Bus from NUREMBERG to PLITVICE LAKES

With its more than 500,000 inhabitants, the Bavarian city of Nuremberg is one of the largest cities in the state of Bavaria. It is home to the River Pegnitz, which flows through the city and then flows straight through the Old Town. The city was founded in the early Middle Ages around the year 1000 to 1040 and is therefore one of the oldest cities in Germany. It gained international popularity with the Nuremberg Christmas Market, which counts around two million visitors a year.

The sights of Nuremberg

The  State Theater Nuremberg: The State Theater Nuremberg is the largest theater in the city and was founded in 1905. It is easy to see from a distance because of its axis. The operetta "Don Giovanni" by the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart belongs to the opera and itis on the list of regular theater performances.

The Toy Museum Nuremberg was founded in 1971 and is a historic patrician house from the 16th century. The visitors can learn about the cultural history of toys from ancient times to modern times.

St. Lorenz: The church of St. Lorenz was built in the Middle Ages and is named after the town patron, the Holy Lorenz, who watches over Nuremberg. The two double towers and the nine-meter wheel windows are the most striking features of the ecclesiastical structure. The sound that can be heard from the church is produced by 17 bells and three organs with 12,000 pipes.

The Beautiful Fountain: The Beautiful Fountain is part of the Historic Mile of Nuremberg and one of the most famous sights of the city. It is located next to the Town Hall on the Main market and due to its large eight rings is easy to spot. Two of the rings are rotatable and if you rotate one yourself, your wish will come true,as the legend has it.

The White Tower: The White Tower is the last gate tower of the former city fortress and is located on the Ludwigsplatz. In the vicinity of the tower is the Carousel of marriage, a beautiful fountain which consists of bronze figures, which tell about in various presentations the marriage life with all its ups and downs.

The Nuremberg Town Hall: The Nuremberg Town Hall is located in the Old town and is a baroque building. It was built in the 16th century and is open for tourists. The hole jails in the cellar of the town hall are especially worth seeing, where visitors can learn how the prisoners spent their time here.

The Nuremberg Castle: The Nuremberg Castle is the landmark of the city and includes the Kaiserburg and Burggrafenburg. The history of the castle dates back to the year 1105, when it was a temporary accommodation of the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. The visitor can have a nice view of the Old town of Nuremberg and learn about the emperors and kings during guided tours.

The Nuremberg Egg: The Nuremberg Egg is a 293-meter-high telecommunication tower, which has gained its name through a tower basket in the form of an ice. Since 1991, it has not been accessible to visitors, although a viewing platform and a restaurant had been built for this purpose.

Experience Nuremberg in a friendly way and combine the visit of the traditional Old town with the enjoyment of typical Franconian specialties in various pubs.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park is world-famous for its lakes arranged in cascades, and 16 lakes can be seen from the surface.

The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia.

The Plitvice Lakes originate in the south of the park area at the confluence of Bijela Rijeka (English White River) and Crna Rijeka (English Black River). These rivers originate south of the municipality of Plitvički Ljeskovac and unite at one of the bridges in this village.

In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register.

The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometres (73,350 acres). About 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County. The lakes are separated into an upper and lower cluster formed by runoff from the mountains, descending from an altitude of 636 to 503 m (2,087 to 1,650 ft) over a distance of some eight km, aligned in a south-north direction. The lakes collectively cover an area of about two square kilometres (0.77 square miles), with the water exiting from the lowest lake forming the Korana River.

The name Plitvice was first mentioned in a written document in 1777 by Dominik Vukasović, the priest of Otočac. This name was designated due to natural phenomena that have created the lakes. Nature formed shallow basins (Croatian pličina or plitvak, plitko means shallow), which have been filled with water. For centuries, water has changed the limestone and thus the landscape of this area.

The overall water body area of the national park is about 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi). The two largest lakes, Prošćansko jezero and Kozjak, cover about 80 percent of the overall water body area. These lakes are also the deepest, with a depth of 37 and 47 metres (121 and 154 ft) respectively. On Lake Kozjak, low-noise and ecologically-friendly electric boats are being used. None of the other lakes in the park exceeds 25 metres (82 feet) in depth. The altitude drop from the first lake to the last is 133 metres (436 feet).

The 16 lakes that can be seen from the surface are grouped into the 12 Upper Lakes (Gornja jezera) and the four Lower Lakes (Donja jezera).

The Plitvice Lakes national park is heavily forested, mainly with beech, spruce, and fir trees, and features a mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean vegetation. It has a notably wide variety of plant communities, due to its range of microclimates, differing soils and varying levels of altitude.

Scientists have so far listed 1,267 different plants out of 109 species that can be found within the area of the national park. 75 plants are endemic, which means that they have first been defined and classified in this area of the world or not far from it.

For reasons of the poor industrial development of this region and early introduced protection measures, a nearly untouched landscape has been preserved. In the partially primeval beech and fir forests various rare species, such as the brown bear have survived. At the Plitvice Lakes, all species continue to exist that have already existed before the coming of man. This is a rare case worldwide.