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Seline is situated between two national parks, Mala (small) Paklenice and Velika (large) Paklenice. Both are based around large gorges. One morning dad got up at 6am to go hiking in Mala Paklenice which is within walking distance. Around 7am there was a huge thunderstorm and downpour. At 9am Melissa came in and woke us up and said that mom was worried because dad hadn’t come back yet. We got in the car to find him and just as we drove up the rode we saw him coming back. My mom was very relieved (lots of crying) and that was probably the most dramatic moment of the trip.
Another day my parents, Melissa, Darijo, and Jasna, and I went hiking in Velika Paklenice. (The kids were very sad they couldn’t go.) It was nice to spend time with Darijo and Jasna. It ended up being about a five hour hike there and back. We hiked to about the center of the park, had our picnic lunch, and came back. It was pretty steep at the beginning, but then leveled off. We saw a lot of rockclimbers and learned that the park is internationally known for its climbing. Of course the views were beautiful. We were a little wierded out when Jasna and Darijo smoked on the rest breaks though. At one point the army carved bunkers out of the bedrock and we toured those. Darijo had been stationed in the area during the war so he remembered the bunkers although at that point they didn’t have electricity, only gas lamps. He had been stationed in the mountains around the coast (they were being shelled from the water.) He carried supplies to lookouts perched high in the mountains and even guarded Jasna’s parent’s house. Although that area (and Dubrovnik) had been hit pretty heavily during the war (Dubrovnik lost most of its roofs) we saw very little evidence of the destruction. They’ve done a little of rebuilding in the last ten years.
On the way back from Seline to Zagreb we stopped at Plitvice. Minka, Jasna, and Darijo were coming back to Zagreb with us so they stopped too. Plitvice is a national park encompassing a chain of naturally-occuring stepped lakes that flow into each other through a series of waterfalls. Shuttles drive you to the top of the lakes and then you walk down boardwalks to view everything. We also took a boat across the big lake and hiked to the largest waterfall. Aside from Dubrovnik it was probably the most beautiful place we visited. Denis took a hundred photos of waterfalls. We spent about five hours there although the hike was a lot less strenuous then in Paklenice. Even so Minka had a hard time, her arthritis was bothering her.
We got back to Zagreb and ordered out pizza at the Pavlic’s. Denis, Minka and I stayed with them while my parents and Melissa stayed at Minka’s apartment in the city. The next morning we drove up above Zagreb to a mountain. We got most of the way up on a narrow twisty road before heading down. We didn’t have a lot of time there because we got a little lost and then didn’t want to be late to the airport, but it was neat to see some of the neighborhoods outside the city. I had gone up the mountain once before with Denis, but that time it was in March, and we took a bus and then a gondola ride to the top.
There was lots of crying in the airport, especially by our mothers. The plane trip was uneventful except that they confiscated my Tweezerman tweezers (a gift from my sister) and fingernail clippers at a US security screening during our layover in Germany. We picked up our car at Matt’s house before heading to the hotel in Boston.
Another day my parents, Melissa, Darijo, and Jasna, and I went hiking in Velika Paklenice. (The kids were very sad they couldn’t go.) It was nice to spend time with Darijo and Jasna. It ended up being about a five hour hike there and back. We hiked to about the center of the park, had our picnic lunch, and came back. It was pretty steep at the beginning, but then leveled off. We saw a lot of rockclimbers and learned that the park is internationally known for its climbing. Of course the views were beautiful. We were a little wierded out when Jasna and Darijo smoked on the rest breaks though. At one point the army carved bunkers out of the bedrock and we toured those. Darijo had been stationed in the area during the war so he remembered the bunkers although at that point they didn’t have electricity, only gas lamps. He had been stationed in the mountains around the coast (they were being shelled from the water.) He carried supplies to lookouts perched high in the mountains and even guarded Jasna’s parent’s house. Although that area (and Dubrovnik) had been hit pretty heavily during the war (Dubrovnik lost most of its roofs) we saw very little evidence of the destruction. They’ve done a little of rebuilding in the last ten years.
On the way back from Seline to Zagreb we stopped at Plitvice. Minka, Jasna, and Darijo were coming back to Zagreb with us so they stopped too. Plitvice is a national park encompassing a chain of naturally-occuring stepped lakes that flow into each other through a series of waterfalls. Shuttles drive you to the top of the lakes and then you walk down boardwalks to view everything. We also took a boat across the big lake and hiked to the largest waterfall. Aside from Dubrovnik it was probably the most beautiful place we visited. Denis took a hundred photos of waterfalls. We spent about five hours there although the hike was a lot less strenuous then in Paklenice. Even so Minka had a hard time, her arthritis was bothering her.
We got back to Zagreb and ordered out pizza at the Pavlic’s. Denis, Minka and I stayed with them while my parents and Melissa stayed at Minka’s apartment in the city. The next morning we drove up above Zagreb to a mountain. We got most of the way up on a narrow twisty road before heading down. We didn’t have a lot of time there because we got a little lost and then didn’t want to be late to the airport, but it was neat to see some of the neighborhoods outside the city. I had gone up the mountain once before with Denis, but that time it was in March, and we took a bus and then a gondola ride to the top.
There was lots of crying in the airport, especially by our mothers. The plane trip was uneventful except that they confiscated my Tweezerman tweezers (a gift from my sister) and fingernail clippers at a US security screening during our layover in Germany. We picked up our car at Matt’s house before heading to the hotel in Boston.