World Tour Stop 30-32 - Split, Plitivice and Zagreb, Croatia

We traveled up to Split from Dubrovnik after dropping one of our trio at the airport so she could head home. The drive is about 3 hours and we were pretty exhausted so we missed out on doing a lot of cool things because we took a daytime nap to try to recollect ourselves. With that said, we were staying at a shared hostel and learned that Split was hosting an EDM festival that weekend, so certainly a lively place to be.

After getting ready and spontaneously booking a pub crawl for that evening we headed out to dinner. Our host suggested having dinner in the main square at a place called Fabrique and it was really good. I got mac n' cheese and a couple of Croatian beers and Bri enjoyed some BBQ ribs. Plus, the menu marketing was perfect.

From here we headed into the city and took a couple of pictures of Diocletian's Palace before meeting up with our group and starting the pub crawl. The crawl we took was the Tower Pub Crawl and it started with an open bar, all you can drink experience at a private club that included beer pong and a stage. It was a lot and of course meant we were in for a long night. At every bar along the way there was one complimentary drink as well. The bars were fairly spaced out and allowed us to see parts of the city and ended at a dance club on the beach. Needless to say, it was a late night and we got to meet people in tour from all over Europe and the US.

We had to check out at 10AM the next morning and head to Plitvice Lakes National Park which was another 3 hour drive. I would suggest spending a couple of days in Split at least as there is a lot to see and do and we really didn't get to do any of it. Also, this was the end of our very long trip and we needed to catch up on sleep pretty badly, so do not follow our lead and stay here a couple of nights.

Plitvice Lakes was incredible. This is a natural park that is a lake with hundreds of waterfalls of various shapes and sizes. It is about 250 Croatian Kuna to visit during peak season in July and August ($35-40 USD depending on current exchange) but if you have a valid student ID you can save about $12. Definitely wish that swimming was allowed but the park is so serene and the water is cold due to it's location in the mountains so there was no allowed entry into the beautiful turquoise water. There are miles and miles of trails and we did about 8 miles of walking around the park, but there are also paths by ferry and by bus which are included in your ticket. We walked the entire way around the lakes but did not do many of the off shoot trails It is a solid day of visiting and a beautiful place to stop between Split and Zagreb.

As you can tell, it was a little overcast and chilly that day, but the color of the water was still incredible and like glass with how clear and clean it is. We went around 10 AM so it was a little crowded and waiting for ferries or buses was a bit tedious, but if you walk it should be fine. Also, since the path is fairly thin, sometimes the hold up is just people stopped to take photos. I think this was the perfect time of year to visit, which is why it was so much more expensive than if you visit during the off season, but if you do visit outside of the summer months make sure to bring plenty of warm clothes as the gusts of wind are very cold.

From Plitvice we drove another couple hours up the road to Zagreb for our last two nights of the trip. We booked an airbnb in lower town of Zagreb which is bustling with businesses and walking distance to concert halls, pubs and markets. Upper town is where a lot of the wealth and historical landmarks are, but we went a bit cheaper on our place to stay and had free parking on premises.

We met up with a friend from the states who now lives in Zagreb and he took us around town. Again, I think I got worse at capturing the moments at this point so I don't have photos of the cute place we grabbed a beer or where we went to dinner but it was all great. The dinner place was Croatian family style and we shared a salad and some pork buns and lots of wine. We then wandered to an underground bar that we would never have found on our own and enjoyed a Croatian beer.

Zagreb is also home to the Museum of Broken Relationships. This museum is a tribute to a number of people who have sent in objects and stories about a "broken relationship" whether it is romantic or familial. It was mildly depressing, but also sadistically comforting to know that we all live our lives seeking and being scorned by love. But that doesn't stop the search and we know that happiness and love are just a few unturned stones away.

An interesting stop along the way and only about an hour to walk through all of the exhibits. From here we headed back to the airport for our trip home.

Croatia -> London, UK ->USA

Until next time Croatia.