Sunday, July 2, 2017

Europe 2017 (June) - Trip Notes # 4

Europe 2017 (June) Trip Notes # 4

Zadar

The beauty of Plitvicka Lakes (National Park) was left behind as we headed toward Zadar and Croatia's central coast. The main attraction was a "sea organ" - a man-made system of pipes that give off "moaning and groaning" sounds from water and air pressure pushing against the tubes.

Here's a link to a site where you can hear the sound.

There was a lot more to see and do in Zadar. However, our focus was to get to Sibenik . 

Sibenik

Other than names on a map or a poor picture or two on Trip Advisor, these places had very little meaning for us until we actually arrived at our destination. In all cases, we were not disappointed!

Sibenik was a "Wow" for us. Our hotel (a 15th Century building) was situated in the "old town" - minutes by foot from the Adriatic Sea.



 Our hotel room had:

 Wooden Beams, Stone Walls And "History"  = A Unique Room

View From Our Room: A Small Plaza That Fills With People At Night

Sibenik had the typical (historical) European alleyways to explore. Small bars and restaurants along with boutique shops were probably in the same spots as similar establishments were hundreds of years ago.








An Easy Way To Connect Buildings




Banners Above: This week celebrated "The Children" with  a variety of entertainment and activities for all ages.


Art Projects

The hotel provided a full buffet breakfast. 
 More Food Than What We Could Eat. And, We Could Order Eggs and Omelets Prepared Anyway We Wanted

We ate outside the hotel - in a patio setting. 

 Dinner was (also) just "steps" from our hotel. It was fun to sit and watch all the passerby's.


Fresh Fish Platter And Sea Food + Local Wine For Dinner

A Nearby Pedestrian Zone By The Sea


Unique 11th-12th Century Cathedral  

Carved Faces Of Locals Decorate Outside Of Cathedral  
























As Altars Go, This Was One Was Interesting And Quite Beautiful



Whenever possible, we like to talk to the locals - about anything: Economy, life in general, cost of living, politics and - the 1990's war. Although there are the typical "war jokes" about what occurred, there remains scarring for people with ages older than 40 years.

We happened to walk through an alleyway and found a wall that had been hit by bullets. 

We Thought That Most Of The Fighting Was In The Eastern Part Of The Country. This Was Not The Case.


Throughout the day (but mostly at night) hundreds of screeching swallows dipped and dove above our heads. While they were searching for food (probably flying insects), many of the church bells would ring every 15 minutes. This was a real European feeling for us.


Trogir 

On our way to Split, we detoured to a walled city - Trogir.


  Spikes Protruded Through The Town's Wood Doors

Stores And Restaurants Now In Town's Old Rooms  

Fresh Fish From The Morning Catch 


Small Vehicles Used To Navigate Narrow Alleyways

Venetians Built This 1400's Fort

 More Ice Cream To Try



Had to get some gas. The station provides plastic gloves to keep hands from getting dirty - particularly when checking the oil.


Here's our car. We signed up for a smaller vehicle - got upgraded. The upgrade would have been welcomed at home. However, trying to navigate / maneuver through the small town roads was difficult.  


Off to Split..







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