Croatia Photo Diary: Plitvice Lakes & Istria

I'm back with part two of my Croatia photo diary. If you missed part one last week, be sure to check it out here.

After our time on Hvar with our friends, we took the ferry to Split, where we spent the afternoon, before parting ways and continuing on just the two of us.

Approaching Split by ferry.

Chris and I then made our way inland, to spend a day exploring the beautiful Plitvice Lakes National Park. These lakes and their accompanying water falls are considered one of the top natural sights in Europe, and they definitely didn't disappoint. We did get hit with a crazy rain storm in the morning, which had us huddling indoors and debating whether we'd be able to explore the park, but luckily the bad weather subsided and we were able to take in Plitvice's breathtaking scenery.

Plitvice Falls

From Plitvice Lakes, we continued on to the region of Croatia know as Istria, where we spent three nights staying in the seaside town of Rovinj. Despite it's beauty, Rovinj was the only part of our trip which we were a tad underwhelmed by, namely because the town was much more touristy than expected - and this is coming from tourists, visiting a country whose primary industry is tourism! I'll admit that it was funny to hear my German boyfriend complaining about "too many Germans!" This said, we were still able to get off the beaten path a bit and explored a beautiful neighboring town, found a couple of super yummy restaurants, and enjoyed an afternoon sunning ourselves on a private beach (Croatian for rocks). In other words, we more than made do :)

Rovinj, Istria.

Wine by candlelight.

The Istrian town of Bale.

 

Truffle semi-freddo. Yup, for real.

 We ended our Croatian adventure with a night in the city of Zadar, which was a wonderful blend of old and new worlds, and which we would definitely love to return to, based on it's close proximity to many beautiful islands.

The view from St. Donatus Church in Zadar.

 Have you ever visited Croatia? If so, what what your favorite part of this country? 

Croatia Photo Diary: Dubrovnik & Hvar

Today I'm sharing some photos from my recent trip to Croatia! My partner, Chris, is German, so we often travel back to Germany to visit family and friends, and in this case we were also celebrating the nuptials of our good friends, Miriam and Dario. 

While it's always fun to make a trip to Germany, the deal that we have when we go back to the "motherland", is to visit another country while we're in the area (don't you just love Europe??) and have some holiday time for the two of us. This year we settled on Croatia, which we had heard nothing but fantastic things about, and I'm happy to report that we weren't disappointed. 

If you haven't visited Croatia, be sure to put this country on your wish list! While this beautiful gem may still seem somewhat "undiscovered" from a North American stand point, trust that it is one of the current hot spots for European vacationers - and for good reason: the balmy weather, amazing history, gorgeous coastlines and welcoming locals make Croatia a must-visit country. 

Quiet early morning streets in Old Town Dubrovnik.

 
The first few days in Croatia were spent with our friends from Germany, in Dubrovnik and on the island of Hvar. While Dubrovnik is a lovely seaside city with much to see and do, the main highlight is walking the Old Town walls. We made a special point to beat the crowds (Dubrovnik reportedly sees 800+ cruise ships per year - hello!) by making sure we were on the wall by 8 am. Now, I must admit that while I definitely consider myself a city-girl, natural landscapes are what really set my heart aflutter - experiencing the quietude of the mountains or the beauty of the ocean - that's when I feel most in awe. So consider it bold praise when I say that the city of Dubrovnik, truly took my breath away. It's hard to explain, but the experience of seeing this beautiful, old old town from above - the red roofs, the swooping swallows, the sparkling coastline - was a moving experience that was one of the trip highlights. 

Feeling free as a bird.

Peekaboo through the city walls.

City by the sea.

Our next stop on our holiday was three nights on the island, Hvar, for some fun in the sun. We stayed in a beautiful apartment just a short walk from town, and spent time swimming in the sea, boating and enjoying yummy food and drinks. There is something about island life that I just adore, and Hvar is definitely a place that we would love to return to! 

Roadside stop on the Island of Hvar.

Crystal clear shores.

View from lunch on the island of Palmizana.

Next week I'll be back with photos from the rest of our trip. In the meantime, I'd love to hear what your favorite European destination is, so please leave a comment below, with your own travel recommendations for our next trip overseas!