On the great Aegean Odyssey of 2009, Mum, Dad, Andrew and I drove through Croatia to Ljubljana in Slovenia. With a few detours for sight-seeing it was a journey of over 600km done over the course of a week (I guess the distance shouldn't be that impressive to us Aussies). Andrew drove, I navigated and Mum and Dad sat in the back and felt uncomfortable when Andrew and I argued (which at least was less than on our first road trip in Spain).

One of our stops was the beautiful Plitvice Lakes National Park, which I've blogged about here. As we drove north, away from Plitvice towards Ljubljana, we began to notice abandoned, ruined houses. Not just one or two here or there, but dozens.

These are houses that were abandoned by Serbs as they fled the region at the end of the Croatian War of Independence. They are still empty because their owners haven't returned to claim them. Maybe because they don't want to return or maybe because it's just too hard.

I think these houses would be really interesting to explore from an urban decay perspective. Like the abandoned town of Paldiski in Estonia. However, Lonely Planet warns you against poking around in the ruined houses because there might be unexploded shells or mines in the ruins. Even the remote possibility of blowing up was enough to keep me away.

Our visit to Croatia was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Breakfast on Santorini, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Sunset in Zadar, Sea Organ, Blessed are the cheesemakers and Climbing in Croatia.

Plitvice Lakes National Park was my favourite of all the places we visited in Croatia. It was so beautiful.

There are 16 lakes in the park which are formed by run off from the mountains. The water flows from lake to lake over a series of waterfalls.

The dams which form the waterfalls are made from travertine, a type of sedimentary rock. The travertine is always being added to by the minerals in the water. This means, that the waterfalls are changing day by day.

There are lots of boardwalks which allow you to walk out on many of the lakes and right up to the waterfalls. Sometimes the water bubbles up through the boardwalks so it feels a bit like walking on water. There was even one set of stairs that had been turned into a mini-waterfall.

The colours in the lakes are amazing. The water colour is affected by minerals in the water, and by the light. On our visit to the park we started with a sunny day, then it was overcast followed by rain. The colour of the water ranged from a clear turquoise blue to a dark sea green.

I was really impressed with the park's setup. It's one of the most well organised national parks that I've visited. They have a great brochure with lots of suggested routes for walking ranging from 1-hour strolls to full day hikes. They have a little train that drives you around the park and ferries that you catch across the lakes.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is definitely at the top of my must-see list in Croatia.

More photos on Flickr.

Our visit to Plitvice Lakes was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Sunset in Zadar, Sea Organ, Blessed are the cheesemakers and Climbing in Croatia.

Thanks to Caitlin for featuring this post on her blog, Roaming Tales. Check out all the other great travel links in her weekly round up.

Alfred Hitchcock said that the the sunset off Zadar is the most beautiful in the world. What do you think?

More photos on Flickr.

Our visit to Zadar was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Sea Organ, Blessed are the cheesemakers and Climbing in Croatia.

One of Zadar's major tourist attractions is the Sea Organ (hur hur). As the name suggests it's an organ which is played by the sea. Under the steps of the promenade are the pipes of the organ; the waves rolling in force air through the pipes to produce music. The frequency of waves determine the tempo and the size of the waves determine the volume.

It's quite soothing to sit on the steps at the sea organ and listen. When a boat goes past it, the music speeds up and it sounds like a bit of a sea jig. Then it all slows down again and it's a bit like a lullaby. We videoed the music so you can enjoy the experience as well.




Our visit to Zadar was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Blessed are the cheesemakers and Climbing in Croatia.

A visit to Croatia's Pag island is like a quick trip to the moon. The landscape is devoid of greenery. It's just grey as far as the eye can see.

We stopped in the town of Pag for a quick wander. It was Easter Sunday and most of the town was at church. After church finished the townsfolk gathered in the square for a special Easter brunch. The village band played and kids danced to the music (well most of them anyway). It was quite a festive atmosphere.

Pag is famous for Paški sir, cheese from the island of Pag. It's a hard cheese made from sheep's milk. There must be some greenery on Pag as the flavour of the cheese comes from the diet of wild herbs that the sheep graze on.

Cheese making is a family business on Pag. You visit people's homes rather than head to a traditional shop for your cheesy goodness. We found a Paški sir sign, knocked on the front door of the cheese seller's house and asked for cheese. We were then taken to the cheese vault. The mother of the house was in charge of the transaction but the 16-year old daughter was our translator. We wondered just how many languages the daughter spoke. I'm sure she knows the word for cheese in at least 7 languages.

We had Pag cheese sammiches for lunch while we waited for the ferry back to the mainland. Pag cheese is yummy!

More photos on Flickr.

Our visit to Pag was part of the Aegean Odyssey. Mum, Dad, Andrew and I spent a few weeks in Croatia and Greece with a quick visit to Slovenia and Austria in the middle. Other entries from this trip include: Climbing in Croatia.