Split: Classy, Sunny harbors and Chi-Chi shops

  Split, Croatia
Sunday, November 26, 2006

First we will say right off the bat that we loooooved Croatia. We didn't plan to stay as long as we did but we are so glad we did. Croatia is a bit of a secret that Europe keeps from Americans. The Balkan war hit the region hard just as their popularity was growing, but Europeans are coming back during the summer in droves now that the war is ten years in the past. Most Americans who see Croatia are spending a few days in Dubrovnik as a stop on a Mediterranean/Adriatic cruise. We can testify that spending more time in this country is a must for those who want to see a place with jaw dropping natural beauty and the cleanest sea water in Europe. We have promised to come back just to see it in the summer, late spring or early fall, when it is still possible to swim.

Our first city, where our ferry docked, was Split. As was promised in the guidebooks we read before our trip, there were older women waiting at the ferry docks with "Room for Rent" signs. We picked the first one who approached us and she had a nice enough room in the city center with a clean bathroom and satellite TV. Once we settled in we headed out for our first view of this new country. I think between the war and its designation as an "Eastern European" country, people expect the cities here to look a lot worse. But in all actuality, Split looked more polished and lovely than many of the Western European cities we went to.

Harbor

Split is a mix of old and new. The old city center is built around Diocletian's palace, built in the Roman times. The Pedestrian streets in the old town are marble, something we saw in most of Croatia's old town centers and it really makes the whole city look classy. The place is loaded with chi-chi shops that were no cheaper than the chi-chi shops in the states. Palm trees lined the boulevards. Local women were walking around in outfits that look like they came of the runways in Paris with Gucci (or good knockoff) sunglasses, high heel boots and expensive cell phones stuck to their ears.

We soaked up the sun and explored the harbor and palace. We bought cheese and vegetables from little old ladies in black dresses with handkerchiefs tied to their heads. We didn't see other tourists there, being November. Most tourists stay for the summer, few come past October. Despite the very cold temperatures at night, we were plenty warm when the sun was shining.

One funny incident happened when we here heading back to our Pension for the night. An old man was walking towards us who appeared to be a little on the crazy side; disheveled looking, long, dirty hair and beard, talking to himself. When he saw Julius his eyes lit up and he yelled out "Jambo, Bwana!" Julius answered him back "Jambo! Habari?" and the guys says "Habari Nzuri!" That was about the extent of the guys Swahili but he was very pleased to be able to use it. What are the chances of him meeting a black person on the street in Split and that person knowing Swahili? After traveling around Croatia for a while we figure that A) The guy was probably a sailor - many old men we met in Croatia were sailors and most had been to East Africa while working on the ships, and B) There really aren't any black people in Croatia to speak of, so why not assume the one you meet might know Swahili?

We went to our first Mass in Croatia the morning that we were leaving for Dubrovnik. Something else we learned about Croatia - unlike the rest of Europe, Croatians go to church. And they are almost exclusively Catholic. The mass was packed, even at 7 am.

Buses go everywhere in this country and they are very safe, so we booked one for Dubrovnik. Along the way we enjoyed some of the best views of the trip so far.
To see all the photos of Split, please visit our Split Smugmug page!