Plitvice Lakes / Český Krumlov / Prague – Days 13 / 14 – Swept Away

The shutters of Villa Mama pictured above.

Soon after we woke, there were banging and crashing noises in the old town. It was the sound of “Bura”, the name given to a cold wind that can blow in this region of Croatia. It comes from the inland continent and blows out to the open sea. In our case, it was slamming windows and hinged shutters like the exclamation point to an argument. This change was a surprise to us as the previous three days had been perfect weather with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s.

Today however, as if to sweep us out of town, Bura gusted to near 40 mph and made me wonder if the street-side fruit markets would end up resembling the consequences of a food fight. We left town before the first tomato smashed to the ground, although driving the boxy Eurovan was no party in those conditions.

Before getting to the Alps and spending the night in Austria, we had one more last stop in Croatia: The Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Plitvice is a lush reserve that is situated within a mountainous central region of the country. Once off the autostrade, the scenic route of about 60 kilometers leads to a couple of park entrances. Along the road, there were roadside stands (consisting of a small table and chair) with a woman selling freshly produced cheese from the local farm. Claire and I being cheese lovers agreed to be aggressive and get some. Non-cheese lovers in our family missed out.

The draw to Plitvice is its series of tiered lakes and waterfalls. The constant water flow from the surrounding mountains sources the lakes, which are continuing to change with undergrowth and erosion.

When touring the park, there are various options to see the lakes. We opted for the three hour walking tour.

Park management has constructed a well-conceived network of wooden plank boardwalks that seemlessly take tourists throughout the lake system. It allows a close interaction with the lake environment without much impact to the natural course of the water.

It is a little bit otherworldly. Even though we took a ton of photos, it is difficult to capture its full beauty on film. Maybe that’s due to its odd combination of structures – the horizontal lakes slowly seeping over banks to vertically cascade into another pool of clear as glass water. Only to do that again and again. Tall, spiky fountain grass lines the edges of many sections of the smaller lake pools and fish are in abundance.

The tour left us a bit tired but willing to get back in the car for more driving. So, by late afternoon we were back in the van and seeking to get to Graz, Austria as soon as possible for a one night hotel stay. Arriving close to midnight was not optimal, but sometimes that’s how it goes.

Day 14 through Austria on our way back to Prague was classically “Alpish”. Each town we sped past was just like a post card.

Making decent time we added an unplanned stop in our 2nd favorite Czech town: Český Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Český Krumlov is an old medieval town that was first mentioned in a letter by Czech Duke Otokar Štýrský in 1253, although there were Slavonic settlements in the area dating back to the 6th century. When we moved to the Czech Republic in 1996, Český Krumlov was our first road trip. Back then Tate was carried around in a baby seat. This time we made him push Mae in her stroller. It’s only fitting.

If driving through Austria looked like a post card, Český Krumlov looks like a fairy tale. It is the place we recommend when hearing that someone we know is visiting the Czech Republic. Our stop was only to make a quick cameo – enough to make us wish for yet another day of vacation. Český Krumlov seems like the perfect place to own a B & B and enjoy the reserved festivities of this small river town. Where Prague’s tourist mix is one of backpackers, retirees and at times, rowdy groups of foreigners, Český Krumlov has an air of contained easiness. This may be due to its miniature size as the heart of town is concentrated to maybe a dozen streets. The castle, which is second in size to only the Prague castle complex, towers over the red-tile-roofed buildings. The Vltava River, which flows through Prague, is shared in this town and cuts a serpentine formation through the middle of the historic district. From the bridge, we saw numerous kayaks and canoes going down the river. We were jealous.

On one particular corner of town sat the “Torture Museum”. From its sign we were intrigued and scared all at the same time. Grant, in particular, took an interest in it and wanted to go inside. We protested, fearing that he might give the curator new ideas.

The one hour stop was worth the diversion to be in another place we have enjoyed so much. We made dinnertime arrival back at the Golden Apple Apartments. It seemed longer than two weeks since we began our trip there.

Over our last meal on vacation we reflected on highlights from the previous 14 days. Lots of things came to mind. Some memories have been shared within the blog posts of the last two weeks. Most that we will share only as a family. To pick a favorite place or event is impossible. So, why even try? I think it was best summed up by Tate who said, “I don’t have a favorite. I liked it all.”