Reset search
Croatia
  • Jen Ritchey
Apr – Jun 2024

Croatia

A 38-day adventure by Jen Read more
FollowInsightsCalendarShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Trip start
    April 26, 2024
    Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Straubing

    April 26, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Traveled almost half way today - 5.5 hours, another 6 to go tomorrow! We could have gone a bit farther today, but I wasn’t sure what time we would leave/how the traffic would be, but it was nice where we stopped! We are staying at a golf course with lots of ponds nearby to wander around. The water was pretty still so the reflections of the clouds near sunset were really nice! The first part of the walk was through an industrial dirt place - Raymond was laughing at me when I took a photo of it as the machines looked like a crazy monster with all the arms! He was like oh, going to send photos of dirt to your friends? I’m sure they will love that! 😂 we also saw a swan in a nest, lots of birds including a pheasant, herons, and geese, bunnies and hares, and old beehive remains! Pretty fun for a quick walk around the ponds! Tomorrow on to Zagreb!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb

    April 27, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today we drove the rest of the way to Zagreb! First was through Austria which was gorgeous! I always forgot exactly how much I love the mountains until I see them again…it was mostly tunnels through them and there was still so much snow even down low! Then through Slovenia which was super quick - I was surprised when we got to the border of Croatia! Then on to Zagreb which seems like a nice, small city. We wandered around a bit through the pedestrian area, got some dinner out (which was delicious! Red Curry & a falafel bowl that had a tomato onion salad hidden underneath which was amazing! But the place is closing tomorrow as the building is undergoing renovations as it was damaged in an earthquake!) found some treats (chimney snack with pistachio which was good, but the pistachios had no flavor! And some raspberry croissants. There is raspberry everything here so I am hoping I will find some raspberry soda like in Czech Republic!). So far the trip is pretty nice! Tomorrow is exploring in the hills and viewpoints then explore the city more on Monday! Oh and the last photo is the view of the courtyard from our place - this strange fun roof! Luckily we are in the courtyard side as it is so quiet - the street would be much louder!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 2.1

    April 28, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we went up to the highest point in Zagreb - Sljeme mountain! We took the cable cars up which were super nice - well ventilated which was nice as we had a breeze. It was a long ride too - just over 16 min to the top! We saw lots of people hiking up which looked crazy as it was so steep! Once at the top we spied on the tv tower and then headed towards Medvedgrad Castle which for the most part was nice wooded forest trails with great views of the mountains in the north and the city to the south. It did get pretty warm in the sun by lunchtime, but luckily the trail kept going in and out of the forest so we could cool off - though if we had a pool here that is the first thing I would have done when we got back - jump in! You couldn’t see much at the castle, but we did learn some interesting facts from the signs…plus it was still a nice walkRead more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 2.2

    April 28, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    You can only post so many photos so had to split up the day :) after the castle we headed back down toward town and wandered through some of the outskirts until we got back to the cable car parking lot. That got pretty warm as it was a lot of sunny hills, but we had fun. Then relaxed until dinner back in our place which stayed surprisingly cool! We got Asian food for dinner - ramen which was pretty good, vegan fried rice & glazed tofu which were both super tasty! We have fried rice and some ramen leftover for dinner tomorrow…but we might have to get another glazed tofu as it was delicious!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 3.1

    April 29, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Phew! Today I have all the photos so this will be a few posts. Today was explore Zagreb day and while it is a small city and we had lots of spots for long breaks, we still walked all over! First up was Park Zibnjak since we close to where we were a staying - it was a pretty nice park with some statues, and a replica Roman tombstone from the second century! Then we wandered by the cathedral (we were there when a tour was there and the guide was saying that all of the churches and most of the museums are still closed because of renovations from the earthquake in 2020! There is a ton of construction going on so it looks like most of the buildings were damaged in it and need to be fixed!), had a quick visit to Market Dolac which was emptier than expected, but still lots of stands to spy on, and a wander around townRead more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 3.2

    April 29, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After a wander we headed towards the upper town going through the medieval Stone Gate which has a Virgin Mary shrine and lots of candles to light for prayer (and plenty of people praying lighting candles). Then on to Church of St Mark which was very colorful and then down to the viewpoints over the city by Lotrščak Tower. We left the house late at 10 as we didn’t have that far to wander and wanted to be at the town by noon because they fire off a cannon every day at that time…and we got there at 10:50! All the wandering and over an hour early! So we sat and had a rest and enjoyed the views, then watched the cannon go off which was so much fun! When we go there a tour group can’t just after and the guide was all make sure you hold your phone with both hands as a lot of people drop them when it goes off! It will be loud! Have fun! Raymond and I were both filming…which is good as my camera was crazy when it went off as I jerked as it was a surprise even though I was expecting it! Luckily Raymond did a much better job capturing it! (Mine is the first video, Raymond better one is the second one!) Such an odd, fun stop! We were going to take the funicular down, the worlds shortest, just for fun, but it too was closed. Oh well we wandered down the stairs instead and headed off to lunch at this vegan restaurant where they make everything themselves with stuff they or other local farmers grow and it was delicious!! We had a pesto pasta, and it was called seitan cordon blue but it was seitan filled with smoked tofu and tomato with BBQ sauce served over Swiss chard and a pickled salad and omg this was so good. And so much food!! I don’t think I could have eaten all of the seitan myself as it was too much! But we had to try some desserts as well - a hazelnut, vanilla, chocolate layered pudding and a raspberry tart - so tasty!! The food here has been so good!!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 3.3

    April 29, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After lunch we wandered to the theatre and through the parks to the botanical garden. We arrived at the garden just before 2 and the guy was like it is free today, but we are only open until 2:30. So we had a super quick wander through! It was not that big, but still fun and we saw some new us carnivorous plants which I enjoyed!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 3.4

    April 29, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After the botanical gardens went over to the train station to get some cold drinks and found a Holocaust memorial and a steam engine. Then off for a wander through the parks right there which we had explored a bit the first day (and a long break in the shade as it was getting hot!)Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Zagreb Day 3.5

    April 29, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After our long breaks in the park it was a last wander through town and found this pup placard for a pup who befriended builders of the Oktogon building, he guarded the construction site, but died doing so so the builders put up this plaque for pups! The inside of the building was really nice! Then wandering by lots more churches and statues and back to the apartment. It was a long day of waking, and by the end it was pretty warm in the sun! But I really enjoyed Zagreb. It was very easy to walk the whole downtown, it has lots of interesting sights, lots of nice parks, there are so many benches and places to sit everywhere which is wonderful when you are out all day and want to have a break (even on the trails yesterday there were lots of benches and picnic tables). I don’t think I have been to another city with so many options for sitting in the city! The food was great too a d it was a lot of fun! Tomorrow we head on south, but still inland and see what we can see (and maybe get to swim if it is warm enough!)Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Slunj

    April 30, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today we left Zagreb, but first ran lots of errands (mostly trying to find some hiking pants for Raymond as the day before we left we found out his one zipper didn’t have the part to zip it up so that wouldn’t work!) then we headed on to Rastoke - a town in Slunj that is a bunch of small islands in a river with lots of waterfalls. I just expected we could wander, but apparently the town is closed on Tuesdays?? I never thought to look that up…so the sign showed a hiking trail where you could walk along the outside of the town or the areas overlooking it so we thought why not? Only we got to the one end of town and there is a bridge over the river and you have to pay 4 Euro a person to cross which…it was hot in the sun and well, we didn’t want to do that so we wandered back towards the car. On the way back there was a viewpoint of old town Slovak (the first photo after the bridge) and a sign that showed the second photo after the bridge in the middle are some ruins - they were Napoleon’s wheat hangar! Fun! So it was a good side trip.

    The other thing I had planned was to drive to them hike to the start of the river - river Slunjčica Spring. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was so cool! Just a giant hole in the ground that was a beautiful blue green color and so much water! So clear too! You could see all the plants in the water, some fish, lots of little shrimp things, bugs, just all the things! Plus some more ruins of buildings so that was a super fun adventure!

    Then it was on to where we are staying - a tiny house in the middle of nowhere! The view is so nice! It is hard to see, but in the photo with the chair you can see mountains in the distance. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the deck and enjoying the views and listening to all the crickets and bugs and a cuckoo bird!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia
    1

    Plitvice Lakes

    May 1, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today was a very exciting day! Woke up at 5:30 to a 4.7 earthquake shaking the whole house! It was a bit crazy!! Then we headed off to Plitvice Lakes where we had 8am entry tickets - I bit early, but we were glad we went early as by the time we left it was so busy!! We did a loop that went by pretty much every waterfall - the lower loop and then we took a boat across the big lake to the upper falls (my favorite section) and saw all of them (and some frogs making lots of noise!) then took the bus back to near the start. Walking back to the start from there was at the top of the cliffs so you got to see the lower falls from above! It was super nice, the water was gorgeous and so clear!! And we got sort of lucky with the weather, it was cool when we started, but Sunny the whole time with the clouds rolling in as we were leaving! Since we got such an early start we were able to relax this afternoon and enjoy our tiny house (though not on the deck as it started raining! Again perfect timing so we weren’t hiking through the rain). An eventful, fun, but also relaxing day! Oh and in the video of the frogs making silly noises they are jumping around in the water/grass on the bottom left corner). Another smaller earthquake went through in the evening while we were in our tiny house!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia
    1

    Slunj Take 2

    May 2, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today I had originally planned a long, hard hike up a mountain that sounded really interesting, but neither of us felt up to it this morning (plus when I checked the weather there it said thunderstorms all afternoon, and when I checked in the afternoon sure enough it was stormy there so I was glad we didn’t go), so we decided to head back to Rastoke and see if we could see the waterfall town that was closed on Tuesday. Well…you had to pay 6Euro a person to go in…and it was definitely not worth it. It was tiny, you had great views of the waterfalls from the parking area on the opposite side from where we were the first time for free, and it was just meh. There wasn’t much there.

    There was a longer hike along the Korana and Slunjčica Rivers we were going to do that left from Rastoke so after our short wander in there we headed out on those paths. First you wandered through the forest to some viewpoints of the Korana River, then to cross you had to walk in the water along the rock wall which was fun (and we were glad we decided to wear our water shoes today!!) we saw lots of big snails, I thought I heard a snake in the grass and definitely saw the back half of one slithering away, there were lots of frogs making silly noises again, and when we stopped for lunch along the River we even saw a turtle on the opposite bank! And lots of fishes swimming around so it was a fun stop.

    The trail then went by the ruins of Napoleon’s grain warehouse and the old castle before going through downtown Slunj which was fun to see. That is all along the Slunjčica River which is so much prettier! That is the River that we went to the spring where it started the other day and the water is just gorgeous. The Korana is nice too, but it doesn’t compare! So a fun day wandering by the water. Tomorrow we head is to Dubrovnik!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia
    1

    On the way to Dubrovnik

    May 3, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Today was a long day of driving! We had 6 hours to go to Dubrovnik, but it wasn’t too bad as it was a gorgeous drive through the mountains and we had a few stops to break it up (so it took us a lot longer to get here). First stop was a viewpoint then the Eye of Croatia - a deep blue hole where a river starts. This was nice, but you couldn’t walk around very far and it wasn’t as nice as the other spring we went to a few days ago! Then up to an old fortress you could wander through which was a lot of fun, and nice views even though it was stormy! It was raining a bit while we were there and afterwards we headed to the lake to eat lunch and drove through so much rain, but luckily it was sunny in the spot we were so we could enjoy lunch and the water. Then on to Dubrovnik. 2 of the photos are the view from where we are staying which is gorgeous! You can see out over the water and it is wonderful! It is a billion stairs down to the city, which we did walk to get some dinner, and then back up! I tried to count on the way you, but I kept losing track…but at least 386 steps! At least there are some friendly stair kitties along the way. Tomorrow we explore Dubrovnik!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Dubrovnik Old Town 1.1

    May 4, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today we explored Dubrovnik Old Town which was so much fun!! I’m trying to limit myself to only 1 or 2 posts per day so as shall see how it goes! I took all the photos today! We started with the city wall walk, which when looking it up I thought it cost way too much money, the same price as a city ticket with entry to other museums and stuff so we ended up getting that, but once we were up there walking around I was like oh! This is definitely worth it! The views were amazing! The town from above, the water, the fortress, everything! I really enjoyed wandering the walls and would definitely do it again! So much fun!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia
    1

    Dubrovnik Old Town 1.2

    May 4, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After our wall walk we went to explore the fortress…and that was disappointing. It was tiny and not at all worth the price if you were just to pay for it! Then lots of wandering through the narrow streets, lots of up and down stairs (so many stairs today!!), into lots of churches (the one had very interesting stations of the cross design!), we went into the Rector’s Palace since it looked like an interesting building and was included with our ticket and that was fun! A gothic-renaissance Manson with different artifacts from the city and furniture and such fun the time (so many small compartments to carry people). Then we found some gelato and a fancy berry cake (which was so tasty!) before heading back to our place and finding all the western house Martin’s were flying right by our balcony! All in all it was a great day! I really enjoyed Dubrovnik Old Town!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia
    1112

    Dubrovnik Lapad Penninsula

    May 5, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Phew! Today was a long day and I am so tired! I’m going to bed as soon as I post this. We left the house at 9:30 this morning and didn’t get home until 9 this evening! We started in old town and walked west and wandered along the water and all around the Lapad peninsula! So much walking! Spied on all the beaches, walked up to all the viewpoints on the hills, ended up having lunch and dinner out - we had planned on a late lunch at a place that sounded good that didn’t open until 2…only they didn’t open! So we scrambled and luckily the vegetable risotto is usually vegan so we were able to find some and had that. We were originally going to come back to the apartment to eat dinner, but it was so nice out and we were enjoying the sun and the beaches and we wanted to go up to the big viewpoint for Sunset so we decided to just eat out instead of getting a car to take us home and then wait for another one you take us up there - and I was glad we did as dinner was so so good! And it was easier getting a car in town and we got to the viewpoint just in time for sunset! It was perfect and I loved the views of the Bosnian mountains on the one side and the city and water and island on the other! A long, but really fun day! I really enjoyed our time in Dubrovnik and I would definitely come back again! Tomorrow we move on to Mljet IslandRead more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Mljet Island

    May 6, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today we got up and headed for the ferry to Mljet island! We took the noon ferry which was pretty nice - the upper deck has chairs and was open so lots of breeze and the views were great! We were able to check into our place as soon as we got here which was great - a place with another great view (the photo with the roofs in)! But a billion stairs to climb to get to it…it was a lot with the luggage (and when tired after hiking)! Then we headed off for a hike of the highest mt on the island which was so hot! There was sometimes a breeze, but I was a sweaty monster (Raymond thought it wasn’t too bad, but it was a lot!). The views on top were great though!! And we saw a fancy spider, some giant goats, and lots of weird bugs on the way up! Afterwards we headed to Odysseus Cave, which you can only get inside by swimming and it was way too cold for that in the wind there so it wasn’t very exciting (maybe earlier in the day when the sun is shining on it would be better from above). We did see some pine Martens on the road though! That is the awful car photo - if you zoom in you can see them! It was very exciting. A new to me animal and the National animal of Croatia! After dinner we went in search of a nice sunset spot since we are on the sunrise side of the island. I had found a beach called sunset beach so we drove over there, but maybe because of the time of year the sun was too north and the beach too inland that it was already in shade when we got there, but just up the road was the perfect spot! Tomorrow we explore more of the islandRead more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Mljet National Park

    May 7, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    Today we explored Mljet National Park on the west-ish side of the island. The views when we woke up were so nice! It was supposed to be super windy today (the forecast just said wind) so I thought it would be much cooler hiking up the mt this morning…only there was no wind on the way up! Once we got to the top we realized we had been hiking between 2 ridges that blocked the wind! And it was super humid so it was so hot and yuck, but not a bad climb (and luckily not super long). The views from the top were great (and we found all the wind)! I am sure they would have been even better in full sun and clear, like we had this afternoon, but I cannot imagine trying to hike that in sun with no wind! It wasn’t even that hot today, it just felt like it because of the humidity! Then it was down to the big lake to spy, I saw another snakey along the way! and found some weird coral or something in the lake. The signs said there was a lot of coral in the lakes, but it was so strange looking if that is what it was!

    Then we were trying to decide if we wanted to walk the long way around the lake to the first stop of the boat to a small island, or the short way to the second stop (and then on to the island). Well the time schedule made it seem like if we went the long way around we would either have to walk to the second stop or wait an hour for the next boat to go to the second stop (where we were parked basically), so we decided to go the short route and then get off at the first stop on the way back and walk to the second…only we got to the stop and the boat wasn’t leaving from there! It was only going between the island and a stop between the 2! So we had to hurry along to the real stop as the boat only ran once an hour… it was a bit crazy as online the schedule was every 2 hours, the lady at the ticket counter told us every hour, but that it made all the stops, and the signs had the same schedule, then at the stop it was like no, just kidding go somewhere else. I have found that information is not always consistent or given here which I find a bit strange, but oh well we figured it out.

    So we finally got the boat and wandered around the tiny island (the boat only stops there for 20 min, but it really only took 10 to walk around the island so that was plenty of time!), then we went to spy on the little lake (the last photo!) and the water was an incredible color! Really all the water is so pretty! We also saw lots of butterflies and fun flowers along the way today. All in all a pretty fun day!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Ston & Korcula

    May 8, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today we left Mljet island and headed to Ston to walk on the city walls which was crazy! It went straight up the hill! We could see the wall from the road to Dubrovnik so we said that looks fun, let’s go! And today was the day. Since the ferry only runs every few hours we didn’t get there till 11 and it was already so hot in the sun! And climbing all the stairs was so hot because the wall blocked most of the breeze! But I really enjoyed it and the next city over that you walk to, Mali Ston, was right on the water and a perfect place to eat lunch. We walked back along the road (so much easier, quicker, and cooler than climbing the stairs again!) and found so many fun bugs! We then drove to catch our ferry to Korčula where we are now (the lavender field is the view from our place). We headed over to the far side of the island for dinner and did another quick walk to a viewpoint for sunset which was pretty nice (and it had lots of info on different plants along the way which was fun). All in all a great day! Tomorrow we explore the island more!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Korčula

    May 9, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today we explored Korčula more! First it was a wander through a nature preserve in the middle of the island that had lots of rocks to find your way through - the trail there and back was through town or countryside with nice views, but the nature reserve was a mess of trails and plants and bugs! It was fun, but not my favorite rocks we have explored. We ran into 2 other groups of hikers, both groups lost and couldn’t figure out how to get out! Luckily we were able to follow the trail I had found and it wasn’t bad, but yeah if you didn’t have that it is very easy to get lost in there!

    Then we headed to Korčula old town for lunch and to explore. It is a pretty tiny town, but some fun narrow streets to explore (and treats to eat!). It was so hot in the sun, but once we got to the water in town it was so windy it was chilly! We ended up back at our place early enough for a swim and some pool time! It was cold, but the sun was warm so it worked out (but still couldn’t stay in forever). While at the pool the house martins kept sweeping down to get some water which was fun to watch! And Raymond had to keep saving beetles that got stuck on their back and bees that got stuck in the water. Speaking of beetles they love me! They keep landing on me while we are wandering, especially in my hair, and today we kept seeing them on these pink flowers and Raymond was like maybe that’s why they like you! They think your hair is this flower? Maybe! Who knows, but they do seem to love me. We also saw these black and white butterflies that looked blue in the sun! And all the fun bugs!

    We are staying near the water and I thought we were on the wrong side of the island to see the sunset, but we are not! So we went down to the water to watch and it was pretty nice. Tomorrow on to the next adventure!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Makarska

    May 10, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today was a more relaxed day, we left Korčula this morning by ferry and it was so windy!! The wind almost blew my sunglasses off!! Then we headed north stopping at some viewpoints before arriving in Makarska where we will be staying the next few nights. We did a short hike along the water through some rocks and saw the city views and it is gorgeous here! So many huge rock cliffs on one side, water and island on the other! And the place we are staying is up in the hills near the base of the rocks and it is gorgeous!! The photo from the green house (where we are staying!) to the end are all of the place we are staying!! Our balcony has an amazing view (that first photo after the house is the view!!), we can see all the rock cliffs, we have our own pool and the whole place is ours! Because it is facing the edge of the forest it feels like we are all alone (there are a few other houses behind ours, but you can’t see them unless you look back there! And you can’t see them from the pool). It is amazing and we spent some time swimming and enjoying the views this afternoon! I had planned a bunch of difficult hikes straight up the mts here to see all the views, but if it is sunny it will be way too hot as there is not much shade so we shall see. We might just wander along the coast instead or have a pool day :)Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Tučepi & Makarska

    May 11, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Yesterday it was so hot and it was forecast to be hot today so I looked at other hikes and things to do in the area as I wasn’t sure we would be up for hiking straight up a mountain. I found that we were right on a trail, 1km from top so this morning we got up and walked up to the end at this small church. It was an okay walk, along a steep road, but even at 9 it was always getting too warm when we got back to our place. The sun is just so hot! So we decided to go into town and wander. We parked and walked along the water to the next town over, Tučepi, since I had a place marked there that we could have lunch at, plus then we could spy on that town. I really loved it there! There were people around when we got there, but not crazy busy, but by the time we finished lunch there were very few people out and about! Not even at the beach!

    After lunch we walked along the waterfront which is so nice there as it is just a pedestrian path and beach along the water. We spent more time there than expected, so instead of walking back we took a taxi which dropped us off in old town Makarska which again was empty! This morning when we drove through it was so busy, but by afternoon everyone disappeared! Nice for us. We wandered all over and even found a bunch of rocks with all the fossils! And ended our day with some gelato - peach for me which was very tasty and refreshing! Then back to our place for a quick swim before dinner.

    This morning I thought we wouldn’t be out long today as we didn’t have that much planned, but both towns were nicer than we expected and we wandered way more than we thought we would! We didn’t get back to our place till 5, which was much later than I thought! But it was a really fun day and I really enjoy this area! Korčula was a bit disappointing and I had thought did we peak too early? Did we do all the amazing things first and now it will be meh? But no, Makarska Riviera area is amazing!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    French Road & Baška Voda

    May 12, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today we were up and out of the house as soon as we got ready as it was cloudy first thing and we wanted to do a hike - much better to hike uphill without the sun making it unbearably hot! And we had almost perfect timing - the sun came out just for the last bit of uphill so it worked out well. We hiked the French Road Educational Trail which was beautiful! It was a road the French were building so people could go over the mountain, but they never finished it and now it is a trail with posts about the people who were responsible for building it and such. Really a great hike and we both really enjoyed it. The views were so nice! It was an easier climb and looked it over the water the whole time. Really fun. Oh, and the photo with the tile table is the Brela coat of arms (the hike is above the town of Brela).

    Then we came back and relaxed and swam in the pool until later in the afternoon when we went down to Baška Voda to try and get some gelato. There is a chain that has a location there that has a peach rosemary I want to try, but every time we go by one I am so full I can’t eat any! So today was the day! Only it was closed and we didn’t find any other gelato. Very sad for us, but we did have a wander around town which was pretty nice. Another nice beach and waterfront with the rocky cliffs in the background.

    Then back to the house to relax some more and watched a rain storm move out over the water which was fun (and it got cold without the sun!). And saw a bunch of European golden Orioles flying around which are so bright yellow, and a wagtail that loved playing in the pool, and more martins swooping down and drinking from it. So much fun to watch! A pretty good day    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Omiš

    May 13, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Today we headed to Omiš to spy and it was a really nice stop! First we were going to head up to the fortress on the hill, which I thought was a staircase going up, but it was really a very steep, all in the sun hike straight up! We only made it about halfway before we said okay, we are not prepared for this, the sun is way too hot and turned around. We went down a slightly different way that was much nicer - more gradual and in the shade! We did see a cricket in the rocks that blended in which was fun.

    Then we had a wander around town and up to Mirabela Fortress which is a lot lower on the hill and has great views of the city and surrounding. There are a lot of tour places there to get boat tours and they hassle you when you walk by which I hate, but I stopped a moment to take a photo and I heard “Hello!!” In an annoyed voice from behind me, like I was blocking the path or something and like someone was trying to get by so I moved over to the side more and heard “Hello!!!” And I was like dude what do you want from me?? And moved as far over as I could, then heard “Lady!!!” In an angry tone and I looked and the guy was like do you want to go on a boat tour of the river? I was like no, but even if I did I would not go on one with you…it was a strange way to try and get a customer.

     After lunch we wandered around the beach and found a crab trying to hide in the rocks, and the beach was all little rocks so we walked with our feet in which was nice. We took a break on the beach and the sand was so warm I went and got our swim stuff and it was hot enough that we finally swam in the Mediterranean! The beach was so shallow for so long, and nice and sandy, you have to just crouch down to get in (it didn’t even go up to my waist), but it was nice. Then relaxing on the beach and getting in when we go too hot. Such a fun day!

    Oh! There has also been this song that has been playing in the radio all the time that we find hilarious, and Raymond figured out it was for Eurovision! Croatia didn’t win, but they did come in second so…the song is by Baby Lasagna (with is a great name) - Rim Tim Tagi Dim if anyone wants to have a listen (or look at the lyrics cause they are pretty great)    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerCroatia

    Cetina River Hiking

    May 14, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today was a fun day! When we were driving down to Dubrovnik we passed this canyon on the freeway that looked super cool so I had Raymond mark where it was about so I could look it up (as I did not see anything about it when I was planning!) and it was close to here, but I kept forgetting about it. When we were trying to figure out what to do today Raymond was like I thought we were exploring the canyon! Oh yeah! So I looked for a few places we might get some good views or have some nice hiking along the water.

    The first stop was some viewpoints in Zadvarje on the other side of the mountains and it was interesting when you go over the pass it is like a big plateau with more gradual hills. So much flatter than over here on the water with the giant cliffs! So off we went only to find when we got there that Tues is market day! It was odd as the market is literally set up on the side of the main street through town so there were people everywhere and cars trying to drive through (ourselves included as we only found parking on the far side of town). I had been telling Raymond we needed to keep an eye out for Soparnik - a thin dough filled with Swiss chard that is accidentally vegan. Well what did we find at the market? Soparnik! Of course we had to try it and it was pretty tasty. There were also lots of fruit and local food vendors and so we picked up some cherries, and lots of places selling this big round breads - which on the way back to the car we were lucky enough to find some to try out (it says online the market is open till 2, but at 11 when we were walking back so many people were packing up - there is no way it would still be going on at 2!). It’s called Kruh ispod peke - bread under the lid as it is cooked under a lid with charcoals embers on top. We had seen a bunch of these metal lids for sale and I had no idea what they were for until I looked up the bread when we got home! Super fun. Lots of farm tools and stuff as well and it was a pleasant surprise that we were there just in time for the market!

    Then we went to spy on the River viewpoints which were so nice! But my photos only look meh at best, but I love it! There were lots of official viewpoints to stop and spy that had facts about the River and we really enjoyed it. There was also this small church at the entrance to town that was cool - and had amazing views of the River valley!

    Then it was in to another small town for a hike down to the water and lunch on the riverbank which was nice. And so many butterfly friends! And we saw some fig trees! It was much cooler today which was good and after wandering around the river a bit we were trying to decide if we wanted to go farther or head back to the car and noticed there were dark storm clouds surrounding us (we were still in the sun) and started to hear thunder so back to the car it was! It luckily got overcast for our hike uphill, and much cooler, and started raining just as we got to the car so we headed for home. Once we got over the pass again it was much sunnier, though the mountains were in dark clouds all afternoon! And we could watch so much rain around Omiš and on the water and the islands, but no rain here (it was cloudy when we got back, but the sun even came out and was so warm I went swimming again!). It was good we went to Omiš yesterday as today was all stormy there! All in all a fun day and with some new Croatia treats! Oh and when we were lounging by the pool a little wagtail decided I stop by and do some cleaning :)    Read more

  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice