Zadar is a lovely old town that sits on the coast of Croatia in northern Dalmatia. It is a gateway to a number of islands in northern Croatia but it also is a great place to visit in its own right. It dates back to prehistoric times and there remains evidence of the Roman era that dates back to around 300 AD. There are also a number of buildings (mainly churches) that are several centuries old so it makes for some interesting viewing.
One of the main attractions of the town is the Sea Organ which is a musical instrument built into some stone steps on the foreshore. There are a number of tubes below the steps and random musical sounds are played when the sea waves and wind go through these tubes. The sound is hard to describe although some people have compared it to whales. I wouldn´t quite describe it like that myself due to the lack of whales in the vicinity - in fact I think any whales in the area would stick their fins in their ears and get the hell out of there...
Whilst in Zadar I also went to Plitvice Lakes which is a national park about an hour and a half away. It is known for its waterfalls and colourful lakes ranging between various shades of bright green and blue. It was a lovely day but as it is autumn there wasn´t a tremendous amount of water in the waterfalls. I suggest it be visited in spring instead when the snow has melted and there is plenty of water in the rivers and lakes. Saying that the colour of the water in the lakes was pretty amazing.
I took a bus to Zagreb yesterday which was a public holiday in Croatia. They were celebrating the proclamation of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Being the end of a long weekend the bus was absolutely packed but I arrived ok and now have a couple of full days in Zagreb before heading to Ljubljana on Thursday.
I only have 7 days left in Europe. Where has the time gone?!
