GERMAN TOURISTS AND WOODEN WALKWAYS... DAY 4

A night of no air conditioning, oh my, I don’t think I can do this again.  I tossed and turned and I know I woke Savage up.  (He had earplugs in when I woke up, go figure? Do you think it is because I was tossing and turning or because I even talk in my sleep?)  The shower was amazing and almost made up for the a/c.  Almost....

At breakfast, we met our neighbors.  I had on shorts a ratty t-shirt and tennis shoes (this was going to be a hike through their oldest National Park).  A German mother had on an 80’s miniskirt and nice sandals -- nice outfit to go hiking in.  Wonder how long she will last on the hike through the lakes. 

We paid our very personable landlord (360 kuna = 50 euros) and hit the park by 8:15 a.m.  Cha-ching - we might actually see something.  Thankfully Savage is feeling better and perking up a little.  And now that he wasn't sickly, he was going to walk my feet off.   He has walked my feet off before on our first trip to Italy.   I am only 5 feet tall and  he is over 6 feet, the big question is can I keep up even when he is sickly?  We will see.

When we got there, we had to walk up and over a pedestrian bridge and then to a bus (Savage listened to his ipod -- permanent attachment to his head for the trip) that took us to the top of the lake area.  It wasn’t as hot as I expected.  The trail started near a lake with an algae covered lake bottom.  The hiking trail was a VERY nice wooden plank walkway.  Wonder how long it took them to build this.  There weren’t a lot of people at the beginning of the trail.  It was very pleasant and quiet and tranquil.  For someone who talks a lot, I do like the quiet (and I was with the perfect travel companion for that). 

I have been to Niagara Falls and other waterfalls in the US.  The Plitvice Lakes were very different.  We did the first half of the park from the top.  The waterfalls were amazing and the hike was great up until the time the German tourists invaded.  When they hit, it got louder and they loved to spread out taking up the entire walkway.  And what was up with those short shorts, overpacked back packs, and white knee high socks with sandals.  I thought Europe was where fashion started.  I guess they got stuck in the 1970’s.   And I really don't think men need to be in capri pants -- either wear shorts or long pants..... As someone would say quite a bit on this trip, I expect, wrong.com.

When we got to the end (after 6 + miles), there was a boat that took us back to near where we started.  Oh my,  then there were stairs and lots of them.  I kept up until then.  The stairs beat me --- Got left seriously behind.  But as I had the keys to the vehicle I wasn't in any danger of getting left in the park.  Smart Girl...

We ate at a restaurant near where we ate last night.  There were beautiful hanging flowers and the grilled chicken and vegetable were very good.  

On the road, I got crafty -- gave him some fancy headphones so I could listen to my George Strait.  He doesn't appreciate the king of country music like I do.  :)  Have to have a fix every few days.  And I snuck in some Elvis.  I mean just because he is from the other side of the world, how can he not like the King?? 

Instead of going North we went back toward the coast -- Trogir.  There was a really long tunnel about 5 miles long.  The Kiwi’s supervision found my blinker use lacking.  I mean really, what is an indicator?  Do you really have to use the blinker when there is no traffic?  Our car was really big for a European model.

Check out the fantastic roadside rest areas.  I think I can wait until we get to a real town.

We drove into Trogir, a medieval fort city right on the water.  The views going in were fantastic. 

In Trogir, we couldn’t find a parking space nor a hotel room, the actual little city was mostly pedestrian and it was packed with people.  I started praying hard because my travel buddy was getting very pissy about being confined in the car, note to self, he can’t stay in the car too long (ie more than an hour). 

Surprisingly found Domus Maritima, a lovely 3 start hotel right on the water.  We got lucky with our room -- an a/c and a shower that looked great.  Also we had a waterfront area with daybeds and a breeze.  He did good with the pick.  They even made sure you knew they had disinfected the toilet.  There was a very dangerous ladder to get to the hotel from the street.  I knew I was going to bust it again.  But thankfully I haven't yet. 

The owners were artists too and they had some interesting stick figures in the garden -- reminded me of Sherlock Holmes story about the stick figures.

We went to a bathing beach area and he deck changed and hopped in.  I, of course, could not deck change.  So instead I chucked the shoes and waded in.  The water was a very pleasant temperature and clear, but the “beach” wasn’t really a sandy beach -- it was a weird combination of rocks and crushed oyster shells.  You couldn't really walk on it barefooted (maybe that is why they were selling those wetshoes everywhere? hum?).

Thank goodness I got a little alone time, I know he needed it also.  While he was swimming/decompressing, I rearranged the trunk and my luggage.    As I wanted to only take in one bag, I had a few issues packing in the trunk but accomplished my goal-- yeah, I am proud of myself.  I might actually learn a few things on this trip - packing better might be one of them --- Maybe....

We went back to the room, he napped (old man) and I took an awesome shower and put on real makeup -- made me feel like a new woman.  Did I say that?  Makeup?  Small pleasures are wonderful to come by when on vacation.  Normally on my European jaunts I rarely wear makeup.  But for some reason after a long hike and hot weather it felt refreshing to get clean, put on clean clothes and makeup.

The sun was starting to go down and we wandered through this ancient city. There were small fishign boats and big huge yachts docked right by the shore.  People walking around with Crocs on their feet.  The town was very interesting, lots of little cobblestone narrow alleyways and no vehicles.  Discovered an old town square with a bell tower that I don't think we were supposed to go up in, but the door was unlocked and Mr. Vertigo actually went up the stairs.  So who was I to argue as I followed him.

The Esplanade by the water had a beautiful palm tree lined path and even a few shopping stalls.  They were selling lavender sachets and sponges from the local waters.  Found a great old fort, I was loving crawling up the stairs to the top.  Savage wasn’t having any of the heights, but he manned up and made it to the top too.  He just kept looking ahead and never looked down.  

Took some great shots of the town from the top.  Downstairs they had set up a stage and lots of chairs for some kind of event.  On one side was the water and boats and on the other side a cheesy looking soccer field and parking lot.  Also some more interesting Croatian tourists here .... Lots of people were out enjoying the late evening pleasant weather.

We wandered back through the alleys and found a restaurant that I could at least pronounce the name  “The End” (it was at the end of an alley).  I couldn’t read the menu in parts, but when in Rome. (I had their version of mac and cheese, it was interesting but by no means Velveeta or Kraft.)

It was an amazingly beautiful day.  The sun was out, no rain, and the skies were a radiant blue with very few clouds.  It is getting a little warmer but it is summer and this is normal here. 

No one was going to have to rock me to sleep tonight I was beat.  A six mile hike, 2 hour car ride and a walk through town and up a fort did me in.  I think Savage is feeling better too, bodes well for the rest of the trip.  More adventuring tomorrow.....