Leaving Bled at 7:00am with a nice little lunch hamper from the Hotel, we caught the train to Ljubljana and then bus to Zagreb. Even with the 45 min Border check as we left Slovenia and entered Croatia, the days travel went without a hitch.
With a bit of a hike from the Zagreb bus station to the hotel, thankfully all flat, we dropped the bags and set off on a wander through Zagreb. On approach to the city, the initial impression was depressing. Row upon row of drab raw concrete apartment blocks, 10 - 15 floors, circa 1960 - 70s and then as we drew closer to the city centre, evidence of an earlier age with large stand alone villas, some restored and others abandoned, void of doors or windows.
With all this in mind, it was quite a surprised to venture on foot into the city centre and up through the old town. Wide streets, many pedestrian only and full of cafes with tables under street umbrellas. The architecture here certainly reflected the Austrian influence, much like Trieste. For dinner we found a little " hole in the wall" cafe and had the most delicious pasta with basil pesto and a huge plate of fresh salad with the best feta we have ever tasted. So that was our afternoon and night in Zagreb.
Up and out with plenty of time to walk to the bus station to catch the 11:00 bus to Plitvice, we arrived at 10:15. Like all bus stations in European cities, it was hectic and huge, so Jean went off to find out where our bus would be leaving from as she had already bought the tickets on line before we left Aus. She was less than happy to be told that there was no bus leaving at 11:00, that there was no bus company by the name on our on line tickets and that the next bus was at 11:30, different company but it was full anyway and the first available was 12:30 but we would have to buy another ticket. I sense that there might be an exchange of emails with a certain bus company in the next few days. But, that's life and we settled down in a cafe by the bus station for coffee and a pastry to wait out the time. So now here we are in Plitvice, checked in, another coffee, very good too, and a slice of Yoghurt based fruit flan and ready to take on whatever comes next.