Journal - Trieste and Croatia

Hello again, and greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark. Sorry for no news the past week or so, but (as you will see below) an internet connection is difficult to find in the wildernesses of Croatia. So here goes!

Thursday 5
I arrived in Trieste, Italy early in the morning, and decided to depart that evening for a Croatian town just down the coast, Rijeka. I was amazed at the number of motor-scooters that were driving all over the busy city! Most of my day was spent in the area surrounding a suburb, Villa Opicina. To get there I took a tram (streetcar) which turned into a funicular in the middle! I then visited a (not really nearby) cave, which was a good experience, although I wish I had known I could take the bus there instead of walking for over an hour. The views of the city from on top of the hill near Opicina were much more beautiful than the city itself.

Friday 6
Croatia day one. After spending the night in a nice private room in an old apartment building down by the docks of Rijeka, I caught a bus further down the coast to Paklenica National Park. It is known for having great rock-climbing routes, but I was more interested in all the hiking opportunities. I then proceeded to hike into the park towards a hut a few hours away. It turned into an hour longer than expected because I had to take shelter from a thunderstorm. I eventually made it, and had enough time to go on a small hike to a wonderful overlook of the park before returning, eating dinner, and watching the first match of Euro2008 (soccer tourney). The hut was not plush, but did have that amenity.

Saturday 7
Saturday I spent hiking through the park, eventually reaching the highest point in the Velebit Mountain range, Vaganski Vrh at 1757m. From the top were amazing views in all directions, including out to the numerous islands offshore. The rain held off for the most part, but fog kept hiding and revealing amazing views and steep drop-offs all along the trails. I was glad to relax that evening, and sleep early.

Sunday 8
I left my mountain retreat early in the morning and headed back down to the coast road to catch the bus to Zadar and then to Plitvice National Park with two other American travellers I had met a few days before. We arrived too late in the day for the park, so we crashed nearby for the night.

Monday 9
My last full day in Croatia was beautiful too. Plitvice was a much more touristy park, but I would say slightly more beautiful than Paklenica (although the beauty was much less rewarding). It is located around a series of crystal-clear blue lakes with numerous cascading waterfalls linking them. In "Myst"-like fashion, the paths, made of uneven wooden planks, weaved around and over all of the lakes and cascades. I was trying to be restrained, but I still took too many pictures. That evening, I caught a bus to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and found a hostel for the night.

Tuesday 10
I had a bit of time before I had to get to the Zagreb airport in the morning, so I walked to a nearby market and aquired some good bread and delicious strawberries. Food seemed very inexpensive, at least in comparison to what I had to pay in the UK. I had a five-hour layover in Berlin on my way to Copenhagen, so I used the time (and the wonderful warm and windy weather) to read outside and dry my wet clothes. The plane was a bit late, so I arrived and had enough time to get to the hostel and check in before falling asleep last night.