久しぶりの再会 Reunion With My Old Friend from Australia!

オーストリアの友達がザグレブまで遊びに来てくれてから1週間後、今度はオーストラリア・メルボルン大学大学院に留学していた時の友達が、旅仲間と一緒に遊びに来てくれました。お互いに違う分野を専攻していたのだけれど、少ない日本人留学生同士とっても仲良くしてもらっていました。

みんな1週間でザグレブ、プリトヴィッツェ、スプリットとドブロブニクを駆け足で周るスケジュール。そんなタイトなスケジュールの中、ザグレブを一緒に回ったりカフェやレストランでおしゃべりできたのは楽しかった♪

A week after my Austrian friend had visited me, my Japanese friend, whom I met when I studied at Melbourne University in Australia, visited me in Zagreb with her friends. We majored in different subjects, but we were one of small number of Japanese students there and we became good friends.

All of them planned to visit Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes,  Split and Dubrovnik in one week. But I was very happy to share some time with them in Zagreb walking around the city and chatting at cafes :)



実は彼女とは日本に戻ってしばらくして連絡が取れなくなっていたんですが、Facebookで彼女を発見！Facebookのおかげで5年ぶりにまたこうして会っておしゃべりすることができました☆

Soon after we both went back to Japan after finishing the university, we actually lost contact. But, I found her on Facebook and contacted her for the first time in 5 years! Thanks to Facebook, we could see each other again and have a very fun time together here in Zagreb :)




オーストリアの友達と一緒にプリトヴィッツェに行った一週間後、再びプリトヴィッツェです（笑）写真は「あれ、ここ通ったっけ???」と相談しているところです。

Again we went to Plitvice a week after I took my Austrian friend there :D I becoming a frequent visitor there... The photo was us discussing if we got lost or if we missed a "proper route" to get to the sites shown on their guidebook.





この時は一週間前と比べてかなり水量が減っていました。そのせいか、みんな「あれ、なんだか写真と違う・・・?!　もうちょっと滝があるはずなんだけれど…」と混乱していた様子。確かに右の写真を見てみるとちょっと寂しい感じ。日本のガイドブックは一番いい時期の一番いい写真を載せてるんじゃないかなぁ?　(^ ^;) とは言うものの、そういう自分も日本のガイドブック見るのは大好きです。

When I took my friends to Plitvice, the volume of water was quite low compared to a week ago. So, everyone was a bit confused and disappointed because they expected to see exactly the same view as shown on their guidebooks. Well, in fact, Japanese guidebooks are full of pictures (unlike Lonely Planet travel guides) and you may call them spoiler. So, Japanese tourists know how places, sites and buildings look like the best and they expect to see the same :S To be fair, I do enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures and I do love to read Japanese guidebooks (which make me feel as if I have been there), but because I have too many information before I actually visit, I feel less impressed, I think :S

9月の中旬でもまだまだたくさんの観光客がプリトヴィッツェを楽しんでいました。右は大滝の前にある岩の上に乗って取った写真。人がぜんぜんいないように見えますが、この岩の上に上るのにも順番待ちでした。順番と言っても、先に上ったもの勝ちっていう感じでしたけど…(^ ^;) 順番を待っていたらずっと岩の上には登れそうにもないので、岩の近くで待機→隙を見て上ってください。

Even in the middle of September, still many tourists enjoy Plitvice lakes. The right photo was taken in front of the Big Waterfall. It looks as if there were no one, but there were many people under this big rock in front of the Big Waterfall waiting for their turn to be on the top of the rock! We Japanese tend to be shy to cut into the queue and wait for their turn in patience. But, that rule only apply for Japanese and others don't follow it there, so I told my friends to just wait near the rock and climb up faster when they found a chance to do that :P I feel like I'm becoming "un-Japanese" :P