Croatia - Islands, Lakes and More

  Zadar, Croatia
Monday, May 25, 2009

After Morocco, Croatia was probably second on the list of destinations that I was most excited to visit and it didn't disappoint.  Most people think Dubrovnik when they think about Croatia so I was a little hesitant about being in Zadar but it ended up being a great decision and a break from many of the large cities we have been visiting.

Peaking out from the Ocean

Zadar has a population of about 70,000 which meant that by the end of our five days there we were very comfortable getting almost anywhere in the city.  The destination is not overwhelmed by tourists and it was great to feel more emerged in the local culture.

Rooftop view of Zadar

The following stories / observations will not do justice to the place but hopefully you will get a laugh out of it and maybe some insight into Croatian culture.

Another view from above

Eating:  On the flight into Zadar I spent some time reading the guidebook and happened to find a passage saying that Croatians really don't eat out much and prefer to spend their money on clothes or improving the appearance of their homes.  I really didn't think much of this until we went to find a place for lunch on our first day in town.  As we had walked around town there seemed to be tons of cafes but once we started looking for a place to eat we noticed that everyone sitting at what we thought were eating establishments were not actually eating anything.  They were simply sitting at the cafes drinking beer or cappuccinos.

A street in Zadar

It took us at least 15 minutes walking around the very compact town center to locate a pizzeria and once we sat down we realized that we were some of the only people actually eating there.
I thought that maybe this lunch experience was just a fluke since it happened on a Thursday, but the cultural advice in the guidebook was confirmed when we went out to dinner on Saturday night.  We had decided to have a nice dinner that night and earlier in the week we had selected a great restaurant overlooking one of the many marinas.  We arrived around 8:30 and had no problem getting a seat.  It was surprising that throughout our dinner most of the tables remained open.  If you do make it to Zadar don't worry about making dinner reservations.

My car

Transportation:  Since Zadar is really close to Plitvice Lakes National Park (Falling Lakes area) we decided to take the buses and spend a night out there.  Trying to balance our two very different planning vs. no planning travel styles we didn't buy bus tickets ahead of time but instead just asked the tourist information in town what time we could get a bus out to Plitvice.  They told us 9:45 the next morning and even pointed out the bus station on our city map.  The next morning with our day packs in tow we set out for the bus station.  Jonathan had map duty that morning but as we got closer to the location marked on the map we realized that this had not been correctly marked.  Luckily we were in the general area and stumbled upon it as we wandered around.  As we stepped up to the ticket window we quickly realized that the bus to Plitvice Lakes left at 9:00 and we had missed it.  The next bus did not leave until 2:30 so we had a lot of time to kill at the bus station.  Thankfully we found a place to store our luggage and spent some time wandering through a very large grocery store and reading/napping at one of the many local beaches.  Finally on the bus, we thought it would be smooth sailing but we almost sailed right past our stop.  The bus driver had seen our ticket but didn't announce our stop.  I happened to be looking out the window at that point and noticed that we needed to be getting off the bus.  We just had enough time to run to the front of the bus and confirm the stop with the bus driver but we made it.     
Thinking that we were well prepared to catch the bus home we were not too concerned.  This time we were on top of things and had asked for the return bus schedule when we were at the station in Zadar.  It was a good thing too because, as we found out from an older couple from Tennessee, no one in the Plitvice Lakes area seemed to know the bus schedule.  We must have seemed so put together to the couple from TN, with our bus schedule, sitting at the bus stop well in advance of the scheduled pick-up time.  Well they should have been there as the bus to Zadar went flying by us.  Apparently if the buses arrive early to a designated stop they do not stop and wait and, in fact, it is very difficult to even know where the bus is going from a distance.  The signs in the front window are tiny and I did not realize that it was our bus until it was already past us. 

I had help with these

So we passed our three hour wait for the next bus with some drinks and card games at one of the only cafes in the area.  When we went back to the bus stop for round 2 there were many more people waiting for the bus, so at least this time there might be strength in numbers.  But as we waited a taxi van pulled up and offered to take us to Zadar from only 13 kuna more than the bus (~$2.50).  Not wanting to miss the bus again we immediately took the man up on the offer and eventually the bus was filled with the other people waiting at the stop. 

Water:  I would be remiss to write about Croatia without mentioning all of the water.

Sunset from the pier

The colors of the Adriatic Sea are beautiful!  We spent a day relaxing out on an island and actually swam out to another island very near to the shore which is home to a Franciscan monastery. 

Day at the beach

There were probably about 10 people on the entire island and it was very peaceful.  
Not only was the sea wonderful but we were also observed all shades of blue and green during our visit to Plitvice Lakes.  

Getting funky with the camera

The water was so amazingly clear and it made me wonder if the lakes near Minneapolis had ever looked anything like this.  

The fish

You could clearly see the fish and all the way to the bottom of the lakes.  

View from above Plitvice

It was amazing!

It was hard to leave Croatia but I am sure there will be many surprises in Greece and from what I read they really enjoy eating out!