The craziest thing happened to me on my visit to Plitvice Lakes in Croatia.
This time around, I went solo, and you’ll find out soon enough why that’s particularly noteworthy. I was there gathering intel for this website and doing a bit of strategic planning. You know, scouting for the perfect retreat spot where you can escape the daily grind, away from all distractions and, ideally, away from everyone else too. Seemed like a brilliant idea to hit up this stunning nature reserve.
It turns out the Croatian Police thought otherwise.
Got Pulled Over by the Cops
Driving from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes, you’ll notice plenty of speed traps. But occasionally, you’ll see police patrols by the roadside, just keeping an eye on traffic. This time, I spotted three, which in itself felt a bit odd.
Right before hitting Slunj, after driving past one such patrol, they lit up and tailed me. With the blue siren blaring, they signaled me to pull over. Felt like I was being pegged as some criminal, though I hadn’t done a thing wrong, not even speeding.
In situations like these, you don’t really have much choice, so I veered off into a side road and stopped.
The patrol car pulled up alongside me. The officers stayed put in their vehicle. We both rolled down our windows, and the one on the passenger side, speaking pretty decent English with some Croatian accent, asked for my papers.
All normal up to this point, except for the sirens.
Remember, I was traveling alone in a car with a Hungarian license plate in Croatia.
Then Came the Odd Questions
As I dug around for my ID, the officer began firing off questions. Odd ones, if you ask me, for just a roadside check.
“Where are you traveling alone, sir?” he asked me, stressing the word ‘alone’.
“Plitvice Lakes,” I replied.
“Why are you alone?” he persisted.
How do you even respond to that? Since when is it a crime in Croatia to travel alone? So, I threw back something along the lines of wanting to be alone.
Then he wanted to know where I was staying in Croatia.
I paused my ID hunt to pull up my Booking app and fetch the name of my accommodation.
“Guesthouse Rubčić,”I said, showing him the app on my phone. But I don’t even think he got the name of the place with my Croatian pronunciation, and the phone was just too far from him to really see. Plus, we were still a good 30 km (about 20 miles) out from the lakes, so I’m pretty sure he had no clue where I was actually headed.
“Why are you traveling alone? Where is your family?” he kept on with these bizarre questions that, to this day, I can’t fathom the reason for.
“I’m here by myself, but I’ve got kids back home,” I answered.
Have Kids? You Are Free to Go!
And just like that, to my total shock, he said, “Okay, you can go.” Window up, and off they went, of course with sirens on.
And I was left there, parked on a small side street in the middle of nowhere in Croatia.
And just to be clear, I never did show him any ID. Stopped looking for it when I needed my phone for the apartment name, and he never asked again.
But stick with me; there’s more to this story.
What Just Happened?
I closed the window, turned around, and headed back to the main road to Plitvice Lakes.
And I was still trying to wrap my head around what just went down.
Was I really pulled over in another EU country, with EU plates, by cops with sirens blazing, just for being alone in my car?
Is this some kind of rude behavior these days? Driving alone? Misdemeanor, felony maybe? Was I expected to pick up a random stranger just to avoid traveling solo? Maybe a hooker, to fit in better with Croatian norms?
Clearly, I’m laying it on thick here. No way was I looking to pick up anyone, and I’m 100% sure being alone wasn’t breaking any laws.
But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why traveling solo warrants a siren-flashing police stop.
And Then it Happened Again
I wrote this article this morning; all the previous events unfolding yesterday on my way here to the lakes. Then today, I had a nice day visiting the National Park, taking some pictures, and enjoying a great pizza at Lex Bar & Pizzeria. I thought I was in the clear.
But then, it happened again.
Heading back to my apartment, a regular car with Croatian plates suddenly tailed me onto the main road.
This driver was riding my tail, annoying more than threatening. You know the type: they hover just a bit too close, pushing you to speed up more than you should.
For about 4-5 km, this went on – me speeding up, them edging closer now and then.
And yes, this time I was speeding. No excuses, tailgating or not, that’s on me.
Sirens, Again
Out come the siren lights again. Turned out, this was an undercover Croatian police car, three plainclothes officers inside.
I pulled over, one flashed his badge, and in far worse English, asked for my passport and car papers. Knowing I’d been speeding and they’d been on my tail, I braced for a hefty fine.
Boy, was I mistaken.
They had me step out and pop the trunk. No issues with me being alone this time around. They gave the otherwise empty trunk a quick glance, found nothing of interest, handed back my documents, and sent me on my way.
Just like that? No interrogation, not even an explanation for the stop?
And what’s the deal with my car? Seems like every cop in Croatia feels compelled to pull me over with flashing lights?
The Takeaway
I don’t like when small actions like these remind me of police states. Just do your job, guys, watch traffic and pull over anyone who breaks the law. There are many of them, in fact. But let people live, please.
Anyway, I’m about to publish this article. But who knows if this is really the end, or if I’ll be adding a few more paragraphs sooner or later.
After all, I’ve still got two more days here…
Picture: Illustration by Orlovic, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
