Exhausted from the overnight bus ride, we arrived to the Plitvice Lakes National Park at midday. After parting ways with our oversized backpacks and purchasing tickets, we walked down a long trail into the beautifully preserved park.

And so began our unwavering and all-encompassing Croatian love affair.

The beauty of the park is so staggering and profound that it feels prehistoric – as if humans have not yet evolved to spread their waste and pollution to every corner of the globe. The water in the lakes is so pristine that schools of fish can be seen, with the naked eye, floating leisurely in the shallows or skating gleefully down waterfalls. Our only complaint about our time in Plitvice was that we were not allowed to swim in the untouched and vibrantly blue waters that seemed to be gently tugging us toward their shores. For a few extra Kuna, visitors can rent rowboats and explore the natural wonders on their own (an expense we wished we’d sacrificed after catching sight of three sopping wet rule-breakers on their way back to shore). After exploring both the lower and upper lakes, we headed for the exit, eager get out of the blazing sun.

After fifteen days of minute-maximizing and city-sweeping, we were psyched to finally be heading south to spend the rest of the week on the beach. Unfortunately, the following morning did not go quite as planned. We missed our bus to Split by less than two minutes, watching as it whizzed by us, mocking the false information we had been told about the bus schedule. After waiting at the bus stop for two hours in the blazing sun and horribly underwheling town that sits beside the national park, we ruefully paid for another bus ticket and were on our way. However, our new bus was not direct, and we wasted precious minutes stopping numerous times in various cities and small towns along the way. We only had one night in Split, and the day was almost over.

Though we were bummed to arrive around dinnertime, we made the most of our ten hours in Split. We took a quick dip in the ocean, the salty waters miraculously cleansing us of our horrible luck and painful day of traveling. That night, we sat down for our first fancy meal of the trip at a place recommended by The New York Times and famous for its masterful use of home made olive oil – present in every dish on the menu. We devoured every bit of our dinner, and it was finger-lickin’ good.

The next morning, we boarded our early morning ferry ride to Dubrovnik, a very impressive and enjoyable means of transportation. We spent four hours cruising among the islands, dropping passengers off and on-loading more as we stopped at various ports – places we wished we could explore but could not this time around.

By noon, we arrived in the capital of Westeros. Surrounded by massive medieval walls and glimmering ocean views, it is no wonder that the filmmakers behind HBO’s “Game of Thrones” chose Dubrovnik as the filming sight for King’s Landing, including the notorious Battle of Blackwater. Our Dubrovnik days consisted mostly of beach time with a little touristing mixed in, during which we walked around the Old City and eavesdropped what we could as tour-guide-GOT-enthusists described infamous scenes filmed in the glorious city.

We were sad to leave Croatia after our time in Dubrovnik, especially because it was there that we scored the sweetest accommodations of the trip thus far. Villa Mandic is no hostel. It is instead the entire bottom floor of someone’s home, complete with our own bathroom, kitchen, and gloriously comfy bed. The Mandic family made us feel welcome in their home, a feeling quite foreign to us after staying so long in hostelworld. They never failed to offer us juice, coffee, and cookies every time we went upstairs to seek advice or just to say hello. At the end of our stay, Nina even offered to give us a ride to the airport, a saving grace after our bad luck with busses and increasing weight of our backpacks. If you’re planning a trip to Dubrovnik, Villa Mandic should be on your list.

Our bittersweet and sunburnt departure led us up a highway with panoramic ocean views, to the airport, and onto a Scandinavian aircraft.