The ship pulled into Split at 6am on the nose but Jess and I were already up. We got our stuff packed at 5am to see our approach in daylight. I guess we figured we’d be tired anyway so why not see our approac
h into Split harbor with the sunrise as a backdrop? What’s one hour less of sleep? None of the active seniors had the same idea as us however, and the upper deck was largely deserted except for a handful of other nutty people equipped with digital cameras. From a distance it was hard to tell where exactly Split began on account of our not being familiar with the area and the thick haze that was hanging over the city. But when we did identify Split on the horizon we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. Upon de-ferrying we found the left luggage and bought our ferry tickets to Brac for later in the afternoon. We were surprised to find that the left luggage actually didn’t open until 7am so with time to spare we also bought our bus tickets to Dubrovnik for later in the week. Split would kind of be our travel hub for the next few days. With those travel arrangements taken care of (including a wait for the Garderoba to open which was slightly more than an hour) we set out for Diocletian’s Palace. On the way, we stopped
for a light breakfast at one of the bakeries just opening for business. These bakeries sold fresh baked goods that were absolutely delicious. They were warm and delectable first thing in the morning. We took a moment to eat our breakfast and then set out for the palace. But before entering the palace, we stumbled upon several tables being set up outside a fish market. Upon further inspection we realized that this wasn’t just an isolated group of fishmongers but the Split fish market already in full swing at this early hour. We took a few minutes walking up and down the aisles of the market gawking at the strange undersea creatures being offered for sale and trying to guess what they were. We saw skate, rays, plenty of prawns, tuna steaks being cut from a freshly de-boned fish, sea bass, sardines, and numerous other fish we could not identify. The market was just getting started so it wasn’t too crowded for us to wander about before finally making it to the palace. Built by the Roman emperor Diocletian as his summer hideaway, he eventually lived there full time in his later years. Diocletian’s palace itself has been integrated into the fabric of the city with other palaces contained within its walls and many retail shops, banks and other markets. Our walking tour began via the Lonely Planet book at the north entrance. The Mestrovic sculp
ture of a Croatian Archbishop welcomed our arrival. This archbishop is a hero in Croatia for having fought the church for the right to have mass in their native tongue in addition to Latin. The Lonely Planet tour took us from this main gate to the Paplic Palace, the main cathedral (once Diocletian’s mausoleum), the palace entryway and then a side tour of the basement halls. The cathedral was quite impressive and very ornate in its decoration. The belfry, part of the cathedral, was the most impressive. 
We climbed the stairs all the way to the top to see the city of Split and the harbor. A beautiful, modern, tropical scene was before us. Still early in the morning even for the tourists, we had been trying to savor the relative calm of the palace and were able to see these wonderful sights at our own pace. At the top of the belfry, the haze of the early morning had long since burned off and the brilliant light of the morning bathed the city in a bright light from the mountains to the harbor. The steps to the top of the belfry seemed to go on forever but the trip to the top was well worth it. The earliness of the hour did however cause a slight problem when we discovered that there was no way for us to have our picture taken together unless someone were to join us at the top of the belfry. Eventually we did find someone willing to take our picture. We descended and found the temple with John the Baptist inside. This temple presented us with a very striking portrait of John the Baptist as a stone sculpture. One original column remained from the original temple which was itself located just off the main palace square. Later, we descended beneath the palace to tour the basement halls. These halls showed the inner workings of the palace including evidence of innovative Roman plumbing systems, cisterns and food production mechanisms as well as sculptures of Diocletian and other artifacts. Some of the basement rooms were clearly visible from the ground floor of the palace through sky lights as well. It was ideal being at the palace, one of Split’s most frequented tourist destinations, early in the a.m. because as the day went on it became more crowded with tourists. The bright sun and the heat of the day were also starting to establish themselves as a factor in our sightseeing. But overall the tourists, not just individual tourists but large groups of them, had started to clog up the narrow passageways and other spaces in the palace. This onslaught made us realize that we hadn’t really eaten much lately and decided to stop for lunch. Lunch was as per the Lonely Planet recommendation of the best pizza in Split and it lived up to its reputation. Pizza Galija served us pizza with a crisp, thin crust and was delicious. It was very cool inside and provided us with a brief respite from the warm weather in the city. Suprisingly, Galija was also fairly crowded which we did not expect given that we were a little on the early side for lunch. We walked back to the palace and got directions for our next destination, the Mestrovic Sculpture Gallery on the outskirts of Split. A long walk away from the city centar, the walk to the gallery took us past a couple of city beaches while walking along the water and the Split harbor. We also passed the park of which the beaches were a part. The gallery lay across from the water on an old refurbished
building on a hill. The gallery grounds were beautiful and serene. This was obviously not on the hitlist of the tourists who descend on Split from the various cruiseships docked in the harbor. The experiences at Split’s Diocletian’s Palace when compared with the Mestrovic museum were polar opposites. We ascended a set of stairs and found a sculpture garden laid out before us. A handful of Mestrovic’s works were out on the impeccable grounds and after touring them we went into the building itself. There was no one inside save a security guard and tour guide waiting for a group of school children we later found out. The two floor gallery exhibited Mestrovic’s sculptures in bronze, stone, wood and some of the pencil and other drawings these works were based upon. Many of his works are religious in nature and we liked how he was able to show moveme
nt. Mestrovic died in the 1930’s and was very active throughout his life. We relaxed in the sculpture garden and enjoyed the soft breezes coming in off the water. This gallery was literally a much needed breath of fresh air and gave us a chance to rest and catch our breath during what was already becoming a very active day. A small basilica was nearby but off the gallery grounds and our tickets allowed us to visit it as well. The views of the coast and the sea and down onto the beach were ever more breath-taking from the Basilica than from the gallery. Inside the Basilica was a 28-panel relief carving in wood of the days of Christ also by Mestrovic.
Now late in the afternoon, we walked back to the Ferry Terminal, collected our luggage from the Garderoba and found berth 27 where our ferry would take us to Supetar, Brac. We were more than ready to go by this time and were early. Originally we thought we’d spend the day in Split not leaving until the early evening but by 4pm we were ready for a shower and a bed. The ferry eventually filled up and took us to Supetar. Another gorgeous approach to a small orange-roofed Mediterranean town and it never gets old. We found the tourist office and got directions to the Waterman Club resort. This was the week we traded for our timeshare. It was a little longer of a walk than expected, made worse by the fact that we had our luggage. When we tried to check in at the Waterman Club we found the line of other timeshare owners to be quite long and further separated us from a shower and rest. The folks operating the front desk seemed like they were Russian and took their time checking everyone in. We made it to the room before melting down completely and then returned to the Supetar harbor for dinner. A pizza place called Riva Pizzeria (probably because it was along the Riva) served us adequate pizza and sub-par wine. After a full day and not so much sleep, we called it a night.
Split is a great coastal town with lots of history. The Palace of Diocletian is one of the most exciting archaeological examples of Roman architecture and building prowess in the world. I’ll never forget this impressive site and the scope of the whole structure and how it’s been incorporated into the city of Split itself. Historic floors from the palace make up the Bank of Zagreb branch in Split and boutiques and shops exist along the narrow streets and passageways. It seems as though this palace is a piece of history that will never be lost because it a vital component of so many buildings in daily use today. Just as significant for us was the Mestrovic Gallery which was notable not just because it was beautiful and the art inside was striking but because it was a well timed break from Split proper and we appreciated how peaceful that part of the city seemed when compared with its centar.
h into Split harbor with the sunrise as a backdrop? What’s one hour less of sleep? None of the active seniors had the same idea as us however, and the upper deck was largely deserted except for a handful of other nutty people equipped with digital cameras. From a distance it was hard to tell where exactly Split began on account of our not being familiar with the area and the thick haze that was hanging over the city. But when we did identify Split on the horizon we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. Upon de-ferrying we found the left luggage and bought our ferry tickets to Brac for later in the afternoon. We were surprised to find that the left luggage actually didn’t open until 7am so with time to spare we also bought our bus tickets to Dubrovnik for later in the week. Split would kind of be our travel hub for the next few days. With those travel arrangements taken care of (including a wait for the Garderoba to open which was slightly more than an hour) we set out for Diocletian’s Palace. On the way, we stopped
for a light breakfast at one of the bakeries just opening for business. These bakeries sold fresh baked goods that were absolutely delicious. They were warm and delectable first thing in the morning. We took a moment to eat our breakfast and then set out for the palace. But before entering the palace, we stumbled upon several tables being set up outside a fish market. Upon further inspection we realized that this wasn’t just an isolated group of fishmongers but the Split fish market already in full swing at this early hour. We took a few minutes walking up and down the aisles of the market gawking at the strange undersea creatures being offered for sale and trying to guess what they were. We saw skate, rays, plenty of prawns, tuna steaks being cut from a freshly de-boned fish, sea bass, sardines, and numerous other fish we could not identify. The market was just getting started so it wasn’t too crowded for us to wander about before finally making it to the palace. Built by the Roman emperor Diocletian as his summer hideaway, he eventually lived there full time in his later years. Diocletian’s palace itself has been integrated into the fabric of the city with other palaces contained within its walls and many retail shops, banks and other markets. Our walking tour began via the Lonely Planet book at the north entrance. The Mestrovic sculp
ture of a Croatian Archbishop welcomed our arrival. This archbishop is a hero in Croatia for having fought the church for the right to have mass in their native tongue in addition to Latin. The Lonely Planet tour took us from this main gate to the Paplic Palace, the main cathedral (once Diocletian’s mausoleum), the palace entryway and then a side tour of the basement halls. The cathedral was quite impressive and very ornate in its decoration. The belfry, part of the cathedral, was the most impressive. 
We climbed the stairs all the way to the top to see the city of Split and the harbor. A beautiful, modern, tropical scene was before us. Still early in the morning even for the tourists, we had been trying to savor the relative calm of the palace and were able to see these wonderful sights at our own pace. At the top of the belfry, the haze of the early morning had long since burned off and the brilliant light of the morning bathed the city in a bright light from the mountains to the harbor. The steps to the top of the belfry seemed to go on forever but the trip to the top was well worth it. The earliness of the hour did however cause a slight problem when we discovered that there was no way for us to have our picture taken together unless someone were to join us at the top of the belfry. Eventually we did find someone willing to take our picture. We descended and found the temple with John the Baptist inside. This temple presented us with a very striking portrait of John the Baptist as a stone sculpture. One original column remained from the original temple which was itself located just off the main palace square. Later, we descended beneath the palace to tour the basement halls. These halls showed the inner workings of the palace including evidence of innovative Roman plumbing systems, cisterns and food production mechanisms as well as sculptures of Diocletian and other artifacts. Some of the basement rooms were clearly visible from the ground floor of the palace through sky lights as well. It was ideal being at the palace, one of Split’s most frequented tourist destinations, early in the a.m. because as the day went on it became more crowded with tourists. The bright sun and the heat of the day were also starting to establish themselves as a factor in our sightseeing. But overall the tourists, not just individual tourists but large groups of them, had started to clog up the narrow passageways and other spaces in the palace. This onslaught made us realize that we hadn’t really eaten much lately and decided to stop for lunch. Lunch was as per the Lonely Planet recommendation of the best pizza in Split and it lived up to its reputation. Pizza Galija served us pizza with a crisp, thin crust and was delicious. It was very cool inside and provided us with a brief respite from the warm weather in the city. Suprisingly, Galija was also fairly crowded which we did not expect given that we were a little on the early side for lunch. We walked back to the palace and got directions for our next destination, the Mestrovic Sculpture Gallery on the outskirts of Split. A long walk away from the city centar, the walk to the gallery took us past a couple of city beaches while walking along the water and the Split harbor. We also passed the park of which the beaches were a part. The gallery lay across from the water on an old refurbished
building on a hill. The gallery grounds were beautiful and serene. This was obviously not on the hitlist of the tourists who descend on Split from the various cruiseships docked in the harbor. The experiences at Split’s Diocletian’s Palace when compared with the Mestrovic museum were polar opposites. We ascended a set of stairs and found a sculpture garden laid out before us. A handful of Mestrovic’s works were out on the impeccable grounds and after touring them we went into the building itself. There was no one inside save a security guard and tour guide waiting for a group of school children we later found out. The two floor gallery exhibited Mestrovic’s sculptures in bronze, stone, wood and some of the pencil and other drawings these works were based upon. Many of his works are religious in nature and we liked how he was able to show moveme
nt. Mestrovic died in the 1930’s and was very active throughout his life. We relaxed in the sculpture garden and enjoyed the soft breezes coming in off the water. This gallery was literally a much needed breath of fresh air and gave us a chance to rest and catch our breath during what was already becoming a very active day. A small basilica was nearby but off the gallery grounds and our tickets allowed us to visit it as well. The views of the coast and the sea and down onto the beach were ever more breath-taking from the Basilica than from the gallery. Inside the Basilica was a 28-panel relief carving in wood of the days of Christ also by Mestrovic.Now late in the afternoon, we walked back to the Ferry Terminal, collected our luggage from the Garderoba and found berth 27 where our ferry would take us to Supetar, Brac. We were more than ready to go by this time and were early. Originally we thought we’d spend the day in Split not leaving until the early evening but by 4pm we were ready for a shower and a bed. The ferry eventually filled up and took us to Supetar. Another gorgeous approach to a small orange-roofed Mediterranean town and it never gets old. We found the tourist office and got directions to the Waterman Club resort. This was the week we traded for our timeshare. It was a little longer of a walk than expected, made worse by the fact that we had our luggage. When we tried to check in at the Waterman Club we found the line of other timeshare owners to be quite long and further separated us from a shower and rest. The folks operating the front desk seemed like they were Russian and took their time checking everyone in. We made it to the room before melting down completely and then returned to the Supetar harbor for dinner. A pizza place called Riva Pizzeria (probably because it was along the Riva) served us adequate pizza and sub-par wine. After a full day and not so much sleep, we called it a night.
Split is a great coastal town with lots of history. The Palace of Diocletian is one of the most exciting archaeological examples of Roman architecture and building prowess in the world. I’ll never forget this impressive site and the scope of the whole structure and how it’s been incorporated into the city of Split itself. Historic floors from the palace make up the Bank of Zagreb branch in Split and boutiques and shops exist along the narrow streets and passageways. It seems as though this palace is a piece of history that will never be lost because it a vital component of so many buildings in daily use today. Just as significant for us was the Mestrovic Gallery which was notable not just because it was beautiful and the art inside was striking but because it was a well timed break from Split proper and we appreciated how peaceful that part of the city seemed when compared with its centar.
No comments:
Post a Comment