Trip to Medvednica
Walking by foot on the 5 hours long trip on Medvednica
Come with me on a beautiful walk through Medvednica. Medvednica is a mountain south of Zagreb. On this trip, we were going to the highest peak of Medvednica called Sljeme (1033 m).
It was a really hot day in Zagreb, but on Medvednica it is always a little bit colder. In Zagreb was 33°C that day while on Sljeme was much more comfortable at 26°C. This happens due to temperature's tendency to cool down for approximately 0,5 - 0,65 ° every 100 meters. Therefore climbing Medvednica is really nice way to spend a day without an air conditioner during these hot summer days.
I will shut up and now let the pictures speak for themselves.
Please, climb this these stairs and let's start.
This is what it looks like to walk through roads in Medvednica on the way up. It was so quiet and relaxing. Birds were singing their cheerful melodies and feeling that light wind on my skin and all around me, slowly moving tree brancehs... It was so vivid and enjoyable to be there and also peaceful at the same time. It is just that- if you let yourself to be present at the moment, you can't miss the magic. 🙂
And after some walking, we were climbing more stairs. But don't worry, it wasn't exhausting at all as it may seem.
What did surprised me a bit during the walk was the sign that dogs weren't allowed to pass further because of some sanctuary that was near by.
There were so many beautiful plants - trees and flowers were so amazing and divergent. This unusual burdock flower (lat. Arctium lappa) drew my attention because of its uniqueness, compared to other flora in that area.
On the half way to the top, we came on the plateau. There we saw big meadow with many people hanging on it; so many children were joyfully playing around and laughing.
We then continued to walk through the roads in the forest, getting closer to the top of the mountain with every step. It was so relaxing to walk these roads.
We are now slowly approaching to the top. There are many bars and places for people hanging around and many transmitters. Also, there are parking lots if you choose to go by car, so you don't need to walk the whole way to the top. But I personally find walking much better because you can feel this whole place much better and have more intimate and amazing experience.
When we walked down that street we came on the top of the mountain. There you can see my uncle Pero and the map of the whole Medvednica. That little red arrow shows our current location.
And then, finally. Some beautiful views from the top of the Sljeme. Everything seems so calm and nature was simply astounding.
Enjoy! 🙂
Somewhere on the meadows, my uncle saw this marijuana plant. We were a bit of excited at first, but then we realize it was a male marijuana plant which doesn't give buds so you can't smoke it. Although marijuana is illegal in Croatia I guess that cops have nothing against male plants.
After that close encounter with marijuana, we decided to go back by stairs and then catching a bus ride back to town. We didn't have the energy for another 5 hours walk back.