Our first full day on Brac began with a boat trip to Hvar! The four of us were up early to make the drive to Milna to catch our cruise, and thankfully had a few minutes for a delicious croissant before boarding. Hvar was our first stop of the day and we had around an hour to explore. We choose to make the trek up to the Hvar Fort in order to get the best views of town. After taking some photos and exploring the fort we headed back towards the water to do some shopping until our boat departed for our next stop: the Pakleni Islands!
Island of Brac
Day 13 began with Alex heading to the airport in Split to pick up a new rental car (minus one spare tire). Once we were settled in with the new car, we loaded up and headed to catch the ferry to Brac. We were able to drive straight onto the ferry so that we could have our car on the island! After arriving, we made the short drive to Mirca to check into our BEAUTIFUL Airbnb. Our host showed us around the house and made some suggestions for the area, and then we decided to walk around town and to the beach. We picked up sandwich food at the grocery and ate looking out at the ocean before driving to Milna (a nearby town) to look around. Our car did get stuck on one of the very narrow roads and once escaping we were ready to relax by the pool!
For dinner, Sophie & Alex and Dale and I made the short drive to the Grill Garden restaurant. Our dinner was amazing, and the sunset views were even better! The restaurant is located in the center of an olive grove so we enjoyed taking pictures before heading back to the house to enjoy the end of the sunset on our poolside deck.
Split, Croatia
Once we finished our hike through Plitvice Lakes National Park and had lunch (hamburgers in Croatia are quite different than in the US), we drove a few hours to Split. This was a quick overnight stop before heading to the island of Brac. We settled in and then walked around town. Our dinner at Mazzgoon ended up being one of the best of the trip! Sophie, Alex, Dale & I enjoyed fresh seafood and AMAZING olive oil and wine (with a few additional courses, too). The clouds followed us from the park but we were able to make it back to the Airbnb without another downpour! Game of Thrones also filmed some in Split so we started to see all the museums and memorabilia around town. It was then time to get some rest before our ferry to Brac the next morning!
Plitvice Lakes National Park
After a slight delay from a popped tire, Sophie, Alex, Dale & I made it to Plitvice Lakes National Park. Visiting was definitely a highlight of our entire time in Croatia – not even a 100% chance of rain could deter us! The park is an UNESCO World Heritage site and there are paths among the 16 lakes and more than 90 waterfalls. Enjoy a few of my favorite photos from our day exploring:
Exploring Zagreb
After getting some sleep after our long travel day, the four of us were up early to visit the Zagreb Botanical Garden (conveniently right down the street from our Airbnb). The gardens were lovely and a sweet cat even followed us around as we enjoyed the water lilies! After visiting the garden we walked towards the city center in search of coffee before taking the cable car up the hill.
Next up we walked around Saint Mark’s Church. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city built in the 13th century. The tile roof features the medieval coat of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia on the left side with the Zagreb emblem on the right. Dale and Alex picked up some sandwiches for lunch and we sat in front of the Cathedral to eat. We also picked up an umbrella for Dale before checking out of our Airbnb.
Our day ended with a few hours drive to our cabin for the night. I had planned for us to stay right outside of the Plitvice Lakes National Park so that we could visit first thing the next morning. After picking up some groceries, we made pasta and had game night before getting some sleep!
Hello, Croatia
On Day 10 of our European adventure Sophie, Alex and I said goodbye to my mom and Grace and boarded our flight to Zagreb! Easy Jet was definitely an experience (you can’t wait at the gate and instead sit in a huge waiting area until right before your flight) but we were excited to finally make it to Croatia. Dale arrived around an hour after we did and after picking up our rental car we were on our way! After checking into our Airbnb and relaxing for a bit, we decided to explore and find a spot to celebrate Dale and I’s seventh wedding anniversary (one day late!). We found a spot right across from the Zagreb Cathedral of the Assumption and enjoyed a traditional Croatian dinner. After dinner we wandered around some more and stopped in a few shops before finding an amazing pop-up bar with a spectacular view of the cathedral and the whole city!
