We got up very early in the morning to get to Weeze airport for our flight to Zadar.
At 7.00 a.m. the plane started and we were flying for about 2 hours before reaching Zadar. Before collecting our rental car, Rene and I decided to drink a coffee at the airport cafe and to relax. We thought it might be stressful driving in a new country in a car we hardly knew by then and to find the city center while being very tired at the same time. The coffee did us good and so we started for our new adventure: two weeks of exploring Croatia.
I have never been here, Rene only as a child, so it would be a brand new country to see.
From the airport, we drove on a small and winding road towards Zadar city center where ou host had recommended a parking space (on the 'unmarked area').
Arriving there we found that there was no unmarked area and after asking the pay guy he told us: it's free behind the trees over there... As all free spaces were blocked already, we paid him and got a space. But we did come back later that evening to find a lot of the cars gone, so we switched places and didn't have to pay again.
We got out things out of the enormous car trunk and walked through a park towards the center. Because it was not yet noon we rested a little in the park, ate our sandwiches and enjoyed nature for a little while before getting up again and being totally punctual at the apartment, where - SURPRISE - nobody was there to greet us. This happened several times while booking from privateers in Croatia as we were to find out.
Luckily in this case the owner had left a note with his phone number and 5 minutes later he came to check us in. The whole thing was a grandmother's apartment from scratch. I love it: old furniture, old decorated tiled ovens and in our case even an old style kitchen and a fantastic view on the main 2 streets crossing in front of the apartment. This was Old Town Paradise apartments.
After dropping the luggage we quickly headed out again to explore the city. We walked along the shore line towards the fascinating sea organ. There are steps with an integrated organ piece that makes sounds depending on the intensity of the waves coming in, a really great and unusual sound source.
Following the shore line we went in a circle all around the old town and arrived at the marina, where there were some unusual large yachts and sailing boats present and also a couple of explorer boats, most of them offering a tour towards the Kornati islands, the so-called Tears of the Aegean. We booked a tour for 40 Euros which is something like 300 kunas for the next day. After returning to our room and having a short nap (still tired from getting up in the middle of the night), we then walked around a little bit more through the city and then went to the highly recommended restaurant Pasta E Svasta, right next to the church of St. Simon (where the apostle Simon's bones are actually said to be lying in the crypt). The church was from around 1400 which made me think about where they had been staying since he had died somewhere around 50 A.C.
Anyway, the food - we chose pasta of course - was really good and the rose was, too.
A small square and park nearby were lit by colored lights and we could hear music, so we took a look around and discovered 2 cocktail bars, one of them actually situated inside the park on a hill.
The next morning we had to be at the boat at 8 o'clock to start our trip to the Kornati islands. Kornati is a National Park where just a few islands are inhabited. Before coming there we had to pass through the long islands of Ugljan and Pasman lying neatly parallel to the coast line. In between those two islands is a bridge under which we passed and then crossed a lot of water to get to the South of Dugi Otok, the Long Island, where the Kornati lie. Lots of these many islands are small and round and we turned in a circle around them before heading to the backside of a famous cliff on Dugi Otok, where all the explorer boats took a 2-hour-break and people could either walk up the cliff, drink a coffee at a small cafe there or take a swim in a salt lake nearby. We chose the lake.
The shore was quite rocky and dirty, no sand anywhere, but some benches made from stones of the area. We chose to pick a space on the benches and put our beach mat there. We asked our neighbor to guard our belongings and then 'hopped', no, we stumbled into the water. It was quite cold, so it took me quite some time to get used to and dive in totally. Rene made a little fun of me, when I was squeaking and going deeper into the water by the millimeter. But I made it and we swam around for a bit.
After the usual stupid strip/change dance under a towel to change into dry clothes (I hate that, I'd rather strip in front of everybody, but as to not embarrass anybody I also do what everybody does) we headed off towards the first small cafe, had a coffee and then went back to the boat and picked a good spot on the only tiny bench there was up front, which meant I could get up all the time and take photos of our trip back, while Rene sat nearby and read his book. The whole trip lasted almost 9 hours and when we came back we were quite exhausted from practically doing nothing all day.
After dropping our stuff in the apartment we headed towards the sea front to another web-recommended restaurant, Bon Appetit. We sat on the beautiful terrace and had a meat plate. It was delicious, the waiters were very attentive and I can totally recommend the place myself.
At home we grabbed two cans of beer and cider and went onto the roof terrace and enjoyed the quiet darkness.
Before checking out the next morning I went back onto the roof to take some pictures of the city. We left the key and went back through town and the park towards our rental car. All was good: no ticket, nothing stolen, I was really relieved.
After a short stop at a sports store where we bought a screaming pink bag for our coming beach trips we headed to Skradin, some 80 km further. There was a beautiful spot to visit: the waterfalls of Skradinski Buk, a Part of the Krka River National Park.
We checked into a brandnew and very chique apartment named Ankora. The hosts were very admiable and even helped us park the car in their narrow part of the street. As the rest of town is one big car park, where you pay, this was fortunate.
We directly headed towards the ferry boat that was transporting everybody to the waterfalls. When we arrived we were a little shocked about how many people were already there, blocking the bridge in front of the waterfalls and sitting around having a coffee break. We decided to go the opposite way than everyone else. It was a circle anyway.
The round trip took approx. 2 hours and was leading around multiple small waterfalls, lakes and a lot of plants. We took a pick-nick break. At first we were quite alone but after some time the place became a little crowded, too. A tiny snake, just 5 mm in diameter and maybe 20 cm long came by and I had to watch in horror as one of those disregarding tourists stepped onto it completely. I couldn't make a sound, I was just so horrorstruck as to how blind this guy had been. Fortunately the snake was still alive but didn't dare to move so I got a twig and let it twirl around it. Then I put it into safety under some trees.
After continuing further on the way it began to rain, just a slight drizzle. We went further and stopped in a cafe because it was sure that the rain would grow more intensive. The waiter refused to get us fries because it was, and I quote, "very dangerous". Stupid guy! The rain started pouring down and we were trying not to get too wet while complaining about the waiter.
When it was only drizzling again we continued down to the lake under the waterfalls. Most people were gone - thanks to the rain - and we could take an almost undisturbed picture before heading home and heaving a delicious pizza at Skradin.
The next day the perfect weather ruled again and made our 2 hour stop in the ancient town of Trogir a delight. This town lies a few km from Split and is a jewel.
We spend our time there in the most relaxed way possible, walking around town in a slow pace, drinking a coffee, me taking lots of pictures of windows and doors and other parts of ancient houses.
When heading on I had seen that there are 4-5 castle ruins on the small road to Split, so we tried to see them. The road signs failed us totally. None of them brought us anywhere except to the marina of tiny villages, one to a factory. There is a lot of potential for improvement here!
We skipped Split - because we decided we needed to have a reason to return and we already had planned Zadar and Dubrovnik - and I rather walk around small towns. Maybe next time then.
When driving down the seaside road which was soon to be called the Makarska Riviera, we stopped at the famous beach of Brela, the Punta Rata, went swimming and a little bit of snorkeling, but soon again, we could hear the thunder rumbling. We hardly made it to the car before all hell broke lose again and quickly booked our room at Makarska through booking.com via phone.
When we arrived at the place however, ready for a hot shower, the owner had disappeared and on his return he told us that he had no free rooms for the night, except a hole for 20 bucks. We refused.
Our search for a room came to engage the whole neighbourhood. A kind woman could not offer us a room herself but lead us to different neighbours and we ended up at a grandma's apartment with no name. We also were not asked for our passports, just the money was handed over and we had an ancient apartment with a cute balcony and a functioning shower. Great! Who could ask for more?
After a meal that envolved an enormous plate of meat for two with a melon placed in the middle we walked home satiesfied. Wanna try it yourself? The place is called Matteo and is situated on the beach front.
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