Advertisement
Published: August 30th 2018
IMG_20180825_092737680
These are students that dress up in authentic Roman garb to add to Split' fun!I came in this morning at 0700AM on a Croatian train, once I got here I needed to figure out how I was going to clean up and where I was going to leave my backpack while I explored Split until the afternoon when I was to take the shuttle to Brodarica. It took me awhile to find the bathroom, there was none inside the train station, it was a short walk out on the very crowded sidewalk. It cost some Kuna, that is the currency in Croatia. So I had to get some Kuna from the cash machine first, then I had to buy a Cappucino to get change. I freshened up in the bathroom, packed up my bag for the day and took my backpack to a store front that stored luggage. I had a 9AM walking tour scheduled inside Diocletian's Palace, so I had some time to figure out where I needed to meet. You could not miss the Palace, it is the centerpiece of the city, right on the water. I explored around and found a green market as they call them, it was a very large farmers market and it is there all the time. Someone
IMG_20180825_095216751
Beautiful bougainvillia asked my to try a fig, I did and was talked into buying some, they were delicious, it wasn't hard to coerce me, the light yellow colored type. I made my way to the Golden Gate where I was to meet the guide. There is a large bronze statue there of someone I can not remember, I can remember though that it is good luck to rub his big toe (which I forgot to go back and do). The artist who created the statue is very famous in Croatia, but when he made all his statues, he gave them all his own face, instead of the face of the person he was immortalizing. Our guide was a student of behavioral psychology studying in Zagreb but from Split. The palace was very interesting. It was built in the 4th century AD by Diocletian, he was the first Roman Emperor to create a Tetarchy, he brought on 3 other friends of his to be emperors to share the power. The guide said it was so that he would not be killed as all the other emperors did not live long due to assassinations for power. He was also the first emperor to
IMG_20180825_120720951
Fancy clothes from Dalmatia, the area in Croatia that I am in. retire or abdicate the throne. He retired to Split and built this palace, he was from the local town of Salona. In the 7th century the nearby Salonians fled to the palace to escape the invading Croats, they built shops and apartments within the walls of the Palace, forever transforming it into a thriving city. Today, people walk, shop, live and drink on stones used to build this place in the 4th or 7th century, it's fascinating. After the tour I was going to go to the top of the bell tower, the tallest point in the city. After the tour ended, the city was getting very busy, so the line was long. I decided against it and headed to the ethnographic museum that the tour guide had recommended, from there you could go to the top of the circular vestibule where Diocletian would walk through on his way to meet his troops. This was a filming spot for Game of Thrones, it is where an important character dies (I'm not there yet, but I did hear who it was!) This city is the city of Mereen in the show, the basement halls are where Dany kept her dragons. The
IMG_20180825_123648332
From the top of the vestibule museum was interesting, it had Dalmatian clothes from centurys ago and some other tools. The view from the top of the vestibule was very nice, not quite as high as the bell tower, but the stairs were plenty in the heat! I could look down and see and hear the Klapa, a capella music sang buy 4 men, traditional Dalmatia singing. I then headed to the basement halls of the palace, these are untouched areas of the palace, it is strange walking through structures built 2000 years ago, it is hard to wrap my mind around it. They have just started excavating this area 50 years ago, it was filled with trash and rubble from the upper structures of the centurys. There is also a greek colosseum under this area that they can not excavate because they would need to close the street for one year and it is a very busy city, it would be impossible. At this point, it was time to find my group so I could catch the shuttle, and that is when it all went down hill. Oh my, what a day this was! I walked around for an hour and 40 minutes trying find
the group I was to take a shuttle with. My phone had been acting up all trip, it will not charge and then it will suddenly lose charge. It died just as I was trying to connect with them and would not come back on. I finally had to give up and get a bus ticket to Sibinick. It is so hot here and crowded, as the theme for popular European destinations. I've just gotten use to dripping sweat all the time, there would be no point of wearing makeup, it would slide off in an hour. I went to the bus station and waited 3 hours to catch the next bus. The bus was coming from Dubrovnick, there is a small strip of land that the bus travels through that is part of Bosnia, this causes hold ups because of border patrol. The bus was 1 hour late, I thought that I was going to spend the night in the Split bus station. The bus finally came, yay! It was a comfortable ride for about an hour and a half, I got off in Broderica and luckily, my phone had charged a bit, so I could call the hotel
IMG_20180825_130904824
Rendering of the original palace for a ferry. The lovely front desk lady described how I was to get down to the ferry, I walked a little way looking for the street she mentioned, I did not see a street. I called back and she stayed on the phone with me until I found the street, it was a small dirt path off of the main road. I was finally going the right direction! I made the ferry, it is a short 3 min ride, and got to the hotel, just as the orientation meeting was finishing. I quickly showered and had a lovely dinner, the nicest that I have had my whole trip since most of my food has been picnicking. My room is lovely, I am sharing with a wonderful woman from Palo Alto, the view is fabulous. It has been very busy this week, swimming and eating, it has all been really fantastic, I will post more soon. Tomorrow is actually our last swim and then I am on to Dubrovnick, I should be able to catch up on the ferry. Love to you all!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.217s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0442s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
marguerite clair
non-member comment
Still with ya!
Hi Jess, I look forward to your blogs and read them with great pleasure. You are a born traveler, not afraid to try new things and challenging walks! Too bad about your phone problems but glad to hear you are settled in a nice hotel room with a lovely view. When do you meet up with your swim team?