Colourful Croatia....

At every step, I remembered last year's World Cup....

Not that I am a football fan (can only understand a goal and have no clue what an offside is!), but it put the country on my radar for sure.
The way the team played......the people cheered....the smart President stood beside her team and congratulated them....
Impressive!

Croatia : A colourful country with lovely people, a perfect holiday destination.

Travel is all about extending the boundaries.

Of our minds.

A long drive through three countries (Germany, Austria, Slovenia) took us to Croatia from The Netherlands. Even though, not an ideal winter destination to enjoy the beautiful beaches along the Adriatic coast, we did get very nice sunny cold weather most of the time. Our first stop in Croatia was Kastela (near Split, Trogir, Sibenik). We stayed there for 3 days and moved on to the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, stayed for a day and came back north to Karlovac (to visit the national parks Plitvice). Then we moved to the capital city of Zagreb, spent a day there and finally came back to The Netherlands from there.

What a beautiful country it is! Nature at its best!!
Apart from nature, the thing that needs to be appreciated is the quality of the roads. An extensive, well-maintained road network is something Croatia should be proud of. Not only the highways, even the 'nature' routes were a pleasure to travel on. Smooth and spotless--touching all the beautiful tourist spots that you want to go to....a treat to travel on the roads of Croatia.

Cities like Split, Trogir or Sibenik -- world heritage sites, so beautiful that they felt like a canvas.

Dubrovnik was straight out of a James Bond movie. The highwalls, the cobbled stoned streets, the perfectly orange thatched rooftops...I could visualize HIM coming out of the alleys on his bike, with 'Anasthasia' behind him. Anytime........

Plitvice park and its surroundings were magical. Even on a partly cloudy day, the blues and the greens of the water were mesmerizing. The camera never stopped clicking but what the eyes and the brain captured are really beyond my vocabulary.

The capital city of Zagreb had a fairy-tale Christmas market. The sub-zero temperatures were nullified by the spicy sausages and the warm glue-wine on the streets. The decoration was magical with music, family chatter and warm hugs. 

Everyday was a treat to the eyes and the heart. 

Beautiful places to see, delicious food to eat, wonderful friends to travel with, warm houses to come back to at night, chill or debate (depending on the number of glasses :-)) on topics like 'Karma', 'parenting', 'energy transition'........

Beautiful things make me philosophical nowadays (nothing to do with age!!)

So I let my mind , camera and my pen free........

Sail beyond the horizon, fly beyond the stars....
--but stay connected to the shore. Always.

Split

Take a break from the 'rat-race'. Stretch, laze and yawn from time to time. 
Spend time with friends. Enjoy the sun.

Kastela

Reflections are only "crooked" if your mirror is shaky with ripples. Use a simple honest one.

Trogir

The journey goes very fast. Pause for a while.....appreciate it.

Kastela

Some colours have no explanations. His palette, his creation, his mood.........

Plitvice

Dubrovnik

The world is a window. Look outside. It is full of colours, full of hope and full of happiness.

I stand and watch the same sun rise and set everyday. Yet each day is unique, each day is special, each day is a gift of life.

Dubrovnik

   There will always be someone(thing) to guide you on your way.....Have faith.

way to Karlovac

Plitvice

The tunnel is very important. It teaches us to appreciate the light at the end of it.

             Reflections are a necessity on the way.
              Reflect. The journey gets better.

Plitvice

 Think. Think. Think.  Natural intelligence(NI) is real.

Zagreb

Use your taste buds. They contribute a lot to "happiness".

Zagreb

Overall a beautiful experience.
Recommended.