Lickety Split

The hotel beach



Erika and Tom



We woke up ready to hit the beach only to find that it was pouring rain.  With our plans derailed for the day, we decided to take it easy and lounge around until the rain cleared. This turned out to be a good part of the day.  In the late afternoon, we headed down to the hotel restaurant for a drink.  We found the same waiter from the previous night and ordered a couple of glasses of wine.  No problem. When Luis’s arrived it had some cork or other strange floaty bits.  Noticing this, the waiter became concerned.  He leaned in close to Luis and examined the glass, practically sticking his nose into it. “No Problem” he said grabbing the glass and returning with a new one.  This guy was really funny without intending to be. 

One of the palace entrances

Statue of Gregory of Nin

Around 4:00 pm, the rain finally stopped and we all decided to drive into Split and do a little sightseeing. 
Split is the second largest city on Croatia and is over 1700 years old. Founded by the Greeks, Split came under control of the Romans after the Illyrian wars in 220 BC.  Around 300 BC, the Emperor Diocletian constructed a palace to live in after he retired from politics.  The palace was built along the shore in a fortress style with four large walls surrounding the interior buildings.  Eventually, the area became part of the Byzantine Empire.  In 500 BC, the city was attacked by the Slavs and many of the inhabitants fled to the palace which was abandoned.  Taking advantage of the massive walls for protection they created a city within them.   

Roman ruins



Cathedral of St Domnius



Throughout the following centuries, the Kingdoms of Venetia, Croatia and Hungary all laid claim to the region.  In the 1800’s it was briefly ruled by Napoleon before becoming part of the Austria-Hungary Empire.  After World War I, Split became part of the Kingdom of Croats, Serbs and Slovenes; this area was soon to be known as Yugoslavia.  In the early 1990’s, Split was the site of several significant military conflicts that occurred when Croatia declared its independence.  

 Pulling in to Split we were immediately struck by how unattractive the city seemed. The streets were full of litter and the buildings all looked like crumbling communist era high rises.   After finding a spot to park in, we walked over to the palace, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.



Interior walls of the palace

 

Ok, now we were impressed. The ancient Roman walls were massive.  Swirling all around were thousands of small birds that flew in and out of the many crevices in the ancient walls.  In front of the palace stood a large tower and a statue of Gregory of Nin. We walked through the large entrance and found ourselves in a labyrinth of small passageways lined with small shops.

The narrow streets

Winding our way through the streets we came to an open courtyard, called Peristil Square, which was surrounded by old roman columns.  This was where the imperial apartments had once been.  On one side of the area is the Cathedral of St Domnius with its tall bell tower.  A portion of this structure was at one time Diocletian’s Mausoleum, making it the oldest Cathedral building in the world.  On the opposite side of the courtyard had once stood three temples, including the Temple of Jupiter.  Only one temple still survives.  

Roman statue

We kept walking and soon passed through another opening in the palace walls.  Lining the street outside were lots of vendors selling everything from sandals to candles.  Erika and Jane each purchased a lavender ball. Tom and Luis just shook their heads.  Lavender is a large industry in Croatia due to the ideal climate for growing it.

Lickity Split

In between the stalls we found the Augubio Palace, which is now a small church.  Around a few corners we came to the port at Split.  Along the edge ran a promenade, with lots of benches and flowers.  It looked like the perfect spot to enjoy an ice cream.  Luckily, we happened to walk by one just at that moment.  We all ordered a cone, even Luis, and walked over to a bench to enjoy it.  After taking in the scene, we continued along the promenade.  Hearing a loud announcer we followed the noise until we came to some type of expo.  The booths in this area were selling everything from socks, to wine, and everything in between.  It was a really bizarre collection of items.

The palace walls

Walking back through the palace walls, we passed through several smaller courtyards, the town square, and beneath an old clock.  This was an excellent way to see the sun set and all the shadows forming in this old city.  Getting hungry, we found the car and drove back to our hotel.  Looking for a somewhere to eat we walked along the beach. 

The promanade

After finding a restaurant and picking out what we wanted from the menu, we discovered that they only accepted cash.  We had all run out of the local currency, so we walked further down the beach looking for some place else to eat.  No such luck.  A little frustrated, we went back to the hotel restaurant.  Back to our cheerful waiter.  We did not set a reservation but, of course, our waiter said "no problem".  We ordered and enjoyed our meal.  Halfway through the dinner we ordered some more bread with our food.  “No Problem” the waiter said.  We never saw him or the bread again.