A visit to Plitvice - nature's marvel!

I was lying on my bed, a slow smile curving over my face, as I painted a picture of myself wandering through the park along the beautiful turquoise lakes and umpteen waterfalls – the thought of being in this stunning place in less than 12 hours had led to an inexplicable excitement that was net letting me sleep; I was getting impatient – why was the time moving so slow? I had first read about this place a few months back while browsing through the internet – it featured in this list of “100 places to visit before you die”. I showed it to Prateek and told him that would definitely visit this place someday - little did I know that this “someday” would come so soon!

Of lakes and waterfalls..

Finally, it was morning, and time for us to start our journey towards the park. I was brimming with excitement. We reached the Park around 10 - 10:30, and bought our tickets. There are a bunch of different trails to choose from depending on the amount of time one would want to spend in the park. We had the entire day and hence chose a trail that would let us explore the upper as well as the lower lakes, taking about 5-6 hours to complete. 

All set for the trek..

As we were about to start our trek through the park, it started raining – Though we were prepared for it with our umbrellas and raincoats, we were not able to take many pictures; Also, as the rain intensified, we got soaked and were almost shivering – not allowing us to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us as much as we would have wanted to! Thankfully, a couple of hours later, the sky started clearing out;  the turquoise lakes glistened as the sunrays fell on it – changing its colour from turquoise to emerald to dark blue depending on the intensity of sunlight. The walk through meandering wooden pathways over the streams, the umpteen waterfalls, the crystal clear lakes, the different shades of yellow and green on the trees that surrounded us - all seemed straight out of a fairy tale – Nothing we read or saw on the internet could prepare us for the ethereal beauty that we were confronted with.

Shades of Green and Yellow..

Walking through the rains..

One of the many waterfalls..

Pretty pretty!

Over the streams..

Crystal clear water..

Oh so beautiful!

Shades of emerald..

The "Big" waterfall

As we made our way back, covering the last stretch of this amazing journey, we were greeted by some spectacular views of lakes cascading into each other; And before we knew, it was time for us to leave this place – a place that could be best described as “nature’s masterpiece”.

Nature's masterpiece!

Stunning Austria - Of Mountains and Lakes!

I opened my eyes, it was 7:00 in the morning...I looked out of the window, awestruck by what lay before me - a beautiful lake, amidst the snow-capped mountains, sparkling with pride as the first sun rays fell on it – the glacial mountains now forming a clear image of itself on the lake; I kept gazing out of the window, wondering if what I was witnessing was a dream! But no it wasn’t…all this was for real – how I wish I could get up to the same sight every day!

First sun rays falling on the lake..

Spectacular view from our room!

I was in the Salzkammergut region of Austria.  The dreamy place I just described about is one of the most beautiful lakes (and relatively less commercialized) in this region – Lake Gosausee. We had put up at a family run guest house by the name of Gasthof Gosausee - the only one located by this lake, offering spectacular views of this lake surrounded by the mountains.

We started from Vienna in the morning – taking short breaks at regular intervals, we were able to Gosau towards the evening. As we entered Gosau, some stunning views greeted us – lush green meadows, pretty quaint cottages with smoke billowing out of the chimneys, snow - capped mountains – it was a treat to our eyes. Here on, we had to drive for another 15 mins to reach our destination - Lake Gosausee. After checking into our hotel, we decided to take a stroll around the lake – the picturesque scenery and the chilly air acted as a panacea for our tired body and mind – we felt refreshed. 

As for the views, I will let the pictures do the talking –

One of the first lakes - lake Gmunden - enroute to Gosau

First views of the Gosau village..

Surrounded by the lush green meadows

Breathtaking - not my fault if couldn't take my eyes off!

One of the many stops we took as we strolled around the lake..

On the other side..!the small red cottage at the other end is where we were staying:)

Beautiful evening

With the pretty flowers..:)

Next, we visited the breathtakingly beautiful village of Hallstatt – a UNESCO world heritage site, surrounded by mountains, located by the pretty lake of Hallstatter See.The place is famous for production of salt, dating back to prehistoric times. It is a small place – we did a foot tour of this village, boated around in the lake – covering all this in a couple of hours.

It is not possible for me to describe this lovely place in words; it is more like an artist’s impression of a  picture perfect place – bright colourful village with the backdrop of mountains, located by the stunning lake adorned by white swans – simply wow! Let me take you through a picture journey of this place –

Stunning Hallstatt

God knows what we were looking at!

Bright and colourful..

From a distance..

Captured from the boat

Sneak peek into the colourful town of Hallstatt

Picture Perfect

Next, we visited the Dachstein ice caves – it was a 15 minute drive from Hallstatt. Once there, we had to take a cable car and then hike for 15-20 minutes to reach the cave entrance. As we entered the caves, I was amazed -  ice had formed different structures in varied shapes and sizes -  I had never seen something like that before – it was a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed; or rather photography in flash mode was not allowed – as such we weren’t really able to capture the beauty of the place as it was dark in there.

We covered all these places over a period of two days. It was then finally, time for us, to bid goodbye to the ethereal place, surrounded by mountains and home to umpteen lakes…

Recommendations -

•  Base out of one place and then make day trips to various beautiful lakes and small villages in the Salzkammergut region
•  Do a self-drive tour of this region – it might not be convenient to explore some of the more stunning but remote places in this region using public transport
• Stay in a lake side hotel/guest  house

Dubrovnik - Pearl of the Adriatic

There are places in this world that make you believe in fairy tales - Dubrovnik is one of them.

This beautiful walled city is also the filming location for “King’s Landing” in the famous “Game of Throne” series – Lovrijenac Fortess has been used as the “Red Keep”, A small museum used as Rector’s Palace (city of Qarth), certain scenes have been shot at the nearby Lokrum islands, the famous “walk of shame” being shot in the old town of Dubrovnik.

But there is so much more to this city than Game of Thrones..

The beautiful walled city of Dubrovnik ringed in the Azure blue waters of Adriatic

We reached Dubrovnik around 11 at night; we were completely exhausted and decided to retire to our beds. Next morning, I opened the windows of my room (still half asleep) to get some fresh air - the sight that greeted me made my heart jump with joy! Glistening turquoise waters stretched as far as my eyes could see...sound of the waves soothed my soul...the calmness, the happiness I felt at that moment is something I cannot describe in words. I stood there, gazing at the azure blue waters, with cool breeze caressing my face; I felt rejuvenated.

Before I knew, it was time for us to get ready and explore the magical town of Dubrovnik...

The 100 odd stairs from our Apartment to the Old town were good exercise after all the margharitas(pizza) we had!

We crossed the gate and stepped into the old town – as we walked through the narrow alleys discovering the hidden corners and cafes, a mystical charm gripped us all. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the streets of the old town. 

First view of the Old city

Wandering in the narrow alleys..

Stradun Street

In the evening, we took a cable car to Mt. Srd to get a view of the city from top...And what a spectacular view it was! The best part was that we were able to reach Mt Srd just before the sunset enabling us to feast our eyes with varied views of the city – the vast sea around the city changing colours as the last rays of the sun fell on it; the city coming alive with bright lights as the night set in, shining like a pearl in the vast Adriatic..

We just stood there, dazzled, as the city transformed itself...

View of Old city from Mt.Srd just before the sunset

The Perfect sunset

No wonder it is called the Pearl of the Adriatic!

We were forced to tear ourselves apart from that splendid view as the winds started getting chillier up there. We, then, went back to the old town – trying to choose a place for dinner from amongst the innumerable cafes that lined the brightly lit streets of the town. The city, with all the lights around looked even prettier!

Brightly lit Stradun Street

With these lights..it looked even prettier!

Just outside the walls of the old town

Next day, we started early as we wanted to spend a good amount of time walking around the city walls...This “Walk” was one of the best parts of our trip to Dubrovnik. It provided stunning views of the old town – the bright orange rooftops - with the backdrop of the ocean. It is difficult for me to find words that justify the magnificent views from the city walls...So, I will let pictures do the talking here –

View from the walls with Lokrum islands in the background

The distinctive bright orange rooftops..

Picture Perfect!

Sun shining bright over the city

A large part second half of the day was spent lazing around at the Lokrum islands nearby – walking around in the island and sitting by the sea doing absolutely nothing.

Swimming hole in the Lokrum islands famously called as "Dead Sea"

One of the shooting locations of  "city of Qarth"

Queen of the seven kingdoms..;)

We returned to the town of Dubrovnik in the evening, and headed directly for Fort Lovrijenac. However, we could spend only about 20 mins there as the fort shuts down for tourists at 6 pm. Nevertheless, we were treated by some amazing views from the fort.

View from Fort Lovrijenac

We spent the night, once again, walking through the streets of the old town – charmed by it, yet again! Soon, it was time for us to say good-bye to this magical old town of Dubrovnik as we were to leave early next morning...

Charmed..yet again!

We left Dubrovnik, early next morning, with the hope of going back to this fairy tale town someday..

Hopefully..we will come back someday!

Tips:

• Rent an Apartment in the Ploce region of the town..Although this would mean climbing up and down a flight of stairs..one shall be rewarded with some stunning views. Also, it is a short walk away from the old town.
• City walls tour is a MUST!But, it is better to do it as early as possible in the morning to avoid the crowds
• Tour to Dubrovnik is incomplete without visiting Mt Srd to get some amazing views of the city. It is advisable to visit Mt Srd around sunset.