Blogs from Croatia, Europe - page 220

Trogir exhibits strong architectural evidence of its association with the Venetian Republic through the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, the Camerlengo Castle overlooking the harbor and an interesting Italian-style loggia in the cathedral square. Despite Greek and Roman beginnings, Trogir was destroyed in the 12th century. Most of the historic old city dates from the 13th century forward. The Historic City of Trogir was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Zadar was a Roman town, though its origins date further back than that. Its history since Medieval times has largely been influenced by Italy, especially by the Venetian Republic. Despite being a heavily contested site throughout history, Roman ruins remain standing in Zadar as do pre-Romanesque and Romanesque churches. From Zadar, we turned inland, crossing the rough-hewn Dinaric Alps on the way to Plitvice Lakes ... read more

Now we would travel north along the Dalamatian coast from Dubrovnik to Split. The journey was via an ocean-going ferry, Liburnija, operated by Jadrolinija. A clamshell bow opened to admit cars and trucks. A long queue of cars awaited loading at Gruž, the Durbrovnik port. The upper deck of the ship was packed with sunseekers all in, shall we say brief, swimsuits, like the Lido Deck on a contemporary cruise ship, except there was no swimming pool. Wearing street clothes, one felt overdressed here! The first stop on the coastal ferry was at Korcula island. The walled town was known as Corcyra Nigra in Roman times and as Curzola in the Venetian and Austrian periods. It was an interesting Medieval looking town, with a cathedral in the center and fortified wall overlooking the harbor entrance. Marco ... read more

Dubrovnik, the "Pearl of the Adriatic" is, of course, attractive for its walls and the medieval city they contain. I spent much time up on the ramparts, circumnavigating the entire wall around Dubrovnik. One one side of the ramparts, one views the Adriatic, on the other, the streets and alleys of the old town. At each turn was glimpse into a scene out of the past. Our hotel, the Hotel Excelsior, had a lovely terrace right on the Adriatic with a view north to Dubrovnik. We also rode the Dubrovnik Cable Car (aerial tramway) up to the top of Mount Srd above Dubrovnik. The walled city clearly stood out here. There were also scenic views up and down the Adriatic coast. The Old City of Dubrovnik was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.... read more

Day 23 - Sunday 5th March A good night's sleep. The room looked out over some palm trees and an orange tree but alas this scene was not reflected in today's weather - cloudy, overcast and threatening. First stop of the day was a pastry shop for a coffee and two delicious cakes. Tony was leaving for Athens today. We walked to the harbour and then along a oneway street in search of main road to Kotor - he was planning to hitch-hike. We walked for 4Km right under the cliffs and admired the magnificent coastline. There were a few more western travellers around in Dubrovnik and we stopped for a friendly chat with a group of five - American, Argentinian and British. At last we arrived at a reasonable hitching point and I left Tony ... read more