Plitvice National Park

The weekend before last I traveled to Plitvice National Park in Croatia with my good friend Knute and his father. It is famous throughout Europe, and deservedly so as you can see from the pictures here.

Like everything else around here, even the Park has a war story attached to it. In 1991, tensions between Serbia and Croatia were mounting and armies began to mobilize. The spark hit tinder when Croatian Serb paramilitaries backed by Belgrade occupied the Park, demanding its tourist revenues and a removal of the Croat administration. The Croatian police responded with force and a Croat policeman was killed in the ensuing gun battle. This is largely recognized as the very first casualty of the Yugoslav Wars.

Thankfully, I didn't see any signs of war -- just totally groovy waterfalls.