Croatia Continues
The town of Hvar was a great place to relax for a few days. The tourist season was waning for the island, which made it a good time to come and enjoy the place with fewer crowds. Our apartment was conveniently located just off the main square, giving us easy access to the beach, coffee shops, the old fort, and the shops on the narrow streets of the old town.
After a bit of confusion finding our apartment, we got settled in and set out to explore the town. At the top of the hill behind the town there is an old fort, and great views of the city and surrounding islands. The fort had a small exhibit on the many ancient shipwrecks in the area, a few cannons left over, even the old prison is still intact. On the way down the hill we walked past a few old churches on the way back to town, one of which housed the Benedictine nuns. They help make the island famous with their timeless craft of agave lace. Fibers are harvested from the cactus in the region and are hand-sewn into very detailed designs. Heather and Mike also made time for a quick swim in the chilly waters. The ‘beaches’ were just the rocky coastline, but we did manage to collect a few urchin shells just off shore. One evening the girls also treated themselves to a massage.
After two nights on the island, we headed back to the mainland and drove into the mountains. The destination was Plitvice National Park, famous for its waterfalls. The park has a group of lakes, and an unusually strong concentration of calcium carbonate creates natural dams and countless waterfalls between the lakes. It also gives the crystal-clear water some dramatic colors. We spend the day hiking around the upper and lower lakes, and took a boat across one of the larger lakes. It is a very beautiful area, and it was great to get out and get some fresh air.
The last stop in Croatia was back in the capital, Zagreb. It is another formerly walled city that is full of churches, cafes, and cobblestone streets. We created our own walking tour of the old city and saw a church with a very colorful tile roof design, a chapel built into one of the gates in the city wall, and a beautiful cathedral. It wasn’t all religious though, there was also a tower overlooking the city that carries out an old tradition. Someone had the good idea to fire a cannon each day at noon so the whole town could synchronize their watches. Despite the abundance of accurate clocks these days, there is still a cannon at the top of the tower and an old artilleryman that continues to signal noon to the people of Zagreb.
We really enjoy being in Europe and are taking advantage of all the great cheese, coffee, wine, bread, and other treats we can find. We are also lucky to have had such nice and generous visitors over the past two weeks that share our interest in food. It’s been great to see some family again, but nothing lasts forever and we had to say goodbye to our traveling companions in Zagreb.