Entry 19: Sleepy Winter in Split

Check out from the Jagerhorn was simple and painless. They organised a transfer by Ekotaxi to the airport which cost 130HRK ($26) for a 30 minute trip. The hotel handles the payment so we did not have to negotiate with the taxi driver.

We were very reluctant to leave our centrally located and cosy hotel and fully recommend this place if anyone travels to Zagreb. Zagreb airport is currently the domestic and international terminal but this will change soon.

It was very quiet and moving through security was quick despite having to almost remove everything. After we redressed we found the Sky bar and had a beer overlooking the Tarmac.

We looked at the departures board with wanderlust as we realised that most of the destinations were only an hour away.

Flying out of Zagreb we could still see snow in the countryside although it hasn’t snowed for about a week.

Our host, Irene, met us at the airport and drove us to our apartment.

It took about 30 minutes and during the drive Irene gave us very detailed commentary about the city, its history and particular attractions. Since this is a summer resort many places are shut for the winter. We don’t mind, the reduced crowds and ease of getting around appeals to us more.

Our apartment is situated inside an ancient Roman structure, the Dioclesian Palace.

This has now been turned into a little village of shops and residences accessed by a myriad of cobblestoned alleyways, much like in Venice.

In contrast to Zagreb, this Croatian city has a Mediterranean atmosphere. Irene informed us that Split has a large Italian influence in their culture so their traditional foods include pasta and pizza, and they use Italian words in their dialect.

Our little 16th century apartment has original stone walls but is decorated in a beautifully modern way. The highlight is definitely the little bathroom that miraculously turns into a shower with a simple drawing of a shower curtain!

Because so many restaurants are closed in Split at this time of year, Irene walked us through the palace grounds to a typical Split restaurant where we parted ways with her and finally sat down to eat! We shared as bruschetta followed by a pizza and, of course, beer!

Energy levels revitalised, we were now ready to explore! There is temptation everywhere because of the numerous winter sales and Teresa finally succumbed and bought a pair of shoes.

A quick trip back to the apartment to add another layer and drop off the shoes and then we headed down towards the main harbour.

You can really picture how busy and full of life this place would be in the warmer months. There are restaurants, cafes and bars in every nook and cranny, and the harbour is crammed with outdoor seating and undercover social areas.

Unfortunately most of these places are also closed, as they call this time of year the “sleeping” time. We did manage to find a cute little cocktail bar tucked upstairs that overlooked the water so we stopped in for a beer and to use the wifi.

Then we made our way back towards our place and found a restaurant called Mazzgoon for dinner. A great little find! Teresa seafood plate of tuna, scampi and octopus but Michele won out with her mussels in a salty cream sauce.