Hello Young Adventurers!
Locations Visited: Zadar, Croatia. Split, Croatia. Krka National Park, Croatia. Brac, Croatia
Languages Spoken: Croatian
Words Learned: otoka– island. trajekt- ferry
There is so much to tell you guys about Croatia! I’m going to break this down to make this a little easier to read and (hopefully) not be a giant novel of a post. So go ahead and buckle up- we’re going to hit the ground running with our first stop:
Zadar, Croatia (2 days)
This is a city I had heard of before, but I did not realize it. Here in Zadar is something incredibly cool. Something I had seen videos of, read about, and even showed my classes a year ago. I had completely forgotten where in the world it was, though, so imagine my surprise when I basically stumbled upon it without even realizing it! The “it” I’m talking about here is the Sea Organ found at then end of the city on the water. Hold onto that for now, we’ll get back to it in a bit.
Zadar itself is a small town along the sea about midway along the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. Conquered and ruled by many civilizations along the Mediterranean (Venetian, Roman, Austrian, Italian, etc.), it is filled with small traces of its past, creating a city that is an interesting melting pot of all these cultures in it’s architecture, food, and art. Check out the pictures below and figure out what you can see!
Anyways… back to the Sea Organ. Y’all, this thing is so cool. I spent a few hours each day just sitting here listening to it’s music, relaxing, and then watching the sunset each evening. It makes music by creating vibrations from the natural motion of the waves, wind, and tide as they push against tubes that are in the marble steps that you see in the picture. The air gets pushed into a resonating cavity, causing it to vibrate and create the mysterious sounds that you hear. Check out the video and images below to get a better understanding.
(image from: http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om24550.html)
Krka Falls National Park (1 day-trip)
Some friends and I decided to take a day-trip from Zadar to Krka Falls National Park which is only about an hour away. We were so excited, especially after hiking around Plitvice a few days before. Krka is known specifically for its beautiful waterfalls and the same crystal waters we saw back in Plitvice. I’m not going to talk too much about it, but check out these pictures and see what organisms you can find! This is another wonderful example of a healthy, freshwater habitat.
What I do want to share with you, though, is that Krka was also used as a hydroelectric (water-powered) power plant. In fact, it was the first in Croatia built back around 1903 and powered a local city, Sibenik. Because of this, Sibenik was also considered the first city in the WORLD to have electric AC powered streetlights. How cool?! Unfortunately, following World War II, the plant was no longer used, and the area eventually became the park that it is today.
Split, Croatia (2 days)
Okay… this city is so cool. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived here, which is sometimes the best thing possible. You can’t be disappointed, and are only being surprised around every corner. This city had everything I could want: Right on the beach, a gigantic, forested park with a huge hill on it for climbing and beautiful views, a big and bustling city, and a quaint and ancient old town (old palace included!). The ice cream was cheap, and I was able to stay within my budget everyday without really having any issues. I’m sold.
I traveled here with the same friends I made back in Zagreb and Korenica from my last post. It’s been so nice to have made friends that I can travel with for a bit, and it is definitely a refreshing change of pace after spending about 2.5 weeks on my own through Italy. The people I’m meeting still are my favorite part about travel. I find myself being more quiet than I normally am around them, but I’m realizing it’s because I’m just so content that I don’t have much to say. I just want to listen and learn so much from them, and then get so overwhelmed by all the new locations that I lose myself quite often. Not a bad problem, though, if you ask me!
Split is another old town on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, and is known for the palace in the heart of old town called the Diocletian’s Palace and for being the gateway to many of the Croatian Islands dotted along the Adriatic Sea. The Palace, once a Roman civilization dating back to the year 305 CE, has now just become part of the town itself. A grand cathedral lies in the middle, and the palace itself has become homes, restaurants, stores, and everything else you could expect to find in a city. It’s really cool to see how the city managed to preserve the palace (somewhat) by repurposing it.
While here I got to hang out on a really cool rocky beach north of the park in Split. There were two things in particular that I found really cool here. The water was so salty that you could float in it with zero effort. The more salt that is in the water, the denser it becomes, and therefore it’s easier to float! I had never swam in water like this before, and my friends and I had a wonderful time just lazily floating in the sea for a while. The other thing was that there were real sea urchins in the water here! Unfortunately I couldn’t get close enough to any to get a good picture, but it was crazy to see them in real life! Definitely thankful I didn’t step on any. The rest of my time in the city was spent exploring the town by foot, going for a 5 mile run around the park, and hiking up the hill to watch the sunset with my friends.
Isle of Brac (day-trip) (pronounced Brach)
Two of my friends I met, Charlotte and Katia, and I decided to take a day-trip to the nearest island to Split called Brac. Brac is known for olive oil production and for stone-masonry as well as pristine beaches and seaside villages. We got up early to catch the 9AM ferry over, and after an hour ride, we made it to the port of Supetar on Brac. We were originally going to rent bikes and bike around just park of the island, but we quickly realized, because there were three of us, we could rent a car for the day for basically the same price and therefore get to see anything we wanted on the island. Guys… it felt so luxurious to be driving a car again. I forgot how convenient a car can really be, and we felt like royalty as we jumped in our car (which we named Maya) and began our drive over the mountains to the other side of the island.
Our first stop was the village of Bol to pick up some food and go visit the beautiful beach there called Zlatni Rat (Golden Coast). When we pulled up to the beach, we couldn’t believe how clear the water is. I know I’m saying that about basically everywhere I’m going, but this water was exceptionally clear and blue. It didn’t look real. I had no idea beaches like this existed in Croatia, let alone Europe. The water was just as salty, and so we swam, floated, enjoyed the sun, and just enjoyed all the beauty of the water for a few hours before packing up and getting back in the car.
Our next destination was the tallest mountain of Brac called Vidova Gora which is also the highest point of all the Adriatic Islands. The best part, though? Since we had a car we didn’t have to do any hiking! We got to drive straight up to the peak and enjoy the view. A luxury I completely took for granted until today. Friends, seriously- we need to be more appreciative about all the conveniences in our lives. It’s taken me not having steady access to them to realize how much things like driving and warm showers can make our lives easier and more comfortable. I urge you to take time away from those conveniences and see life from the other side at some point, even if it’s within your own home. Anyways, check out the views from the mountain!
We then took a beautiful sunset drive to Milnar, a city on the western coast of the island, and then back around to Supetar to return the car and take the ferry back to Split. Content, tired, and warmed by the sun, we arrived back at our hostel in Split so happy for the beautiful day that we had. What started off as a day with no set plan evolved into a near perfect day as we just rode with where the moment took us.
I leave next for a new country for a few days. This country is right next to Croatia, and I’m eager to get there. There is a significant recent history with war, and the affects of that conflict still remain very fresh. I’m looking forward to learning more about what happened, and understanding this piece of history that has been going on during my lifetime. I’m embarrassed that I wasn’t aware of the quality of life in this country over the past few years, and thankful for the opportunity to fix those knowledge gaps. I’ll see you guys there and we’ll learn together,
Have Courage, & Be Kind,
Mr. Weavil