Day 12. A funny thing happened on the way to the lakes

The planning looked simple. A two hour drive south from Zagreb, a visit to the famous Plitvicka Jezera National Park, then another two hour drive south and arrive for an overnight stay in Zadar.

Well it was almost that simple. The road from Zagreb to the park was a slow regional road. It was, however, a fascinating insight into the rural heartland of Croatia. The snow was melting and the fields were burning. Houses pockmarked by gunfire and bombed out buildings were a reminder that war was still a recent memory.  

Rounding a bend a policeman stood in the middle of the road, with a small 15cm paddle stop sign in his hand, he waved us to stop. We stopped. He came to the window and looked into our car. He asked ‘English? We replied ‘Yes’. Then he abruptly asked, ‘Papers?’ Feeling like we were back in that movie, being chased by the KGB, we wondered, which papers did he want to see?  Richard handed over his international driver’s license, but that wasn’t enough. The answer was he wanted to see the registration papers of the car. After a quick search through Richard’s luggage the correct ‘papers’ were produced, dually inspected and much relieved, we were allowed to proceed.

 

Our second surprise, 20kms before reaching the park was an amazing town built on and around a waterfall. Why you would build your house so near water that it ran underneath your floorboards and beside your front door? We are not really sure. It looked spectacular, but it would be rather dangerous to encourage a toddler to play outside.

Plitvicka Jezera National Park, though very quiet out of season, was an impressive affair. A 40 minute walk, a 20 minute boat trip, a 5 minute ride up the hill on a truck and finally a 10 minute walk back to our starting point, all included in the entry fee of less than $10.

With snow still on the ground and ice receding from the lakes we were privileged to see these natural beauties beginning to wake from their long winter hibernation. It was indeed hauntingly beautiful.