Blogs from Split, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe - page 2

Good morning to you all, Today Myles and I decided to learn a little more about Split and Croatia in general. We slept in a little bit because we are both suffering from jet lag. We are trying to push through, but it is really rough. Once we were able to drag ourselves out of bed we had to get some caffeine, We headed into the depths of Diocletian's palace to find some espresso and a walking tour. There are cafes on every corner in the cities we have been to so far in Croatia. They are specifically cafes that serve espresso, a few other coffee type things, and liquor....all day. It is just as common to see a group of men sitting at a cafe at 10am with half of them having a beer and ... read more

Good afternoon Family and friends, We have finally landed in Croatia. Yesterday Katie was kind enough to drive us to the horrible of all horribleness that is LAX, where we departed for the first leg of our flight. LAX to Frankfurt, German, and then on to Split, Croatia. Our first flight of the day lasted about 11 hours. Myles watched two moves, I watched one, we both read and slept a lot. It was not a fun flight per say, but we got through it unscathed. We landed in Frankfurt, Germany at 3:45pm (in our current time zone) but 6:45am Pacific. It was insane, we had to run about a mile to the monorail, which led to the bus system, which then took us to the actual airplane. During this crazy rush to get to the ... read more

101 km South of Vodice following the Jadranska Magistrala (Route no 8) lies Split, the second largest city of Croatia and by far the biggest and most important city in Dalmatia, despite only having 160'000 inhabitants. Since the end of the war Croatia experienced a massive shift and decline of its 4.1 million population. Migration from the impoverished countryside along the Serb and Bosnian borders to Zagreb and migration of the younger population to other EU countries, made the population shrink by more than 300'000. Split is known for its proud and laid back people, fashion conscious ladies, its rich history, music, art, its promenades and a million and one cafes and restaurants, and of course for Hajduk Split, its local football club. Ahhh not to forget Goran Ivnisevic, the only Wimbledon champion Croatia has (so ... read more

Today we are informed that the train is not running from Zagreb due to repairs on the tracks. Therefore, it is necessary to board a bus for two hours and then reconnect on the train. Travelling through the Croatia countryside there are rolling hills packed with trees in full autumn foliage. The scenery changes to the mountain range of Mount Mosor and then again to flat rich farmland. It is gorgeous unspoiled nature. Waking up the view is palm trees, and the Adriatic Sea, with a 24C temperature. It is time to abandon jackets and don capri’s, sandals, and sunglasses. The Riva promenade parallels the water and leads to an old city. The entire day is spent meandering down ancient corridors, visiting unique shops, and eating just outside the Palace at Villa Spiza’s. The following morning ... read more

"If you could show the cabbage that I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely wouldn't dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness of this place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed." A quote from Diocletian, stated when he was begged to return to the throne. (Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus39.6) Diocletian was born around 244 to a poor family in what is now Croatia, and worked his way up the ranks in the Roman army. He became Emperor in 285, after defeating a rival in battle. His reign unified the Empire, and he eventually decided to appoint three other rulers, dividing responsibility for the empire among them. This arrangement is called the tetrarchy, from a url=https://en.wikipedia.or... read more