Croatia – Split (Stobrec)
April 16
It’s been a quiet couple of days as the both of us manage nasty colds. Thom is all cough, and lots of it. Mine started as a sore throat, then a little congestion, and now a minor cough. Should be over the worst of it soon. But it makes it very easy to not do anything and we’re lucky we have time here to sit around.
We arrived Monday, April 16, after a seemingly very long (not as long as the bus to Maputo!) but much more uncomfortable. The seating should have been OK – nicely cushioned, seatback tray etc. Maybe the discomfort was due to not feeling that well. The train part of the trip from Venice to Trieste was really nice!!! Then a short layover in Trieste, spent mostly in the train station as the bus station didn’t have much to offer. Then 9 hrs on the bus, so arriving late, around 2235. We hailed Uber and got a nice driver very quickly who was helpful in locating our host where we were to get the key and then she continued to give us a lift to the flat, a minute away. Of course in the dark and being so tired we couldn’t see much of the surroundings. A nice hot shower helped a bit, but a good sleep helped a lot more. We are in a small town 20 minutes southeast of Split, Stobrec.
On Tuesday morning we discovered our wonderful view and large terrace. We walked a bit to get the lay of the land and scout out markets for provisions.
April 18
Wednesday was another quiet day and we enjoyed the scenery more given the overnight winds and rain had chased away the haze. What a sight!!! It was also a bit cool which we are now getting tired of!! We headed to the big City One mall about 10 min from here via Uber. We found some groceries at a large Spar and some cough meds. We walked back, 45 min, which was probably Ok, but it seemed long and arduous at the time given how we both felt. On the way we saw some poppies growing which was a great sign of spring! And a tower crane “depot” with a small crane to lift all the crane parts!!!
April 19
Thursday was a sunny summery day!!! Short sleeves and a skirt; gentle breezes on the water. We headed out to explore and navigate an enormous camping park on the waterfront in Stobrec. It goes as far as the river emptying into our little bay and has 230+ hookup sites, and more than 50 cabin rentals. It’s a beautiful well-kept place with a full beach with approximately 1500ft of waterfront, swimming pools and play areas.
As we walked in, past a well-stocked camp store, we came upon one of my favorite signs of spring – purple lilacs!!! Just wonderful. We wandered through the cabin areas, along the beach, and over to the breakwaters of where the river comes in. We had a great view of the town across the bay with a greater marina complex and some large boats.
We stopped at a nice bakery on the way back and got a fabulous baguette. Bread has been hit or miss along the way, but this was a good one!!! Also found some local beautiful Stobrec strawberries. Good on my muesli with Greek yogurt for breakfast.
Took a short walk down into the village for a visit to the information center where we got the bus schedule for going into Split. It’s another World Heritage Sight – we’ve seen many now. It’s reported there’s a good fish market there as well.
April 21
Once again we had another lovely warm spring day in Croatia on Saturday. We took the bus into Split, 2nd largest city in Croatia, behind Zagreb by a lot!!! Less than 200,000 live here but the tourist trade brings in roughly 18 million country wide, so I’m guessing much of that visit the coast and Split.
One of Split’s icons is the walled in area of the UNESCO heritage site of Diocletian’s Palace. The third century Roman Emperor, Diocletian (245-311) founded the city and is still celebrated today. He came up through the ranks of the army and was proclaimed Roman emperor in 284. He was born nearby in Solona and built his retirement palace where he moved to in in 305 when he abdicated from Rome.
The four walls of the palace area are very visible but have been built onto, around, and next to as the growth of Split occurred. It now forms the heart of the living city with the entire palace precinct a residential area that includes many shops and restaurants. The “streets” are narrow pathways of smoothed square stones.
I climbed the bell tower of the small church and get spectacular views of the town and the sea, and the islands to the west. This is a prime spot for cruise ships of all sizes. We met a couple about 10 years older than us who had just disembarked from a 8 day cruise with only 15 people. They will rethink something like that in the future as there were too few people, and with a couple of Australians it got quite loud at times.
And just for fun – there’s an amaryllis and a fig tree in the garden next to us!!! And some roses that have gone from small buds to full on blooming in the week we’ve been here.