December 16, 2017: Exploring Split

The group from Qatar and Abu Dhabi were up early, due to the difference in time. 

Cal had a very bad night due to his cold, which also kept Rachel awake most of the night.

We ate breakfast at a lovely place on the seaside promenade in front of the Palace wall. There is a wide promenade between the Palace wall and the Split Harbor on the Adriatic Sea that is locally known as “Riva”. The Promenade is full of coffee bars, shops, and restaurant, with plenty of table seating.  We were thrilled the sun was shinning this morning, in comparison to the rain of yesterday and several downpours during the night.  The Adriatic Sea was very calm this morning, as there was barely a breeze.  

Walking Area in Front of the Palace

At this time of year, Advent, the Promenade is decorated for Christmas.  It also has an Advent market stretching almost the full length, plus a stage for Christmas celebration entertainment.    

After a relaxing breakfast, and an extra cup of coffee, our group split up – each doing our own thing.  Cherie and us, began a walking tour recommended in the Rick Steve’s Travel Guide. Cherie even climbed to the top of the Bell Tower where she had a 360-degree view of the Palace and city. Normally Cal would have joined her in this climb, but he was feeling tired. 

Cathedral Bell Tower

Octagon Cathedral

Bell Tower

Cathedral Alter

Singing Group Performing in the Palace

Treats for the Crowd

By noon we were at the Green Market, where you could buy all kinds of fruits, veggies, nuts, flowers, you could imagine.  Along the side, in permanent buildings, were butchers who could carve any cut of meat you desired, right off the hanging carcass.  We bought several things for lunch, and returned to the apartment, where Cal immediately laid down for a good nap.  After Cherie and I ate lunch, she went on a Guided tour of the Palace area with her friends.  Rachel also took a nap.  

Take your Pick - Fresh

At about 3:00 Cal & I were ready to continue exploring.  Within minutes of leaving the apartment we accidently meet up with Cherie and friends – quite amazing! In a city with all the Advent visitors, and a maze of streets, we find each other with no use of communication!  They were just finishing their Guided Tour. 

By now, another cup of coffee on the Promenade is in order! Around 3:30 the western sun was highlighting the Palace walls and all the buildings on the Promenade.  We walked to where we took beautiful photos along the Promenade, before climbing steps to an overview of the city.  It was a perfect time on a sunny evening, as within 5 minutes of our arrival at the overview, the sun too low to shine on the city. However, the setting sun was not impressive tonight.

Croatia - Origin of the Neck Tie

View from Above

On our return walk to the apartment, we passed through a park with lovely Christmas decorations. Most of the Squares in the city are decorated for Christmas.  It is a lovely time of the year!  Back at the apartment, after snacks and beverages, Cal decided to stay at the apartment while the rest of us went to dinner at a nearby restaurant.  

It was a lovely day, exploring Split and learning the history of the Palace area. 

December 15, 2017: Zagreb to Split

Today was a transition day.  This morning we need to be at the Zagreb airport by 11:00 am to meet our daughter, Cherie.  We did not rush getting around this morning, relaxing over breakfast.  We packed, drove 5 minutes, arriving at the airport by 11:00. Our hotel was in a perfect location.

Cherie’s flight from Frankfurt landed at 11:05. She was through immigration, baggage claim and customs soon after 11:30 am.  We added her to the rental car as a driver, and were on our way south toward Split soon thereafter.

The drive to Split is a very easy drive, 4 hours on 4-laned tollway.  The countryside is very different from what we saw yesterday.  Much of the area we drove through is what appears to be waste land, with very little tillable areas.  Much of what we saw was very rocky and could only possibly be used as grazing for horses and cattle, but there was very little of that.  We do have to remember that this is winter, so the amount of grazing is probably very abbreviated from usual.

An Inlet Along the Coast

Bridge and Village on the Inlet

Statue at the Pull-Off

It rained nearly the whole time we were driving.  We arrived in Split around 4:15 and it was already dusk, as the clouds were heavy.  We were able to drive to the vicinity of our apartment but had trouble finding the actual location.  Thanks to GPS and cell phones we were able to connect with our friends who had just arrived at the apartment.  We were meeting Canadian friends of Cherie’s, who currently live in Qatar. We are all renting an Airbnb apartment located on the 3^rd floor inside the old Diocletian Palace of Split.  After walking through a maze of streets, we had several flights of stairs to climb to get to the apartment. Thank goodness we had packed light!

After reconnecting over a welcome beverage, it was time to find an overnight parking spot for the rental car.  The owner of the apartment had given us an address where the car could be parked for free.  Even with GPS, it still seemed like we drove all over the town before we found the street and a parking place.  There are lots of one-way streets in Split, due to the old narrow streets. Hopefully the car will still be there when we are ready to leave!!

After parking the car, we had a 15-minute walk back to the apartment where we joined our friends for dinner at a very nice restaurant.

After dinner we returned to our apartment, settling in for the night.  Everyone was exhausted from traveling, and needed to go to bed early. Plus, for us, this morning Cal began a good old-fashioned cold – coughing and all!

December 14, 2017: Day trip north from Zagreb

Since it is not light early, and we were recovering from the flight, it was 9:00 before we went to the breakfast table. We decided to take a day-trip north of Zagreb, as when Cherie arrives tomorrow, we will be driving south to Split, Croatia.

Our car - We upgraded to a new Mercedes Benz, with free GPS, free additional driver, free winter tires, free border crossing documents, and unlimited miles.

 

We definitely used the GPS today as we wanted to find a fairly remote castle. Our map is fairly detailed, but there was no guess work with the GPS.  However, that does not say that we did not divert from the GPS!!  If you have read any of our other blogs, you will know we do not stay on the well-traveled path all the time! We drove about 270 km (130 miles round trip today).

The area around Zabreg is very flat, but as you travel north, you enter the valleys and hills.  They call them mountains, but they are not high mountains.  You quickly notice the churches perched at the top of the mountain ridge. We did not drive through any towns with a population over 1000.  Most were probably 300 persons, so we were in very rural area. All we saw today was small-plot agriculture, small field corn plots that are actually picked by hand!  Each farm has its corn crib with whole ears of corn in it – look at photos.  Then we saw where corn was hanging to dry – very interesting. Of course, machinery was just small tractors, and it did not appear every farm had one.  Lots of the land is plowed, as in old-fashion plowing (mole-board plowing).  We did see some large bales of hay, and several trench silos for apparently cows that were indoors year around.  We have seen lots of free range chickens, and one herd of sheep.

Small Wood Framed Chapel Along the Road

Part of the small plot agriculture included vineyards – straight up the hillsides.  We did see wineries, so we surmised a farmer would sell his grapes to wineries – nice little cash crop. It appeared to be a new industry, as the vines looked young in comparison to the old established vineyard of Europe.

Typical Small Ear Corn Crib

Drying Corn

We found the castle from the 1500’s, perched at the top of the mountain.  It was open, and we toured at our own pace.  The view from the mountain top was lovely, even in wintertime - you could see much further since there were no leaves on the trees. 

Veliki Tabor Castle

View from the Castle

By 4:00 it was turning dusk, so we began our return trip to the Royal Airport Hotel. It was a lovely day exploring and meandering through the country side of northern Croatia. 

  

December 12, 2017:  Lancaster to Philadelphia and on the plane to Frankfurt, Germany. 

In the morning by 7:30, 12 of my first cousins and a few spouses met for breakfast at the Lititz Family Restaurant.  It is always great to reconnect with them – you can imagine the noise level! 

By 11:30 we were in the Philadelphia area meeting our son.  After transferring vehicles and having lunch, we were on our way in a taxi to the Philadelphia airport.  It was great to see him for a few minutes, as he is preparing to leave on a business trip to Asia.   We will spend more time with him on our return trip. 

So up, up and away we go!! An overnight flight to Frankfurt Germany followed by a transfer flight to Zagreb, Croatia.

December 13, 2017: Zagreb, Croatia

It was 10:55 when the plane touched down. We claimed luggage, picked-up the rental car and drove to the nearby Royal Airport Hotel we had reserved.  We are dead tired, with nothing planned for the day.  After a bowl of soup, and shower, we were in bed!

However, by late afternoon we were refreshed enough to want to begin a little exploring. It is dusk by 4:00 and dark by 5:00, so instead of driving into downtown Zegreb in the dark, we used a taxi service tonight.  He dropped us at a great spot - near all the Advent celebrations.  It was a cool night, 34–35 degrees, but if we kept walking, we were comfortable.  In true form, there was food, entertainment and lots of traditional little shops.  We saw a good overview of certain areas, and are eager to explore more when we return to Zagreb later in our vacation.  After a couple of hours, our weariness caught up, and we decided the beds sounded like the best place.  We used the same taxi for the return trip.

Entrance to one of the Parks

Marzipan Winter Ball - Wonderful

Santa on the Tram

Delicious Brat

Folk Singing and Dancing

Dough-nut Balls with Nutella

A Final Look Back

December 10, 2017 – Cal’s Birthday!!  Mt Pleasant, Iowa to Zanesville, OH

Happy Birthday to Cal! It was a rather uneventful day, but you want it that way when you are driving.

Tonight, as I am writing, we are in eastern Ohio. We have had a good day driving, of course, loosing an hour when reaching the eastern time zone, making the day longer.

It was a beautiful day, sunny, and the temperature was very enjoyable by midday.

December 11, 2017 - Zanesville, OH to Lancaster, PA.

We have 6 hours yet to drive to Lancaster, PA, so we did get up a little earlier than usual.  We arrived mid-afternoon, stopping first at the cemetery where numerous generations of my family have Memorial Stones. I wanted to retake a photo of one generation, which apparently was the first generation buried in Landis Valley Cemetery, as we looked for the memorial stones for the previous generation, but could not locate them.   We did not have time for any more research on this trip. 

We arrived at my aunt’s new apartment/home, where we visited for a while before going to the Care Center to visit with my uncle/her husband.  While at the apartment a cousin stopped-by for a short, but great visit.  He is having some health issues too.  It was wonderful to see him and catch up with him.   His health is definitely in our prayers.  

The Care Center, where my uncle is a resident, is within walking distance from my aunt’s apartment on nice weather days.  She can drive when the weather is bad, like this past Saturday.  My uncle will be 89 this coming Friday.  It was great to be able to wish him a Happy Birthday, but it was hard to see his health declining.  We visited until his dinner time. 

To allow us more time to visit with my aunt, we ate dinner in the cafeteria.  It is so hard to get to the place where you can no longer care for your spouse due to their declining health, and I am so glad her children were looking out for her health and well-being too.

After dinner we drove a few miles to another cousin’s home, where we stayed for the night.  

Croatia, Slovenia & Montenegro

December 10, 2017 to January 4, 2018

We never once thought of vacationing in the country of Croatia.  Since our Mt Pleasant Rotary Club hosted an exchange student from Romania, I have wanted to visit Romania, but never considered the nearby independent countries of the former Yugoslavia. 

However, when your daughter is vacationing there for her Christmas/winter Holiday vacation, why not join her.  This all developed in late November.  We  had a very short time to get all “our ducks in a row”. 

We will be flying into the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb – had never heard of this city, renting a car and driving to Split.  We will be joining friends of Cherie’s in Split – never heard of this city either.   This is completely new territory for us. People ask what locations in the world are still on our bucket list – this was not one, but we are ready to explore. 

When beginning to plan, I receive word that my only living uncle in Pennsylvania is not doing well, plus Cal wants me to see the Mummer’s Parade in Philadelphia on New Year’s Day, while our son still lives in Philadelphia.  The way kids are mobile, you never know how long he will be there!!  How can we see my uncle, go the Croatia and attend the Mummer’s Parade?  Multi-city plane tickets increase the price. Our solution – drive to PA so we can see my uncle, see Tony before Christmas, and fly to Croatia from of Philadelphia (considerable savings).  We will return to Philadelphia before New Year’s Day, attend the Parade on New Year’s Day, and visit with Tony until we leave Jan 3, arriving back in Iowa on Jan 4, 2018.  Plans are final, and tickets are bought!