Eurotrip - Italy and Croatia
If there's anything that this trip has taught me -- is to embrace things going awry.
A few weeks prior Vitali and I had discussed our original plans -- to trek the Alta Via 1 in Italy (8 days) and then make our way over to Chamonix, France, over a week, and then to trek for two more weeks along the Walker's Haute Route into Switzerland. We had booked both of these treks months ago -- in April and May (if you recall, I finished booking the WHR the morning before my tendon swelled up). As the time got closer and closer we realized that we'd probably be sick of hiking after the AV1 and we didn't know what shape my tendon would be in after either. So we decided to cancel the WHR, which we were able to do with only 70 cents in lost money.
Time, or rather, the lack of time, had been the spectre of June and July. I had been exercising my tendon dutifully and for awhile it seemed that it would heal in time to begin the trek on July 19th. But then the healing stopped, and before I even realized it it was getting worse again. We pulled off the gas hiking in Slovenia and hoped the final days leading to the trek would see recovery back to where it was.
As time crept closer and closer to July 19th, we were thankful that we had made the call to cancel the WHR when we did, uncertain I could even finish the AV1.
July 18th, 2022 - Ljubljana, Slovenia, to Dobbiaco, Italy 🚆
We ate another cafeteria breakfast at our hostel and then walked to the train station to head back towards Villach. We had several transfers to make today.
It began with our first train being 25 minutes late... Once we made it to Villach we transferred to a train bound for Lienz. In Lienz we transferred to a train headed for San Candido / Innichen, and then from that station we transferred to the final train to Dobbiaco / Toblach.
It had taken us about six and a half hours of travel time. Once we crossed the border into Italy masks became mandatory on public transport. The Italian trains had a very colorful wrap compared to the plain red of the OBB cars.
The Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion is a transnational co-operation structure between Italy and Austria which was most evident to me by the shared architectural heritage. Interestingly, all of the villages and landmarks here had two names -- the Italian, and the German.
We got off the final train and then headed towards the guesthouse we had booked for the night. We checked in, dropped our bags, and then headed to the grocery store to round out our provisions for the next 8 days.
We headed towards town to get our errands done. Very similar appearance to the Zillertal in Austria, although there were several differences in detailing that made the two countries' architecture distinct.
We stopped by the ATM to withdraw about 1000EUR in cash to pay for the rifugios we had booked, and then finally by the drugstore to buy a box of naproxen. I had 4 pills of the etoricoxib I was prescribed in Thailand left, and I wanted to save those for the final days of the trek...
Here's what 36,000 calories look like. We'd have to carry less than the O trek because a lot of the rifugios included breakfast and sometimes dinner. We picked up most of this stuff in Slovenia and Croatia but found the bread and dried fruit here.
We packed our bags for the final time with increasing worry -- they were quite heavy, even without our sleeping bags and tent like last time. We went to sleep under a cloud of vague dread.
July 19th, 2022 - Dobbiaco
We ate breakfast at the guesthouse which consisted of some hard boiled eggs and croissants for Vitali and then headed for the bus stop which was supposed to have a shuttle up to Pragser Wildsee / Lago di Braies, the start of the trek. We stopped at the tourist info center to confirm and then sat to wait.
As we sat in the sun I contemplated whether what we were doing was actually a good idea. Of course I had considered this deeply and at length already but the time to bail was fast closing. I even said aloud "Am I in denial about my tendon?" It was hurting with every step and now I had to carry 20 lbs on my back. We discussed having to bail during the trek -- a reasonable option, since some of the rifugios were accessible by road. The worst case... rupturing my tendon in the middle of a 10 mile day (although a doctor had told me it was extremely unlikely during hiking or walking). All of these thoughts swirled into a maelstrom of concern.
We got on the bus and rode up to the lake where we were dropped off amongst hordes of people. We headed towards the trailhead which was at the far end of the lake.
The lake was stunning, possibly the most beautiful alpine lake we had ever seen. Huge mountains framed the scene.
It was a little smokey because a wildfire had broken out nearby the day before.
About halfway around the lake I came to my senses and realized that this was not a good idea at all. We got to the trailhead where we would have gone and decided to bail. It was painful to arrive at this decision since I really wanted to see the mountains along this route.
The disappointment I felt was extreme. My body had let me down -- an infirmity which shouldn't have even ever happened -- had sidelined me, my plans, and our entire trip. Where would we go, what would we do?
But there was also relief -- it was an end to the constant wondering of whether or not I'd be able to do the trek. The answer was no.
We continued walking around the other side of the lake, just to see it while we were here. We made it back to the bus stop, bought two more 5EUR tickets back to town and sat down to wait.
Maybe we could get some of our money back? We devised a game plan for the rest of the day. First, we had to find someplace to stay for tonight (remember, we have no cellular data!). We walked back to the same guesthouse to see about a room. They wanted something like 180EUR for the night but when I checked booking.com it was only 135. I tried to show this to the receptionist but she either did not understand or was playing dumb. So I booked it through booking.com and told her we had a reservation.
When we got a room we set about trying to postpone the trek to September, since most of the rifugios had a no-refund policy. This was difficult as only about half of the rifugios offer online booking or availability calendars. So we had to make some calls and send some emails and wait for responses. After a few hours of trying to find dates that worked across all of the rifugios (which were 95% booked this far out), we had managed to move out the trek to September 12th. Surely by then I would recover? Amazingly, all of the rifugios were quite understanding -- even the one we were supposed to check in to tonight.
I wallowed in disappointment for awhile but then we decided to go for a walk in the woods which usually cheers me up. There was a great trail network here and to hop on all we had to do was cross the guesthouse yard.
So we wandered around the woods for awhile, enjoying the late afternoon light and even discovering a Celtic Horoscope installation. I am a walnut tree, and Vitali is an elm.
We spent the evening trying to figure out where we should go next, and settled on Croatia since I had wanted to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park. After that -- who knew?
July 20th, 2022 - Dobbiaco, Italy to Zagreb, Croatia 🚆 🚌
We realized in the morning that we had left our USB adapter in the other room and managed to explain this to the receptionist who thankfully found it for us. Phew!
We packed up, disabled, deflated, disconsolate, and walked back to the train station, rode 10 minutes to San Candido / Innichen, and then waited for the next train to Lienz.
Goodbye Dolomiti! I hardly knew thee.
In San Candido we watched a couple walk up and head inside the train station. A short while later the man walked out and asked us a question -- can we get a train to Austria from here? And we told him yes. And then he wandered off. He sounded like he was from the south.
A short while later we saw him looking around and shouting for his wife -- "Angela? Angela?? Angela!!!"
Where had she gone?
The bell signaling a train approaching bound for Lienz began ringing and we boarded and pulled away all the while watching this man search for his wife who had clearly decided to abandon him in Italy.
We reversed our journey from just two days prior, transferring in Lienz and getting off in Villach, where we decided we needed some McDonalds to cope with the emotional upset. So we ate some burgers and fries and then walked back to the bus station to wait for our bus to Zagreb. Once again we were riding FlixBus.
There was no signage indicating where our bus was going to pull in but we saw some other FlixBuses and waited in the same area. Eventually it pulled up and we boarded, seemingly the last two passengers to board the bus. The bus was bound all the way for Sofia, Bulgaria.
We showed our ticket and the driver pointed to the very back. Our seats were 20D/E. Where was 20? We got to the last row and saw it was row 16. He kept motioning towards the very back and then started conversing with Vitali in Russian -- and then we saw it. The two most cramped seats in the entire bus -- the last row, back corner, ugh. We climbed over someone and settled in for the 6 hour bus ride.
It was very uncomfortable, but at least there was free wi-fi. We stopped a few times and finally made it to the Croatia border -- where we had to get out and go through passport control. Apparently Croatia had recently joined the EU but would not be a part of the Schengen zone until January of 2023. So everyone unloaded and got in line to show our passports for exiting the Schengen zone, then we drove 500m and unloaded again to show our passports for entering Croatia.
FINALLY -- we arrived in Zagreb. We got out and walked to our accommodation, a studio rental downtown.
The smell of construction was still fresh in the air when we walked in. It had such a nice design -- all of the millwork was on one wall of the apartment with a ton of storage, a desk, and kitchen. The bathroom was gorgeous too, with a hammered copper sink and black hardware. Nobody in Europe seemed to like shower curtains very much, even when they would be performing the very important duty of not getting water all over the bathroom...
July 21st, 2022 - Zagreb
We arrived in Zagreb along with the heat dome, with highs forecast for the next three days right around 100 degrees. Toasty.
We headed out to get some groceries and then I worked on the blog for the day. I needed to rest my tendon.
July 22nd, 2022 - Zagreb
We went out for some sightseeing today, and boy was it hot -- I think the high was 102.
Zagreb was even more lived-in than Ljubljana, with quite a bit of graffiti and street art. The young men were also vaguely menacing -- tossing their cigarette butts on the ground and looking pissed off. We walked to the historic center and saw some beautiful architecture, tinged with later Soviet influence.
We walked through a farmer's market where we picked up some bananas and INCREDIBLE cherries. A whole kilo!
Then we walked up the hill to the Gornji Grad neighborhood which contained pre-socialist and pre-world-war architecture.
In the neighborhood was the Museum of Broken Relationships -- which was a little expensive (20EUR) but offered a unique look at the objects left over from relationships. The objects are all donated from individuals and with each one there was a printed story to accompany it.
A lot of scorned romantic relationships, some faded friendships, and broken family bonds. Some were humorous, like a roommate stealing a toaster to spite the other person, while others were very sad, like a spouse succumbing to cancer.
Some were heartbreaking in a humorous way, like the lamp below. It was a woman's favorite lamp that she found in a thrift store and then had accompanied here through numerous rentals and even joined her on stage in plays she had written. One day, her friend sent her a link -- a porn video with no faces -- but the lamp was in the background. This was how she found out her boyfriend was cheating on her. So this created some complicated feelings about the lamp and she decided to donate it.
Teary-eyed and having had enough of sad stories we left the museum and headed back down the hill towards our rental.
July 23rd, 2022 - Zagreb
We had a few more things I wanted to sightsee today.
I had wanted to see the cathedral but when we got there we found it closed. So we walked through the city's historic red light district which was now lined with bars and restaurants. And a cat village?
We popped into a jewelry atelier that had some interesting pieces in the window and I found a nice minimal brass bracelet for $20.
We headed back to our apartment and stopped at one of the two gluten free bakeries within a block of our place. After I made it to the first one I didn't even bother with the second! All of the below for only $12!!! I filled the trek shaped hole in my heart with sugar.
July 24th, 2022 - Zagreb to Plitvička Jezera 🚌
We forcefed ourselves the rest of our baked goods before leaving and walked to the bus station and looked for a departure board, which was nowhere to be found! So we stood in the center of the platforms and waited for a bus to show up with our bus company on it. Eventually one showed up, complete with photos of waterfalls printed on the side, so it was obvious. We loaded on, paid an extra 2EUR for our bags, and settled in for the few hour ride to Plitvice Lakes.
We got off at the bus stop at the Entrance II of Plitvice Lakes National Park and then had a 20 minute walk to our guesthouse in the neighboring village. The accommodations were very expensive here and this was the cheapest by far -- but it required some walking.
So we eventually made it but we were a little bit early so we dropped our bags and walked back to the grocery store we had passed on the way in to get some food. Fortunately we had a small fridge in our room so we could store some yogurt and lunch meat.
I had asked the owners if we could ship a package to their address -- some items were impossible to find in stores AND it was difficult logistically to receive a package while traveling. Since everyone, everywhere, seemed to have covid right now (sitting on the train and bus was horrifying -- wet hacking coughs from literally every other seat), we had ordered some N95s, enough to keep us protected until we got home.
That night, our hosts (who lived in the same building next to the rooms), went out for the night and their poor dog was whining every few minutes until they came back around 11...
July 25th, 2022 - Plitvička Jezera
In the morning we leisurely walked towards the national park along a trail through the forest, which was quite peaceful, and not very trafficked.
We showed our two-day ticket at the entrance to the park ($60 each!!!) and headed down a steep hill to the water and boat dock. Tickets included all transport in the park, including boats and an (electric) train. I couldn't figure out where the heck the tracks could be until we saw that it was a shuttle bus...
There were already quite a few people hanging out for the first boat of the day. We made sure to be here early since I had read the park is extremely popular and can get crowded. Supposedly they only sell a certain number of tickets per day but later on we experienced what seemed like crowds way above what controlled entry should be like.
We got in line and shortly boarded the small craft that would take us across the lake to the start of the trail network criss-crossing around the Plitvice Lakes.
On the other side we found two stairs leading up and away... and right underneath -- water flowing.
The trails in the park were about 50/50 boardwalk and regular earthen trail; boardwalk criss-crossing the lakes and regular trail along the edges. All of the stairs seemed to have streams flowing underneath them.
We walked up aways and then along a boardwalk -- to our first waterfall. It was very difficult to shoot from a boardwalk suspended over water with people occasionally walking by. Vibration from a foot 50 feet away would ruin the shot. I had read carbon fiber tripods are better at dampening this vibration but the vibration here was significant.
Fortunately -- we were the first boat and another would not come for 15 minutes. So we waited for everyone to pass and then went to work.
We continued on and got a view of this very unique waterfall. It was like the water was just flowing over the top of a shag carpet.
From a different angle, there was a rainbow!
Another fall, and beautiful blue-green water.
The more we walked the more dramatic waterfalls we saw. They were less waterfall and more water and landscape happening to exist in the same position in space.
The boardwalks were particularly beautiful too -- and added a lot to the experience. I saw a sign saying that something like 2km is replaced every year, and we passed several groups of workers actively working on it while we were there.
Below, the same waterfall from two different angles.
We continued on, trying to see every nook and cranny of the park. Every major lake we'd pass by we'd continue our ascent up the stepped geology of the park.
I thought this scene was particularly beautiful.
A waterfall in the middle-distance.
We came through a wooded area towards the second half of our figure eight through the park, which was filled with water flowing less like a stream or river but simply a waterfall that happened to find itself in the middle of a forest.
We gained some elevation towards the end of the loop and had beautiful views across the largest of the lakes. It was starting to get busy the closer we got to the boat dock.
Once we came down from the elevated area it became a full on mob. We were aisle salmon -- fighting for our life to get down to the boat dock and off of the boardwalks, which involved dodging a non-stop line of people. At one point where I had stopped to take a long exposure earlier in the morning, there was now a line of at least 300 people waiting to take the same picture. What a nightmare.
We took a boat back across the lake and walked back to our guesthouse where the hosts gave us some free ice cream. 😀
After the ice cream we went for a walk on the trail behind the house. It was only maybe a half mile long but went through beautiful woods featuring large sinkhole like depressions and beautiful white rock. Unfortunately, the sinkholes nearest the house were strewn with trash.
Today was probably a bit too much on my tendon -- every step was hurting and it was sore after.
July 26th, 2022 - Plitvička Jezera
The next morning we repeated yesterday's routine -- the 1.8 mile walk to the park, take the boat across, and then this time we planned to take a second boat to the northern part of the park, near Entrance I.
The second boat didn't start running until 8:30 though so we stood on the dock and waited. If you haven't picked up on it by now, long-term travel is mostly coming to terms with waiting.
Once it came we were treated to a beautiful short ride across the long turquoise lake.
Waking up early pays dividends.
Once at the other dock, we began our walk. The lakes stair stepped down just like the other part of the park, but today fortunately, we were headed downhill.
The first few instances of water failing to resist gravity were not very interesting. It was also busy up here already, since this part of the park was right in town -- with the hotels there costing hundreds of euros a night!
We passed several photographers this morning, after not seeing any tripods yesterday.
We walked a ways and then saw what looked like the opening to a cave with steps, so we decided to explore. It ended up being a few hundred steps to the upper trail around the park. We looked around and came back down, we'd visit up there later.
The view below is the view everyone posts on social media. I found it a little misleading. Most of the experience of the park is walking along the boardwalk -- a bird's eye view was not common at all.
We continued along the trail -- reaching a glimpse of what I suppose is the apex of the waterfall experience in the park.
We continued -- the full sun was on the lakes now, illuminating the water's brilliant true colors, mostly due to the concentration of calcium carbonate within the water. Aha! limestone, that would explain the sinkholes in the woods. Here we were thousands of miles away with similar karst geography to what we had recently seen in Thailand and also seen in the Yucatan of Mexico.
We arrived at Veliki Slap, The Great Waterfall, which was mobbed. It's always entertaining to watch people interact at places like this. Family dynamics are of particular interest -- visiting a national park is a high-stress, high-stakes situation, for most families. You've planned, spent your time and money to take the perfect trip to relax, re-connect with nature, and create memories of a lifetime -- or -- grounds for divorce.
The great waterfall was a little less impressive than we expected. Perhaps the drought was affecting it.
We wanted to take the (electric) train within the park back to where we had started so we had to walk out of the depression the lakes were in. On the way up and out, there was a much better view of Veliki Slap and the immediate surroundings.
Another view looking up towards the stair-stepped lakes.
The (electric) train was super cute and we rode it back to the second entrance where we got off and walked back to our guesthouse.
We were leaving Croatia tomorrow and stopped by the market to convert our Croatian Kuna to M&Ms -- a worldwide store of value that varies very little in price across countries.
Like yesterday, we spent the afternoon in the woods, trying to hash out where we wanted to go and what we were going to do with our lives. Heavy stuff.
When we got tired of that we climbed down into the depression which was deceptively NOT flat, saw some awesome fungus going to work on dead trees, and climbed back out. It was beautiful -- the circle of life, death, and decay, happening all around us, an independent microcosm adjacent to the trappings of human civilization. Just leave me here plz.
In our forest talks we had considered going to the southern coast of Croatia, to Dubrovnik and Split, but when we looked at accommodations -- everything was extremely expensive -- at least $200/night, and out of our budget.
We ended up deciding to tour central Europe for the next 6 weeks. It was much more affordable. Way back, in perhaps V2 or V3 of our RTW itinerary (by the time we started we were on V5), I had allocated a month to travel within Central and Eastern Europe, and to the Ukraine, to visit Vitali's grandmother. Unfortunately since then, she had passed, and the situation with Russia had deteriorated. So in a roundabout way we had come back to an earlier version of our itinerary. Embrace change.
We would start in Prague.
July 27th, 2022 - Plitvička Jezera, Croatia to Prague, Czechia via Night Train 🚌 🚆
The next morning we packed up and walked back through the forest towards the bus stop. We sat on a rock to waste some time and a deer with huge antlers walked through the forest in front of us. A park ranger stealthily approached and watched with us as it walked through our field of view.
After awhile we continued towards the park and looked for somewhere to chill while we waited for our bus at 2:45 in the afternoon,
We found some nice benches under a tree near the park restaurant, where we sat for about an hour. Vitali decided he wanted to do this strava segment near the park again, so he did.
Here he is running uphill with a smile on his face! Look at that form -- he IS GRACE, POWER, BEAUTY. Singular -- MAN. Eau de Polyester, by Vitali.
After that we decided to check out the restaurant which had a nice outdoor seating area. It was self-service and Vitali grabbed a sandwich and cheese platter for me. Around 1:30pm we headed for the bus stop, which was a small shelter on the side of the road. We watched as a black van pulled up and 5 guys popped out in white button downs and video taped something before hopping back in and driving away.
Eventually the bus came and we found ourselves back in Zagreb around 5:30pm. We walked over to the train station and looked for somewhere to chill until it got dark. Our train didn't leave until after midnight!
There was a park directly across from the station which served the purpose of chilling quite well. There were a few other backpackers sitting with their packs in the grass too.
We sat and waited and it drizzled lightly.
Around 9pm we headed inside the station and looked for somewhere else to sit and wait. We ran into an older woman from Hong Kong who asked us where we were from -- and she commented that she hardly saw any tourists here. She then proceeded to interrogate us about our experiences here and then told us a little about hers.
At 12:00AM we headed over to the platform the board indicated, which was packed with young backpackers like ourselves. Who else would subject themselves to riding a night train across Europe??
The train was a little late but eventually pulled in, but on the platform behind us. A lot of people didn't get on so we wondered if they weren't aware their train was behind them. Most people looked to be half asleep, or already asleep, lain out on the floor.
We found our car, found seats, and settled in for a terrible night's sleep and a 13 hour journey.
We took some dramamine and quickly fell into a fitful sleep; the seats were narrow and terribly hard.
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning passport control boarded to check our passports, and then again a short while later.
We awoke early and awaited our arrival in Prague around 1pm that afternoon.
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