Plitvice Lakes National Park - Day 14

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

We awakened to pouring rain, which did not bode well for our day's activities -- a hiking expedition in Plitvice (PLEET-veet-seh) Lakes National Park.  The weather had been predicted, so Klemen, our guide, had warned the group the night before that today's activity required walking in the rain for several miles in several hours.  With that in mind, only 9 of the 23 participants decided to brace the elements. The rest stayed in Zagreb, which was not bad, because the city is filled with art galleries and shopping opportunities. Another consideration was that the drive took almost 3 hours one way, making a long day after being on the bus most of yesterday. But for me, it was worth it.

Our group arrived ready to tackle the trails and the rain, and checked out the map.

Plitvice is an amazing natural wonder, located in central Croatia, near the Bosnian border.  I am not aware of anything like it in the USA.  The park, which was founded in 1949, encompasses 73,350 acres. The highlights are 16 terraced lakes that join a series of waterfalls, extending into a limestone canyon.  The lakes are divided into the upper and lower lakes. Unfortunately, because of the rain, the upper lakes were partially flooded so we just did the lower lakes.  This was fine, because the rain was heavy and the park was incredibly crowded for a Tuesday. The Park is beautifully maintained, and wooden walkways and hiking trails connect the lakes.  However, the walkways are not made of planks but of tree branches, so it is very uneven. And with no railing and large crowds, one worried about getting accidentally knocked into a lake.  Fortunately, that did not happen. I never even passed my phone to anyone for a quick shot for fear he or she would drop it into the water; selfies were my only alternative. But even I had to stop shooting photos to be sure I did not slip into the water or ruin my phone with the rain.

After a descent from the parking lot to a lake, we crossed the water in a small boat to get to the trailhead.

Soon after we were treated to a spectacular display of Mother Nature's art.  Here are a series of photos including the waterfalls, boardwalks and trails.

The lakes are formed by runoff from the surrounding mountains and an unusual amount of rain (about 60 inches/year) that goes into a basin at the top of a lake. The water descends from an altitude of 2,000 ft. through the porous limestone rock to create this amazing array of waterfalls.  The calcium carbonate in the rocks is extruded by the water pressure, forming a hard crust, similar to the crust around some water faucets in areas with a similar rock and water combination.  Mosses, algae, and water plants also play a major role in forming this unique landscape. Consequently, the waterfalls are always changing, and people say it is different every time they visit. The water in the lakes also changes color, ranging from azure to green, gray or blue depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the amount of sunlight 

We hiked for about 2 hours and then had lunch at a small nearby restaurant.  All of our meals have been great except this one.  We were never sure what the meat was and what part of the animal it came from -- and it was way more fat than meat.  No problem.  We have been fed well and we'll eat again in a few hours.

We then headed back to the hotel -- made it in 2-1/2 hours. I actually skipped dinner and walked around the Jelačič Square (which is right in front of our hotel).

Then I explored some nearby streets, checking out souvenir shops and eateries. I spent the rest of the evening drying out. I even bought a Croatian newspaper to stuff in my shoes to dry them.

Belgrade, Serbia to Zagreb, Croatia - Day 13

Monday, September 18, 2017

There was no avoiding it -- today was going to be a long day. First one woman forgot something in her room safe after we started so that was a 30-minute delay. Then we had a rest stop 1-1/2 hours into the trip.  About 30 minutes later we reached the border with Croatia. There was a long line of trucks exiting Serbia and entering Croatia. All of our border crossings have required 2 stops (exiting and entering) with about a half mile in between. It took us 2 hours to get into Croatia. We all had to get off the bus and go into a facility to see an agent. Every exit and entry requires a stamp in your passport so it is starting to get full.

Shortly afterwards we stopped at a small hotel where we ate a bag lunch. The hotel also had a campground with large barrels for rooms. Very quaint. The trip was still about 4 hours with another stop. There was no scenery to look at, just miles and miles of farmland, much of it harvested and ready for winter - which is very cold here. I spent my time reading a book called "How we survived communism and even laughed." It was about all the hardships women in Yugoslavia faced trying to be women -- like finding makeup and even sanitary napkins because these were not a priority for "the state" to make. Even toilet paper was a precious commodity and the state-run newspaper was an uncomfortable alternative.

We reached Zagreb about 4:30 and didn't have time to check into the hotel. We picked up our guide and we drove around the city. He gave us a little more information about Croatia. It is shaped like a "C," is about the size of West Virginia, and has 3,600 miles of coast. There are 4.5 million people, of which nearly 800,000 live in Zagreb, the capital of the country. The population has 90% ethnic Croats (Catholic) and 4.5% Jews. 

We were all blown away with how beautiful the city is. There are multiple buildings, done in the neoclassical or art nouveau style that hold large art collections or exhibits. Many of these buildings were constructed during the Austro-Hungarian rule and are done in "Habsburg yellow," a tradition started by Empress Maria Theresa for important public buildings. In fact, our guide said there are 630 art museums and galleries (that includes small ones) in the area. I couldn't get the names of all these buildings but they are all worth including here to provide an overview of the style of the city with expansive green spaces. I did not expect this.

Then he took us to the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen. We have Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, which is very park-like, but this one has amazing architecture. Known as Mirogoj's Cemetery, it was designed by famous architect Hermann Bolle.  Here are a few of the burial sites. There is also a church on the grounds for funerals.

Then our guide took us downtown where we did a walking tour of the Upper Town.  The most remarkable thing about this was St. Mark's Church which has the Coat of Arms for Zagreb on the right and the region on the left.

We passed some shops and town squares, one where the city market is held every day.  One of the more unusual museums is the one of Broken Relationships.  I did not have time to visit it but there are artifacts and stories about people's love lives that didn't work out.It was starting to get dark but we went to a street where we could get an overview of Zagreb. 

It was really getting dark, so we walked to our restaurant Vinodol near our hotel. After dinner I took a walk and caught this shot of Zagreb's Cathedral in lights.

Novi Sad, Serbia - Day 12

Sunday, September 17, 2017

From Belgrade we took a field trip to Novi Sad, the second largest city in Serbia, founded in 1694 when Serb merchants formed a colony across the Danube from a Habsburg fortress.

The old city was a lovely place for a walking tour. Our guide seemed to want to impress us with the diversity of religions represented here with their large physical houses of worship, but that does not really translate to reality. More than 70% are Orthodox Christians, 17% Catholic, 3% Protestant, and less than 1% of everything else. This is consistent with what we have been learning about Serbia.

Case in point. He took us first to a beautiful synagogue where he went into much detail. When it was built in 1909, there was a thriving congregation of 4,000. Now there are only 400 and services are no longer held.

From there we entered the main square which is the best part of a tour here. Today they were having a honey festival.In 1848 there was a revolution and the city was brutally bombed by the Hungarians in the fortress across the river. Ultimately, the city was under the control of the Habsburgs who rebuilt the town. It is a museum of neoclassical and art nouveau architecture from the second half of the 19th century and has been well preserved in spite of numerous conflicts in the region.

From the square, we could see St. Mary's Catholic Church with its 200-ft. spire built in 1894, and the Orthodox Church of St. George. Nearby was the Palace of the Archbishop of Bačka.

While we were touring, we saw this man playing the gusle, a single stringed lute-like instrument from the Dinaric region.

We had some free time so I walked along a pedestrian street. Then I visited nearby Danube Park and headed for the Danube River. I walked across the bridge and got some great views of the Petrovaradin Fortress, sometimes called "the Gibraltar on the Danube." It was built by the Austrians over 88 years, beginning in 1692, with German prisoners of war.

Then we headed to lunch in a small restaurant in a nearby village. While we were there, it poured rain, so much so that the street outside became a river. But it cleared afterward and we headed to our next stop. 

The Fruska Gora mountain area was once home to 35 monasteries, but many were annilated in wars. There are still 16 in use and we visited the 15th century Krusedol Orthodox Monastery.

  It was quite a peaceful setting, with a well preserved church. However the electricity was off so we could not see the frescos inside very well. There are still about 16 monks in residence.

Perhaps the real highlight of the day was a visit to a Beekeeping Museum/Winery (who knew they went together) also in the Fruska Gora area. A winery has been located on this property for 300 years but the Zivanovic family has owned it since 1910. 

He showed us the old underground wine cellar where they turn out 60,000 liters a year. He pointed out that these cellars have a constant microclimate of 12.5 degrees Celsius (about 54 degrees Fahrenheit) with their dirt floors and moldy walls. Due to the natural evaporation of wine from the barrels, mold is created over decades which helps maintain the humidity and temperature. Unlike other alcoholic beverages, wine is still alive when you drink it. 

Then we went to the beekeeping museum which went into great detail about honey production (not the "secret life of bees"). Until the late 1800s, the method for obtaining honey from hives was to kill the bees. This made it rare and expensive, not to mention inhumane. The Museum was a kind of memorial to a man who developed the moveable wooden slats to obtain the honey without killing the insects.

Now it was time for wine tasting -- and honey tasting. We sampled about 8 different wines, both red and white, and the last two wines were medicinal with 27 different herbs infused. All were good.  We also tasted 3 different types of honey.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a substantial dinner at the hotel and to bed.