Zagreb: Road to Zadar
Between the two of us, we had quite a journey! With no one wanting to fly through Newark these days, we figured that was the best bet for getting across the pond. Flights were wide open, and to make sure he made it, we purchased a discounted confirmed seat on United. Unfortunately, it was delayed by 6 hours (30 minutes at a time), so he missed the last possible option to cross the ocean. He got a room, and we bought a confirmed ticket to Zagreb. My flight was also delayed because someone had a drone over Stuttgart, my layover airport. Flights were diverted. By the time I got to our accommodations, it was nearly 10pm.
While waiting in Stuttgart, I did get to think of Barry often… every time there was a gate change, I walked by this snack/coffee shop. There wasn’t even a bar around. After seeing several people drinking mugs of beer, I realized the snack shops sold beer and wine in cans, along with the sodas. Interesting.
After planning this trip for months, everything changed at the last minute. Our intention was to take Flixbus from Albert Apartments Zagreb Airport. This accommodation was excellent, by the way… Including taxes and fees, it was $60 for a 2-bedroom apartment. It had everything we needed. Anyway, we had attempted to spend some time with our friends who used to work on Royal Caribbean… thinking they would join us in a couple of our stops, we just couldn’t our schedules to mesh for planning. With the bus booked and paid for, we expected to drive away at 10am and reach Zadar at 1:30. Our flat in Zadar was helpful to let us check-in before the 3pm set time. Well… all that went out the window. Nikola decided he wanted to pick us up and join us for a night in Zadar. He said he would be at the apartment around 8:15… boy was it tough getting up after our previous long day.
Rather than heading to our next town, Nikola took us to a place with a local dish called Burek. It was described as a greasy pastry filled with meat, onion and cheese. Of course, no one cared that there was nothing I could eat… and I was starving because I couldn’t find food the day before! I ended up watching them eat this unbelievable Croation dish, while I scraped the top layer off a cheesecake.
On our way to Nikola’s house, we stopped on the side of the road to check out a village called Rastoke in the town of Slunj. Not a well-known place, the village us surrounded by the Korana and Slunjcica Rivers. Sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Plitvice Lakes, all I could think of was what a great place for a retreat!
So many waterfalls… it was incredible to view them as far as the eye could see.
Check out this video… it shows just one layer of waterfalls. Looking past the village, I noticed more. This moves into the top ten of spectacular places I’ve visited! One day soon, I will be back to relax in this little village. Three main waterfalls and 23 cascades, make this very special!
As you can see, a bridge crosses the river leading to the village. This area is free to hike. There are restaurants and seating to ponder life. On the left, one section of the small village. Being a very small village, it is best to bring Euro as not all places accept credit card.
Next stop, our friend’s home. He purchased this and it is a work in progress. With the idea of making it kind of like a bed and breakfast, there is much to do renovating rooms and transforming areas into special gathering spots.
This is a large house with many rooms. Walking through it, we could see the potential. A nice outdoor space with several rooms that could be fixed up to rent out. Rock walkways and walls brought a special charm to this soon to be home to travelers.
At a nearby restaurant, we enjoyed a meal together. Very nice ambiance and a pretty view, this seemed to be a very popular eatery.
A plate full of fresh calamari, it melted in my mouth! Barry had a pizza (shocker). On the side was a spinach potato dish… if only I could eat that because I’m told it’s delicious! Oh well… the calamari was plenty and the lemon and butter sauce made it so tasty!
Finally on the road to our first destination. Zadar is about a two-hour drive. Nikola knows the roads well, but I was scared at the fast driving and car passing haha. It is definitely a scenic drive. Croatia is a beautiful country… and quite diverse. Hills, beaches, wine country.
The way the clouds hung over the mountains in the background, made it look like they hovered above this grassy mound. It caught my eye! We viewed the mound or rock, whatever it was, from many angles. We finally reached our destination several hours after we had planned to be there, but it was fine. Check-in was a breeze! Next post will show all around the Old Town of Zadar!
