Plitvice to Zagreb (NYE)

Hello last day of 2023!

We only had a two hour drive from Plitvice to Zagreb today so decided to break up the journey with a stopover in Karlovac. Apart from a nice coffee shop there is absolutely nothing to recommend it!

Being New Year's Eve and every man and his dog came to Zagreb + our accommodation is close to the action, parking was a bit of an issue. We eventually found a garage about 1.3km away, and made our way to the accommodation, leaving all our gear in the car for now. Across the road from our apartment is a beer garden, so we headed over there for a sausage and a beer, mainly because it was close, but also because there was a life-sized statue of Nick Cave at the entrance, which was just a little bit random!

Due to the sheer number of people still pouring into the city, we decided to leave our cars where they were and walked back to the car park and then back again with all our suitcases. Given our late lunch, our last meal of 2023 was cheese and biscuits. Craig and I headed into the main square to see what NYE celebrations would look like which included a very loud DJ playing unintelligible doof doof music (I know I sound old) etc, so we headed home again. I had read before I went out that in May the Zagreb council had opted out of NYE fireworks. Locals evidently had not because there was random explosions happening all night, included some just outside our apartment. And at midnight I heard the main fireworks display, so the council obviously had a change of heart.

I also managed to slip in one final injury just two hours before midnight trying to work out how Sam Kerr can jump so high as per a photo I just looked at. In attempting this spectacular recreation, I forgot I was wearing socks on a polished timber floor. Ouch from my wrist. The owner of the apartment had left us a bottle of liqueur. Not saying if the two things are related...Read more