Croatia Adventure 08.04.11-14.04.11

By eight o'clock Thursday night I was on a plane leaving Madrid, to meet my friend Nicole in the Düsseldorf airport. We found each other within a matter of minutes, because we soon realized we weren't in the main Düsseldorf airport, but actually quite far from the city in a smaller one. Intending to spend the night in the terminal (as we met around 11 and would be leaving around 6AM), we realized it would be slightly less interesting here. However, Nicole and I had so much to talk about--about our lives this semester--that no "entertainment" was necessary. I think we slept less than two hours.

The Guesthouse Living Area and Ktichen

The next morning we were on our connecting flight to Zadar, Croatia. We landed around 9AM, and were in the city itself around 10:30. We immediately went to check into our hostel, the Kolega Guesthouse. It was located in the historic peninsula of the city, a minute walk from the waters edge. We were greeted by the guesthouse owner, Marin and shown around where we'd stay. The accommodation was immaculate, very comfortable. However, Nicole and I didn't want to waste our precious daytime relaxing indoors. We organized our things and left to explore the city.

City Plaza with Cafés and Bell Tower

View from the Waterway Walk

Zadar was a great first impression of Croatia. It's a smaller city, and easily walkable. In the historic district, we got a strolled along the outskirts of the peninsula along the Adriatic Sea. The weather was perfect mid-70s, and everything seemed wonderful and tranquil. The town was littered with cafes after cafes, in which the citizens sat leisurely taking their cafes or beers all afternoon. We eventually fell victims to one of the many gelato shops and ordered ginormous sundaes, ruining our appetite for lunch but at around 3 dollars (after conversion from Croatian Kuna), not our budget.

Nicole and I by the Adriatic

     As the sun began to set, we began to head to the peninsula point to see the sunset, after noting a quote from Alfred Hitchcock that it was the "Best Sunset in the World". We also went to see the sea organ, created by the tide and some unique holes in the cement pathway.

Video of Sea Organ 

Zadar Croatia

Entrance to our Hostel

The following morning, we woke up early and caught a bus from the main bus station for our next location, the city of Split. After we arrived in the city,we located our hostel. Again it was great--this time it had a beautiful botanical courtyard and the Croatian woman in charge, Elda, was super friendly. She spoke with me and Nicole for a good half an hour, elaborating about Croatia and all the things it has to offer. We learned more about visiting the over 1200 Croatian islands and the inland national parks that boast to have some the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. Knowing that we could not possibly see everything, I regretted only having 4.5 days in this beautiful country.

Lunch!

Nicole and I left that afternoon with a few recommendations for Split, including a good pizza place to grab a lunch. One may question, the lunch choice, but actually Croats are quite the pizza connisseurs, and along the Dalmatia Coast eat a cuisine with heavy Italian influence. Nicole and I ended up pigging out on the freshly oven-baked pizzas, we couldn't resist. With all the good food we encountered, this regular the rest of the trip! 

Roman Ruins Walkway

View of Split from Hillside

Split Waterfront

The rest of the day was again spent exploring the city center. In the heart of Split, the city still contains the ruins of an ancient Roman palace, now forming a small rectangular wall around the city. Along the waterfront, the boats were docked as the Croats again spent the days enjoying the cafés and sunshine. We also climbed the main hill overlooking the city, and were able to get a good aerial view. That night we walked to the southern beach shore and hung out in a swank cocktail lounge overlooking the say to pass the day!  
     After a wonderful time in Split, Nicole and I continued our adventure to the capital city, Zagreb via the high-speed Split-Zagreb train. Luckily we took the high-speed train, because the journey still took well over five hours. However, I didn't mind too much, because I finally got to sleep--there was nothing else I could do, so I didn't feel guilty about it. I realize I've been neglecting the amount of sleep I need, but I guess that's nothing new. Even now, as I write this, I only slept 5 hours last night, and it's already past midnight and I'll wake up around eight. Although it feels great, sleep is frankly a waste of my time. 

Once in Zagreb, we checked into our third hostel, slightly out of the city center in a residential area. Again, we were quite lucky because we could walk to the downtown. However in Zagreb they have a tram transport system, and it's almost "free" because they never check tickets. That afternoon we strolled around the city. We approached a local Zagrebian for a restaurant recommendation, and were pleasantly surprised with the meal we received. Unlike Split and Zadar, Zagreb doesn't have the Mediterranean feel because it is on the East inland end of the country. Therefore, like many Eastern European cities, there isn't anything too extraordinary about the cuisine--it's a meat and potatoes sort of place. However, the meal we had was still great and such a bargain! For 30 Kuna, or under 6 Dollars, we had a four course meal: chicken soup, sauerkraut and bean salad, potatoes with fried cheese, and   San Jelacic Square marmalade crepes. Overall, awesome again! 

   The rest of the day and evening was spent meandering through the cities. We saw a bit of the historic Uptown, and even St. Stephen's Cathedral. Being as though it was a Sunday night, we decided to peep in on the mass. However, the twangy organ, candles, and gothic architecture created a rather creepy ambiance, and we quickly skirted away. 
    The next morning we saw the rest of the Zagrebian sights--the Croatian History Museum,  Ban Jelacic Square, impressive buildings, and the botanical gardens. Overall Zagreb was quite pleasant, and completely unique to any other city. One could feel the influence of the Austro-Hungarian rule, the toil of recent wars and conflicts, and the pride and patriotism of Croatian Independency. As we left the city, Nicole and I stopped by an open air market and purchased some marble walnut bread made from the hands of the working class people of Zagreb. A token to remember the city by.                                                           

St. Stpehen's Cathedral (Under Construction)

Botanical Gardens

  

St. Mark's Church

Fresh Walnut Marble Bread

After leaving Zagreb, we reached our final destination, the Northern coastal town of Pula. We again had a wonderful place to stay, and Art Hostel with a quirky, fun style and lovable owners. Pula is exceptionally unique because it contains countless Roman Ruins throughout the city, including a full-sized amplitheater! Apparently, back in the days of gladiators the Romans would pump in the nearby seawater into this amplitheater and have full-scale naval battles. Talk about ambitious!
As custom, we again spent our time exploring the city. Had we had more time, we could have also rented bikes from our hostel to take a tour along the coastline, which could have been great. By then, it was already decided that we have to return someday to Croatia anyways, so we added biking to that list.
The next day was a sad one, as we realized our stay in Croatia would be ending. We celebrated by enjoying a nice fish lunch, and later left for the airport.

Fresh Market

Me in a Roman Temple

View of Pula and Ampitheater

One of the Pula Watchtowers

Looking Into the Amplitheater

    My thoughts about Croatia, on the whole? First of all, with the beach and natural surroundings, it's a paradise. The food their is indulgent, but also very pure to the source. The older generation are simple and hardened by the turmoil the country saw in the 20th Century. The younger generation don't seem to enjoy the simple pace of life, and somewhat take for granted their country. While it was effective to see a lot in a little time, I wouldn't recommend hopping about rapidly through Croatia. It's countering the peaceful lifestyle. While these are all observations, I think at large they are true.

Flag of Croatia