Croatia, Split, and the Dalmatian Coast

We’re now in Split, the second-largest city in Croatia, located on the gorgeous Dalmatian Coast.

It’s raining today, pouring down, with the occasional flash of lighting and boom of thunder. Can’t see much from our little enclave, just heavy rain and sheets of water flowing across the sloped patio. A great time to update the blog!

We have no real plans right now, apart from exploring the area (and there is a lot to explore!). After a month of constant travel, through Prague, Vienna, and Turkey, we’re happy to sit here for a while and catch up. We chose to come here because of a brief visit two years ago. While staying in Dubrovnik, the dot at the bottom of the backward question mark that is the shape of Croatia, we rode the bus up the coast and spent two days here. Split actually comprises a large metropolitan area, but the center of the city is small enough that we felt immediately at home.

But first, we need to get something clear: are there dogs on this coast? Well, just the normal kind, actually; I haven't seen one of those spotted puppies since the Disney movie.  The story is that the breed of dog was named Dalmatian because the many dark spots on the dog’s coat was reminiscent of the many islands spotting the sea. Or so I’m told…

The core of Split is Diocletian’s Palace, the retirement home built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4^th Century. It’s still impressive, even with its plethora of tourist shops, cafes, restaurants, and high-end hotels. Wandering through the palace I study the high arches and elaborately carved stone; the cream-colored pavers in the walkway, shiny after a millennium of buffing by the shoe leather of many pedestrians; the brick barrel-arched vaulting of the subterranean passages.

Daytime view of a square in Diocletian's Palace

The Cathedral tower at night, from inside the Palace

 

Nighttime view of the main square in the Palace

Underground chamber of the Palace as art gallery
(And GoT fans:  some of these underground chambers were used as the dragon pits in Meereen)

Then we emerge onto the waterfront, the riva, a broad plaza with cafes and palm trees. Sit for a bit; sip a coffee. Watch the tour boats (3-Island Tour! Jet ski! Visit the islands! Blue Lagoon!) as they load their passengers and head out, past the ferry docks where larger boats have just arrived or are waiting to depart. These larger boats provide regular service to the many tiny villages on the islands sprinkled all up and down the coast. Further out, beyond the breakwater, are the truly massive cruise ships, tall as a ten-story building, large as a city block. We hear the distant, deep-throated blast of their horns each evening as they prepare to depart, warning their passengers to get back on board. Since the ancient Greeks and before, this area was a center of trade, with people and goods passing up and down the Adriatic from Venice to Greece and back. And from our spot on the riva, contemplating the whole scene, we see that they still do.

The riva, or waterfront, full of cafes. A pleasant place to walk, or sit and watch the harbor.

Rooftop view of Split, with the tower of the Cathedral of St. Dominus (XIV C.) on the left. There's a couple of cruise ships in the harbor!

View of Split from out in the harbor. The back country is very rugged!

Actually, though, we’re headed home now. We turn past the end of the Palace up the broad shiny street (I love those polished, cream-colored paving stones!), and part-way up turn again onto a narrow, rough cobbled street past the funny “no bathing suits” sign. Here’s that café we checked out our first day, looking for lunch; we were told they don’t do food, only drink. And every day we see the same people here, sitting and talking with their beer and cigarettes.

I guess the locals aren't keen on bikinis in their neighborhoods.

Typical street in Split, once out of the downtown area.

A little chapel we found wandering the back streets.

Further up the road narrows; no room for cars now, but we’re still startled and annoyed by the motor scooters, working their way up the increasingly steep hill. Finally we turn off to an even narrower but now level path, and a final turn into the passageway that ends in the green iron gate to our little enclave.

The green iron gate to our little enclave.

And here the city gets interesting, for those of us brought up in modern American towns with broad streets and individual houses. Our little space is surrounded by three- and four-story square buildings, built in different eras and seemingly placed at random. I really have no idea who lives here, or how many homes these buildings represent. There’s an older woman to my left leaning out a window shaking out a rug; voices behind me; and the people in the basement facing our front door talking loudly as they do every morning (woke me up the first day! Now we keep our windows closed…).

Our terrace; these are very common along the Dalmatian Coast. That's our place, on the right.

Me? Oh, I’m sitting by our front door on the terrace, a feature that is common to homes here, covered by vines growing on a steel framework. The small orange tree, the potted palm, the succulents growing out of the stonework all give a refreshing connection to nature in this stone environment.

View from my terrace "office." We really like sitting out here!

Today we’re going to the park, Marjan Forest Park, that fills the peninsula to the west of the city center.  Emperor Diocletian set this area aside as parkland, so it has been a preserved area for a very long time. To get there, we leave our little enclave, out the green gates and through the passageways to the cobbled lane. This time, though, we turn left, up the hill away from town. The lane slowly widens, and eventually ends at a paved road. We zig zag through a few intersections and climb the hill to the overlook café. Best views of the city here, we’re told. I won’t argue with that!

The town of Split, with the Marjan Forest Park behind

Narrow streets? Part of the charm.

As we climb the hills to the park, the views keep getting better.

Split harbor from the overlook at Marjan Park.

The stone chapel in Marjan Park, dedicated to fisheman (Of which there are many in Split!)

After a pause to catch our breath we continue on the path: no cars allowed on this part! We climb on the broad, well-maintained walkway, gazing out to the blue Adriatic to the south. Well, the bay, really; there’s multiple layers of islands between Split and the open Adriatic. Makes for calm water, and adds to the beauty and intrigue of this part of the Mediterranean. On the horizon we see the mountains on these overlapping islands as shades of gray, fading into the distance.

A view over the harbor to the islands in the far distance.

We turn off the walkway into the woods. It’s clear people have been tramping these hills for a very long time, and there’s nothing really new here. Except, WE haven’t been here before, and the old stone church, the long-abandoned foundations, and even the crumbling concrete steps seem mysterious and worthy of exploration. Further up this mountain (well ok, at 178 m / 584 ft it’s more of a hill, but it is the highest thing around) we’ve seen caves cut into the rock walls. That’s worth exploring, but not today. Enough climbing; let’s go to the beach!

Well, the beach will be next week's adventure. Tomorrow we're going up the coast to Zadar, another small Dalmatian town, for an overnight.     
More on that -- and the beaches of Split -- later.