Wednesday, October 24
Another bus ride. This time we had tickets to Split on the 11:30 am on our new favorite bus company: Flixbus. Not only were we able to use electronic tickets (we hate having to print tickets) but they didn’t charge us for our luggage. The vehicle for this trip was a double-decker bus complete with a bathroom and a nice smooth ride. We’re going to use Flixbus whenever possible from now on.
Our trip was scheduled for two hours and fifty minutes and we got in ten minutes early. Our apartment was a fifteen minute walk away and our path took us all along the waterfront. It was a great way to see some of our new home before we had the chance to explore. We’ll be in Split for the next two weeks.
Our new apartment is just two blocks from the waterfront. It’s an older building with just a handful of apartments and a charming courtyard in the middle. It’s a large apartment with one bedroom, a huge TV with cable, HBO and a dishwasher. We discovered, however, that there was no hot water in the kitchen sink. When we told our host he informed us that there was none. He said that if we wanted hot water we could take it from the bathroom or boil some in the kettle. Imagine how convenient that would be. The website didn’t mention this little detail and none of the previous tenants commented on it. We think it’s a significant issue. If we knew this we certainly would have chosen another apartment. It’s going to take some getting used to.
After settling in we walked all around the old town area. It may look like an old town but in fact it was all part of a giant palace that was built by Emperor Diocletian in the 4th Century. It was a blast to walk around and see the old buildings, arches, temples and churches situated within a myriad of long narrow streets and alleys.
For dinner we decided to try a local restaurant in the old town that was serving some Croatian specialties. Deborah had the Pasticada, a stewed beef normally served with either gnocchi or pasta. I had a pan fried Dorado. It was served whole. It was so fresh I suspect it had probably been swimming in the ocean until that very morning.
(Pasticada with Gnocchi)
We stocked up at a grocery store before heading home to make plans for the next day.
Distance walked: 5.5 miles
Thursday, October 25
Apparently the people in the other apartments in the courtyard come and go at all sorts of hours. How do we know this? Well, every time someone opens the gate between the garden and the street a motion sensor turns on a light that shines directly into our bedroom window. As if that wasn’t bad enough the church that is just down the street rings its bells at 7:15 am and the workmen in the neighbor’s yard started making lots of noise at 7:30 am. It doesn’t look like we’re going to get to sleep late in this town. After breakfast we realized that there are shutters on the windows. Maybe they’ll help with the lights and sounds. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
Our plan was to go on the free tour at 10:30 am. When we arrived at the designated site we were met by an aggressive saleswoman. She tried to convince us to sign up for her company’s tour. When we declined and said that we planned to take the free tour she informed us that the free tour hadn’t existed for at least three years and that no one had bothered to update the web site. Her tour normally cost 100 KN / $16.00 per person and she offered us a discount of 10 KN if we signed up right then. We were a little suspicious so we ducked into a nearby tourist information center where they confirmed that there were no free tours. We had no intention of paying over $30 for a tour so we set out to see the city on our own.
Our first stop was Cathedral of Saint Domnius which is actually a complex of three buildings: The cathedral, a Roman era mausoleum and a bell tower. The mausoleum dates from the end of the third century and was part of Diocletian’s Palace. The space retains many of its original architectural features and many Roman Era burials are evident. The building was converted to a cathedral in the 7th century and is the second oldest structure in the world used by a Christian Cathedral. The bell tower, in the Romanesque style, was built in the 17th century. Technically the church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the bell tower is dedicated to Saint Dominus, a bishop of Dalmatia who lived in the 3rd century.
Upon stepping inside you enter a round chamber with a domed ceiling that strongly resembles a pagan temple. At the back of the chamber is a rectangular annex where an altar has been installed. It seems a rather odd juxtaposition but together they made a lovely sight.
(Cathedral of Saint Domnius)
We bought a combination ticket that allowed us to see the cathedral and the nearby Temple of Jupiter for the low, low price of 25 KN / $4.00 per person. We decided to visit the bell tower on another day because there was an additional fee to see it.
The Temple of Jupiter was built between 295 and 305 during the construction of the palace. It was dedicated to the god Jupiter who Diocletian was said to have descended from. It’s a tall building with plain walls made of large stones and a curved vaulted stone ceiling heavily decorated with carvings. In the back was a large statue. The effect evoked the temples of ancient Greece. Surprisingly the statue was a representation of Saint John the Baptist as the building had been turned into a baptistery in the 6th century.
We’re big fans of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Many of the scenes were filmed in Croatia – particularly in and around the cities of Split and Dubrovnik. The substructure of Diocletian’s Palace was the setting for the scenes where Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons are imprisoned in the city of Meereen. We visited the dragons’ lair today. Unfortunately, the dragons were on holiday but in their place we found plenty of souvenir shops.
(Entrance to the Dragons’ Lair)
Now it was time to find the produce market. Every city we’ve visited in Croatia has had one. We’ve been having a great time browsing and the prices are better than what we’d find in the supermarket. As usual we walked the entire market noticing what was for sale and how much it was at each booth. There was a large choice of meats, cheeses, honey, bread, fruits and vegetables. We bought some proscuitto, smoked cheese, apples, a large loaf of artisanal bread, butter lettuce, red onion and a green that’s a cross between a swiss chard and arugula (it wasn’t labeled and we can’t remember the name but it was highly recommended by a local who was at the booth at the same time).
We had intended the above to be our lunch when we ran into the fish market on the other side of town. A man at one of the booths was cutting a fresh swordfish into steaks. We just couldn’t resist. We got a little over 3/4 of a pound for just $8.00. We might just go back tomorrow for the tuna.
Our last stop, before heading home for lunch, was a neighborhood bakery. We noticed it the day before and had tried some of the free samples they were handing out. They had some really interesting choices. We bought a slice of pita sir. It’s a Croatian specialty. It’s a very moist cake with the consistency of a cooked noodle with layers of a sweetened cottage cheese. It’s rather heavy but delicious. We also bought a cake that resembled an apple strudel with a crumb topping. They had several trays with samples of many of their pastries and we tried them all – one was better than the next. This place is WAY too close to our apartment for comfort.
After a lunch featuring fresh swordfish, salad greens, cake and cake (no, that’s not a typo) we decided to walk the entire waterfront. We headed West. Along the way we saw a number of waterfront cafes and finally stopped when we got to the marina. It’s hard to imagine more lovely sailboats crowded together in a single place. Then we walked East, past all of the tourist boats and saw where the ferries and cruise ships come in. We tried to walk to the end of the peninsula where the lighthouse was but the road was not open to the public. We headed back West and stopped at one of the many cafes overlooking the marina and talked about our plans for the coming days over cappuccinos.
(Picturesque Split Harbor)
For dinner we ate the prosciutto, smoked cheese, dried figs and apples while dunking our bread in the olive oil we’d gotten in Pula. We’ve been using olive oil in everything imaginable but have hardly made a dent in our supply. What’s worse: having no hot water in the kitchen or having too much olive oil? We have real problems people! 😉
Distance walked: 7.3 miles
That is an incredible picture!