Journal #66 - Croatia
Bok from Croatia!
Our time in Croatia has been incredibly charming. We saw some splendid water features and distinct architecture and shared them with family visitors. Mr. Wanderer and I used our time to travel between Zagreb, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, and some national parks. We traveled in busses, cars, and ferries to traverse this nation.
Our first stop was Zagreb, and what a cute introduction to the country. We enjoyed walks around the old town and saw some of the beautiful buildings. One of the more unique places we visited was the Stone Gate. This medieval entrance into the city has a shrine to the Virgin Mary. It is a popular place for candle-lighting, and we managed to catch a glimpse of the daily service held, right there, in the middle of the street.
Another one of the most iconic buildings to see across the city is St. Mark's Church. This monument is known for its recognizable roofing tiles. They are assembled in the shape of two shields. One represents Zagreb's coat of arms. The second is the coat of arms representing the Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia. Those plus the geometric patterns and vibrant red, white, and blues make this roof stand out from every angle.
There is even a third discrete church, the Zagreb Cathedral, as another major monument. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit. It has been shut to the public for about five years following a 2020 earthquake, that left behind major damage. Even from the outside, we could see sections of the facade lying disassembled and strewn around in the dirt.
Religious sights were not the only things we saw in Croatia. Our next stop was Split. Here we met up with our visitors and introduced them to a favorite of ours - cevapi! That, paired with a scoop of gelato quickly became our daily routine. As soon as it got dark, and our stomachs started rumbling, we would meander down the street to the "best" cevapi place in town and eat it as we walked to find our chosen gelato haunt of the night. There were several shops we rotated through based on mood and flavor preferences.
Split was a fantastic place for us to explore, in part, because it is situated on the coast near several beautiful islands. So, we could hop on a ferry in the morning and travel around between them. This meant we got out of the city and checked out other small villages with their seaside architecture without the crowds. We managed to get some swimming time in and have a beautiful meal at the water's edge with perfect weather. Our ferry took us to Stari Grad on Hvar and it was a highlight of the visit.
Inside the city, we dedicated some time to checking out the assortment of historic sights. The largest of these is Diocletian's Palace. Taking up almost half of the "old town", it was constructed as a retirement home for the Roman emperor Diocletian. Our group visited the Cathedral of St. Dominus, the Baptistry, and the Crypt. The experience was made even more special when, while we were in the annals, a chorale group found a rounded path with good acoustics and put on an impromptu performance. The semi-domed chamber let the ensemble's voices ring around us breathing life into the barren stone.
After exhausting Split and its excitement, we hopped in a rental car and headed inland to see some nature. We started by visiting Krka National Park. The drive in wound through the hillsides and the park itself was nestled over a large swath of land. The most famous spot to visit is Skradinski Buk. This giant travertine is accessed by a footpath that weaves through the woods. The panels run over the water flows leading to the falls, and then right at the end, you emerge at their base.
The drama of the view was not lost on us. The path takes you around so that you continually get closer before it is time to exit. The sight was stunning as you stepped out from behind the trees and looks identical to the pictures we had seen online. The water reflected a dazzling green swirl that looked like liquified jade.
The extra fun part about Krka National Park is that the falls are not the only stop, just the most common one. So we hopped in our car and drove around to catch other waterfalls and viewpoints. This was special because it is not on the tour-package path, so we only ran into a handful of other tourists doing this and were able to have, what felt like, the park basically to ourselves. The personalization of this was a treat.
When we had finished running around the waterfalls, we headed west. Zadar is a quaint little town with its key sights located on an island that has a footpath crossing to it. We enjoyed a delightful meal on this island and experienced the most interesting seaside feature. The city commissioned a sea organ. This is an "instrument" (I use the term loosely) carved into the stairs lining the sea wall. When the waves flow into the chambers below your seat, and the wind pulls at them - they emit different tones. So the random combination of water and weather at every moment of every day composes a unique tune for bystanders to sit and enjoy.
After Zadar, we headed back to the parks, this time to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park. This park was unexpectedly gorgeous. We walked along the path which began by descending the cliffside and looking down over the lakes. When you reach their lowest level, you then ascend alongside the cascade. Sometimes we crossed over the water, other times we walked beside it. This was a breathtaking trek and even more astounding when you saw how vibrant aqua the water was. I have never seen a lake with such a vivid hue.
We walked along photographing and just enjoying the moving water and beautiful nature. This park had not been on our radar prior to doing our research for Croatia, but now it is a must-recommend. The scope of the continuous stream, the brilliance of the river, and the general splendor of the park are worthwhile for any visitor.
When we had finished our treks in the great outdoors, it was time to say goodbye to our guests and continue south. Our last stop in Croatia was Dubrovnik. Since it is located in a stretch of land geographically cut off from the rest of the country, we got to ride down on another ferry, which was a peaceful way to travel.
Upon arrival, we were immediately struck by the drama of the old city. The foreboding walls surrounding its historic district looked straight out of a movie*. They are wicked tall too, the whole center is painfully vertical. There were many, many, many flights of stairs between us and the main street. Several stairwells went up to see the monuments and we had to take extra steps into churches. We walked up flights that led to restaurants and rounded staircases that brought us to different views around town. We climbed all over the city, and our thighs are still burning.
We particularly enjoyed Dubrovnik's proximity to the water. There were boats launching from its quaint harbor, peaceful bays to wade in, and even open face cliffs outside the walls we could jump off of. The overwhelmingly orange roof tiles contrast stunningly against the crystalline water. It felt like we were in a medieval castle floating through the Adriatic Sea, charmed and loving it.
Dubrovnik was also a gem purely because of how much there is to explore. Due to the excessive number of staircases, there were tons of twists and corners of the city. So, we were able to dedicate some real time to just getting lost and found, on repeat, all around town. We wandered past residential window boxes and countless gelato shops. We found music schools and secret port holes. The town was itself, a thrilling adventure.
We enjoyed our time here thoroughly. Overall, we felt that we got so much out of our whole visit to Croatia. Unfortunately, we must leave eventually. So our bags are packed and we are moving on. The next country in our Odyssey was the birthplace of democracy - any guesses where we are off to next?
