Split
Split harbor
March 15, 2005
The trip to Split from Mostar introduced me to the Croatian coast, which was beautiful,
and my bus nearly empty.
At the bus station I was greeted by Omar’s friend for a house stay; she seemed extremely
friendly and I simply couldn’t say no. Her house was nice and only about 10 minutes
from the old town.
The walk into town consists of narrow and cobble-stoned streets, but clearly no
older than the early 1800’s. This path led me straight into town and I soon arrived
to Diocletian’s Palace. At first I was a little skeptical on its greatness, but
grew to really like it. The entranceway is less than impressive, but once inside
at the Peristyle and Vestibule it is truly great.
To the right there’s a church, obviously modern, but it’s surrounded by ancient
Roman architecture and statues of sphinxes. Down a narrow alleyway I found the Temple
of Jupiter, which was also very impressive. All the entrances to the palace were
colossal and the streets were narrow and had fantastic character.
I walked a bit around the palace, the area particularly west of the palace is really
nice, and at times it’s difficult to tell when you’re in the palace and when you’re
just in the town. This whole area was part of a larger fortress built years after
the palace so still has the ancient feel. I spent some more time figuring out ferry
times to Hvar Island and just relaxing on the water.
By the time I returned to my place, I tried to ask where I could buy juice, bread,
and cheese, but to no avail, so the man called the girl from upstairs to translate.
She spoke perfect English and was happy to help.
After getting my food, she returned and I talked to her and the woman who met me
at the bus station. It was a great conversation and I learned about the education
system in Croatia, which is, according to her, terrible; the controversy over EU
membership; and lighter conversation. It was a nice and relaxing day and the company
was great. At one point in the conversation, the woman told me that she had a grand-daughter
my age and that I should meet her. She also decided that my Croatian (which I understand
a decent amount of due to speaking some Russian and Polish) was good enough that
she only spoke Croatian to me and I English to her, which turned into a disaster
on my end.
Papaliceva Street
March 15, 2005
Today I walked around the city at night. The atmosphere is very different at night
and much better. The ruins were well lit and the people only local. It wasn’t the
same city, it was a better city.
I ate some greasy pizza and caught the bus at 10:30 pm.
Tug boat in Split harbor