Croatia from top to tip

It is our last night in Dubrovnik and I am sad to leave this part of Europe. It is absolutely beautiful and in many places unspoiled by tourists...though war has taken a toll for sure.
Our first stop was Rijeka. Not a tourist town, but could be. Beautiful AHE (Austro Hungarian Empire) buildings and a wonderful pedestrian walk covering a lot of the old area. As well, there was a marvellous lookout with an old castle above the city. Apparently hotels are not the greatest yet so that keeps tourists away.

Gave the GPS one more try and headed for the Plitvicka Jezera..a national park that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Again we seemed to meander up the mountain sides on small treacherous curving roads..wonderful little villages and views..but not necessarily how we wanted to make the trip. Finally the GPS ended up in the glove box and the map plus brain became the way to navigate. We headed back to the edge of the Adriatic and followed the curves along the water...the land is almost desert like in its sparse vegetation and rock that defines the huge hills, but the blue of the sea is magnificent. Lots of development of resorts and upscale places happening.

We then headed cross country toward Plitvicka and travelled through areas where the aftermath of the war was evident. Lots of ruins with new houses..quite simple in design...springing up in the midst. In the towns we could see buildings still with bullet holes in their walls. Over lunch in a roadside restaurant, we talked with a Slovenian man who said the whole area was “ethnically cleansed” and all the Serbs had been driven out. People who had lived together in peace for centuries...killed each other and then many fled to find safety somewhere else. This tragedy that seemed so far away seems to come to life for me and I feel so sad for such hatred and bitterness that has defined this place.

Tonight we are staying in a room outside the park entrance. All accommodation in this area is in private rooms and gives income to the locals. The familia Luketice seems to have about 4 houses on their property with 3 of them just with rooms for tourists. No breakfast...will have to travel down the road to a local restaurant. But, clean and spartan with our own bathrooms. The owners speak some German so we can converse somewhat.

The Plitvicka Lakes are a Unesco World Heritage Site and they sure deserve the designation. A whole series of beautiful blue green lakes with waterfalls between them cascading down through forests. There are a lot of walkways made of tree branches with hard to see small steps up...makes for a few trips on this magnificent trip. To do the whole thing by foot would be 18 km, but there is a boat trip and a "bustrain" that shorten the connections. Jurg and I took the chance to have a good walk and of course I took a zillion pictures. The final bustrain was not running yet so early in the season, so we didn't go round the last lake..But, it was wonderful!
In the afternoon we drove through more of the countryside with its small farms and windy hilly roads and headed back to the coast again. This time we stopped at Zadar to see the sea organ. One sits on these steps at the side of the sea and listens to an "organ" that is played by the waves as they move the air up through holes in the concrete. It was quite wonderful! This city also has lots of Roman ruins that are interesting.
The night was spent at the Best Western in Split. It was such a long drive on the windy roads along the coast that it was 8 pm before we arrived. And there was an autobahn...
In the morning we toured the most amazing Diocletian Palace...roman ruins intermingled with middle ages and AHE buildings. It is another Unesco site.
And then on towards Dubrovnik...on the newly opened portion of the autobahn. Wow...sailing along at 130 km with huge sweeping bridges across the valleys and above the towns. Then 80 km later it all ended. Back to the small roads and the little villages that provide the services for the travellers. I do wonder what will happen to this small local economy when the A1 is finished all the way to Dubrovnik. For the cities it will be a win as more tourists will be able to come...but it will be death to the people who rent rooms and sell food along the way. This road is financed by EU money and will mean that perhaps there will be a ferry from Dubrovnik to Greece and more hotels in Dubrovnik. It all reminds me of Rome coming...the bridge towers look like aqueducts marching across the valleys.