Plitvice National Park, Croatia

Plitvice Lakes National Park is a gorgeous with its turquoise lakes and majestic waterfalls.

A boardwalk path leads you through the park and across the water, quite literally.

Because the minerals in the water create limestone and travertine, the lake bottoms are rock instead of silt and therefore crystal clear instead of muddy. 

On the way to the park, our driver told us about fighting in the Croatian/bosnian war. He was our age. 

In 1991 when Dan and I were looking forward to marriage, college graduation, new jobs and everything life has to offer, our driver was a soldier. 

He said he lost five classmates in one day. 

But he also said that even in war life goes on. 

He said some of his most precious life moments happened during the war. 

I’ll be thinking about that idea for a while. 

We’re enjoying one on one time with Michelle and Brent. We haven’t traveled with just them in years.

Possibly since Hawaii 25 years ago!

We began at Entrance one and followed a modified “C” path, thanks to the instruction of Rick Steves.

We saw all of the lower lakes and after ferrying to the upper lakes, walked through half of that part of the park, before stopping for lunch at a fancy steak restaurant within the park which gave Dan the meat and calories he wanted, but also had a delicious cucumber and tomato salad  and roasted veggies the rest of us were looking for. It was perfect.

It was so fun discovering a new place together.

Zadar was a two-hour drive to and from the park and while we heard the bus was an easy way to travel, we appreciated having a private driver who could take us home at our leisure and eliminated extra planning—especially having only arrived the night before and dealing with jet lag.

Once back in Zadar and Dan had an hour of downtime (the rest of us got a snooze on the car ride home, but Dan had the front seat leg room, but also had to keep up a conversation with our driver), we went into old town for dinner. 

Is there anything better than European narrow alleys and late night dinners in tiny outdoor restaurants?

The streets in Croatia’s old towns are paved with travertine and worn glossy, smooth!

While we waited for a table, Dan and I walked to the beach to hear the Sea Organ.

Manmade spaces where the waves hit the boardwalk and manmade holes along the path create an instrument effect, with varying notes, like an organ. 

It was a cool idea that I think every beach town should have!