Well the morning came, and I made my way to the train station to get the train to Split. It was a two hour ride that was filled with much anticipation. Speaking of full, train was full of young people going to different spots along the way. Half the train was filled with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts going camping. By the time the train got to Split there were very few people on the train.
This will be my last train for a while. I can’t say I’m sorry that the train traveling is coming to an end. In general I found that people have not been friendly traveling on the train and I’m not the only one that finds it stressful. Since I’ve been in Croatia, I have not found people to be friendly at all and English is very difficult to find. The peoples tone is always very demanding. I find it difficult to deal with. On the train to Split, The only people who seem to speak with the people from England. They were friendly and they were helpful. As I get older, it gets more difficult to meet people on the train or traveling anyway that are willing to sit down and talk.
Getting off the train, I walked through the train station and got out onto the main street and try to find directions to my Airbnb. Train station is directly across the street from the port. I couldn’t believe the number of people on the streets. I could be early walk down the road with my luggage. You just kept barreling through people and kept on going. It only took about 10 minutes to walk to my Airbnb. That was the easy part.
I found the door to my apartment and I rang the buzzer. The owner let me in and told me to come up to the fourth floor. Remember in Europe the floors start at zero. This was not an easy task. It took me as long to get up to the apartment as it did to get from the train station. But once in the apartment and the landlord Were are delightful. And air-conditioned!. She sat down with me and went over the area and gave me some suggestions for restaurants. She was very helpful. The apartment itself was perfect I had a living room kitchen combination with a good size bedroom. The apartment itself was in the middle of the old town.
The old town was contained within what was that one time Diocletian‘s palace. It was built in around the year 200 and has been altered and changed through different kingdoms and rulers. Much of the original wall and floors remain. Much of it was also renovated In therrow but each road leads into a beautiful square which today has some type of a café or restaurant that is set up tables and chairs and especially at night they are lit up and a very festive. Once you go around the old town you end up at the waterfront.
The waterfront is not anything like I had expected. There is no beach. There is a moderate seawall and benches along the waterfront. Between the Palace and the waterfront our stalls selling souvenirs, ice cream and food. There are benches along so that people may sit. At night the waterfront really comes alive. They had a band playing one night and the next night the Hare Krishnas were singing and dancing on the waterfront. The restaurants were crowded and the waterfront was almost impassable with the number of people. It really made it to the point that I almost wasn’t enjoyable.
Each night I was in early. The crowds get you after a while. The second day I was there I have a headache which is very unusual for me. I did take a walking tour of the old town which was pretty interesting. The tour guide, Ivana, had a wonderful sense of humor and she was funnier than she was knowledgeable. That was fine. It was nice to see that somebody in this place had a sense of humor. I grab some lunch and it started to rain so I hang in for the afternoon. I was supposed to take a Sunset cruise but it was canceled because of the weather. Another early night.
The next morning I was supposed to take an all day cruise to three islands. Unfortunately it was raining and I canceled. Although I lost my money I would’ve been miserable in open boat all day in the rain, because they did takeoff that morning. About mid morning it stopped raining so I decided to walk up to Marian Park. This is a hill on the side of the old town that has a lookout halfway up. It gives you a panoramic view of the harbor and of the old town. I started to walk up and of course it started to rain. I ducked into a church and I stayed there for a while and when the rain let up a little bit I started up again but didn’t get too far when it started to rain again. I stopped and had a little lunch at a café . It was a pretty decent little place, the 58 café.
Once I finished lunch I started back up the hill. This time I made it all the way to the top. I turn to take in the view and there’s when the clouds opened up. I got drenched.I tried to find a place to get away from the rain but most of the spots were taken by the time I started looking. I went back to my apartment as I was soaked through to the skin. I felt it was time to call it a day.
Later on that evening I change my clothes and I went out to a lovely Italian restaurant in the old town. They had the best carbonara. They also made a wonderful fresh salad. After dinner I walked around and checked out the waterfront. The weather was still not stable so I felt It was time to Call it night, As I had an early morning the next day to catch my ferry to Dubrovnik.
Here are a few reflections on Split. I was really disappointed. I thought it would be in someways romantic and more historical than it really was. It seems the history of the area is lost to the crowds and the commercialism that is there. The stalls of cheesy souvenirs and the unbelievable crowds Make it a place that is not really fun to visit. I expected to see the old town more set up for its historical significance than as a place for a honky-tonk nightlife. I was hoping to see a smooth and glassy Adriatic but what I was met with was a shoreline filled with commercial pleasure boats. Really disappointing! I hope Dubrovnik has more to share!
By the way, I’m starting to get used to Kunas. It seemed like play money at first but my bank account says differently. Also as an aside, I bought myself a pair of blue suede shoes. I couldn’t resist.
This will be my last train for a while. I can’t say I’m sorry that the train traveling is coming to an end. In general I found that people have not been friendly traveling on the train and I’m not the only one that finds it stressful. Since I’ve been in Croatia, I have not found people to be friendly at all and English is very difficult to find. The peoples tone is always very demanding. I find it difficult to deal with. On the train to Split, The only people who seem to speak with the people from England. They were friendly and they were helpful. As I get older, it gets more difficult to meet people on the train or traveling anyway that are willing to sit down and talk.
Getting off the train, I walked through the train station and got out onto the main street and try to find directions to my Airbnb. Train station is directly across the street from the port. I couldn’t believe the number of people on the streets. I could be early walk down the road with my luggage. You just kept barreling through people and kept on going. It only took about 10 minutes to walk to my Airbnb. That was the easy part.
I found the door to my apartment and I rang the buzzer. The owner let me in and told me to come up to the fourth floor. Remember in Europe the floors start at zero. This was not an easy task. It took me as long to get up to the apartment as it did to get from the train station. But once in the apartment and the landlord Were are delightful. And air-conditioned!. She sat down with me and went over the area and gave me some suggestions for restaurants. She was very helpful. The apartment itself was perfect I had a living room kitchen combination with a good size bedroom. The apartment itself was in the middle of the old town.
The old town was contained within what was that one time Diocletian‘s palace. It was built in around the year 200 and has been altered and changed through different kingdoms and rulers. Much of the original wall and floors remain. Much of it was also renovated In therrow but each road leads into a beautiful square which today has some type of a café or restaurant that is set up tables and chairs and especially at night they are lit up and a very festive. Once you go around the old town you end up at the waterfront.
The waterfront is not anything like I had expected. There is no beach. There is a moderate seawall and benches along the waterfront. Between the Palace and the waterfront our stalls selling souvenirs, ice cream and food. There are benches along so that people may sit. At night the waterfront really comes alive. They had a band playing one night and the next night the Hare Krishnas were singing and dancing on the waterfront. The restaurants were crowded and the waterfront was almost impassable with the number of people. It really made it to the point that I almost wasn’t enjoyable.
Each night I was in early. The crowds get you after a while. The second day I was there I have a headache which is very unusual for me. I did take a walking tour of the old town which was pretty interesting. The tour guide, Ivana, had a wonderful sense of humor and she was funnier than she was knowledgeable. That was fine. It was nice to see that somebody in this place had a sense of humor. I grab some lunch and it started to rain so I hang in for the afternoon. I was supposed to take a Sunset cruise but it was canceled because of the weather. Another early night.
The next morning I was supposed to take an all day cruise to three islands. Unfortunately it was raining and I canceled. Although I lost my money I would’ve been miserable in open boat all day in the rain, because they did takeoff that morning. About mid morning it stopped raining so I decided to walk up to Marian Park. This is a hill on the side of the old town that has a lookout halfway up. It gives you a panoramic view of the harbor and of the old town. I started to walk up and of course it started to rain. I ducked into a church and I stayed there for a while and when the rain let up a little bit I started up again but didn’t get too far when it started to rain again. I stopped and had a little lunch at a café . It was a pretty decent little place, the 58 café.
Once I finished lunch I started back up the hill. This time I made it all the way to the top. I turn to take in the view and there’s when the clouds opened up. I got drenched.I tried to find a place to get away from the rain but most of the spots were taken by the time I started looking. I went back to my apartment as I was soaked through to the skin. I felt it was time to call it a day.
Later on that evening I change my clothes and I went out to a lovely Italian restaurant in the old town. They had the best carbonara. They also made a wonderful fresh salad. After dinner I walked around and checked out the waterfront. The weather was still not stable so I felt It was time to Call it night, As I had an early morning the next day to catch my ferry to Dubrovnik.
Here are a few reflections on Split. I was really disappointed. I thought it would be in someways romantic and more historical than it really was. It seems the history of the area is lost to the crowds and the commercialism that is there. The stalls of cheesy souvenirs and the unbelievable crowds Make it a place that is not really fun to visit. I expected to see the old town more set up for its historical significance than as a place for a honky-tonk nightlife. I was hoping to see a smooth and glassy Adriatic but what I was met with was a shoreline filled with commercial pleasure boats. Really disappointing! I hope Dubrovnik has more to share!
By the way, I’m starting to get used to Kunas. It seemed like play money at first but my bank account says differently. Also as an aside, I bought myself a pair of blue suede shoes. I couldn’t resist.
Gerry I love the pictures and can hardly wait to see your blue suede shoes. Sorry there was so much rain.
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