As part of my planning I’ve found out that the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, one of the “must do” stops on my Europe 2012 trip, is home to a bear population.  Bears eat people.

The oh-so-helpful advice is to “avoid startling them” – maybe I could just whistle constantly in the manner of someone who has been up to no good in the hope that they will clear off and leave me alone?

It goes without saying that I won’t be cracking open any tins of corned beef in case it kick starts their taste buds.  As for the Panasonic Breadmaker, that will have to be completely out of bounds for the couple of days I’m there.  A single delicious waft from it will guarantee to bring bears in from miles.  With their massive claws, a hungry bear could rip the Sooty van open like a packet of crisps, leaving me to defend myself with nothing more than a rolled up newspaper.

OK.  I think I’ve sussed out how to avoid problems with the bears.  Next question: How do I deal with their the wolves?  And this started out as a good idea 🙂