Paradise on the Adriatic Sea - Split, Croatia
Dobrodosli u Split! Welcome to Split in Croatia! After spending four days in chilly Bergen, on July 9th, we arrived slightly overdressed in sunny and picturesque Split. We were not the only ones excited to be in Split this week; lots of young people from all over the world arrived for the Ultra Music Festival, which is a weekend long, annual outdoor electronic dance party. It actually sounded pretty cool, as DJs David Guetta, Paul Van Dyk, Steve Aoki, and Tiesto were performing. However, after seeing the type of crowd that was attending we decided against going. We were just not the right demographics (age and behavior wise). Edyta circa early 2000s would have not missed this event, but Edyta of today preferred some peace and quiet at the beach and sightseeing the ancient ruins. The historic center of Split is the Diocletian Palace, which dates back to the 4th century and is really impressive. Currently there are shops, cafes and galleries inside. With a labyrinth of small side streets and many plazas, the palace is a really amazing place to walk through and we never got bored of it. We spent some time wandering around the city, eating local foods that we got at the market and relaxing at the beach. We also took few day trips about which you can read in the next few posts. For now, here are some facts about Croatia and Split followed by pictures. For more photos, please see the gallery page. Geography: Croatia is situated in Southeast Europe; Split is located in the Dalmatia region on the coast of Adriatic Sea Population: about 4.4 million in Croatia; 178 thousand in Split, making it the second most populated city after the capital Zagreb Demographics: in Croatia there are 90.4% Croats, 4.4% Serbs, 5.2% other Currency: Kuna HRK, 100 HRK = $17.9 as of the time of this post Religion: vast majority is Roman Catholic Best Known for: historical coastal towns with beautiful beaches, orange roofs on picturesque houses, the Diocletian Palace in Split, ancient sites, waterfalls and lakes, sailing, olives, lavender, wine, seafood, the birthplace of a necktie and dalmatian dogs. What We Noticed: tall and handsome crowd, men showing thighs, mirror sunglasses, lots of people smoking, bros and bitties in town for the Ultra Music Festival, tanned skin, deliciously tasting fruits and veggies.
Here is Croatia on the map. It took about 3 hours to fly from Bergen to Split.
Beautiful promenade of Split as seen from a boat.
Here is the outer wall of the Diocletian Palace from the promenade. It is not a typical palace structure but rather a series of huge walls that make up a small town within.
Silver Gate entrance to the Diocletian Palace. The palace was built by Roman emperor Diocletian from white stone imported from the nearby island of Brac, marble from Italy and Greece, as well as columns and sphinxes from Egypt. It took 10 years to complete and it was only the emperor's retirement spot.
The entire structure covers 31,000 sq meters. Inside of the walls there are about 220 buildings, lots of shops and cafes as well as houses where approximately 3000 people currently live.
People watching from one of the cafes inside of the Diocletian Palace was a lot of fun. Euro bros galore - lots of man thighs, muscles, and ankle bracelets. Vlad's shorts look uber conservative in this environment. Gotta get him some short shorts.
One of the side streets inside the palace. Many streets are filled with lively cafes and shops while others are narrow and look almost creepy.
The Diocletian Palace at night - getting some blur action on. One of the great things about this trip is that I am using manual mode on my camera about 75-80% of the time. I try to use auto mode only when I'm feeling lazy or need to take a quick shot.
This cat was up to no good.
Shops outside of the palace walls - the sky was gorgeous that evening.
Coffee at local cafes taste great and is much more affordable than in Norway. $1.50 - $2 gets you a fancy and delicious espresso drink. We recommend one that comes with ice cream instead of milk. It's simply divine. Look for 'kava s ledo' or 'slag'.
Croatian Kuna goes a lot further than Norwegian Krone.
Sisters near the promenade.
This was our first Croatian beach experience. Bavice Beach is located near the center of Split and because of that is very crowded. It's sort of the Waikiki beach of Split.
Most beaches in Croatia do not have sand and are usually pebbly. This one had a concrete beachfront.
Oh and yes, we did bring a piece of home on our trip. :-)
Our apartment in Split turned out to be very cute and comfortable.
Gabi got her own room. Shockingly she picked the bottom bunk bed.
Split is home to Marjan Park, a large area covered in Mediterranean pine forest where residents and tourists go for strolls and runs.
Croatian flag proudly displayed in Marjan Park.
Walking through the park we stumbled upon the Church of St.Jerome, which dates back to the 15th century.
Here is another building from the 15th century - a hermitage (type of monastery where religious people lived in seclusion). Notice the climber on the top left.
There were a couple of people rock climbing the steep walls of the park.
Marjan Park is also home to beautiful butterflies.
After a 2.5 hour walk we got to the beautiful and secluded Kasuni beach.
The water was crystal clear. We had lots of fun swimming and floating, which was a lot easier because of the high salt content. What a gorgeous backdrop! Next on our agenda: exploring the nearby island of Vis. Stay tuned and thanks for reading. For more photos, please see the gallery page.
Comments
Bronson Martin(non-registered)
Great photographs of Croatia sightseeing. I like the ones from your hikes when you are looking down at the city.
Tommy(non-registered)
That is some real great photography.
I'd love to see some more action photos though :)
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