After our week sailing in the clear blue water of the Adriatic Sea, we stayed a few more days on land in beautiful Croatia. Not only did we not want to leave this beautiful country, we also had to clock up more time outside of the Shengen Zone. Lucky for us, Croatia only becomes part of the EU on the 1st of July. We just made it!
Split:
As soon as we hopped off the boat, without thinking about anything else, we handed our bags over to the local laundromat. After seeing the shock and horror on the woman's face who collected all of our dirty washing, we walked over to our hostel. We stayed in the old town in a hostel called Diocletian Palace Hostel, which is a brand new hostel within a 700 year old building.
We met up with our Australian friends (Sally & Karolina) from our past Turkey tour, where we shared pizza's and caught up on the past month that we hadn't seen each other. It was their last dinner in Europe before heading back, so we were lucky to be part of it. We walked around the dock, explored the old town and went to watch Hangover Part 3 at the local cinemas. These cinemas felt more like a school hall with big speakers, and it was evident that we were the only ones who got popcorn - as most people came prepared with picnics.
More photos of Split can be found in post "Sail Croatia."
Zadar:
As we were going to make our way up to Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, we decided to stop in Zadar on the way for a night. Zadar has a famous "Sea Organ" - a organ is played from the ocean where the sounds are depicted from the movement of the waves. This organ plays throughout the day and night, and is so relaxing to go lie by the port and listen to the oceans music. What's even more entertaining, is the light show by the sea organ. When the sun sets, the light show in the floor starts and millions of people gather on the floor to take pictures. Children absolutely love this, and run around following the lights. We shared a pizza for dinner and then hopped into our hostel beds which finally had duvets!
The light show floor in the day time
Walking to the light show
The best presented icecream we've ever seen!
Us standing on the light show
Zagreb:
The owner of the hostel told us it was a five minute walk to the bus station, and while we thought we had become a lot fitter - it took 45 minutes! This resulted in me running ahead to wave down our bus to Zagreb, while Bruce followed carrying both of our big bags. Making it onto the bus in seconds, we arrived to rain and overcast weather. It wasn't long, however, until we absolutely fell inlove with this city! While we loved the coastal towns, it was great to be back in a buzzing city with trams and action. We stayed in a hostel called Shappy which is brand new with duvets - and bonus, we were the only ones in our dorm!
During the day we walked through the Fresh Produce Market which happens every single day of the week, and provides the freshest of fruits, fish and flowers. We met up with "our doctors" from New York who were on our Sail Croatia trip with us, and who happened to be in Zagreb for one more night before flying back to the States. The city always had something on; if it wasn't for marketing activations and free giveaways, such as our Coca Cola personalized cans, then it was the summer street festival and a never-seen-before coffee culture! We wonder if anyone really works in Zagreb, as everyone sits in the street cafes drinking a coffee and socializing? There is a great way of life in Zagreb, and what is even better are the prices! The food in the coastal towns were double the price, and so we couldn't hold back much in Zagreb. We tried out the delicious seafood which we knew was freshly bought straight from the daily market, and of course, all the fresh fruit. We also made use of the Zagreb Central Park for picnics, and watched 'The Great Gatsby' at the mall cinemas which are a lot more up-to-date than the ones in Split.
After extending our stay for a few more nights in Zagreb, we had to move on because it was time for our 'Mediterranean Highlights Contiki Tour', which departs in Rome. This meant that we had to catch a 16 hour overnight train to Rome - which passes through Slovenia, Austria, and many Italian towns and cities. While we didn't get to explore Slovenia - we got the stamp! Surely that's good enough to add to the list, right?
The amazing fresh produce market
The Zagreb street coffee culture
Trams
Ash crossing the road
The Central Park
We were here!
Our personalized cokes
Coca Cola Activation
Movies - popcorn or nachos?
Very popular drink here - a cold coffee with cream
In our morning walk gear
The Central Park
Early morning walk & coffee
Notice the fried egg on the pizza!
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