When people think of Croatia, they usually think of sun drenched islands, the warm Dalmatian coast and the stunning beaches around the country.

They don't usually think cold temperatures and SNOW! Like lots of snow. Maybe 10 cm of fresh powder type of snow.

Yesterday when we arrived in Rakovica, about 15 minutes from Plitvice Lakes, it was fairly dry. This morning, we awoke to snow everywhere! It was all over the car, all over the roofs, all over the lawns and all over the trees. It was spectacular! A real winter wonderland in Croatia.

After breakfast, we got ready to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park. To get there we had to get the thick layer of snow off the car - it took a while to clear it off the windscreen. Driving down to Plitvice was probably one of the nicest and most surreal experiences - everything was white, freshly white - and the trees were filled with snow and more than occasionally they would decide to let some of it fall. So driving along the light-dappled winding road through the forest, there were flurries of snow falling from the trees.

Plitvice Lakes itself was stunning! You can imagine how amazing it would be in summer but in winter, it was something else. Huge waterfalls and brilliant cascades of fresh water finding their way through snow covered forests. Wooden boardwalks covered in snow was a stark contrast to the clear blue waters of the lakes. Sheets of ice marking the edges of the sparkling still waters before they crashed down to the pools below.

It was beautiful.

As it was winter and quite snowy, not all the paths and walks were opened but we followed the "B" path down to the boardwalks of the Lower Lakes and the Veliki Slap waterfall. We explored the Šupljara Caves and splashed through the slushy snow to P3 where we caught the ferry across Lake Kozjak to P1. A flask of hot rice porridge made for a different lunch hen walking around a national park - beats sandwiches on a cold day. From P1, we walked upwards to St2 where got the bus to St1 and walked along the top of the canyon back to the start. It was great to have almost the whole place to ourselves with only handfuls of other visitors around - benefits of low season.

After we left the amazing Plitvice Lakes, we drove up north for about 40 minutes to a place called Rastoke. This is a quaint little village settled among several cascades and waterfalls of the Slunjčica River. It looked like somewhere elves would live. We strolled around finding cascades and waterfalls everywhere!

Back home in our cosy apartment in Rakovica, we relaxed (and ate some fried cabbage!) before heading out for dinner.

Dinner was at Restaurant Degenija a few minutes down the road. We tried to have some typical Croatian fare such as pljeskavica (mince patty stuffed with feta) and veal escalope with home made gnocchi and mushroom sauce. No room for dessert unfortunately!