There places on earth worth visiting no matter what and Plitvicka is absolutely one of them.  With its verdant forest and tumbling waterfalls,  Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of Croatia’s famous tourist attractions and can lay claim to some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world.

This place is breathtaking. Its waterfalls, caves, forest, boat drives, trains, clear blue lakes which look like big aquariums.

I was hooked the whole time,walking around taking pictures and looking at what nature offered, and human had to preserve.

I  am not so sure how the garden of Eden looked like but boy this looked like something described in the bible.

It was quite hard to get around because of the population of the tourists around but who cares if you are going to enjoy the beauty. This is one of those places I would recommend  to anyone who adores nature.

The place is well maintained simple passages and other means of transport. The journey was cut short because of rain, but the spirit was still high.

The park has 16 stunning blue-green Plitvice Lakes, which are separated by natural dams of travertine limestone on the Plitvice plateau

The tallest waterfall at the park is Veliki Slap at 70 metres (230 feet) tall. The park is surrounded by the mountains Pljesevica, Mala Kapela, and Medvedak, which are part of the Dinaric Alps.

I can not really describe well this place and how it made me feel but maybe you can swing by and decide for yourself if it might be the garden of Eden or no.

NOTE: Even if it is summer, it would be better to always pack an extra jacket, a pair of shoes and socks, umbrella or rain jacket. You don’t want to catch a cold and miss out on the fun.

As always, please pick up some few slovene words

River  – Reka

Lake   – Jezero

Mountain – Gora

Forest –  Gozda

Umbrella – Deznik

Ticket – Stopnica

Boat – ladia

Train – vlak

Bus – Autobus

Directions

Left – levo

Right – Desno

Straight ahead – na launost

It is one of those moments when you set yourself into an amazing mood and put away all the winter gears ready to embrace summer and before you know it you are on the first flight all the way to winter.

On 27/4/2016 I felt like I was in a movie ( walking dead or some other Tv show where people are stranded scavenging for food and water).

The weather was terrible, I had been told by a friend that it was going to be bad but I had made plans to go and nothing was going to stop me.

When I said nothing, I didn’t think of snow….. I was in the range of some rain, some little breeze and some sun. We left Ljubljana the sun was off and on, I carried my little umbrella, put on a simple sweater and some leggings, simple Spring shoes but before I left the house I grabbed a court for just in case.

It was a little chilly but ok until we got to Gorenjska. The rains were so cold but still no thought of snow at all, we were keeping positive. It was starting to snow as we emerged out of the longer tunnel, still positive though. When we got to Villach it was really snowing, had no choice but to look for museums or galleries.

The nightmare started immediately we got out of the car. We didn’t have the right shoes nor clothes. Our feet were soaked in water and freezing, some roads were closed to the places we were to go, and we decided to return home.

It was still early and why not come all the way from Austria and have lunch in Italy. We looked at the weather forecast this time and it was not amazingly shining, but it was not snowing.

The wheels were heading there and we were excited.

The first 2 hours of being stuck on a highway we’re not so bad, we were still warm, ate the sandwiches we had and played the games we knew. It went to 4,5,6,7 hours and we were starving and cold.

The stranded I knew is not even close to the one I had on a highway. The next time someone tells me is stranded on a highway during winter,  I will have to drop everything and listen attentively. There is no chance of going back, branching off, going to the bathroom, accessing anything to eat or drink.

This might sound funny if you have not been in that situation but trust me if you are going to drive on any highway, be prepared with what to eat, drink and some things to keep you warm. Carry a book or your computer and do some work.

Besides being hungry, my head was spinning with possibilities. In Uganda, we do not have a motor way, and we tend to have one paved road connecting cities. So if a truck is stuck or an accident occurs, there is little to do but to wait a little or may be for a whole day or night.

Here on the other hand, every road is paved and even if it might take you longer than on a highway, I bet it’s better than being in one place for more than 7 hours. There must be emergency exits on a highway, but how far are they from each other? I know this is not my place to suggest something, but there is a rail in the middle of the motor way separating the coming and the going.

That is one of the ways that can control waiting, if that rail had some parts of emergency, that if there  is an accident, they can unscrew the ramp and direct cars in a certain direction as necessary,  giving time to those clearing the road to work without pressure and those waiting not to be so agitated in my opinion.

It is still Spring according to calendar, we don’t want tourists to think that they booked for a spring journey and got winter instead. It won’t hurt to pack something warmer though when you are traveling this side, the weather might just choose to surprise you.

As always, pick some few phrases of Slovene.

Vreme – Weather

Dežuje – It’s raining
Sneži – It’s snowing
Sončno je – It’s sunny
Ledeno je – It’s icy
Panda toča – falling hailstones

When you are  done enjoying coffee by the river side ( Ljubljanica) , it would not hurt to try and know a little more about Slovenia. Find out about the people who have made their history. Slovenia is still considered a young country and its stars in sports Tina Maze and Peter Prevc have done an amazing job to place the country somewhere.

Besides that, the country has amazing museums and galleries to visit if you happen to have some few minutes. I will concentrate on one of the architects  whose work seem to be the face of most of the picture that people recognise about Slovenia.

I have not always been a fun of museums, but looking at what some people did then and how it is preserved for us to take a trip to the past for only few minutes or hours, is amazing. Plečnik’s  house ( Plečnikova hiša) is maintained to portray how the architect lived his life and his work is displayed accordingly.

The guides try to explain his life in Slovenia, Prague, Vienna, Paris. To make it interesting, you get to walk through the house where the man lived, look at the tools he used to make his designs and the tiny bed where he slept. What can be more thrilling than that?

Plečnik’s best known works of art include the National and University Library building, the Ljubljanica river embankments, most notable among the latter being the Triple Bridge and the Cobblers’ Bridge, the Central Market, the Križanke Summer Theatre, the Bežigrad Stadium, the cemetery at Žale, the Church of St. Michael in the Marshes and the Parliament House in Ljubljana

Don’t forget to pick some few words in Slovenia

Vreme – weather

Danes je sončno – it is sunny today

Dobrodošli – welcome

Nasvidenje/ adijo – goodbye

Some of the pictures

http://www.ljubljana.guide/attractions/national-and-university-library-of-slovenia-nuk/

http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/the-universal-architect-joze-plecnik

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/58666834