Hrastovi Vrh

Plitvice Lakes is one of the many stunning natural wonders of Croatia. This park consists of hiking trails, boat rides, lagoon blue lakes and waterfalls galore! The water was just UNREAL!

Fun fact for your faces - We have found that if a European tells you how long it takes to get somewhere, you should add 50% to whatever they said. Pretty funny, but it has been true in every country so far. Also, we seem to drive slower than the locals. That being said, we drove two hours and twenty minutes to Plitvice Lakes after being told it was just over an hour. However, these waterfalls and lakes were so worth the extra drive time.

We arrived to this gorgeous forest and could hear the rushing water of the many falls close by. There was a nice temperature drop and I ended up wearing a sweater some of the day. Instead of feeling like a sweaty summer day, it felt more like spring weather.

We began our hike and hit the first bridge with this incredibly clear water and tall grass waving in the breeze. The girls stopped with excitement as they noticed the fish trying to swim up stream. So many fish and you could see them all. Then we heard a PLOP. What was it you ask? DeMille tried to feed a fish her right shoe! Not really, but in the midst of excitement her shoe fell off. I don't multitask very well and felt like keeping Mabel from falling in the river took priority. My first thought was that our hike was over, then I wondered if she would be willing to hike barefoot all day. But if you know Seth, you know his superpower is problem solving. He and Demi laid on the bridge and watched the flow of the rushing water. They determined the direction and moved down stream. Seth grabbed Demi and lowered her into the water just in time to grab the shoe before it disappeared out of reach. Our day was rescued and we were off to see more of these lakes.

We hiked a bit, then road a boat across a lake and hiked some more. I think we hiked roughly four hours limited by the speed of the littles. Demi could have hiked much longer. As you can tell by the photo of Seth carrying two girls, the two blondies could not have hiked more.

On the he drive home, all the girls fell asleep in a leany pile. The roads were narrow, windy and shady, which made Demi a little car sick. We passed a field of sunflowers taller than me, which is really not that tall. Ha ha! And we have noticed here that despite the Texas like heat, nearly every home keeps healthy, colorful flowers alive somehow. They drape them so beautifully in such a way that it makes them appear to be a part of the windows, rails and walls. They seem to find creative ways to add pops of color just about anywhere they can put them.

P.S. - The area in the last video, the girls called "magical fairy land." They thought that spot was the coolest.Read more