Croatia – July 2010

Split, on the Dalmatian Coast
With all the research on Split, I had no idea the airport was so far from the city. We flew into Dubrovnik a few years ago and it was a short 15 minute, $20-$25 dollar cab ride. I never thought flying into Split would be any different. Another lesson learned. The airport is about 40km from Split’s old city, a 336 kuna ($65) cab ride. At the hotel we discovered Croatia airlines offers bus transfers from the airport to the old town for around $4 per person, and that’s how we’re getting back.

But expensive cabs aside, we’re very happy to be here. The Riva, the long promenade along the Adriatic sea filled with café tables and awnings is the perfect pause from the heat for a cool refreshing beverage while watching the performance of people pass by. The narrow, winding white marble streets of the 13th-16th century Old Town meander through ancient houses and small shops, eventually spilling out onto the grand stone thoroughfare called the Marmontova, a promenade named for Auguste de Marmont, Napoleon’s aide-de-camp, and former Duke of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), Governor of Dalmatia and Governor-General of all the Illyrian provinces between 1805 and 1809. He might have only ruled here for less than 4 years, but he made a big impression on the city. Our Hotel (Hotel Marmont) is also named after the General.

The big thrill of Split, however, is the enormous (710’ x 600’) 3rd century Roman Palace built by the Emperor Diocletian (284-305), who was born in Solana (now Solis), a few kilometers from old Split. The 3rd century Palace takes over a 3rd of the old town. Built in only 10 years between 295-305 AD, it’s entirely made from white Croatian Marble. In 305, ill and tired of Roman politics, Diocletian abdicated the throne and retired here, tending his gardens. Unfortunately he only lived another 6 years.
Unlike many other ancient Roman ruins that were torn down and re-used as building materials, Diocletian’s Palace has kept it’s shape, continuity and much of it’s original detail. Instead of tearing down the walls, the centuries that followed used them as a protection, building their homes inside. By the 16th century, the Palace walls protected over 200 buildings, including houses, shops, a 16th century synagogue and churches going back to the 5th century. Today there are over 3000 people living inside, sharing this amazing piece of history with souvenirs, trendy clothing, restaurants, bancomats and the daily onslaught of international tourists snapping photos at every turn. No matter which way you look there is another great photo opportunity.

Some of the ancient buildings require an entrance fee but most of the Palace is entrance FREE. It is a living neighborhood after-all.
The 3rd century Mausoleum of the Emperor Diocletian and his wife, Prisca was transformed into the 5th century Cathedral of Saint Duje (the 3rd century bishop of Salona). However, the transformation didn’t change much. Inside it still looks like a Roman Mausoleum. The gold of bronze layer of the domed ceiling was stripped away and there were probably other beautiful wall treatments removed but the shape, the classical lentils and columns and the floors are all original. Bravo to the Cathedral for it’s respect to the old building. It’s kind of ironic through, since Diocletian was well known for his persecution of the early Christians. But there you have it.
The church also kept the Temple of Jupiter in original condition. They just replaced the statue of Jupiter with Saint Duje and added a baptistery font. The ancient coffered 3rd century ceiling of the Temple was water tight until the 1940’s when a tin room was put over the top. It’s been the baptistery of the St Duje since the 5th century.
The great Prothyron Arch and the giant domed vestibule that led to the Emperor’s Private Palace (now the Ethnographic Museum) are still here. The 4 original entrance gates to the Palace still exist, so do the North/South street (the Cardo) and the East/West street (the Decumanus). The remains of the black granite Sphynx Diocletian brought back from Egypt (currently under wraps for restoration) still sits at the entrance into the Vestibule. The Peristyle courtyard, a beautiful sunken terraced courtyard surrounded by columns and arches was, and still is the heart of the old Palace. By Day it’s filled with tourists, locals and vendors. By Night the visitors take their seats on the terraced steps and listen to live music under the reflection of the ancient buildings glowing behind soft amber light.

Through the ancient Brass gate (the southern gate) that arrived into the Palace from the sea, is a grand barreled hall where cargo was once brought in and stored. It does keep nice and cool down here. These days it’s the location for local artisans to sell their jewelry, marble bowls. We couldn’t resist the bowls and 4 of them are now well packed into our luggage.

Our hotel, the Marmont, is technically outside of the Palace walls, but it’s in that grey area where you can’t tell if you’re in the Palace or the 12th century old town. Wherever we are, it’s really wonderful. The room is comfortable, the view is charming, the air conditioning is so refreshing, the internet access is fast and free, the staff is wonderful and we are getting the best sleep we’ve had in weeks.

There is no end to great people watching in and around the Palace, the Riva and the old Town. This is a destination for people of all ages of all countries, young couples, old couples, families, college students and local residents. The people at the cafes and restaurants watch the people walking by and the people walking by watch the people sitting at the cafes and restaurants. They watch the ultra-high stiletto heels navigate the old stone streets. They read the t-shirts of every language. They watch the boats sailing in and out of the harbor. They watch the children chase pigeons through the stone paved squares. They watch the activity of vegetable and fish markets. And after a long day they go back to their rooms for a short pause and then come back for dinner and more entertainment.

We’re here one week prior to the annual summer festival. The larger performance is in rehearsal but the smaller stage is filled each night with ethnic dancing and local cultural bands. The Operas used to be staged in the Peristyle but the square is undergoing some renovation these days, so the Operas moved to the Republic Square just off the Marmontova. The staging (scenery, lighting and audio) is loading in for Othello and last night we saw the first rehearsal with cast and orchestra. Aside from the stages, the more intimate entertainment is over at the Peristyle square as folk rock musicians entertain the crowd. The visitors (like us) sit on the steps of the square and sing along to favorite tunes from the 60s through the 90s. It fits the crowd age perfectly.

The transportation hub near the harbor is called the Lazaretti. It’s a large sprawl of bus terminals, boat docks, the train station, and ferry terminal. The name comes from the original Lazaretto, now Split’s Green market, which was the quarantine facility for merchants and their goods. Merchants (and occasionally sailors) could spend over a month in quarantine before it was determined they (and their goods) were clean of pests or disease.

 

 

 

 

 

July 8; Trogir
We walked to the Lazaretti and bought two tickets on the local bus to Trogir, another UNESCO Heritage city. It was a 35 minute nauseating ride as we listened to old Croatian women screech and cackle at each other. The ride cost about $4/person. The entertainment value was priceless.
Although the town dates back to the 3rd century Roman city, Tragurium, it’s now a well preserved mixture of Romanesque churches, the Renaissance Lucic Palace, the 15th century Kamerlengo Fortress and lots of 15th-17th century houses. The only damage it has ever seen was in 1420 when the Venetians bombarded it into submission. The Venetian occupation lasted till 1797.

In many ways it’s similar to Split, another tranquil setting along a beautiful promenade and an old town square with tourist shops, restaurants and a church bell tower that we climbed and got the worst case of vertigo either of us has had in many years. It was one of those towers built for vertigo, open sides and small steps.

The treasure (or one of the treasures) of Trogir is “The relief of Kairos”, a 3rd century stone relief of the Greek god Kairos, god of the happy moment, discovered in an abandoned house in 1928. Kairos is the ancient Greek expression for “an opportune moment”, the instant between sequential time when something really magical happens. Chronos is “quantitative time”, Kairos is “qualitative time”. The treasure is now kept in the Benedictine nunnery with the church of St. Nikola. We never saw it. The “opportune moment” never showed itself.

By the way, the bus back from Trogir to Split was a lot nicer and a lot quieter.

 

July 9th - Walk along the Marjan
We walked away from the old town towards the Marjan Park above the old city to the Archeology Museum (it was closed) and the Ivan Mestrovic Gallery, an easy 20 minute walk, mostly along the water.
Ivan Mestovic (1883-1962) was the only man to ever have a one man show at the Metropolitan Museum in New York during his lifetime. He built his home in Split as a home and gallery and in his later years, donated the building to Croatia. It now houses a permanent (really wonderful) collection.
Locally, Mestrovic is most famous for the statue of Gregorius of Nin (the 10th century Croatian bishop) that stands by the Golden Gate of Diocletian’s Palace. The left foot of the statue is polished from people rubbing it for good luck. There is something about bronze statues that makes people want to rub them.
Mistrovic emigrated to the US after WWII and taught in Universities from Syracuse to Notre Dame. That’s right, he taught art and sculpture at Notre Dame.

HVAR - July 10th
Back to the Lazaretti for a couple of tickets on the catamaran ferry to Hvar . You can only buy the tickets on the same day as the voyage and our hotel recommended to go early because in this season the catamaran fills up fast. The ferry office opened at 6am. I was there at 6:30. The catamaran sailed at 11:30. The costs is 47 kuna (about $7.50) person. It’s a totally relaxing voyage that takes about an hour. A lot of people take day trips here. We took a 2 day overnight. The closest island to Split is Brac, the largest island on the Dalmatian Coast. Brac is a hot, dry island whose main crop is rocks. The White House in Washington DC was built from the white stone of Brac. Hvar is a green island that produces, olive oil, lavender and wine; we discovered a great red wine here called Pakleno Luviji, a local version of the Plavac Mali, ancestor to the American Zinfindel. We chose the green island.

Hvar reportedly receives 2724 hrs of sunshine a year. There are 8760 hours in a year, and figuring that close to half of them are at night, that’s a lot of sunshine. The weather is so reliable, hotels give discounts on cloudy days and fee stays if it snows. The population of Hvar is around 11,500, but in the summer months it probably doubles with visitors and tourists.
The island was first settled in the 4th century by the Illyrians and was a major port of trade for the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Slavs, Austrians, French, Serbs, and Croats. During Tito’s Yugoslavia it was a vacationland for the wealthy Soviets.
Hvar town was built in the 13th century and there are some old Romanesque buildings that date back to the origins, but most of the polished marble streets and stone buildings have more of a Venetian feeling. The town is built up a hillside reaching the large Fortessa Spagnola that guards the town and the harbor from the top of the peak. The fortress (built by the Venetians in the 16th century to help the Spanish in the war with the Ottoman Turks) is in great shape and the old protective curtain walls leading down to the harbor are still in place although they haven’t had to protect anything for at least 300 years. The main gate from the harbor to the fortress is now a quaint spot for cafes and souvenir shops.
Back down in the harbor, the main square, Trg Sveti Stjepana, named for the 3rd century Pope, Saint Stephen I is the largest square in all of Dalmatia, over 4500 square meters of marble stones polished from years of footwear. At the end of the square are the old Theatre and the Armory. The armory, which was used as the town cinema during World war II is now a big exhibit hall. The theatre goes back to 1612 and was the first European theatre that allowed poor and rich to sit side by side. The small theatre fell into disrepair in the 1980s and although it looks like it’s being renovated, the locals just shrug their shoulders when we ask them about the progress of the renovation.

Our hotel is literally a 2 minute walk from the gangplank of the Ferry dock. As you get off the boat, there are countless elderly women holding up signs for rooms and apartments. We can only think they are trying to get you to stay in their houses for a few kuna per night. I’m sure it’s an amazing story and experience, but we chose the Hotel Riva, one of the Sunicar Hvar hotels developed in the past few years. There are at least 5 Sunicar Hvar hotels along the harbor and probably more of them around the island. Some of them, like the Amphora are large beach resorts, although the beaches on the island are all rocks or pebbles. Our receptionist told us that at the Amphora you go to see the other people, you come to the Riva to “be seen”.
The Riva is a small hotel with very small rooms. In fact for one person to move around the room and use the bathroom, the other person had to stay on the bed. However it does have a great position along the harbor promenade where we spend our late afternoons enjoying cool refreshing beverages, watching the people go by, or maybe, as the receptionist points out, they’re watching us.
We’re also directly across from the dock where the Katarina Cruise line parks their old wooden hulled cruise ships at night. These mini “love boats” have a few cabins, a dining hall and a lounge deck. They travel throughout the islands in the Adriatic and at night they line up parallel to each other at various island ports. In order to get to your boat you have to walk through one boat to the next. In Hvar, they were parked 5 across. It was really beautiful to watch from our window out to the harbor. At around 2:30am we also discovered that 5 boats across made for one hell of a party. But, not a problem. We fell asleep minutes after it woke us up. As the receptionist said the next morning, “hey, you were once young.” He was right.

 

 

 

July 11
Today we rented motorini (50cc Piaggio Scooters). You really have to turn the throttle handle hard to accelerate it into gear.
We took the old north road from Hvar Town to Stari Grad, through the wild lavender fields and old terraces of stone walls that cover almost every hill.
Stari grad founded in 385 BC by the Ionian Greeks. It was the first development on the island. The locals don’t say that the old town has been restored or preserved, they just tell you it hasn’t changed much.
Onto Jelsa, a beautiful harbor coming off the tallest peaks on the island, St Nikola and Hum to the south and Vrh, Somotorac and Gozd to the north.

On the way back we drove through a 4.5km tunnel and stopped off at a couple of stone beaches, finally stopping at a beach in Hvar for a couple of hours of sun on the rocks and a swim in the clear acquamarine Adriatic.

The following morning we took our last moto trip up to the Fortessa Spagnolo. Supposedly the foundations were built by Justinian in the 6th century. On Oct 1, 1579 a lighting bolt hit the gunpowder storage and blew up a third of the castle, but we only saw a sign telling us of the explosion. Everything was rebuilt pretty fast.
The fortress has a small museum showing some ancient amphorae from the 3rd century, long before the fortress was built and there is a long climb down some very slippery stone stairs to the old Zatvoz (the Prison). The cells are small, dark and damp, but on the bright side they have a beautiful view of the harbor.

We love the Croatian coast and we’re determined to come back again and discover more of this amazing country. Most people think of Croatia as a poor war torn country. The war with the Serbs was complicated and long; something that was brewing since before World War I. Tito held everything in control under his iron fist, but when Croatia declared independence in 1990, the Croatian Serbs rebelled and all shit broke out for about 5 years till the 1995 Dayton Accord was signed in Paris. It’s been pretty quiet since then. We saw very few scars from the 1990s war and very little evidence of a Soviet style communist country.
We can’t wait to come back and see more of Croatia.