Sometimes you can get addicted to so many things you see on the internet. Once I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and randomly came across a picture of a beautiful crystal-clear turquoise lake surrounded by crispy autumn foliage in multiple colors. Somehow, I ended up stalking all possible hashtags related to this place, liking and saving those posts. The extent of my addiction which grew towards this place, I do not know. But what I did know was that THIS was going to be my dream destination.
After months of reading and gathering facts about the country, I finally arrived at Zagreb, the capital of Croatia in September 2019. Croatia’s architecture got me at first sight (now that’s what you call “love at first sight”). The chilling weather, the buildings, trees, cordial and charming people, cute dogs…oh how perfect it was! The excitement was hard to contain so I decided to explore the city soon after checking in.
Cathedral of Zagreb
The busiest part was the Zagreb Square which had some of the most beautiful and historic pieces of work like St. Mark’s Church and Cathedral of Zagreb. The interiors of the churches were jaw-droppingly remarkable and these churches are a must visit. The square would also get busy with the Dolac Market which adds flavor to the place with local produce, so fresh. The people were always willing to offer help and I liked how cordial the Croatians were in the city. The souvenir shops would always make me go nuts and I assumed football fans would go crazy in these. Then there’s this trippy place “The Museum of Illusions” which will only take you like half an hour to forty five minutes to cover. There are so many places and landmarks to cover in this area. Evenings are lovely to walk. You could just stroll and stroll through the streets while admiring the city and enjoying bakery delights and fresh fruit etc. The tram service made travelling through the cities convenient.
Picturesque Plitvice Lakes
And now the reason which attracted me to Croatia… the Plitvice lakes. It was a long drive from Zagreb and the tour guide made a stop to visit a village; the Rastoke Village, where you can picture those beautiful little mill houses by many waterfalls, grannies doing their knitting or picking grapes from the vines. This was just like how you see villages on a Disney cartoon. We would pass through meadows that were barely occupied and finally reached our destination.
The trail began along an array of waterfalls and it was a narrow footpath with closely fitted wood with one side to the water. Some parts of the forest were green and the other parts had different colors. It was a different feeling when trailing through the vibrant foliage and the turquoise water looked magical. We were told how nutritionally enriched and healing this water is.
It was an 18km trail but the best part was we weren’t fatigued at all. Every part of the trail was picturesque. Finally you get to reach the top to catch a good view of the Veliki Slap (The Great Waterfall). And then you descend to get aboard the cruise through the lake where the journey comes to an end. This was definitely one place I had to leave with a heavy heart, like as if I had some special inexplicable bond with it. Anyway, the sun set on my dream destination, yet was an amazing one! Bet this National Park is one of the many significant places as to why people choose to visit Croatia.
PS : If you ever desire to visit here, do not forget to cover Dubrovnik, Hvar, Split, Zadar which unfortunately I couldn’t.
