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Split, Croatia

I think our tans are going to suffer as the forecast has turned from smiley sunny days to a real period of unsettled and rainy weather for the next couple of weeks. Bit disappointed about that as the 4 days in Split were scheduled to be fun in the sun and exposure on the Adriatic Coast. Ah well Green Peace won’t need to be called and we can recharge instead in our lovely apartment where we have many modern comforts, wifi, and most importantly tea and coffee maker. I was also about 4 days behind in blogging so now have caught up so that is a relief.

It is a great discipline writing and really helps consolidate our thoughts and imprint them in our memories. I discuss the day with Vernon and he proof reads and inputs where I may have missed something. I got a little behind as we were having such late nights I didn’t think it wise to sit up consistently till midnight and really needed to get some extra hours sleep in. However, getting behind is not good either so I will endeavour to hit a balance and not get more than 2 days behind regardless of bed time 🙂

So as mentioned we were disappointed with the weather but having enforced rest inside is actually very good for us and what we need. We have been nearly 6 weeks on the road now and are happy with the manageable pace but nonetheless we need some down time with no temptations to explore.

We enjoyed strawberries and rockmelon, plunger coffee, muesli and yoghurt provided by Antonia as part of the room cost and Skype chatted Lili who has a bug. The ipad and technology is really like an umbilical cord to all near and dear and I would not feel so brave about such a trip if I did not have it. This blog is also a real way of connection for me so I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

At lunch time we ventured out briefly and got a cevapi just down the street. It was not as good as the Taj, but freshly cooked and deliciously warming on what is now not only wet but a cold day. We also checked in with our tour that we pre booked for Plitvice Lakes tomorrow, which we are looking forward to as a highlight.

At about 3:30 the rain eased to spits so we grabbed warm gear and went out to explore the old town a bit. As in Barcelona, the rain does put a damper on things (hehehe no pun intended) but regardless of the weather we are not getting a great vibe about the place. Like in Dubrovnik – other than the restaurant staff, the ferry staff and the homestay – the Croatians you see in the street and in shops are not very happy people. The Slovakian lady I spoke with called them arrogant and rude! Hopefully as we spend more time here we will pick up better vibes or increase our understanding.

We did get to see the Croatian singers who put on mini shows in the amphitheatre as tour groups pass through – see video. They sound just beautiful.

Dating puts Split on the map as early as 6 century BC as a Greek Colony. The old town itself is not on a hill like many others we have visited which is different. The current walls that surround the old city centre, were once the walls of a Diocletian Palace. It was built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian as his retirement home in AD 305 and is now pretty intermingled with old homes. A cathedral is built over the middle section of the palace square. You can see in some photos how they have just built things on top and around Roman pillars. I am not sure how I feel about it, but it feels disrespectful (I guess that was actually the point) and a bit messy? Sort of like a dog marking on top of a spot and making it obvious. What little I have read on the history shows the emperor was not very nice to the early Christians having torture chambers etc for them below the palace, so perhaps it was the Christians way of payback?

There are lots of ramshakle areas and people live inside what looks grotty outside. I am not sure what most of them actually look like inside, however the photos of the area where we are staying show not the flashiest area outside, yet inside its modern and spacious. We are going to explore a bit more later in the week, hopefully learn more, and climb the bell tower if the weather improves.

We had a simple dinner in a tiny back lane cafe of vege soup to start followed by black squid ink risotto, goulash, bread, and two drinks all for just under NZ$30. It was ok, filling and cheap but nothing special like we have had elsewhere.

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