Comfy Croatia (Croatia + a bit of Bosnia)

 

Of the countries that I’ve visited this year, I would say Croatia is the place where I could live my life happiest. It’s relaxed, orderly, and as of two days before us entering, it’s part of the European Union. It’s pleasant. And that usually means a place is boring or dull. But there was nothing dull about what we saw.

 

We flew into the capital Zagreb. It’s got a cool name and a Lord of the Rings pub that we had a drink at, a nice street culture, with pleasant avenues and parks. Oh, and one of the most impressive gothic churches I’ve seen this year. It’s a cool city of less than a million people that I could happily live in.

Next we caught a bus to Plitvice Lakes National Park, known for their cascading lake system and bears. Yep, lots of bears. God dam, these lakes were idyllic. They looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. It’s a whimsical thing to say, but they looked magical. The small turquoise ponds, the bigger lakes, the waterfalls, the colour of the water, and even the temperate forest away from the banks. One of the highlights of the year for me. And here’s my inadequate attempt at capturing it on camera.

 

 

 

And our homely guesthouse:

Next we went up and over the Dalmatian Mountains, beginning of the Balkans which we would follow down to Greece. Immediately the scenery was different, a shift to more rocky and bare landscapes with the Mediterranean below. We stopped at the town of Split, which has an ancient old town area that we stayed in, and in the centre is the world’s oldest cathedral. Here we swam, ate Italian food (because Italy is next door neighbour and the dominant food culture here) and explored the old town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We caught a bus down the coast in what was one of the most scenic roads I’ve been on all year. We were on narrow roads halfway up the Dalmatians overlooking the sea and the small towns and crystal clear beaches below.

Soon we arrived at passport control and handed over our passports to be stamped into Bosnia, only to drive on for about 40 minutes, take a short break and a couple of photos (right), and go on through the border to the small parcel of land that is Croatia’s most southerly point; Dubrovnik.

I remember seeing this town on the cover of a Lonely Planet magazine lying around the house six months ago. I thought it looked pretty nice, and to be dramatic I said to Mum and Dad; ‘I’m going to go to Montenegro and go here this year.’ I thought it was in an entirely different country but nonetheless I made it. And it was as perfect as the magazine showed it.

 

An ancient port town which is very much in tact, it’s one of the coolest towns I’ve ever seen; this too looked like something out of Lord of the Rings (actually it’s a filming location for Game of Thrones). It was nice to swim and snorkel in the clear waters of the Mediterranean and look up and see the ancient city in front of you.

It was all starting to feel like a holiday, which isn’t really the point of this year. But I reminded myself, soon enough we’d be going in Albania. I should enjoy comfy Croatia while I could.

 

Rin and I shared a bottle of wine and watched the sun go down over the coastline.