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Posted On Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at
at
9:20 PM
by Alvin
.. Choo And Choo A Train, Chugging Down The Track .. and so the song went .. and at last after another 7 hours' train journey (passing the many holiday resorts alongside the long and thin Lake Balaton) and once again after 23 years (!), we arrived in Croatia. So, Zagreb at 8 P.M., but hey, did I just see a group of men in skirts ? Yep ! The Scottish football fans (mostly in Scottish kilts) were in town as Croatia hosted Scotland in their World Cup Qualifier in Zagreb - that meant rooms were scarce to come by ! Yikes ! Luck was luckily on our side as we found Chic Hostel - a brand new (could not have opened for more than a week) hostel with every amenity in sparkling conditions and stuffed with colorful furnitures and what's more, we had the whole room (8 beds) all to ourselves for the night - clearly the secret of this gem of a hostel was not out yet ! Zagreb was friendly and pleasant with loads of interesting monuments, colorful markets, charming winding streets and tonnes of side-streets cafes coming out of its ears ... but first we made our way to one of the highlights of the trip - The Plitvice National Park, 3 hours' bus away towards Bosnia.
We found an absolute ace of an apartment at House Ana in the nearby village, Rastovaca, about 10 minutes' walk from Entrance 1 of Plitvice. The landlady, presumably, Ana, was friendly and welcoming, even though we only communicated by hand signs. Plitvice was full of turquoise green lakes, emerald blue clear streams and gushing waterfalls - the whole area was one picturesque postcard perfect wonderland. The park was well-organised and we walked the longest available route to experience the park fully and that took us almost 8 hours that included a boat ride (with an assembly of nationals from Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Holland, all speaking in their own tongue excitedly and at the same time admiring the fantastic lake views). At the end of the day, we rested our tired limbs at a picnic table outside the entrance, enjoying a Coke Zero and watched the throngs of tourists all looking happy and satisfied as they exited the park - best moments of this trip !
.. Choo And Choo A Train, Chugging Down The Track .. and so the song went .. and at last after another 7 hours' train journey (passing the many holiday resorts alongside the long and thin Lake Balaton) and once again after 23 years (!), we arrived in Croatia. So, Zagreb at 8 P.M., but hey, did I just see a group of men in skirts ? Yep ! The Scottish football fans (mostly in Scottish kilts) were in town as Croatia hosted Scotland in their World Cup Qualifier in Zagreb - that meant rooms were scarce to come by ! Yikes ! Luck was luckily on our side as we found Chic Hostel - a brand new (could not have opened for more than a week) hostel with every amenity in sparkling conditions and stuffed with colorful furnitures and what's more, we had the whole room (8 beds) all to ourselves for the night - clearly the secret of this gem of a hostel was not out yet ! Zagreb was friendly and pleasant with loads of interesting monuments, colorful markets, charming winding streets and tonnes of side-streets cafes coming out of its ears ... but first we made our way to one of the highlights of the trip - The Plitvice National Park, 3 hours' bus away towards Bosnia. 
We found an absolute ace of an apartment at House Ana in the nearby village, Rastovaca, about 10 minutes' walk from Entrance 1 of Plitvice. The landlady, presumably, Ana, was friendly and welcoming, even though we only communicated by hand signs. Plitvice was full of turquoise green lakes, emerald blue clear streams and gushing waterfalls - the whole area was one picturesque postcard perfect wonderland. The park was well-organised and we walked the longest available route to experience the park fully and that took us almost 8 hours that included a boat ride (with an assembly of nationals from Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Holland, all speaking in their own tongue excitedly and at the same time admiring the fantastic lake views). At the end of the day, we rested our tired limbs at a picnic table outside the entrance, enjoying a Coke Zero and watched the throngs of tourists all looking happy and satisfied as they exited the park - best moments of this trip !
