Grad Trip Day 13 & 14: Split, Croatia
DAY 13: 31 MAY 2014
We said goodbye to our lovely hosts and headed to the main bus station, where
we will leave for the beautiful city, Split.
We bought the bus tickets when we were first arrived in Dubrovnik, and it costs 130 kunas,
excluding a luggage fee of 7 kunas.
There were several buses leaving for Split and the schedules can be found here.
We settled for the 10am bus as we wanted to explore a little of Split as we didn't
allocated much time for this city.
After a long bus journey, we finally arrived in Split at 2.30pm, and met up with
our host, Vanda, at the bus station.
The apartment was just a 10 minutes walk from the bus station.
Vanda was really nice and her apartment is really basic without internet connection.
Information regarding attractions and dining places was provided too!
After depositing our bags, we take a quick look at old town before taking
a walk up Marjan Hill.
we will leave for the beautiful city, Split.
We bought the bus tickets when we were first arrived in Dubrovnik, and it costs 130 kunas,
excluding a luggage fee of 7 kunas.
There were several buses leaving for Split and the schedules can be found here.
We settled for the 10am bus as we wanted to explore a little of Split as we didn't
allocated much time for this city.
After a long bus journey, we finally arrived in Split at 2.30pm, and met up with
our host, Vanda, at the bus station.
The apartment was just a 10 minutes walk from the bus station.
Vanda was really nice and her apartment is really basic without internet connection.
Information regarding attractions and dining places was provided too!
After depositing our bags, we take a quick look at old town before taking
a walk up Marjan Hill.
 |
| Cathedral and Bell Tower of St. Domnius |
 |
| Riva of Split |
It also houses many restaurants that attracts many tourists every day due to the lovely view.
 |
| Fritters coated with chocolate sauce |
The menu was actually written in Croatian which neither of us understood.
So, we simply pointed to the cup of fritters that the previous customer bought.
The wonders of body language!
For 10 kunas, we got fritters with chocolate sauce that tasted really good!
We actually returned the next day to get another cup before leaving Split, but sadly, the
snack cart was nowhere to be seen.
 |
| Uphill to the viewing point at Marjan Hill |
We walked towards Marjan Hill, snacking on our fritters along the way.
I was expecting a lot of climbing to be done since it's a hill.
And ta-da, look at the number of stairs!
The only consolation I could give Michelle was that this was much better than the
uphill at Buyukada.
That uphill was just seriously insane.
So after climbing hundreds of stairs, we finally reached the viewing point.
I would say the climb was indeed worth it.
No regrets!
 |
| Mosor Mountain ridge seen from Marjan Hill |
 |
| Port of Split |
So we continued to make our way up for a while before deciding to turn around
and head back to Riva for dinner.
 |
| Black cuttlefish risotto |
Our dinner place today was Buffet Fife, recommended by the guests who stayed at Vanda's.
The prices were really reasonable and they serve authentic Dalmatian food.
We ordered two dishes, one of them is the black cuttlefish risotto which costs 55 kunas.
It was such a generous portion served with large chunks of cuttlefish and
the risotto was nicely cooked.
We also had a taste of the famous Croatian lemon beer, Ozujsko.
The alcohol content is really low, which explains why it tasted more like lemon soda to me.
But it's still a really nice drink!
So after dinner, we walked towards the other side of Split, which is where the ferry port is.
 |
| Paddlepop sky above the train tracks |
Hence, we decided to head back to our apartment and have an early rest!
DAY 14: 1 JUNE 2014
As we had an early rest the previous night, we set off really early to explore old town!
The historical complex of Split together with the Diocletian Palace is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Compared to yesterday, the alleys in old town were empty and there were only
a handful of us walking around.
We decided to climb the bell tower first thing in the morning to beat the tourist crowd.
There was only one way up the tower and the exit differs from the entrance.
Each ticket costs 30 kunas and off we go!
As we had an early rest the previous night, we set off really early to explore old town!
The historical complex of Split together with the Diocletian Palace is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Compared to yesterday, the alleys in old town were empty and there were only
a handful of us walking around.
 |
| Peristil Square |
There was only one way up the tower and the exit differs from the entrance.
Each ticket costs 30 kunas and off we go!
 |
| Bells up the tower |
The climb up the tower was alright for us because we have been climbing a lot
throughout this entire trip.
However, there was a section whereby the steps were steep and rather high.
 |
| Viewpoint at the top of the tower |
We finally reached the top and we were greeted by the panoramic view of Split.
As we were early, we had the entire place all to ourselves for 30 minutes before
other tourists came along.
 |
| Port of Split |
 |
| Signature orange coloured roofs |
basement halls of the Diocletian Palace.
We managed to get student tickets which cost 40 kunas per person.
There were description boards placed everywhere, however, it would be better to
rent an audio guide or have a tour guide with you to explain more about the history.
 |
| Basement halls |
There were several entrances to the palace and when we exited from the golden gate,
we spotted a huge statue of Gregory of Nin.
According to traditional Croatian historiography, Gregory of Nin was a medieval
Croatian bishop of Nin who introduced the national language in religious services
after the Great Assembly in 926.
 |
| Statue of Gregory of Nin |
We weren't the only ones trying it out as the toes were worn and shiny before we even touched it!
We managed to cover the entire section of old town within 2.5 hours.
We quickly grabbed lunch to eat by the Riva as we had a bus to catch at 12pm.
If we had more time in Split, we could actually visit the neighboring islands as well.
After eating, we went back to our apartment to get our belongings and
caught our bus to Plitvice Lakes where we will be spending a night there.
A bus ticket costs 162 kunas, excluding the luggage fee of 7 kunas.
The entire journey took close to 6 hours.
We ran into some trouble as google maps provided the wrong location of our accomodation
and thus, we alighted at the wrong stop.
I tried to hitchhike, but most of the drivers wouldn't stop or they couldn't understand English.
But then a taxi came to get us after he dropped his passengers off
and we were so grateful to him!
Eventually, we safely reached our accomodation, Villa Jezerka and our host happened
to be waiting for us outside the lodge.
I should have followed the instructions on the webpage, stating to alight at Mukinje.
Oh well, I'm glad it was over and we were super excited for tomorrow's adventure:
PLITVICE LAKES!
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