[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Sam, I have heard quite a few people say that driving in Italy is like driving in India. You have people driving like crazy, cutting lanes, jumping signals etc. Is that still true? I hope as a part of EU, this has changed.

-Biju

lol

Nobody changes the Italians. But a generalization like that is funny.

Firstly, not all of India drives the same way. Driving in Hyderabad or Ahmedabad (for example) is very different from driving in Mumbai.

Italians are hot-blooded and funny people. I remember my time in Rome and Florence earlier where I was able to notice a marked difference in social interaction and noise-levels.

However, my time spent driving in Italy was 99% on the Autostrada where the driving was perfectly civil, well within the rules and completely quiet and quick. In Venice, of course there were no cars, but the boat-drivers were all very smiley and courteous.

[ambivalent_98]

Just a very hilarious joke I heard about Rupa Frontline.Sam you made me laugh when I remembered that. It had come as a forward
Agar tum Rupa ki banian pehnoge to -
to -
to -
Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll (you get irritated at the end of it)
to -
Rupa kya pehnegi ???? LOL

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if that is the right name. You see, the German word for it is "Parkhaus" - and so while driving with Jenny, we simply look for or address the need for a Park House. Simple and easy. I guess some might call it a "Garage" - in india we usually refer to garage as a place where you get your car repaired.

In UK people would not know what you meant. They might think you were looking for a big park with a house in it! Also, in UK, as well as calling the mechanic's place a "garage" we call the place we keep our car (car shed) a garage. We call a car park a car park whether it is a piece of open ground or a huge building.

Park House... it is elegant. I think a lot of those German constructions are. I like it!

I once went with an Italian-born girlfriend to visit her mother, who, despite living in London, did not speak English. They shouted at each for about an hour. Afterwards, my GF said, "I bet you thought we having a row: actually we were getting on really well!".

[Sam Kapasi]

And here's a video from the road in Croatia. Enjoy!

YouTube - croatia

[sami316]

Awesome pics again Sam. Really liked the reference to Rupa Underwear. Really good catchline. Peheniye Rupa ke underwear aur baniyan. To Rupa kya pehnegi.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

lol

However, my time spent driving in Italy was 99% on the Autostrada where the driving was perfectly civil, well within the rules and completely quiet and quick. In Venice, of course there were no cars, but the boat-drivers were all very smiley and courteous.

Really, Italians have improved I guess ;-) My experience on the Autostrada was that though speed limit is 110kmph, most Italians drive @140kmph odd - since I didn't know the actual speed limit at the time, I guessed it is the same as 130kmph in Austria, and hence people are keeping a 'safe' 10kmph above limit. Some drove faster than that as well.

[Sam Kapasi]

The sun has set.

We’re nowhere close to Plitvice. The roads are getting narrower as it gets darker. No this isn’t my imagination playing tricks on me, as we progress deeper into rural Croatia, the roads get smaller and twistier.

After much driving through the winding roads, we reach Plitvice.
We’re lost, unable to find the little family guesthouse we’ve booked on the way.

It takes us a lot of driving and a couple of phone calls to find the place. We're hungry.
There's a pizzeria opposite the house, we find out. Our first pizza in Croatia. It will not be our last.

The air is fresh, but there is little we can see around us. We're tired and we crash immediately, hoping to wake early and check out the lakes.

-------------------------------------------------

The next morning I peer out of the window at the Pizzeria. As we had guessed last night, it looks like a ski restaurant and bar and so it is. We see the ski slope behind it and imagine what this place must look like in the winter.







And that's the house we're living in. Just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

The Plitvicka Jezera (the Plitvice Lakes) start about 2 km away from this guesthouse. The weather is beautiful, hot sunshine and about 15 degrees and rising. Later in the day it gets to about 22.

We begin walking to the gate. Little do we know what awaits us and how much we're going to walk today.

And then we see it. The impossibly beautiful lakes of Plitvice.

[Sam Kapasi]

Can the water really look the way it does? This way? This colour?

Yes. This place takes my breath and voice away. I will not waste your time by talking about it, I will just shut up and let you see what I have seen. No words required.

[longhorn]

Excellent work Sam! Those pictures make me go . I never knew Croatia is such an immensely beautiful place.

[sammyboy0]

Unbelievably serene! The perfect honeymoon place.

Who would have imagined it. Must have given the both of you some quiet, romantic down-time together. Just staring at the lake is rejuvenating.

So glad you are sharing this with all of us here.

Thanks Mr and Mrs Kapasi!

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Really, Italians have improved I guess ;-) My experience on the Autostrada was that though speed limit is 110kmph, most Italians drive @140kmph odd - since I didn't know the actual speed limit at the time, I guessed it is the same as 130kmph in Austria, and hence people are keeping a 'safe' 10kmph above limit. Some drove faster than that as well.

I think the same works in UK as well. Even though the motorway speedlimit is 70MPH, the average speed on the fast lane is about 85-90 mph with occasional cars going even faster.

I myself was once caught in a dual carriageway A road at 93MPH and just let off with a warning.

I think except Germany and may be sometimes in France, the speed limit is not so rigidly enforced anywhere else in EU.

[SafeDrive]

Wow this place is beautiful. And it looks totallly deserted, unlike most places in India. Was the pizzeria the only place around there where you could grab something to eat or where there other places too?

[Sam Kapasi]

Do you know what the problem is Jenny? I ask laughing.
What? She cannot stop grinning either.

Nobody is going to believe that I didn't photoshop this. This water is completely unreal!

We have spent about 3 hours walking through the area in peace. The water, the trees, the waterfalls, it all seems like a complete dream. Never have I seen a paradise like this!

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by longhorn

Excellent work Sam! Those pictures make me go . I never knew Croatia is such an immensely beautiful place.

Neither did I. And even when I thought of Croatia, I thought of coast. Never inland.

I was completely - this lakes idea was completely Jenny's.

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Wow this place is beautiful. And it looks totallly deserted, unlike most places in India. Was the pizzeria the only place around there where you could grab something to eat or where there other places too?

I think you neglected to mention clean. No thermocol, chappals, plastic, bottles etc. - unlike most places in India.

There was other food too, but both Jenny and I came to the conclusion that Croatian food was pretty uhhh... bad for us. Let's just say that all the Croatian food we ate made German food seem good and spicy!

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I think you neglected to mention clean. No thermocol, chappals, plastic, bottles etc. - unlike most places in India.

I think you neglected to mention the pouches of tobacco and related products which form the major part of garbage at any place in India.

After looking at the pics of Croatia, no one will agree that this is the part of country which has history of war and hatred during last decade.

waiting for more.