Hand Luggage.

Perfection at Plitvice National Park

From our base at Split we were perfectly placed to visit some of the stunning natural scenery that Croatia has to offer. And where better to see some of the very best on offer than at some of the country’s national parks.

First up was the three and a half hour trip to Plitvice Lakes, the largest national park in Croatia and the oldest national park in South East Europe.

Here’s some of the misty scenes as we headed towards the park

Plitvice Lakes national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia.

It’s made up of 16 interconnected lakes – the Upper and Lower lake areas, separated by the large Kozjak lake.

Once in the park we take the panoramic land train to the upper lakes to begin our walk (included in the entrance ticket price).

Check out the park logo – a brown bear! These wily creatures are just some of the wildlife that roams this huge, beautiful area. Other inhabitants include wolves, lynx, wildcats and around 157 different types of bird.

The park extends over 296.85 square kilometres (73,350 acres) and the 16 lakes are arranged in cascades. There are a variety of different walking routes that visitors can take.

These range in duration from a gentle two hour potter all the way to a day long, eight hour trek. You can plan your trip in advance here.

Visitors can get up close and personal to the lakes thanks to a series of wooden walkways that criss cross the park and waterways.

The lakes are a result of the confluence of several small rivers and subterranean karst rivers. Around every corner is yet another breath taking view of a serene lake or thundering waterfall.

Due to the heavy rains this year, the lakes and waterfalls were all at full capacity with the volume of water creating incredible natural spectacles. It also made the walking a little muddy .. . .

The lakes are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria.

The name Plitvice was first mentioned in a written document in 1777 by Dominik Vukasović, the priest of Otočac.

This name was given thanks to the natural phenomena that created the lakes. These are naturally formed shallow basins – in Croatian known as pličina or plitvak – which have been filled with water.

Autumn adds its own golden tones to the spectacular landscape, and when the sunlight hits the trees and water it is simply breath taking.

The lakes are well known for their distinctive and beautiful colours, ranging from azure to green, grey or turquoise blue.

They are like the most delicate of artist’s palettes and the colours change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight.

We were lucky enough to see the waters in a variety of different lights. The day went from cloudy and overcast with corresponding slatey grey waters to sun shine and blue skies that turned the lakes and pools into enchanting mirrors of green and aqua.

The lakes of Plitvice are a result of century-old processes and the sedimentation of chalk, which is abundantly available in the waters of this karst area. These sedimentations are called tufa or travertine.

The park has a fairy-tale like feel. If it wasn’t for the hordes of tourists (trust us – we picked a national holiday to visit!) you’d expect to see some woodland nymph or middle earth hobbit poke their heads from behind a tree.

Also included in the entrance ticket price is a boat trip to take you between the upper and lower lakes, however, due to the massive volume of visitors we couldn’t get on! So we only managed to see the upper lake area.

All in all though an utterly magical day in a truly breath taking place. I would definately recommend spending at least a day in this amazing natural wonderland.

Split sights and beachlife

After surviving the climb to the top of the bell tower, we headed out and about to grab a snapshot of the sights of Split.

Artwork nestles against the ancient mellow stones while a shoal of rainbow fish wiggle tantalisingly for shoppers.

Bouganvilla blazes on every house and hides even the most broken down of ruins.

Ramshackle little back yards can be glimpsed through half open doors and peeling paint tempts the camera.

*Wikipedia interesting fact alert* The city draws its name from the spiny broom (calicotome spinosa; brnistra or žuka in modern Croatian), a common shrub in the area.

From abstract artworks to labryinthian alley ways that abruptly turn into shady courtyards full of ancient artifacts, balconies and greenery, the city has plenty of hidden delights.

Split is said to be one of the centres of Croatian culture and its literary tradition can be traced to medieval times. In recognition of its importance, in 1979, the historic center of Split was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.

There’s also a strip of beach where all the locals meet up to play the hectic game of Picigin – a ball game played in in shallow water.

Players stay in shallow water and hit the ball with the palm of their hand trying to keep it in the air for as long as possible.

This ensures plenty of hilarity as players belly flop into the water in a desperate attempt to keep the ball in the air.

Head for heights in Split

Pretty Split is a maze of little back alleys, sun drenched courtyards and cosmopolitan feeling harbour front.

Here’s Neil, making it all slightly less classy with his beer. .

The city lives cheek by jowl with its history thanks to the main attraction the Diocletian Palace.

The palace was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century CE and now forms the center of the city of Split.

While it is referred to as a “palace” because of its intended use as the retirement residence of Diocletian, the structure is massive and more resembles a large fortress.

Above is a view of the peristyle (the central square of the Palace) towards the entrance of Diocletian’s quarters and some of the narrow alleyways.

The bell tower looms over the centre of the old city and provide a perfect, albeit rather vertigo inducing viewpoint of the whole area.

Here’s a view of the rather rickety staircases heading upwards! Try not to look too closely at the wobbly rivets, that’s the key . .

And some rather spiffing views across Split from the cosy look out at the top.

You get to peek into windows and spy over roof top courtyards (if you dare peek out from between your hands that is)

It’s a sea of terracotta, wave upon wave of warm reds, undulating tiles and endless windows.

For your viewing pleasure an elusive glimpse of your very own pasty blogger, posing awkwardly (proving once again why it is preferable to be safely hidden behind the camera not in front of it!).

And finally heading back down on rather wobbly legs . .

800 miles of road

So leaving Dubrovnik behind for a few days, we embark on our epic journey across Croatia. Here’s a misty goodbye (for now) to the harbour and fort.

As part of my impeccably planned manic route march across the country, the long suffering other half ends up driving over 800 miles in total. The next step after Dubrovnik is heading North to Split. Here’s our tiny little hire car for the week!

Heading for the open road we get onto the epic A1 road, a huge, winding and empty dual carriageway that eats up the miles.

We zoom onwards, ploughing through the middles of mountains thanks to the endless succession of tunnels, including one 6 kilometre monster!

Along the way we see some of the most incredible scenery including this breath taking view over fertile plains full of oranges as far as the eye can see.

You can almost see the curve of the sky from our vantage point at the side of the road. it seems to only just skim the tops of the mountain range in the distance.

After about three hours we arrive in Split where we’re staying in one of tiny back alleyways of the old town in the impeccably presented Fabio Residence 2.

This was complete with the most hair raising parking experience ever as you have to negotiate the (barely) single file back streets praying all the while that another car doesn’t come haring around the corner at you.

Cosmopolitan feeling Split has the air of a high end resort in the South of France, sort of Cannes or Nice but a lot cheaper!

The city is literally living history as most of the shops and restaurants of the old town are set in and around Diocletian’s Palace – an ancient palace built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century CE. Below you can see the outer walls of the palace.

During our stay we’ll whisk our way through the narrow alleyways and enjoy a vertigo inducing climb up the bell tower. Rest assured, photos to follow!

St John’s fortress and harbour

The old town of Dubrovnik is defended and encircled by formidable walls and incorporates the imposing St John’s fortress.

The St. John Fortress, often called Mulo Tower, is a complex monumental building on the southeastern side of the old city port, controlling and protecting its entrance.

The first fort was built in the mid 14th century, but it was modified on several occasions in the course of the 15th and 16th centuries,

The harbour was designed and constructed by engineer Paskoje Miličević in the late 15th century.

The most prominent portion of the harbour are the three enormous arches (the fourth original arch was walled in) of a large arsenal built in the late 12th century and enlarged in the latter part 15th century.

The harbour is also the oldest shipyard in the city and is still in use today

Around the fort is a favourite place for locals to take a refreshing swim and even though it was a grey day and the sea was choppy people were still taking a dip.

St John’s fortress is just one of the imposing fortifications that are dotted around the city’s huge walls. We’ll spot more of them during our walk around the walls later on in the week.

Dubrovnik – pearl of the adriatic

For years I have dreamt of visiting Dubrovnik. Seduced by the iconic pictures of St John’s fortress imposingly towering over the Adriatic while a picture postcard beach shimmers in the foreground.

Well now I’ve managed it! Having just spent an incredible but all to short week in Croatia,as usual making a mad dash around a country with far too much to see and far too little time to see it!

Starting and ending in Dubrovnik, our whistle stop tour covered over 800 miles and included heading north upto Split and further afield to the stunning national parks of Plitvice and Krka, a brief stop in Trogir and a hair raising jaunt into Bosnia to see the beautiful town of Mostar.

But let’s start with Dubrovnik. A stunning old town hewn from shining white stone that is sadly overwhelmed by endless tour groups that pour forth from the leviathan cruise ships that hover in the ports.

We arrived on a rather overcast day with the threat of rain never too far away. Nevertheless you can still see how gobsmackingly lovely the place is.

Our first apartment was the family run Villa Dard. Set on the hillside above the old town it is a ten minute walk to reach all the sites (although it is a steep climb back up via lots of steps)

First stop, via Pile Gate, was the fashionable and stunning main street – Stradun.

The limestone-paved pedestrian street runs for about 300 metres through the Old Town and is blindingly bright in the sunlight (not that we saw any for the first few days!)

The old town is incredible, almost unreal in its beauty, and almost feels staged like a film set (indeed we only just missed the infamous nude Games of Thrones scene that was filmed a few days before we arrived)

To aid us with our tour we headed to the tasty Dolce Vita ice cream parlour for a dollop of loveliness.

The first day was warm but cloudy and the second day it positively chucked it down! Not to be daunted we donned our fashionable pac a macs (!) and sallied forth to explore some of the little back streets of the town. More of that later!

All the small stuff . .

In amongst all the huge, world changing headlines, the Daily Express carried some small stories, which while not as earth shattering as the main articles, give tiny flavours of daily life in amongst epic change.

Fashion conscious ladies accessorised their gas masks with lace veils and matched the cases to their clothes while everyday events such as births and marriages carried on apace.

Life goes on, albeit with minor alterations for the plucky citizens of Britain! Whether it’s wryly poking fun at the German war monger or observations on the “best blackout”.

However, in amongst the levity, even the smallest stories show how life is changing, including this piece about the future of zoo animals following the announcement of war. Each piece evokes little moments and decisions that you would never even think about.

There’s still time to be educational, including this brief lesson on how to pronounce the names of the, up until then, unfamiliar Polish towns that would soon come to dominate the news.

But war is never far from even the smallest news item, whether its petrol rationing, nationalising of rail waggons or the monitoring of the enemy within – the registration of any Germans who choose to stay resident in the UK.

Adverts a plenty

As the citizens of the UK in 1939 adjust to a new reality they are as yet blissfully unaware of the long battles still to come and so the everyday mundanities of life continue.

Even with the outbreak of war, people still needed watches, vacuum cleaners and underwear! Here’s the shopping news complete with detailed, beautifully illustrated advertisements.

People in 1939 appear to have the same preoccupations then as now. From making sure their teeth were pearly white to treating their crowning glory to the best possible stout bristled brushes!

Before cigarettes and suntans were considered a health no no, they were promoted to the public at large.

Rowntree’s fruit pastilles were touted as the best thing to relieve the smoker’s need to take a puff when their pesky employers forbid a fag at work.

While many adverts are for products that we still recognise and use today such as Beechams powders, a few are an alien concept to us now.

Liver bile need waking up? Do you have stale foot acid? Never fear, there’s a solution.

I love this line from the liver bile ad: “Your whole system is poisoned and you feel dour, sunk and the world looks punk.” Carters brand liver pills are harmless, gentle yet amazing at making bile flow freely apparently!

The concept of renting your electric items (Radio Rentals!) and the novelty of the TV set can be seen here.

As most homes now have at least one or two of the obligatory, humongous googleboxes with a plethora of channels it is almost inconceivable to think that this new fangled technology was ever such a rarity:

“Our combined large picture (12″ x 9 1/2″) television and high fidelity ALL-WAVE radio receiver is available to those within a 20 mile radius of Alexandra Palace. This area will be extended as new stations are erected.”

The progression of TV was halted during the war and all news announcements were made either over the radio or in the local cinema.

Other ads persuade readers to part with their money with promises of full testing, guarantees and lasting accuracy.

Meanwhile concoctions for every bit of the body promised cures for what ailed you. Whether your hair was diseased, you needed a bit of a purge or your acid was rampant, there was a brand to aid you.

The adverts are a wealth of tiny details, from the delicate line drawings of the products to the superlatives used within them. There’s even testimonials from satisfied customers.

No nonsense in the shelters!

Today my treasured new purchase is officially 75 years old!! Having broken the news of the second Great War to an expectant public it was also a wealth of useful information into everyday situations in wartime.

The 1939 Daily Express offers hints and tips into what to do when the air raid sirens sounded. Whether you were driving a car, at home or just walking in the street.

From shelter etiquette through to how not to annoy your fellow shelterees, there are civilised, oh so British, instructions for all situations.

Here the paper suggests that one of the most undesirable companions in an air raid shelter is the man who continually beseeches people to “keep calm”. Apparently he is himself probably in a state of suppressed hysteria!

This initial robust optimism and no nonsense approach to the idea of war is what would help a nation pull together, survive the blitz and manage, somehow, to endure watching an almost endless stream of boys depart who would never come home.

75 years on – a warning from history

One of the best purchases I made during my London trip was an original Daily Express newspaper dated 4th September 1939.

The paper was printed the day after war was officially declared against Germany and the Second World War began in earnest.

Given the combustible state of the world at present, the paper offers insights into a civilisation on the brink of unimaginable horror.

As it is exactly 75 years since this particular declaration of war, it is ironic and frightening that we, once again, appear to find ourselves balanced on the same uncertain violent precipice.

The declaration of war came two days after Hitler invaded Poland.

At 11am, 3rd September 1939, the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that the British deadline for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland had expired.

The British ambassador to Berlin had handed a final note to the German government that morning saying that unless it announced plans to withdraw from Poland by 11am, a state of war would exist between the two countries.

Mr Chamberlain continued: “I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and consequently this country is at war with Germany.”

“You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me that all my long struggle to win peace has failed.”

Here we read that France, Australia and New Zealand also declared war shortly after Britain.

When war is declared, King George calls upon “my people at home and my peoples across the seas”.

“I ask them to stand calm, firm and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right and reverently commit our cause to God.”

Meanwhile President Roosevelt declares America’s intention to remain neutral while Czechoslovakia pledged allegiance to the Allied cause despite being unable to provide its own army.

From the hostile, yet still civil, demands, rejection and ultimate declaration of war via notes and memorandums to the stiff upper lip of the opinion column – it is a glimpse of a lost world, of manners, restraint and a no nonsense acceptance of a new way of life.

Very at odds with our current society’s preoccupation with selfies and melodramatic, self absorbed outpourings.

With the benefit of hindsight, this small snap shot of history is incredibly poignant, To think that as the paper was printed and read, our country, and indeed the whole world had no idea of the horrors that would unfold with the coming of the second Great War.

However it was not just about huge, world changing events, The paper also covers the ongoing preoccupations of daily life with advertisements, advice, weddings and sports. I’ll show some more in the next post.