We got up and decided to do our track workout for the week. After a warmup, we finally found the river, and a great path along the river (thanks again to Sheri’s good research). The weather was great, and it was a refreshing work-out.
We got back to the Hotel Carlstadt just before breakfast ended (again). It was good to be starving after the tempo running. We had the normal meat (ham/turkey), rolls, tea and juice. Then we went back to the room, got ready, and headed to Plivitce National Park.
On the way to the park, we stopped at Splunj. We wanted to stop, just because the name was so amusing. Rick Steves mentioned it as a picturesque town to visit if you had a car. It was similar to Chesky Krumlov; an old town, but with small falls and a river flowing through it. It was really charming, and worth the stop (we wish we could stay for the afternoon).
Hours later, we finally arrived after weaving through the hills of Croatia. We grabbed lunch at the main restaurant in the park. We split the peasant platter: a good mixture steak, hamburger, chicken, pork sausage, potatoes. We then readied ourself for the hike.
We headed for the trails in Plivitce National Park. There were beautiful waterfalls that rival Yosemite’s beauty, mainly from a number standpoint. They were everywhere. The blue water of the lakes was amazing to see. There were a lot of tourists there visiting the best park in Croatia.
We did a long hike through the lakes/waterfalls/hills–a little tiresome after our run in the morning. In the upper part of the park, we took an electric boat across a crystal clear lake. It quietly pulsed through the water. We finally got to one of the shuttle stops, and took a shuttle bus back to the shuttle stop closest to the park entrance. We walked back to our car and headed farther south through Croatia.
We headed for Split. The road became a toll road, and I was doing 140Km+ speeds. We got to Split in a few hours. We had decided to go further down the peninsula (since we were behind in what we wanted to see). Decided to go to Markaska, a town about an hour south of Split.
After another hour of driving through tiny towns on the Adriatic, with homes attached to the cliffs, we finally made it to Markarska. We had decided on a hotel, but when we got there it was overbooked (and full of tourists that had just got off of tourist buses). We then decided to try a Sobe, a “room for rent”. We slipped past the sleazy looking guys asking if we needed a room, and walked back to a Sobe that we had seen a women and man sitting outside of. We walked back, and found out that they had a room for the night.
It was first experience with “renting-a-room”; Sobes are common in this part of Croatia. The owner showed us the room, and it was perfect. We had our own bathroom and a nice balcony. All for $35 a night!
We parked our car, brought in our bags and headed out for dinner. We ended up deciding to share another “Platter Meal”. This time at Jez (which Frommer’s and the Sobe owner had both suggested). It was a mix of several kinds of fishes: 2 Prawns, 2 whole Sea Bass, 2 Grilled Squid, and bunch of mussels. It was WAY more than we could eat, but it was FRESH FISH, a good change from the many meats meals of the last week.
We headed back to the Sobe and hit the sack for the night.
