The "During:" Peaceful Plitvice, to Oh my, Opatija then the Road to Rovinj

From the title it sounds like I am going to cover a lot of ground with this post. And well, I crammed a lot of sightseeing in, in just over 24 hours. But after a very peaceful time in Zadar where I'd had some time to slow down and relax, it was time to see what else Croatia had to offer as I continued to work my way around the country out of Dalmatia towards Istria, another part of Croatia.

If you've been following along, you'll know I was supposed to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park as a day trip from Zadar, however I learned a few days before that the company I had pre-booked for transport to the park would not be running as they had not gotten enough people to sign up. I had quickly learned that one of the downfalls of traveling during a global pandemic was that the lack of tourists and it had not only severely impacted the many small businesses, many tourism companies were already closing up shop for the season much earlier than normal. I had heard that September is typically one of the busiest months in Croatia for tourism, so while this impacted me slightly (only in that I had to shuffle my plans a bit a few times), it saddened me to think of how the many people who relied on tourism were affected in ways that could take years to recover. My only hope is that the world rights itself before the next tourist season begins, at least enough for the many small businesses to begin to recover some of the immense loses they felt this year.

But, I digress. Let's get back to my journey.

September 18th, 2020 It had been a full week since I arrived in Dubrovnik and I had a full day and a half ahead before I landed in my final stop of this trip. Today, we were headed to Plitvice Lakes National Park, what I expected to be one of the highlights of my trip as many things I'd read as I planned said, "don't miss Plitvice!" Marin, my trusty driver, had warned me a few days before that the temps would drop dramatically as we made our way inland and crossed the mountains so I'd prepared with layers. We departed Zadar around 830am and began our trek inland. The scenery changed quickly as we headed over the mountains and away from the coastline. We arrived at the park by late morning to a temp about 25-30 degrees cooler than what I'd become accustomed to along the coast. But, it was quite perfect as I would be walking through the park for a few hours. Marin dropped me off at the entrance with plans to pick me up about 3-4 hours later, giving me time to cover a large part of the park by foot.

The pictures, and I took many, should speak for themselves but I LOVED Plitvice. While my visit to Krka National Park, which was described to me like the "little brother" of Plitvice, a few days before was serene and peaceful, Plitvice was breathtaking and absolutely incredible to see first hand. Like most places I'd been in Croatia, I did not encounter many tourists at all making my wander through the paths throughout the park pleasant and easy.

After about three and a half hours wandering around the "lower lakes," I made my way back to the entrance. There are "upper lakes," which also came highly recommended to explore, but the additional loop would have taken a few more hours and I did want to make it to my next stop for the night before it was too late to see anything there! So, I vowed that there will be a return trip to Plitvice in my future, perhaps at a different time of year as it is open year round; the pictures I've seen of it in the fall and winter are quite magnificent!

Marin and I left Plitvice and stopped for a late lunch at a local restaurant not too far outside of the park before hitting the road to make our way to Opatija, my stop for the night and introduction to the Istria peninsula of Croatia. In my research and planning of my solo time in Croatia, Opatija had popped up several times as a suitable place to stop for a night or two before I landed in Rovinj for the following week. A coastal town along the Adriatic sea, Opatija was known for being a "resort for Austro-Hungarian elite in the 19th century." Wandering along the Lungomare, a path along the coast was at the top of my list for my time there. Sadly though, I knew my time would be short. Since I'd had to move my visit to Plitvice back a day to visit it in route from Zadar to Opatija as opposed to the original plan of driving straight from Zadar to Opatija, we didn't arrive until late afternoon.

The day before I left home for Croatia, I had gotten an email from my hotel in Opatija stating that they would be closing for the season before I arrived the following week. They offered me the option to upgrade to their sister hotel, a five-star hotel just down the street for no cost, which I instantly accepted. And once I arrived, I couldn't have been treated more kindly or become more amazed with my luck in yet another hotel upgrade. The Hotel Milenij is located in a prime spot right along sea as well as the main road in Opatija. My room was also upgraded to a third floor deluxe corner room with beautiful views of the sea from both sides. I was regretting that I was only going to be there for one night!

The Lungomare was right out the front of the hotel bordering a beautiful terrace restaurant with a gentleman playing the piano and where I would enjoy one of the most expansive breakfast buffets I've ever encountered the next morning. Chasing what was remaining of the daylight, I set out to explore as much as I could by foot, taking in the statue of Lady Opatija and the beautiful gardens next door to my hotel. I managed to get a few pictures (of course) and again began to regret that my very short stay in Opatija would be so short. I rounded out my evening with a late dinner at a quiet restaurant by the sea. Life was certainly good!

September 19th, 2020

I woke up the next morning admittedly not ready to leave Opatija behind so soon, but I was excited to get to my next stop, Rovinj for what promised to be a much needed relaxing week. So, after a lovely breakfast on the hotels terrace by the sea, I met up with Marin for my last transfer of this trip. We had another full day planned as there were several things I wanted to see as we made our way from Opatija to Rovinj. We set off on our journey for the town of Hum, the smallest city in Croatia, and apparently also in the world with a population of only 28 people. As Marin (who'd never been there) and I walked around we ran into two other tourists, so we joked that we'd increased the population by quite a bit for a mere 30 minutes or so! It was a quaint, little town peppered with stone walkways, a tall stone bell tower and old church. We briefly chatted with a local store owner who offered us samples of "Biska" or brandy, which they specialize in making. Definitely a nice little pit stop.

After seeing all there was to see in Hum, we then began our journey along very windy roads through the interior of Istria towards Motovun, not to be confused with "Motown" as Marin shared other American tourists had mistakenly called it. He dropped me off at the closest spot he could take the car to the center of the hillside town, which was at the bottom of a nice hill. As I set in for an uphill walk that at times seemed like there was no end in sight, it was hard not to notice the beauty of land around me. But, once I emerged through a short tunnel, I again found myself wandering around a sleepy town with very few people around.

There were several cafe's with a few locals sharing cups of coffee on the outdoor patios perhaps awaiting an influx of tourists. And shops full of many varieties of olive oil, lavender, chocolate, wine, and anything you could think of made with truffles. I quickly learned that this region of Croatia known for its wine due to its proximity to Italy was also known for its olive oil and more importantly truffles. I had enjoyed pasta with truffles a few times earlier in my trip and could tell I was going to have the opportunity to enjoy even more! No complaints here!

We were slated to have a third stop that day, lunch with a truffle tasting, but sadly due to COVID and the lack of tourists the place had already closed for the season. But, even the little bit I'd seen of the Istria region of Croatia in a mere 24 hours made me realize at least one, or likely many return trips would be necessary sooner than later. So, we hopped back in the car and wound our way through many more hairpin turns along more winding roads and made our way to my final stop of this trip, Rovinj. To be continued.....

"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams." -Unknown