Cris goes to CROATIA.
It's been a long time since I wrote last, I know. I apologize. I don't even know if there is still someone reading. If there is... Thank you! Feel free to leave a comment and tell me where you have been lately. I love reading other people's stories, too.
In the meantime, here's what I have to tell you: I lived in Split Croatia in May and June 2019. I originally had to move there because I was offered an internship but I ended up doing a theatre lab with the Erasmus+.
Split is an interesting place. No, I did not watch Game of Thrones but I do know that the city, or rather, the whole country, is so famous because of it. Anyway, I loved its architecture and some of the local food I had the possibility to try. On the other hand, because it is really touristy, it's insane how expensive it gets during the summer. My plan was to stay longer but I had to leave earlier due to the fact that my landlord was going to charge me per night rather than per month starting July 1st. Some places even have two menus and depending on the language you speak when you walk in, they hand you over either the most expensive or the cheapest menu. In other words, if you are a tourist you are going to be ripped off, even if it's just a coffee you want to drink.
WHAT TO SEE IN SPLIT
The centre is so nice to walk through. The streets are cute and narrow. Some bars are affordable and really cosy. The most famous monument in the city is probably the Diocletian's Palace and the statue of Grgur Ninski. However, I know that some of you might be more interested in the beaches, which is why I will now get right into it. My favourite was probably Plaža Ježinac because it wasn't too crowded when I was there and it was just a nice walk away from my house. I also enjoyed Plaža Bene and Plaža Kašjuni, but the latter was super crowded when I visited and it was impossible to find a place to lay down. The most famous beach in the city was Bačvice because of its proximity to the centre. I honestly did not like it that much, I thought it was overrated and crowded. It was created for tourists and young kids who spend lots of time there, even during the night, as the area is full of bars and nightclubs. During my spare time, I enjoyed walking through Park Šuma Marjan. From Vidilica, a bar on the top of the side, you can have a really nice view of the city.
Because I lived there, I did not research that much about the area. I thought that it would have been better to just discover places as time passed by, which is what I did. Unfortunately, I did not have enough weekends to travel throughout Croatia, in fact, I have only been to Split, Makarska and Zagreb, its capital.
St. Mark's Church, Zagreb.
WHAT TO SEE IN ZAGREB
I arrived in Zagreb from Split at 5a.m. I checked into my hostel and talked to the receptionist for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. I was probably the first person he met in hours. He told me what to eat and what to do in Zagreb in less than twenty-four hours.
I gotta be honest, the city centre is pretty small so my partner in life and I decided to sign up for one of those free walking tours for a couple of hours. Before I start with the historical facts there is something you need to know: if you get hungry in Zagreb ask for a Štrukli. You are welcome.
During the tour, I learned that locals refer to the main square as simply "the square". There is no way that they get confused about what they are talking about. The square was named after Ban Jelačić when he was still alive. He became governor in 1848, the year of the revolution.
During the tour, I learned that locals refer to the main square as simply "the square". There is no way that they get confused about what they are talking about. The square was named after Ban Jelačić when he was still alive. He became governor in 1848, the year of the revolution.
Zagreb was born by the unification of the two hills that used to be separated only by a river. The street where the river was flowing was closed in the XIX century as all the factories producing leather polluted the water.
Every day since 1877 a cannon from the Lotrščak Tower is fired to mark midday.
Zagreb is home to the shortest Funicular in the world, which is only 66 meters long. It is the first public transport of the city, in operation since the 1890s.
Zagreb is home to the shortest Funicular in the world, which is only 66 meters long. It is the first public transport of the city, in operation since the 1890s.
The Zagreb Cathedral, which is 108 meters high, is the tallest building in the country.
Another interesting thing is that the changing of the guards at Banski Dvori only happens during summer weekends or holidays, so if you are counting on seeing that, plan accordingly! Speaking of Banski Dvori, it was bombed in 1991. The target of the action was the president who survived the bombing for a matter of minutes. Serbians wanted to conquer Croatia, which since 1995 is a pacific country. As you can see though, 1995 is not long ago. In fact, people still feel the consequences of the war.
Apparently, throughout the city, there are around 200 gas lanterns that every night are lighten up by a guy who walks from one to the other until all of them are on. According to the tourist guide, there are only two other capitals in the world to have gas lanterns: Berlin and London.
CONCLUSION
Most of the local people I had the chance to speak to were lovely to me and I felt safe throughout the two months I spent in Croatia. However, I could feel that some people were kind of closed-minded and not really welcoming towards minorities or immigrants. I was told by some locals that they rely on tourism and I felt bad about it because Croatia is more than nice beaches and deserves to be discovered in its entirety.
Have you been to Croatia? Did you like it? Do you experience something different? What places do you recommend? What was your favourite and why?
I took these pictures, so if you want to repost them, please mention the blog. ♡
- Cris
Have you been to Croatia? Did you like it? Do you experience something different? What places do you recommend? What was your favourite and why?
I took these pictures, so if you want to repost them, please mention the blog. ♡
- Cris
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