Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Amber:  We decided that it was time for some peace and quiet so drove north to Plitvice Lakes National Park. We drove to our guest house, then went in search of dinner at, perhaps, the only restaurant in the area.  .
The next morning, the park opened at 8:00 am.  I had my alarm set for 7:30, but someone may have hit snooze.  We got to the park before ten, and it was beautiful! The temperature had definitely begun to drop.  Even in our jackets and hats it was a brisk, chilly morning.  We immediately were able to walk over to a cliff and get a great view of the first waterfall of the valley.  It also is the biggest one of the park, and the biggest waterfall in all of Croatia.  It made for  a very nice first impression.

There was a gaggle of about 50 Japanese tourists in front of us, so we walked slowly behind and among them as everyone excitedly posed and took photographs.  We walked along the boardwalk and got a nice close up view of the big waterfall, or "slap," before continuing on.  We managed to break away from the tour and explored around the boardwalks bordering the waterfalls and lakes, making our way upstream.  There was a boat to take us across the biggest lake, but we got to the dock 45 minutes before it would be picking passengers up, so we opted to hike around the lake.  We actually made it to the far end of the lake at the same time as the boat, so it was a nice way to get a little more exercise. Tim was determined to get to ride on the boat, however, so we hiked out to the end of the lake system, and then hiked back to get a boat ride across.  It was a fun, beautiful day.