Croatia

Taking the train to the city of Trieste, I then boarded a bus to Croatia. My first stop was the city of Rijeka. On the way we had to cross Slovenia. Strangely the border in was open, but we had to go through passport control to get into Croatia. So can I count Slovenia as a country visited? I was there for 30 min and walked over the border!

Rijeka was a nice little town. I wouldn’t call it anything special but it had a lovely castle at the top of the hill. Only 561 steps to the top. Luckily there was a bar inside!!  Unfortunately being there on a Sunday meant almost everything was closed. Except the bars. All the bars seemed open- but they don’t serve food. I found an Irish pub that was open for supper. 

I think the highlight of Rijeka was actually my guesthouse at the Old Town Guesthouse. Small little building with a room on each floor. I had a gorgeous little room on the top floor. Amazing view and it was all mine!! I had some lazy evenings in watching movies. 

Zadar was next, and another beautiful old town. It had an old Roman forum. Sadly it was further damaged by bombs in WWII. But I stayed in the old town and I just loved walking down the old marble streets.  Though they are slippery! At the tip of the old town peninsula they have a sea organ, lining the promenade the artist created holes for the sea water and air to flow like a pipe organ. In calm seas it sounded like whale song, and lots of notes mixed in at higher tides. (I posted a video on the associated IG account.)

Another bus down the coast lead to Split. This incredible city is home to Diocletian’s Palace. He was a Roman emperor who had it build for his retirement. Still standing it is also a part of this thriving city and filled with homes, shops and restaurants. I over heard a story from a guide- when GoT tried to film here they demanded the palace be closed off to the public. After being reminded that the majority of the buildings were privately owned he alleged HBO got very dismissive. So on the first night of filming all the residents held an impromptu sing along from their roof tops to show their disdain. 

I also took a boat cruise from here. The first stop was the island of Vis and the town of the same name. It was a short break at this beautiful little fishing town. We then went to see the blue cave. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather, and no crowds. The guide said in the summer the lines can be up to four hours.  They take you in a small boat to the entrance of the cave, it hardly looks big enough to allow us, then opens into a large cavern. As you float around a bend is an opening bathed in blue light. The sunlight only enters through an opening under the water, bouncing off the white sand floor to bathe the cavern in incredible shades of blue. It was breath taking. 

After continuing along, back down the coast of Vis to check out a couple other spots like the Green Cave, which was pretty, we stopped at the Blue Lagoon for a swim. It was an absolutely gorgeous spot, with more crystal clear water. The little island where we stopped is privately owned by a man who lives there with his two donkeys. I imagine he makes a pretty penny off the tour companies though.   

And we finished the day at Hvar, another island with a slightly bigger main city. We had a late lunch there before cruising back to Split during the sunset.