us a long. Some of the locals did say he was trust worthy and it was just a better deal to get a ride in the taxi than to take the bus back to the ferry. Don’t judge us here! We did get in his car, but as soon as we were in, we had a funny feeling and told him to stop and we got right back out. He became visibly angry. Two other girls had gotten out as well. Emily and I stopped and just chatted for a moment about what had happened. It then occurred to us that he was poaching bus customers to make money and that it is illegal to do so, which was why he hurried. Ultimately, we were glad we got out and waited for the bus. However, next time we won’t get into someones car in the first place :) It was a good lesson about thinking on our toes and following our gut reactions. Would we have been okay? Yes. Would we have made it safely to the ferry for a bit cheaper and more quickly? Yes. Was it worth it to get out and take the bus? Hell yes.  We grabbed some cheese, meat and beers for the ferry and enjoyed laughing, reminiscing and having girl talk the whole way back. We then later met Ryan for dinner and thankfully, he was feeling much better. What a day.

The next day, we headed out for Bosnia, one of our favorite places we have traveled.

Until next time,

Lindsey and Ryan

SIBINIK-

Out of sequence, but we wanted to keep Croatia together. We were deciding how we wanted to position ourselves for car return. Instead of going to a border town in Bosnia, where we did not find many good options, we saw a town in the north of Croatia called Sibinik. This got us closer to Zagreb, where we had to be in the morning and got our border crossing out of the way during normal business hours. Our Airbnb was my favorite ever. The “IKEA palace” was brand new, had super easy parking, and two balconies. Plus we each had our own bedrooms with our own bathrooms. A treat!

We mostly spent the days relaxing and cooking our own meals. The view from our balconies was unbelievable; the sea, islands, boats, coast, watching the storms with lightning roll in and out ahhhh…  We fell into the town on a Sunday, when everything is closed, and a Monday, which happened to be there Independence Day, when everything is closed. We still wandered the smaller, cobblestone streets, and enjoyed the old architecture, churches and sea view. Lindsey stepped in a very large pile of dog poop, which splattered on Ryan which gave everyone a laugh, but was pretty “crappy” for her haha. We all survived, relaxed and headed back to Zagreb to return the car the next morning and continue on with journeys. We said good bye to our dear friend Emily, which was difficult because of how awesome she is and how much fun we were having and headed out on our bus to Budapest, Hungary for some time in the baths!

Until next time,

Linds and Ryan