more than the coast

Just about this time last year we went on a week long road trip to Croatia. Usually our immediate thought was of yachts and the coastline. However, we heard a whisper that there was so much more to Croatia, and decided to uncover all these secrets ourselves. WOW is all I can say. I am sure glad we did!

Our adventure began with an early morning drive with Plitvice Lakes National Park as our destination. I'm used to road trips being 12 hours or more- but good news for us! It's actually only five hours away! I love living in Europe! The ability to travel to other countries is just a few hour's drive with maybe a passport check at the border. That's it!

Back to our Croatian adventure. As I mentioned, this was not our initial stop- but maybe you'll be able to tell from the photos... it was my favorite! Plus the fall colors that are abundant now in this moment in time- I have to share this first! Keep your eye our for another post about Plitvice and our other Croatian stops.

We parked outside of Krka National Park and took a nice long stroll along this river into the park entrance. It was off season so it cost almost nothing for an entrance fee, and parking was free. I love traveling off season- prices are at least one half the cost during summer (if not free sometimes!) and there are very few other people you have to share your experience with.

Can you imagine this place in summer? I'm envisioning people milling about with lines everywhere for their ice cream or hot dog to enjoy while they're cooling down in the waterfall. Oh yeah, that's the awesome thing about Krka! You are allowed to go swimming in the water, just below the biggest waterfall. (See pics below.) How cool! However, that is the only minor setback of visiting off season, it is closed. This year it closed 1 October. I mean, I wasn't about to even put my toes in anyway because the water is quite chilly!

We took most of the day walking through the park, which the main part of Krka is this waterfall named Skradinski Buk. My best translation is that "Skradinski" is after the town it is nearest. Krka has multiple sites if you will, each with unique waterfalls and geographical features. We visited a few others you will see later.

The path we took was along the educational route. There was some interesting signage and a few interactive exhibits in the cute little village shown above. It was a very well maintained area with houses that served as souvenir shops, restaurants, or- can you guess? Ice cream stands! In Europe, ice cream stands are what Starbucks is to every street corner stateside. Here, we grabbed some sandwiches and hot chocolate and enjoyed a lunch overlooking the clear flowing water. And guess what? We had it all to ourselves! Definitely better for photos- no people to crop out, ha!

The views were and still are breathtaking. We couldn't believe how many waterfalls there were on one spot! It was an easy hike around the park, there were footpaths under which the water flowed freely. Such a cool experience to see the water (and feel it if it splashed over!) moving in every which way right under your feet. The sound of running water on it's own is relaxing, but imagine hundreds of various sized waterfalls surrounding you. Trying to describe it, I begin by remembering the most peacefully calm feeling. Then I attribute the word powerful to it, that's this experience. Calming-power. Powerfully-calm.

When the fur babe wasn't trying to jump in the water with all the ducks, he was loving the multiple chances he had to get his paws wet. He did quite well sticking to the path but we gave the long awaited "go ahead" to run freely into the water outside the park on our walk back to the car. Happy pup, happy life right? 

Our next stop on our tour-de-Krka National Park was Visovac Island. There is a Franciscan Monastery on the island that has been there since 1445. As it was off season, there were no boats running so we just admired it from afar.

We had two more things we wanted to see before the sun went down, so we drove north to Roški Slap. Here was a little town with the water just flowing freely around and through the buildings. This was called Vodenice, where the water mills were.

From this viewpoint you get a beautiful panoramic view of Roški Slap falling from the Krka River into Visovac Lake. Aside from the ducks, we again were the only visitors enjoying the scenery. I couldn't imagine it being any better.

As the arrow indicates, we headed north again but this time just a few minutes' walk. It was perfect timing to see the "necklace" waterfalls that were last on our Krka checklist. 

Bypassing the opportunity for a bird's eye view from above, we traveled around the 1.36km trail and were rewarded with equally beautiful sunset views of the necklaces. It was a romantic walk and a perfect way to end our day (sorry, TLC) chasing waterfalls.

Our little energetic hiker was actually tired by this time (parenting win!) and our tummies were grumbling so we knew it was time for dinner. It was a loonngg brisk fall day with perfectly cool temperatures, but as the sun fell our fingers and noses caught a chill. Although exhausted and craving a hot cocoa, I also would have been perfectly content with an ice cream. Weird...

Just as there's more to Croatia than it's well-known coastline, remember the saying "there is always more than meets the eye." Maybe someone else doesn't initially see what you do- but keep on believing in your own beautiful thoughts. I am happy we explored deeper into this little-less-well-known part of Croatia. This trip holds a place in my memories as one of my favorites. Where are you going to explore next?