27 January 2017 Meridien Hotel, Zagreb

27 January 2017 - I will be sharing photos of all the hotels we have stayed in during our trip to The Balkans.  Our journey started with our stay at Meridien Hotel in Zagreb which was booked by CIT as our stay there is not part of the "11 DAYS BALKAN ESCAPE" package.







The room rate does not include breakfast.



There is a kitchen in the master bedroom for us to heat food up or cook if we want to.



A twin bedded room is attached.







Common bathroom for both rooms.



A nice and clean place to stay but there is no elevator so it was good that we were give a room on the first floor.  Shops for food and bakeries are within walking distance.

Plitvice Lakes Private Tour

28/02/17 Sat - We almost could not make it for the Plitvice Lakes Private Tour.  We have been alerted by Mladen, when we advised our interest to visit the lake, that it will be winter and the National Park is on a hilly part of Croatia.  So, it will not be a safe place to visit this time.

Two days before we traveled, Mladen emailed me to inform that it was snowing heavily there and that there is a likelihood that the National Park will be closed for visitors.

Here is a photo he took of the ticketing office.



So, we were very happy when we were told on arrival at Zagreb, that the ice has melted enough for us to visit the lake.  As it as winter, we were told to bring some food like bread as eateries at the lake are usually closed during winter.

We were up early to look for food to buy for the trip.





Finally found a shop we can eat our breakfast at.





This is also where we bought some of our bread.



Part of the drive to the lake.





Queuing up for tickets.



Plan of the lake.



On the way down to the lake.





View from the top.














Frozen part of the lake.





Part where the snow are already melting.





Frozen waterfall.





Its depth.



Snow covered bridge.





This is how the bridge actually look like.  Look at the crowd if we have gone during the peak season after winter.







A very slow and cautious walk along the snow covered slippery bridge.





It is only possible to snap photos of the waterfall up close in winter when it has frozen over.  Your photos will be blurred by the mist from the waterfall as the it rushes down the mountain.

The spot where visitors like to have their photos taken.
































Food stalls are closed during winter.





We walked all the way up the mountain for better view of lake.



Like this view?





Going up even higher.



This is what we could see.



Mladen trying to throw a ball of snow to see if it could reach the lake below.



Not possible this time.  The lake is too far below.





Back to where we started out.





We are very happy that we completed the tour round part of the lake.







This video gives you an idea what the lake looks like in summer.



Itinerary for Plitvice lakes – Rastoke village – Dairy farm visit with cheese tasting tour with Funky Zagreb.