Day 681 - Split, Croatia
Making our Way from Trieste to Split
It was work getting into Split, Croatia from Trieste Italy. We hauled our bags about a mile to the bus station where we were to pick up a Flixbus that would take us to the city of Rijeka, Croatia. There were some confusion about where exactly to get the bus, but ultimately we did and passed briefly through Slovenia and past beautiful and mountainous countryside until we arrived in Croatia and the jammed Rijeka bus station. Now it was time to get the car that would take us to the airport outside of Split, about a 5 hour drive. But first we had to find the rental car, and that meant hauling us and our bags up 250 steps to get to rental office. It was now early afternoon.
A half an hour later we were in our little battered Opel, heading south towards Split. Split is quite a well-known resort and it has a long history. In fact, the reason it exists is because Diocletian, a Roman emperor in the fourth century A.D., created an immense palace there as his retirement home. It became essentially the beginning of the city that now exists.
Once we arrived at the airport, night had fallen but we still had a ways to go. The hotel that we were staying in, the Guesthouse Imperator, (great place, check its recommendations page for more details) had arranged for a driver to pick us up. We found ourselves more or less in the dark around the rental drop off area of the airport, but eventually found the cabbie and spent another half an hour driving along to the Adriatic Sea to the outskirts of the old city. There our host met us and walked us right into the very heart of the old city and part of Diocletian’s Palace itself.
We were exhausted but the beauty and night lighting of the palace perked us up considerably and we tucked into a delicious seafood dinner at the Bokeria Restaurant (really excellent).
Soon we were in our room and out cold.
Exploring Split
Over the next couple days, we explored Diocletian Palace, (see video), walked the quay along the harbor, which has long been a tourist spot even in the days when Croatia was part of the Soviet block. The days were cool and beautiful, and we enjoyed the history and the food and the best gelato we had ever tasted anywhere in the world! (Truly delicious! Emiliana’s -wow!)
We also needed to arrange the next leg of our journey to Herceg Novi. It looked like we could take a ferry to get there and we were looking forward to that.
Our last evening, we again enjoyed walking through the old city, Diocletian’s Palace and a park that skirts the palace, where a remarkable sculpture of Gregory of Nin had been placed a few decades ago to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Croatian language. It’s immense, at least 20 feet high and Gregory looks for all the world like a great wizard out of Lord of the Rings!
The next day, with a storm coming in, we headed to the ferry to make our way deeper into southern Croatia. It did not go well.
Recommendations
If you’re setting out for the Balkans and Adriatic Regions of Europe, please consider some of these recommendations.
A great place located just next to Split’s Old Town with walking access to Croatia’s unique heritage, including Diocletian’s Palace and St. Domnius Cathedral. Visitors will also find excellent shopping and dining nearby.