I caught the local Dubrovnik bus, which was packed with people, to the bus station to get to Split. I met up with 3 nice Irish girls who were also going my way, so I sat with them on the bus. Across from me on the bus were a couple of Americans, the female from SoCal, discussing their various relationships and other such conquests. No wonder some Europeans, despite their near-naked ads on the subway, think that American women are easy! Well, this misconception is supposed to be more prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe than Western.
Anyway, when we got to the train station, I borrowed the girls’ Croatia Lonely Planet to look up where my hostel was, and we were approached by people offering a room. I didn’t need one, but they did, so, with me just tagging along with my newly made friends, we followed the woman to the apartment she was renting to check the place out. They liked it, so after they finished their payment, we headed to my hostel (not 25 minutes away like the woman had claimed) so I could check in. Then, we set off together for some much needed lunch and then a hunt for a new digital camera. Natalie had dropped Erica’s camera accidentally, when in Dubrovnik, so she needed a replacement. (Jennifer was uninvolved in the incident.) Luckily, after a few stores, we found the exact camera. (At the hostel, one of the women in my room, Lauren, had warned me of the rampant mosquitoes, so I went to get some repellent as well. I already had several new bites on my legs, so I didn’t want more!)
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| Dumbledore? |
Satisfied with that adventure, we set off on another - the walking tour recommended by the LP guidebook. We followed the path set forth for us, from the statue that looked like Dumbledore (but was really a clergyman who allowed Croatian to be spoken in services instead of Latin), to the (now not-so-) golden gates of Diocletian’s Palace, and into the former palace itself. Inside the palace, most of which is actually outdoors now because it is centuries old, we wandered around some more, learning random things about the palace and the ruins along the way. We went into St. Dominic’s Cathedral, which used to be Emperor Diocletian’s mausoleum, and took a self-guided tour of the oldest (building that is now a cathedral in Europe. We headed to the treasury, which must have contained hundreds of relics from various saints. Normally, a tiny piece of a saint is enough to make it a relic around which to build a church. Here, on the other hand, were sarcophagi filled with bones and busts filled with skulls of saints. Much more than the requisite finger bone or skull fragment. I find it rather amusing that I’m probably learning more about Christianity and Catholicism in my three-week trip to Europe than in my nine years of Catholic school. Maybe I just retained less back then?
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| A fountain right outside of Diocletian's Palace |
After that, we were going to do the tower, but it was about to close. Instead, we decided to get away from the heat, return to our respective AC-cooled rooms, shower, and then meet up again for some light dinner. I was still stuffed from lunch, so I just got tiramisu. Still, the best part was enjoying the company of my three new friends, who all seem to have been able to get a whole lot of traveling under their belts and aren’t that much older than I am. It makes me feel like I need more free time, more money, and more friends who are of the same above two inclinations to travel with! And to think that if I didn’t decide that waiting outside for the bus was annoying, I wouldn’t have met these people at all!
Day 19
It was incredibly nice to sleep in this morning, and what was even nicer was that the room was cooled by a lovely thing called air conditioning. Now, we Americans almost take AC for granted, especially if we were to live in climates such as most of Europe. I have to admit that in the summer, especially in Davis, I hate that the AC temperature is set at “room temperature” in the scientific sense when the temperature outside is close to that of average “body temperature.” There’s a harsh change in temperatures there, and frankly I find it annoying to have to carry a sweater with me when it’s that hot outside. But, at the same time, the complete lack of AC in some of these places seems very unreal to me, especially with the hot and humid weather. There is a certain level of comfort that I need to be able to sleep soundly; waking up in damp sheets because I’m sweating through the night is not my idea of comfortable, sound sleep. But, I digress!
I spent the morning mostly lounging around before setting off to figure out the bus schedule to Plitvice Lakes and buying my ticket. Then, I wandered around the marketplace, not really buying anything, but just soaking in the atmosphere of old women shouting at people to buy their freshest peaches and nectarines, sweaty men laboring away at a deli or sandwich stand, and younger, hipper women looking incredibly bored as they watch the customers that are browsing the latest cheap fashions on sale. There’s something about this kind of market culture that is just missing from American life. We’re just too into our big box stores and our warehouse clubs, I suppose. At least farmers’ markets are still popular in places I’ve lived, and, with the increased awareness of Americans about what we eat, perhaps those will become a stronghold in our culture, in addition to the fast food burger joint, pizza delivery, and greasy Chinese take-out.
After grabbing a cheap panini at one of the sandwich stands in the market, I headed to the beach. Well, I first got stuck in the Jadrolinija port, had to find my way back out, hiked this little dirt path to get back to the coast, and then managed to find a beach. The funny thing with beaches here in Split, and I think on most of the Dalmation Coast, is that there isn’t a lot of sand. There are some patches of sand, and those are studded with large umbrellas and people in very small swimsuits. But, the majority of the shore at a designated beach is concrete. The Dalmation coast is very rocky, and so rocks were paved over so that there would be a more comfortable surface for people to sun bathe on, for kids to run around on, and divers and swimmers to set off into the water from. Still, I find it very odd that their beaches look like the side of a swimming pool.
After I realized that I wouldn’t be able to make it back for our "plan A” rendezvous time, I headed to a café to re-hydrate and write postcards while admiring the waters of the Adriatic. Then, still getting a bit disoriented on the way back, I returned to Diocletian’s Palace to find J, E, and N and tackle the tower. The tower isn’t particularly tall, but the very shaky and rickety metal stairs to the top make it seem much higher than it really is. From up top, there was a great view in all directions of the city, which was much more enjoyable if you didn’t look straight down on the inside of the tower, straight down to the bells and through the empty space of the middle of the tower.
After the tower and the Temple of Jupiter (that included taking cheesy pictures with our heads atop a sphinx who was headless after about 15 centuries of existence), we sat on the promenade, with wine and spirits, watching a number of brides walk by in their dresses and keeping track of the slow accumulation of Iron Maiden fans in the establishment. There was a concert the next day; I don’t think there is normally that much black clothing, makeup, and dyed hair in the city.
After a couple of drinks, we replayed yesterday’s AC-shower-dinner plan, this time finding a place that was further down the street than most of the busy, chic-looking restaurants that are built for people-watching. They were extremely overworked at this restaurant though, probably because of the Iron Maiden fans, so they were out of half of the tapas on the menu. Because of that and because our waitress seemed to be the only one serving at the time, we got our food in spurts, with burgers coming before the fries and the deep-fried appetizer-ish tapas coming much after the gnocchi entrée-ish tapas. Nonetheless, it was good food, fairly inexpensive, and great company.
As we said our goodbyes, we exchanged information and wished each other the best of luck with the rest of our travels. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to visit them (and maybe D, whom I’d met in Budapest) in the UK! And, I struck up some good conversations with the people in my hostel as well, especially with L, who is actually a historian and currently editing her second book. She’s very into conflict studies, especially prior to WW II. So there it is! Traveling alone definitely does help me put myself out there more, and I think that’s one of the best things I will take away from this trip.
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