Spots Just Outside Split

Old Town Split is perhaps one of the most beautiful, charming Medieval towns we have seen.  It seems to shine and shimmer.  Its regal Diocletian palace is beyond compare and the narrow streets and alleys between old stone houses with their windows decorated with boxes overflowing with flowers make one say, ahhhh. They are picture-perfect.  Old Town Split is easy-going; it is entertaining to just wander about exploring streets paved in pale stone, locating amazing historical sights, and finding the just-right place to enjoy a delicious lunch or have coffee or wine under one of the many umbrellaed tables on the promenade or at a tucked away sidewalk cafe.  But the pièce de résistance is its location on the clear waters of the indigo blue Adriatic Sea. 

But there is more. 

Marjan Hill, sometimes referred to as the lungs of the city, sits just to the west of Old Town.  We took the 2-mile walk to the top of this saddle-shaped double hill for a view of the sea to the south and a splendid view of Split to the north. 

On another day we visited the island of Hvar.  There are two must-see cities on Hvar: Hvar Town and Starigrad.  Hvar Town is extremely popular in the summer months when tourists much younger than Stan and me, flock there to enjoy the pricey but very popular Carpe Diem Beach club during the day and to dance and frolic at the huge party on the beach at the club at night.  You won’t be seeing me doing air guitar or dancing on the tables at Carpe Diem.  I was saved by the bell since the outrageously popular beach party place closed for the season on September 3.  Hvar Town was a very pretty place to visit, however.  It sits in a picturesque turquoise blue bay lined by the Old Town and the marina.  Said to be the most expensive city in Croatia, Hvar Town, like so many other coastal Croatian towns, attracts yacht owners sailing around the Adriatic but Hvar Town in particular is also a prime holiday destination for European and American tourists. And on any given day Hvar Town has its share of day-trippers from Split and neighboring islands as well. Even in mid-October, the atmosphere was like high season but with much fewer people.  Visitors were sunning themselves, taking boat rides, shopping, dining at one of the many al fresco restaurants, or simply visiting with friends and family over wine or coffee.  Aperol spritzers that we discovered in Italy quite a few years ago are still very popular afternoon drinks here. 

Earlier in the week we took the 2-hour car ferry to Starigrad, passing the island of Brac along the way.  Starigrad is a quiet commnity where one could live for a year or so to write a novel or memoir.  Only 500 people live here full-time.  It is a laid-back, peaceful, and beautiful little town on Hvar, one a person could lose themselves in with its beauty, the sea, and its share of gourmet restaurants and shops.  We walked the town, poking around in stores peeking at the vegetable market, having a nice long chat with a darling young couple from London, and had a magnificent lunch.  It was a fine day. 

Our stars were not in alignment the next day.  We planned to visit Klis Fortress – the fort on top of the tall plateau we gasped at on our drive into Split. We got a late start which threw things into a kilter.  At every bus stop, the necessary bus had just left so we were left to wait another 30 minutes or even an hour for the next.  Both Stan and I do not do well with wasted time.  We sat at the bus stop and fumed until our bus finally arrived.  Feeling much better, we sat back and enjoyed the ride as the bus took us north winding through the outskirts of Split climbing higher and higher.  We could see Klis Fortress off to the east on its great pedestal.   When we finally made it there, it was worth it.  The place is not on a pedestal as it appears it might.  Instead, the west half of the mountain where the fortress sits has a green sloping side with a road to the fortress, and the east side is nothing but a tall sheer bluff.  In its day, this fortress gave the Romans a clear view of any encroachment from all directions.  In all the years pf standing on this great mountain, Klis Fortress was never conquered.  Its legacy carried on into the 20th century, During WWII the fortress was used as a location for Allied anti-aircraft artillery.  

Several scenes from the Game of Thrones were filmed at Klis Fortress. . . and the nearby long line of stark vertical stone mountain walls served as “The Wall” that separated the realm from the wildlings in the infamous story.  We learned earlier that the vast stone under-structure of Diocletian’s Palace was the film setting where Khaleesi kept her dragons. 

On another day, we boarded a bus from Old Town at 8:30 a.m. and drove along with maybe 40 other people to another of Croatia’s eight national parks, Krka National Park.  When people try to explain the Croatian language, they often say the Croatian language uses very few vowels.  “We don’t need them.” they say.   That makes sense.  Why waste all those letters writing Kurkah National Park when all that is necessary is Krka? 

Krka is famous for its waterfalls, but the entire park is a waterway of cascades, streams, and striking watery scenery.   The sounds of clear running waters fill the air as visitors take a wooden walkway through a forest with the shallow river Krka flowing under and all around.  Because both Krka and Plitvice National Parks feature spectacular waterfalls, we are occasionally asked which we think is more beautiful, Krka or Plitvice.  If one can only visit one, hands down, Plitvice is the one to choose but Krka is worth a visit as well.

After having planned agendas accompanied by early morning wake-up alarms, we took a greatly needed-break.  Just down from our apartment is the Podstrana beach.  Now let’s talk about beaches for a moment.  Croatia boasts beautiful beaches.  Theirs are beautiful indeed but then I’ve never seen a beach that was not beautiful to me.  However, with all its miles of coastline, do not expect white sandy beaches at each one.  In fact, so far, the beaches we have seen are coarse golden sand but most often they are pebbly . . and they are painful to tender bare feet.  Still, it is easy to toss down a nice beach towel, wiggle out a comfy spot in the pebbles, listen to the softly lapping waves, and drift off to dreamland under the warm sun. 

In the evening light, sparkling lights from the town just across the bay from us glimmer.  It called to us. We walked there one day following the water’s edge when we could.  The village is called Stobrec.  It is a quiet sleepy place where people come to simply relax away from the hustle and busy atmosphere in Split.  Its peaceful atmosphere makes it easy to simply sit to watch the movement of the tide while small fish jump and fishermen wade out into the water to catch their dinner.  We had probably the best meal we can remember in this cute little town.  As we frequently do, Stan and I shared our selections.  First, we were served a starter of bruschetta slices, one with smoked meat, tomato salsa, and cheese, one with a seasoned chopped tomato bed topped with shrimp, and one with salmon.  All were delicious and as we finished the last one, I was feeling a little full already.  Then came Bifstek Charlie.  This platter intended for one person had tenderloin steak cooked just the way we like it, medium rare, slender servings of grilled zucchini, red pepper, onion rings, and mushroom chunks, a dab of creamy risotto, and home-sliced soft fries.  Why risotto and fries?  I surely do not know but it was all fabulous!  Ever so thankful that we ordered only one and not two, we ate every bite!  Mia, our server, was a delight!  She invited us back for an evening meal before we leave this area.  The owner of the restaurant, Charlie, Mia told us is a fisherman.  His wild catch is the fresh fish they grill for their eager guests each night. 

Today is October 6.  Ordinarily, Mia told us, the weather here is rainy and cool this time of year.  But the weather is still dry and the temps are hot.  People are still out sunning on the beaches and swimming in the waters.  She’s tired of it, and is ready to shut down for the winter, but summer lingers on.  “It is global warming,” she said.  And it surely is. 

During one of our final days in Split, we visited Omis, a small town, about 40 minutes south of our apartment following the coastline all the way. This tiny community has it all . . . a clear freshwater river, the Cetina that flows from the Dinara mountains to the ocean. It has beaches, the mountains of course, and a pretty old town complete with churches and a fortress built on the stone outcrops overlooking the town.  The city bus that takes us to the city and to Old Town on an almost daily basis starts and ends its route in Omis.  The lady who served us lunch added that traffic between Omis and Split is horrendous and in high season, it is even worse, almost impossible. Ah ha! That explains why our bus sometimes arrives so far past its scheduled time that we think it arrived earlier than it should.  Near the end of our visit here we finally learned to add time to our trip to accommodate the unpredictable nature of traffic and our bus. 

Finally, just before the last day of our stay in Split, we ventured out on an all-day excursion via high-speed boat to see the Blue Cave on the island of Bisevo, and towns on other islands:  Vis, Riavnik, Budikovac, and Hvar Town on Hvar.  We, along with about 40 other people, gathered at 7:15 a.m. on the pier off the Split promenade.  Surprise, surprise, our boat was a big rubber inflatable raft boat with a giant engine . . . the kind used by Navy Seals   Two rows of inflated seats, like two long tubes, ran from the front of the boat to the back. We straddled the tubes, now how old are we???. Thankfully there were back supports.  Each boat held 12 passengers plus skipper and guide.  We took off like a speedboat pulling a slalom skier out of the water on Lake Ouachita or Lake of the Ozarks!  The air was very chilly that early in the morning.  Our first leg was an hour and a half long toward the Blue Cave.  I was skeptical . . . Blue Cave? Another tourist trap, I thought.   I had awakened that morning with an irritation in my eye.  It watered and hurt.  The cold wind did my eye no good, and the bouncing and sliding on the water at 50 mph did not generate the thrill in me that otherwise might have been expected.  And in order to talk, people had to shout.  Now my ear was hurting as well. I was pretty miserable. 

By the time we arrived at the Blue Cave, the weather had warmed. The scenery on that island was unearthly, mesmerizing. The land rose directly up out of the water with no sloping coastline. Natural tunnels and caves occurred in multicolored stone and soil, and some portions of the walls washed away over thousand of years looked like melting frosting on the side of a cake. Nothing is man-made at the Blue Cave. It was discovered in about 1880 and at that time, a person had to enter from a small opening above. Once in he discovered he could swim under a ledge at the water’s surface level to exit the cave. Later another small opening nearer the water’s edge was discovered and enlarged just a little to allow small boat entry.  We moved from the Navy Seals boat to a small flat-bottomed boat that the skipper maneuvered through the tiny opening. We had to lean our bodies down flat to avoid hitting the top of the opening. Inside, wow! At the bottom 50 feet below the clear glassy waters’ surface lies pure limestone sand that is whiter than white. As sunbeams leak under the ledge just above the water’s surface and through the tiny cave opening we just entered, the white sand reflects the light back in brilliant electric blue. It is an incredible sight. I thought then, if nothing else is good on this trip, the sight of the Blue Cave alone will be enough. It was just that good.  And my eye was feeling better.

The other stops were pretty towns on incredibly beautiful coves. What a paradise these places are. One could come here, get a new identity, live in peace surrounded by nature, and never be found again. Incognito . . . inviting but the, I could never-ever do without my family and friends.

Someone said to us on this Eastern Europe trip that there are two things every Medieval community in this region of the world had . . . a church and a fortress. Quite frankly, these towns often look alike, are familiar and somewhat predictable.. Sometimes and in some towns, one property served as both with church and fortress combined. In other nearby countries and in larger towns in Split, the fortress defended against neighboring invaders hoping to expand their empire. In these island communities, however, the fortresses held off marauding pirates. 

By the time our day was done, all of the passengers had gotten to know each other a bit and were open to having some fun. The skipper and guide did their best to make us scream and laugh. We jumped waves created by the wake of huge car-carrier ferries. They raced their fellow teammate raft skippers, and played loud music by Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alabama. and more.  It was fun.

We are leaving Split tomorrow, heading to Dubrovnik via high-speed ferry. The trip will take about five hours, city center to city center. Once again, this segment of this six-month trip has been highlighted by incredibly friendly caring people. Our guide, Fillip, on the Navy Seal boat who recalled the name of none of his other passengers but called Stanley by his name all day yesterday as they razed each other throughout the trip. Fillip called me “Stanley’s wife” holding my hand as he helped me in and out of the raft. The stern check-out lady at the nearby grocery store who insinuated Stan might be trying to cheat the system by entering the code for inexpensive popcorn instead of the expensive code for peanuts on the scale to price his bag of nuts. Oooh, she was tough. Today, though, she helped us choose wine for tonight and when we told her it was our last visit said I hope you come back, beamed a grin, and wished us well. I could tell she wanted to give us a hug. And our Split Airbnb hosts, what gracious people! We fell in love with Daniel on our arrival at the apartment. We thought, what a wonderful young man! Then as we returned home last night from our all-day Navy Seals boat excursion, we finally got to meet Daniel’s mom. She was busy preparing the downstairs apartment for new guests arriving the next day. As we chatted, we could easily see why we thought so much of Daniel. What a sweet family! While Daniel is working out of town tonight, his mom, Nada, is coming by at seven for a farewell glass of wine together. 

I could go on . . . the couple at the Ecco store who helped us find new sandals for Stan, the tour guide on our trip to Krka, the young lady who served us at the Pirate restaurant in Omis, Mia at Charlie’s Restaurant in Stobrec, the old man who ran the family-cooking restaurant where we had the Croatian traditional dish, Pasticada, a glass of locally made white wine, and a lot of connection and laughter. These are just a few of the people who made positive and happy impressions on us and many happy memories.

These encounters restore my faith in this immensely troubled world. 

We have not yet found a place where people have not graciously welcomed us, cared for us, and wished us safe travels and many returns. Split certainly did not break the chain.