Heart Shaped Istria

Our final stop in this magical land of Croatia was in the heart shaped Istria Peninsula. Rovinj is a small port city from which it was easy to drive up and down the Adriatic Coast to visit numerous other quaint (there's that word again) cities and towns. From Pula with its impressive Colosseum to Porec and countless other seaside communities, this region is swamped in summertime with tourists from all over Europe. Of course we had it to ourselves which made it easy to navigate quickly. It was sad to end our visit to Croatia but it was an incredible journey of discovery (and since I'm running out of adjectives to describe this place, I guess it's time to leave). We know this country deserves a return visit since we have only scratched the surface of what it all has to offer.

Plitvice Lakes - Otherworldly Wonder

After enjoying beautiful sunny warm weather for most of our Croatian travels, we headed into the mountains and encountered the familiar world of snow. Plitvice Lakes are world famous for their neverending series of waterfalls. There are sixteen terraced lakes grouped into the Upper and Lower Lakes regions and it takes a lot of walking to see them both. These lakes are separated by natural dams of travertine which grow at the rate of one centimetre a year with plants growing on them to give the waterfalls their unique look. The lakes also have distinctive colours that can change based on sunlight and mineral concentrations. Unfortunately we not only had snow (which didn't bother us) but we had fog (which is a problem when you want to see something). I hiked through the Upper Lakes where the fog slowly lifted to reveal the unique beauty of the falls but when we walked through the Lower Lakes as a family, the fog worsened.

Luckily the next day the fog lifted and we were able to see more of this incredible natural phenomena.

We were also able to visit the Rastoke Falls where a town had been built right over cascading waterfalls. As we drove through the snowy countryside and tiny Croatian towns, we kept on wondering what we would see next in this land of constant surprises.

Zadar - City of Sunsets

Next on our list of coastal destinations was the small harbour city of Zadar. We found a wonderful AirBnB where we had the most beautiful view of the Old Town from our huge balcony. It was a great way to start and end each day. We walked across the bridge and in a few minutes we were inside the wonderfully maintained older city. There were markets and cafes and cathedrals but we enjoyed the long promenade the most. The sea organ was fascinating to listen to (music is created by the sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of marble steps) and the Greeting to the Sun installation was interesting (sadly it was in need of repairs since only part of it worked properly). Zadar is known for a famous quote by Alfred Hitchcock who said back in 1964 that Zadar had the most beautiful sunsets in the world. We thought they were amazing but prairie sunsets could provide a good challenge. Zadar was a delightful short stop before we left the phenomenal Croatian coastline to head inland.