Let's Split!

When Tom and I arrived in Croatia a few days ago, the nature of our vacation drastically changed.  We went from spending our days exploring the streets of huge metropolises to hanging out on the in the small coastal town of Split (after our brief stop in Plitvice).  That's not to say that Split is tiny (its population is 180,000) or that the beach is its only attraction, but most visitors do come here to experience the Dalmatian Coast's bright sun, deep blue waters, and beautiful scenery, and Tom and I are no exception.  After all, a beach vacation really should be mandatory after finishing your dissertation.  (Although I'm not sure what my excuse is!)

Beautiful Split

Split, which is dramatically situated at the base of the Mosor Mountains, is located on a large bay, about 2/3 of the way down the coast of Croatia.  In turn, Croatia is part of what was formerly Yugoslavia (along with Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro).  Due to its location, Split was (and still is) a large shipping port, although, honestly, about half of the boats we see appear to be cruise ships.  The town is quite small (you can walk from one side to the other in about 20 minutes), but is full of both historical and modern charm.  Much of the town's action takes place on the palm-tree lined waterfront strip known as Riva, where both locals and tourists gather to shop, meet up, or just hang out along the water.

Riva 

Boats!

Peristyle in Diocletian's Palace

In contrast to the more modern Riva, most of the historical charm of Split is located within the walls of Diocletian's palace, in the town's center.  Diocletian was a Roman Emperor, who- upon retiring around the early 4th Century- built a palace here in his native land.  (Tom tells me it's unusual for an emperor to retire, by the way.)  Many of the walls and substructure of the palace still exist today, but are now filled with many shops, restaurants, and apartments. It's a lot of fun to explore the palace, and from the bell tower of the church that's located inside, you can actually get a decent sense of the place.  (Incidentally, I also learned it's not a good idea to be in the bell tower at the point in time when the bells actually go off.)

Tom insisted that I add this picture of my reaction to the bells going off

View From the Bell Tower (the palace wall is about half way down on the picture)

Vestibule (former dome) and Harbor From the Bell Tower

Split (with Marjan Park hill in the background)

Split is also home to a very large park reserve called Majan Park.  There are no cars allowed in the park, and so it's a great place to explore the area's flora and fauna and get some exercise by climbing up the park's very large hill.  It's well worth the effort, though, because from the top you have sweeping views of Split, as well as much of the coastline (they say that on a clear day you can see all the way to Italy!). The park is also home to a few beaches, and several tiny churches (large enough for only a handful of people), including a couple that are built right into the surrounding hillside.  We spent our favorite day here taking a long hike in the park, and cooling off with a dip in the water afterward.

Church in the Park

Top of the Hill on Marjan Park

Beach!

From Split its also quite easy to take day-trips to several other towns and resort islands.  Tom and I didn't make it out to the islands, but we did take a ferry out to the Medieval town of Trogir, which is located just 12 miles north of Split (about an hour by ferry).  Trogir is much smaller than Split, but had many cute cobblestone streets to explore and charming architecture, including a 15th Century castle (which looks exactly like what you imagine when you hear the world "castle.")    

Trogir 

Tom at the Castle

Streets of Trogir

As I said, it's a big departure from the earlier part of our trip, but after a bunch of busy sight-seeing, it's been a nice change of pace to slow down and relax a bit.  However, there are a few things that any visitor should know prior to visiting Croatia:

View of Split from Marjan Park

1)  It's not going to be super cheap.  Perhaps ten years ago Croatia was a relatively inexpensive "undiscovered" tourist destination, but now it's now definitely discovered (at least by European tourists), and the prices have subsequently climbed quickly.  Don't get me wrong, nothing is ridiculously pricey, but many things cost about what you'd expect to pay in Italy.  (By contrast, Prague and Budapest were both surprisingly affordable.)  So, it's beautiful and worth it, but don't necessarily expect to travel on the cheap here.

2)  Bring a fancy beach hat.  Pretty much everyone here (men and women, young and old), wear these cute little trendy beach hats all around town. Tom and I don't have them, but try our best to blend into the crowd despite our fashion faux pas.

3)  The food isn't so great (at least for non-seafood-lovers).  If you love eating fish and all sorts of sea creatures that you can crack open and squirt with lemon (can you tell I don't?) this may be a great spot for you.  But for non-sea-food lovers (like Tom) and vegetarians (like me) it's not ideal.  Although there are often some other meats and pastas on the menu, after living in Italy this food feels a bit like a bad imitation.  Still, it's been a good excuse for us to finally cook some healthier fare in our rental apt. (something we'll have to get used to doing for ourselves again when we move back to the States!).  

Actual Beach in Split

4)  Feel free to swim anywhere there's water.  There's a long strip of designated beach on the west side of town (where young partiers tend to hang out), as well as more scenic beach areas near Marjan Park (where more families and laid back folks tend to go).  But, you'll also find people swimming just about anywhere there is access to the water, designated beach or not.  This has to be one of my favorite things about Split, since there are so many beautiful coves sprinkled throughout town.

Many of these things may sound like negatives, but on the whole, we've found Split to be a wonderful and beautiful place.  Fortunately, even though we're leaving tomorrow (or, actually, yesterday, by the time you read this), our time on the Dalmation Coast isn't yet over.  We'll first be spending one night inland in Bosnia's Mostar, and will then make our way back to the coast to Dubrovnik.  We hear Dubrovnik is even more spectacular than Split, so we're looking forward to capping off our wonderful trip there.

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Thurs. July 25:  Split was SO HOT.  It's not bad in the shade, but the sun is ridiculously strong.  Highs were around 90, with lows in the mid-70s.