Plitvice Lakes and Postojna Caves

7 am: a splendid day, my wife and I leave from Busto Arsizio, we take the Milan-Venice highway and then Trieste, we cross a stretch of Slovenia and enter Croatia. Following the state road, very beautiful and scenic, which runs along the Adriatic, we head toward Senj and here a strange thing happens: I stop to take a few photos of the panorama, then I set off again with the car and after less than three hundred meters, after a curve, I see a local police car stopped on the side of the road and an officer motioning me to stop.

After checking the documents he shows me the remote speed detector indicating 85 km/h but it displays neither photo nor license plate! (at that point the limit is 60 and the fine is €150) I explain that the speed detected seems strange to me, since I had just set off, and after a brief discussion (in Italian) he asks me how much I would like to pay! After a moment of hesitation I propose €50 and the officer agrees. Thinking about the points on my license (?) I ask him not to give me the receipt and he agrees!!!...meanwhile the other officer had stopped (what a coincidence) another car with an Italian license plate...in my opinion these guys were trying it on. I pay and continuing the journey before evening we arrive at Plitvice where we find a B&B (€40 per night per room) near entrance no. 1 of the park.

8 am entrance opens. There are only my wife and me and 5/6 other people, entering right when it opens is the best thing, because afterwards it starts to fill with people and the heat increases. The ticket cost is €16 per person and includes the use of the ferry and the little train. To visit the whole park on foot it takes 6/8 hours, but you can also choose shorter routes. We, of course, choose the longest one. Walking along paths and walkways you brush past waterfalls, small waterfalls, streams and little lakes, immersed in an enchanting nature, rich in water and vegetation, and here you take an exaggerated amount of photos! Around 2 pm we finish the tour and reluctantly but fully satisfied we leave. We eat a sandwich and then take the road back, through enchanting landscapes and deserted roads we head toward Slovenia and then to the Postojna caves.

We arrive around 6 pm, we find a B&B near the caves for €46 (room + 2 breakfasts); we drop off the luggage, take a shower and go eat at a pizzeria: two first courses, two desserts, water and coffee €23. And off to bed.

The caves open at 9 and the entrance ticket costs €20 per person, the guided tour lasts about an hour and a half. The first stretch is covered by a little train: be careful not to stand up or lean out, because you pass right against the rock! Then you continue on foot and as in all caves there are curious, particular, colored limestone formations and halls of various sizes. Before exiting the caves, at the bottom you can see the water of a stream flowing. For those who have never been, at least once they deserve to be visited. We leave at 10:30 and take the road that leads to Predjama Castle about ten km from the caves: a 13th-century castle built against a rock face that dominates the valley below and has never been conquered.

Legend tells that the robber knight Erasmus of Predjama found safe, though uncomfortable, refuge in this castle to escape the Austrian emperor Frederick III, his enemy. Only the deceit of a servant of his, not too faithful, led him to his death. To visit the interior of the castle the ticket costs €8. After the visit we eat a sandwich and then set course for home: we arrive at almost 8 pm. Notes: Route about 1500 km Spent for two about €360 between dinners, B&Bs, various admissions and LPG + €50 for the fine!