Croatia, or is it Hrvatska?

Another country to put on our must see list.  We found Croatia very interesting and beautiful but not without its problems.  Europeans have been vacationing in Croatia for years, and according to some of the bussiness owners 25 to 30 years ago where the "golden years" for them to make money, the years before the Balkin war.  Today the average wage is about $350-400 Euros a month, a little more than in Montenegro but the cost of living is much higher.  The inflation rate in Croatia is climbing, for example a lb. of butter which was 1 Euro last year is now 1.60 but wages are the same.  But that being said...it was a great place to visit and was diversified, with mountain parks, farmland, islands and beaches.

We started our visit to Croatia in the south staying just outside Dubrovnik in the small beach village of Mlini, thanks to a tip from Klaus and Renate.  We found a family run pension"Villa Nina" which was just a few steps from the beach, where we made ourselves quite comfortable for a few days.  They were great, being the only guests at that time, they gave us the run of the kitchen and it was great to be able to cook a few meals ourselves instead of always eating out.  We had a hard time tearing ourselves away...again.

Heading north we decided to do a little island hopping.  First we took a ferry to Korcula, where they grow a lot of grapes and make a fair bit of wine and rakijha...sort of their version of moonshine, yes we had to stop and buy a couple of bottles, one rakijha made with herbs added to it(good for the digestion) and one wine made from sherry(very sweet but great for dessert).  As it turned out the ferries were not running very often because the tourist season is mostly over so after only one day in the south islands we set sail for Split on the mainland.  Interesting, again we met two couples on the ferry from Canada...we Canadians do love to travel.

The city of Split itself didn't do anything for us so we decided to find a hotel outside of the city, or that was our plan until we got flagged over by two guys on an old BMW who insisted we follow them, they could hook us up! A few guys from the " Oldtimers Moto Klub" were meeting for a beer and wouldn't you know it one of them had an apartment back in Split we could use for the night,for a price.  Right on, so back we went!  One night in the city was enough and in the morning we were off to the mountians and Plitvicka Jezera National Park.

P.J.N.P.(which is what I will call it from here on) was unbelievable!  P.J.N.P. is the biggest and oldest park in Croatia(1949), it's known for it's lakes and many waterfalls formed from mineral water solidifing and forming travertines.  Remember this word from Pamakulle, Turkey? only in Croatia the mineral water is a beautiful blue colour and flows through a gorge, forming lakes joined together with everchanging waterfalls.  We made a 6 hour hike around the lakes, and with help of a boat and bus covered most of the park.  We hiked one part of the trail that was actually closed(we didn't know at the time) and we were so happy to be the only people on the trail.  This was not the case on the other parts of the trail, bus loads of tourists walked the boardwalks and made it not quite as nice.  We enjoyed the park immensely, however.  Too many people and too cool weather...off to the beach!

Another of the islands, Krk, this one in the north of Croatia is where we headed to spend our last few days in the heat before we headed back to Germany.  As we crested the hill before hitting the coastline we were astounded by the view of the rock covered islands, a big contrast to the green mountians of P.J.N.P.  Krk is joined to the mainland by a toll bridge and a small ferry joining the islands of Krk and Cres, we crossed the bridge and found an unbelievable deal on an apartment in Baska, at the southern tip of the island.  Once again, a kitchen to do some of our own cooking, restuarants nearby if we needed them and plenty of hiking trails.  We had a chance to do one 6 (or so)km hike, that left us breathless, before Ken looked at the weather forcast for Austria and Germany and saw the temperatures dipping into the minus numbers. Halfway through my morning cup of coffee we started packing up the bike and within the hour we were on the road...again...headed north.  

This is a hotel in Mlini which has sat empty since the early 1990s when war broke out in the Balkin countries.  if you look close you can see the holes from mortar shells.

Taking a look at the Adriadic Sea as we come to the coast after spending several days inland.

The view from a hike we did on Krk Island.  With lots of rocks to work with, they made all the fences(which there are miles and miles of)to keep their animals in.  The earth is so rocky it even holds, water from underground springs.

Looking down into the lower section of Plitvicka Jezera National Park.

 From a viewpoint just south of Dubrovnik there is a great view of the old town  and the new city, the only thing that is missing is the port on the other side of the hill where all the cruise ships dock. There are sometimes as many as 10,000 passengers visiting the old town from the cruise ships. 

When the cruise ships are in port the passengers are spending most of their time visiting the old town so some of the parks are empty.  Nice for us, we have the place to ourselves!

While hiking one end of Plitvicka Jezera N.P. we stopped to cool of in a cave with a nice view up the canyon. 

We noticed these locks on a bridge in Dubrovnik.  When people marry they put a lock on a fence or bridge with their names and wedding date on it, there it stays , a reminder of their bond.

The  land is terraced from the sea to the top of many islands.  Once again they used what they had to make fences, this time the fences are around the olive trees.

We are enjoying a quiet moment in front of one of the waterfalls in P.J.N.P.

A look down a small street in Dubrovnik.

Boardwalks are built throughout the canyon because the water is constantly moving, making new creeks and waterfalls.

Just another beautiful waterfall in P.J.N.P.

Standing on the beach in the village of Baska, on the island of Krk, you have an amazing view of the mainland in the distance and some of the other smaller islands.

A closer look at the terracing on the islands.  It is amazing the work the people have done here!

We passed many smaller islands and sailboats along the way on our three hour ferry ride from Vela Luka, on the island of Korcula, to Split, on the mainland.  

Ken stands on the balcony at our pension "Villa Nina" in Mlini, enjoying the view of the water and the garden below.

Walking around the streets in Dubrovnik you just don't know what you will find..  Old town is off in the distance but many ruins are scattered everywhere.