Eastern Europe retroblog: Split, part 2

I haven't felt like writing lately, let alone blogging, but sometimes the way to feel like doing something again is just to do it. I got some good writing done today for the first time in a week and a half, and now—back to the retroblog!

One last post about Croatia. After Hvar, we spent another afternoon in Split before taking a train to Mostar in Bosnia.

A passionflower spotted in a public park.

This time we took a short bus trip out to Salona, the extensive ruins of a Roman city built on an earlier Greek settlement. It took us awhile to walk through the whole site, which has a bit of everything: streets, temples and early Christian churches, homes, public baths, aqueducts, a large amphitheater...




We met hardly any other tourists here—it was eerily quiet. The last picture reminds me a little of the ruined Emerald City in Return to Oz (kind of a bad film, I know, but a guilty-pleasure childhood throwback).

Next up: Mostar and Sarajevo.

Eastern Europe retroblog: Split, part 1

The view from the train from Dubrovnik to Split (if I remember correctly, this landscape is technically in Bosnia—check out the map).

We found ourselves in Split (in Croatia) twice, before and after our trip by ferry to Hvar Island. (Oops—I should have posted 'part 1' before Hvar!) We didn't spend the night either time, but we had several hours to spend sightseeing each way, and on sojourn #1 we visited Diocletian's Palace, which dates from the late third, early fourth century A.D.

It's a huge complex, some parts below and some above ground, and it's so well preserved that there are actually shops and market stalls located inside it.

Elliot at the entrance to...erm...I can't remember, even with the aid of Google. Cool shadow, though, no?


Below: the cathedral bell tower, which we climbed. Felt kinda woozy at the top—I'm not terribly good with heights but I always make myself go up anyway.


Hammin' it up, as usual. We found a good pastry shop on the quay, and sat on a bench under those palm trees where we spilled powdered sugar all over ourselves.

Next: Split, part 2.

Eastern Europe retroblog: Hvar

Hvar was probably my favorite stop on our Eastern European adventure. Lavender fields (which we did not actually get to see, but we picked up plenty of soap and sachets to bring home), azure sea, perfect weather, atmospheric old town...


Sunday, 10 June 2007

Hvar is going to be the highlight of our trip, I just know it. We arrived on the ferry from Split last night (at 6pm, still plenty light out) and found a guy who brought us back to an adorable little apartment with an ivy-draped terrace for only 80 kuna per person per night. That’s about $15. (Most hostels cost more than that!)

I’m sitting at the table on this terrace and a little lizard just darted across the rough stone wall. I’m drinking Earl Grey, waiting for K&E to return from shopping for breakfast and feeling content. We got pasta, bread, and white wine and ate out here last night—more satisfying than many of our dining-out experiences here. When it got dark we lit a pillar candle and listened to the strains of the music festival down in the town square—there was some sort of choir performing (it sounded more like a barbershop quartet, with more than four), and cheesy pop and U2 and Sting playing at break-times. There were ten-year-old ballerinas (all in pink, of course) hanging around outside the supermarket—free food and red balloons.

There is a very eloquent little sparrow sitting on a wire nearby…

(That's Kate's underwear on the line right over Elliot's head, by the way.)

Next post: Split!

Eastern Europe retroblog: Dubrovnik

Again, photographs of a beautiful place render description rather unnecessary. Dubrovnik is touristy and therefore everything is relatively expensive, and the walkable old town wall doesn't seem quite so marvelous when you realize it was recently reconstructed...but my, what a lovely place! After we walked the walls we went to the nearest beach and had ourselves a soak.


You'd walk around more than once, of course, which meant you'd be passing the same tourists two or three times. I remember walking by a couple of middle-aged English ladies in sensible shoes, and smiling every time I caught a snatch of their conversation—they were SO happy to be there. Everything was a delight to them. Man, I love people like that.

“Mosquito bites all over, including my face…Kate’s all bitten too—we joked we have the plague…Been sniping them, and when I do there’s a smear of blood on my palm. My own blood—the little bastards! One just dive-bombed onto my thigh. Smack! Serves you right.”

(Detail of a fountain just inside the old town entrance.)

We'd arrived late in the day, and while we walked a quiet street right by the city wall we spotted a sign for a bar. We passed through the wall, and found this outdoor spot literally perched on the cliff. It was touristy, of course, but over drinks we enjoyed one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life.

Next installment: Hvar Island.