Split Day 1

The flights Verona-Munich-Split went smoothly and quickly. Split's airport is modern and convenient.

Landing here I tried to come up with a comparison and really couldn't. The steep mountainside down to the sea reminds me of Santa Barbara, the arid features are a little like Baja California Sur, the limestone more like Italy and the way it is developed makes me think of coastal Baja California Norte but with a European and Byzantine touch. Which is to say that it looks like Croatia, and nothing else I know.

I met up w Brett and Alec in the airport, exchanged hugs and hellos, and we were off to find our bus to the AirBnb.

The bus was easy enough and we met a friendly Croatian gal named Natalia who helped teach me a few words. Now I can mispronounce hello, goodbye, yes, no, and thank you. It's a start!

We had a little snafu with missing our stop (seems the bus driver didn't hear/see the stop request or just didn't want to stop) and overshot by a few km. Due to luggage, blazing sunshine, and a low-priced Uber we opted to catch a car back vs. walk or wait an unknown time for a different bus. It's good that we did as it meant meeting Luka! He arrived quickly, blasting limp bizkit, and whisked us off to where we wanted to be while chatting pleasantly and offering local destinations. Great guy, very friendly.

After meeting our super-helpful AirBnb hostess and getting settled into the clean and comfy apartment, we all needed to clean and comfy ourselves a bit, and I needed to wssh pretty much everything. I've been lazy the last few days w/re to laundry.

We all crashed for some naps, too. I don't have the jet-lag excuse but The Pod wasn't great sleep.

Rested and cleaned up we grabbed the local train (very easy) to Split to do some exploration. Split is a bustling touristy port full of places to stroll, eat, drink, see and be seen, and just so happens to have amazing architecture, too. The marble streets are mirror-smooth from centuries of use and I couldn't help but wonder how it could possibly work in the rain.

We met up with a show-around guide named Vedrana. Showaround is a nifty app that matches local "guides" with travelser and is a little like meeting up with a friend (who you don't know) and having them show you a place for a little bit of money. So Vedrana told us some history and showed us the sights, while sharing candid opinions and observations of her town. It was a fun and educational way to spend a few hours.

The central castle area is a maze of beautiful alleys, walls, churches, towers, and preserved history mixed with present day living. Some of the structures date back to the 5th and 6th century. There are influences from Venice, Turkey, Northern Europe, and we see baroque, romanesque, and I'm not sure what all mixed together. Wonderful!

We ended up at Fife Buffet (seems that buffet means restaurant, I think, and not what Americans think of as a buffet). The food and wine were delicious, the evening climate was fun and warm but pleasant.Lue lisää