Split {Adriatic: Day 10}

Croatia has been the shining star of this itinerary, and Split was no different.

Originally, we planned to do a ship excursion to Krka National Park to see the waterfalls. But when we saw that we were only going to be in port for 6.5 hours, we decided against spending 2.5 hours in a charter bus and not having any time in the actual town of Split. 

Arriving in Split, Croatia

While looking up some of the independent tours on Viator.com, I came across some general info about Split. Remember how I said Croatia feels so young?  Well, 50% of the population of Split are in their 20s. Isn't that crazy?  Maybe we'll get a little extra respect as their thirty-something elders.

Though we took a pass on the Krka National Park tour, I really did want to do something around the water.  Dubrovnik's coastline was breathtaking, but we never actually got to stick our toes in that crystal clear water.  So, when we packed up to leave the ship today at 11:00 a.m., we threw our bathing suits in Sam's backpack and some tennis shoes, knowing that we could run into a variety of different adventures.

Old Town Split was a short walk from the port, so we walked down to the market area and toured around Diocletian's Palace.  We were content to just observe its majesty from the outside, so we felt content with our sightseeing in Old Town within about an hour. 

Diocletian's Palace Watchtower from the port

Basement Tunnels under Diocletian's Palace

 

We walked into the less tourist-y area, through a fresh market.  We learned quickly that while Croatia is in the EU, it is not yet part of the Euro Zone, so they mostly deal in Croatian Kunas.  Since we have been in countries using the euro, lira, and kuna, we have tried to avoid exchanging for money because of the costly fees associated with it.  It may cost $6 to exchange $100, and if you have some left over at the end of your time there, you have to pay another $6 to get your US dollars back.  Plus, the money exchanges near the port almost always offer a horrible rate.  Good news, our credit card has no international exchange fees and generally a much more favorable exchange rate.  Unfortunately, very few places in Split accept credit cards (unlike every other place we've been), which we didn't realize until we were away from the port and in the town.  I had a twenty euro bill left, so we had to make it stretch for the whole day.

Knowing that A) we were Kuna poor, and B) we wanted to spend some time around the water, we asked a local touring agency if they offered any boat rides out to the small neighboring islands or beaches.  The tricky thing about when we ported in Split was that it was late morning with an early evening departure, so we were too late for the tours that left in the early morning and would need to be back before when the evening tours returned.  Bummer.  But, it ended up working well.  The sweet girl told us that we were only a fifteen minute walk from a really nice pebble beach the locals love-- Bacvice Beach.  We asked her how much it was to visit, and she looked at us like we were crazy, and said free.  Definitely worth checking out.  I can't say that I was walking up the hill expecting to see this...

Seeing this did make us miss our girls!  They would LOVE it.

Gdravo, Dubrovnik {Adriatic: Day 5}

There are just no words to adequately describe the beauty and energy of Croatia.

Only about 4,283 pictures.  Not literally, but this post may feel like it. :)  And probably a lot of words to try to explain this place we've fallen in love with.  And to convince you to go with us when we return.

When I found myself still awake at 4:30 this morning, I remembered the ship's information channel saying that sunrise would be at 5:10 a.m.  What better use of a jetlagged morning than to catch a Croatian sunrise?  I can't help but think of that Pure Michigan commercial that talks about how many sunrises are in the average lifetime.  I don't see many sunrises, but I am so glad I saw this one.  The Croatian dawn did not disappoint.

Our ship didn't port until 2:00 p.m., so after watching the sunrise and going to the Early Risers breakfast, I went back to the cabin to crawl back into bed.  Ahh, yes.  Finally tired at 8:00 a.m.  

We weren't exactly sure what we wanted to do in Dubrovnik, so we asked a few crew members if it was possible to just walk into "Old Town" from the port. And they said not really. So, we paid the $15 for the NCL sponsored bus ride over to Old Town, which was only a ten minute ride, but it was narrow and steep with few sidewalks, so we theoretically could have walked it, but we probably would've arrived in Old Town about the time our ship was setting sail.  :)

The view as soon as we stepped off the bus was incredible. Deep turquoise clear water, cliff sides dropping into beaches, mountains in the background, a thick medieval wall around the perimeter. 

There were several travel companies with signs for different tours, one of which was a Game of Thrones tour. Before we left, Sam had done some research on the ports and found out that one of his favorite tv shows (and books) Game of Thrones does a significant amount of their filming in Croatia, particularly in Dubrovnik. Sam loves Game of Thrones, but he's cheap. I could not care less about the show, but I don't mind parting ways with some money.  :)  So, I talked him in to doing the Game of Thrones tour for 20 euros each (still a fraction of any of the cruise excursions). I'm so glad I did. 

Now I know I am really going to disappoint the GoT fans by butchering the details, but we visited several historical places in Old Town where the show regularly shoots. Our guide has worked as cast and crew for the last four seasons, regularly serving as a stand-in for set design and an extra. She had a binder with pictures of specific scenes in each of the locations, so it was pretty neat to see how some historical details had been preserved and other scenes had been majorly augmented with computer generated graphics. 

Setting for the purple wedding.

The actual scene-- we could still see red bits in the dirt

in front of what is used as "Blackwater Bay"

There were several places where as soon as we walked up, Sam recognized the set, particularly in the town square area. Anyone caught up with the show's current episodes probably recognizes these stairs from Cersei's walk. 

Though I'm not into the show, I loved the tour. Our guide did a great job of weaving in the history of Dubrovnik and significance of local landmarks and customs. It was worth every euro. 

"Blackwater Bay"

And if you want to see this sweet tour guide giving me a "who's this weirdo?" look for taking a video, here's a little excerpt on her talk about the fort.

Game of Thrones equipment in the front

One dorky, but happy Thrones fan

While Sam wanted to do the Game of Thrones tour, I was more interested in taking a cable car ride up to the top of the mountain, so after our walk through Old Town, we bought tickets and were on a cable car fifteen minutes later. 

Can't believe we're about to do this!

Now these are not your Pipestem-State-Park cable cars. We went from bottom to top in about two minutes, but we could have looked off at the view for the rest of the day. There was a lookout area, restaurant, and souvenir shop at the top so we enjoyed strolling around for about an hour. 

We also got to see the back side of that mountain, which had some great canyon views. The merging of all these awesome features is what made Croatia so striking. Mountains, canyons, cliffs, beaches, blue water, green trees. If (when) we go back, we would love to do the dune buggy rides down the mountain side. 

I mean, he's a 10.

We came back aboard from our day in Dubrovnik with a traveler's high. That we-just-found-our-new-favorite-place feeling.  Croatia felt so young and sexy (really. The Croatians are gorgeous people), but warm and grounded in centuries old history. It is certainly worth a close look if you're considering a visit to Europe. We'd love to go back with you!

Sailing out of Dubrovnik, with our guide boat in front

Click here for the rest of our Adriatic Adventure.