Onboard the Andrea Cay: Splitting up in Split

Traveling north up the Dalmation coast, we arrived in Split on Sunday (10/20), the largest city in Croatia that we have visited. A sprawling modern city of 175,000, it has an impressive old city center and lovely waterfront area. It also has one of the easier airports to fly in and out of, which is another reason we chose to visit this area. We were “splitting up” with Howard and Gail who were heading back home, and picking up my sister, Barbara, and her husband, Sheridan. Also, rejoining the voyage were Carol and Peter.

The old town center of Split grew up and around a huge Roman palace built by Emperor Diocletian in the 4^th century, and has a magnificent cathedral and a bell tower that was finally completed in the 16^th century. The old town today is bustling with boutique hotels, shops and small restaurants, many of which are actually carved out of the original palace. We spent the day wandering through the narrow streets and people-watching over lunch at one of the waterfront cafes.

The next day we rented a car and set off to explore the countryside. Out first destination was to see the Cetina River, which cascades through a narrow gorge and out into the Adriatic. It was a very steep and winding road that we followed up the side of the river and it was so heavily wooded that we barely saw the water. We were saved from total frustration by the discovery of a local Croatian family-run distillery. And yes, as we drove up, the son was filling a bucket of schnapps (or something alcoholic) from his still right there on the patio. They were closed for the season, but the German-speaking matriarch, barking orders to her English-speaking son, encouraged us to stay. We were taken to the cellar for “tasting”, and along with 6 flavors of home-made schnapps, there were 4 different wines, fermenting in big aluminum vats. After making our choices of the least-worst samples, Mama pulled out her homemade goat cheese, sheep cheese and cured ham (hanging from the ceiling…). They were all delicious, so of course we made their day and bought all of the above, including wine and schnapps (which we have to admit were pretty tasty, particularly considering the cost).

A one hour drive across the top of the ridge and back down the other side, took us to the town of Trogir, another medieval town, where the old city is flanked by small, ancient “palaces” along very narrow streets. These old stone houses are ornately decorated on the outside with balconies, mullioned windows, carved doorways, coats of arms and quaint courtyards, indications of the once widespread prosperity of Trogir’s past, when it was an important center for the arts. Unfortunately, the town has not been as well restored as most that we’ve visited, and there was widespread graffiti on many of the historic old buildings.