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Travel Guide

Travel Guide: Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes National Park

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I was really lucky to have my parents come visit for our fall break this year, lucky that they were able to make the trip to Germany and lucky that we were able to travel together. We spent a week in Germany before flying to Croatia to explore a country about which both of my siblings (and everyone else I talked to) have only good things to say. I cannot emphasize enough how friendly, kind, and helpful the Croatian people were, and this made for a wonderful experience.

We started our trip in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. We arrived late in the afternoon and managed some walking around before it got dark. The high fashion and style of the locals got my attention, as did the prevalence of street vendors, the ornate architecture, and the general opulence of buildings that show signs of having seen a lot in their time.

And Croatia has seen a lot, a theme that was central to the walking tour we went on the following day. Centuries of wars, including in recent decades, have shaped a land often caught between warring empires, a land that calls itself by a different name, Republika Hrvatska, than that imposed by conquerors. This is a land proud of its people, its history, and its work to move forward into a different era.

After our tour we headed to my favourite type of urban space – the local market. I have written a lot about markets, which I’ve sought out everywhere I’ve lived and visit whenever possible when travelling. Right in the centre of Zagreb’s old town is Dolac Market, open seven days a week right near Ban Jelačić Square, the main square (of many) in the city. This is where the locals do their shopping, which was evident from the people and activity we observed while strolling through the stalls selling nearly everything one could want. In preparation for a road trip and hike the next day, we bought nuts, fruit, bread, cheese, and burek, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The southern side of Zagreb’s old town is lined with eight parks in a horseshoe and we walked there as long as we could before it started to rain. The amount of green space in the city was really lovely and made for an atmosphere in which, like at markets, people come together. Zagreb and its environs include about a million people, which is nearly a quarter of Croatia’s population. Nevertheless, the city’s squares, markets, and parks made it feel very liveable and like a much smaller town.

After determining that the rain had no intention of stopping, we headed to the Museum of Broken Relationships, which I had read about and about which I remained skeptical until we visited. I will only say that it was charming, thought-provoking, sad, and funny all at once. And highly relatable, for many reasons.

The following morning we picked up our rental car and drove for two hours through scrubby bushes on looming rock to Plitvice Lakes National Park, the oldest and largest of Croatia’s national parks and a UNESCO World Heritage site. (There is a fee to enter the park and during high tourist season, it is recommended to book tickets in advance.) The park is well-signed with trails of different lengths, some of which require a boat ride to continue to the second part of the path. We walked through pine forests, along boardwalks around lakes, up steps, and along winding paths that wrapped around so many waterfalls.

Somehow I wasn’t expecting what Plitvice Lakes National Park had to offer, or perhaps what it felt like to be there. It felt like entering a different world, an oasis separated from other worries and cares. And we were more relaxed getting back into the car after a few hours in nature than we were at the beginning of the day.

The second part of our drive brought us to Split, where we (very excitedly) saw a Dalmatian in Dalmatia and had the opportunity to learn about the history of Croatia in terms of shaping the world’s empires.

New York

New York Mountains

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My family recently spent a week at a pond in an area of the Adirondack Mountains that doesn’t get cell phone service. We spent our days reading in the sunshine, paddling canoes and kayaks, and basking in the quiet and solitude.

We hiked through forests . . .

. . . climbed mountains . . .

. . . and waited by the fire for stars to appear.

The Adirondack Mountains are beautiful and also, in my biased opinion, a very special part of the state. The region includes an area called the High Peaks, forty-six mountains ranging from 3,820 feet (1,164 meters) to 5,344 feet (1,628 meters). Technically a High Peak is classified as anything over 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) but original list of 46 stems from the early twentieth century when surveys were less precise. Three of us were keen to climb Gothics, the tenth highest peak at 4,736 feet (1,443 meters), which we planned to reach via Pyramid Peak, a mountain tall enough to fit High Peaks criteria but unfortunately located too close to Gothics to be considered its own mountain.

The hike is approximately twelve miles (19 kilometers) of adventure through forest, across rivers and waterfalls, and over boulders. Having prepared coffee the night before, we left before dawn and only returned close to dark. I’m very comfortable rock climbing but free climbing on slabs was a new experience.

We had lunch on Pyramid Peak overlooking Gothics, marvelling at the trees and plants that are features of alpine terrain.

The hike is divided into three four-mile sections with the middle section containing the difficult climbing. It took us 11 hours and 38 minutes to complete, longer than the nine hours we’d read about and planned on. As we finished the last stretch of trail, we realized that many people likely walked the first and third sections along the road that we had decided to avoid. This was probably why the people we encountered in the woods commented that we were taking the scenic route to Gothics. It certainly was and I highly recommend it, but we were glad we started early and that we’d packed more food than we thought we needed.

After an hour in the car, we were glad to be back at the pond.

What I love about the Adirondacks is how far away it seems from the rest of the world. The air tastes cleaner, the sky is bigger and stars brighter, and the ecosystems around water and forest conjure a tranquility that seeps into my bones. There’s nothing to do but be out there, no time to keep, no opportunity for mindless distraction. Instead, the mind switches off while watching the fish jump early in the morning, and the senses sharpen as the arms, warmed by the sun, dip the kayak paddle into the water. The Adirondacks are a special place for me because they find all of me, scattered as I sometimes am, and bring me right there. Right there where there’s no place else to be.

Travel Guide

Travel Guide: Queenstown and Milford Sound

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As I wrote in my last post about our South Island road trip, this post comes out of order. My friend Sharon and I spent three nights in Queenstown, our longest stay of the whole trip, in the second week of our South Island travels. While we were farther away from Milford Sound than we’d realized (in the future I’d stay in Te Anau or even camp in Milford) we were glad to park the car across the road from our hostel and leave it there for a few days. As Sharon said, expertly guiding me into a parallel parking spot that I could only dream about without her, I deserved a break from all the driving. (And I did all the driving.)

After a brief stop in adorable Arrowtown for lunch, we drove up and down a few large hills and entered Queenstown. Somehow, it didn’t register to me that the “town” in Queenstown was literal – I was expecting a city for no other reason than I’d actually heard of Queenstown but it’s really small and very walkable. Quite a lovely place to be for a few days!

Queenstown is located right on the water and surrounded by mountains. I spent some time sitting under a tree looking out at Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand’s longest lake.

I also went on a very short walk up a hill just behind where we were staying (the YHA Queenstown Lakefront exceeded all expectations) and enjoyed breathing the air and listening to the wind.

Queenstown was the busiest place we’d stayed since Nelson and it was larger than Nelson, too. But even at its busiest, New Zealand is so sparsely populated that it didn’t feel crowded at all. Out of four million people across the country, only a million live on the South Island. There are about 1.6 million in Auckland and Christchurch, the next largest city, has about 380,000. So again, nothing feels crowded.

We met another friend who was also travelling in New Zealand at Atlas Beer Cafe, a wonderful bar that we frequented more than once. It was fun to catch up and hear about her trip. It was also fun to return to Atlas two nights later to find that the bartenders and servers remembered us! We treated our first night in Queenstown as our “going out night” and had a really fun time, including live Irish music. We accidentally went to one crowded bar and left after one drink – we’d gotten used to having space to ourselves. And besides, we had a hike to go on in the morning.

The next morning was hot and beautiful. We had a lovely brunch down by the water where a craft market was setting up. I love seeing what people make and do and create. You can learn so much about people by looking at the personal joys that are important to them and craft markets are a beautiful opportunity to talk to artists, which we did. (More on this in the Christchurch post!)

Our goal for the day was to hike Queenstown Hill, one of New Zealand’s iconic short walks. Queenstown is a starting point for some of the Great Walks, too, which I would absolutely love to do if I get the chance to go back. It would require packing and preparing very differently but like camping in Abel Tasman National Park, it’s an experience I’d love to have.

All that to say, I loved hiking Queenstown Hill. It was challenging in parts because it gets rocky and steep but the sun was shining and we met so many friendly people along the way. We experienced that on every hike and walk in New Zealand – everyone says hi as they pass.

And it was so, so beautiful at the top. The view down to Lake Wakatipu was stunning, but even more so the view towards the mountains. It stretched as far as the eye could see and the wind was incredible. Twice we actually had to sit down because of how it roared and swept up the dust all around. And then when the wind stopped, it grew so quiet and still and the world felt empty of life for just a moment.

As Sharon pointed out, we’d climbed plenty “Mount Something” while in New Zealand and this one, the most mountain-like of all, was called a hill. I guess that’s the only reasonable name to give it when it’s nestled among the Southern Alps, which are very real mountains.

We were happy for an early evening because we had an early morning and big day ahead of us – it was my birthday and we were going to Milford Sound! We had had beautiful weather and hoped the next day would be similar but, as luck would have it, it rained. Considering Fiordland National Park gets 200 days of rain per year, this shouldn’t have been surprising. We actually took an organized tour to Milford because Queenstown was four and a half hours away by car (again, this is why I’d stay in Te Anau or camp in Milford in the future). But the coach bus was really comfortable and we got lucky with seats right in the front. Greg, the driver, told us all about the flora and landscape and the drive passed really quickly. It also helped that we stopped twice to walk and look around. Just like Lisa at Franz Josef Glacier, Greg said we were lucky because the rain let us see the waterfalls and hear the roar of the water.

When we arrived at the boat terminal, the rain hadn’t let up at all. We’d really hoped to kayak and were promised that we’d still be able to go as long as it didn’t get any worse. As it happened, the fact that it was raining gave us the chance to make friends who we ended up spending the day with! Had it been nice enough to stand outside for the duration of the cruise, I definitely would have done so. Since it wasn’t, though, Sharon struck up a conversation with Michele and Alice from the US and UK, respectively, and invited them to share our table. They were looking forward to kayaking, too, and the four of us found much to talk about beyond what we’d experienced in New Zealand so far.

But as good as the company was, feeling the rain and the spray while looking out at Milford Sound was what took my breath away.

And we did get to kayak! Much to our relief, the kayak company had proper wet gear and this time, I gratefully accepted it. Appropriately donned in completely unflattering but very visible yellow, orange, and red, we headed out onto the water. It was a short guided tour just around the cove but the view looking up at the mountains from the water gave a real sense of how dynamic the landscape is. It was even relaxing to just bask in the rain and look at everything towering over us. It’s a beautiful world in all of its forms.

The sun came out on our drive back to Queenstown and I didn’t even mind. It felt like a totally different landscape because the mist dispersed and left the world looking fresh and clean and awake again. And I’m glad I got to see Fiordland like that, too.

Sharon told Michele and Alice that it was my birthday and they were only too happy to join us back at Atlas for flights of beer. I had vegetarian poutine, too! It was so enjoyable chatting with people who I actually felt like I clicked with, which is something I do love about travellers. Spending the day in a beautiful landscape in a beautiful world with lovely people by my side was the best birthday I could have hoped for. I am so lucky to be part of it all.

And the next day we were back on the road for the final stop of our South Island road trip. As promised, I’ll write about Christchurch in a separate post – coming soon!