Tuesday, August 22, 2017
It took us almost 48 hours with the time change to get from SeaTac to our first hotel. And man, that beer we celebrated our arrival with was fantastic.
We left for SeaTac at 10am Aug. 19. Our flight was leaving at 2:15PM, so I booked. Parking spot at SeaTac beginning at 11am, in case of delay. Good thing because – shocking! – there were delays on 1-5, so we made it about 11:30AM. Got parked and shuttled to the airport by noon, then checked-in and through security in about 20 minutes. Hooray!
We made it to our gate with 1 1/2 hours to spare. We killed time by walking, eating a couple snacks, and walking. Then finally we boarded the plane.
We made it to our gate with 1 1/2 hours to spare. We killed time by walking, eating a couple snacks, and walking. Then finally we boarded the plane.
After a ten-hour trip, we landed in Munich, and had 4 1/2 hours to kill until the flight to Split. We again killed time walking, but now also napping, and had a beer. We got to the gate at 1:30pm waiting for the boarding call only to find out it was delayed and we wouldn’t be leaving until 4:40pm. Nothing like having to kill 8 hours while waiting for a 1 1/2 hour plane ride!
But we finally boarded and we both fell asleep, but were happily awakened by the stewardess handing out snacks. We landed in Split, got off the plane and pretty quickly got our baggage. After making it through customs we tracked down the rental car agency. It’s nice to have our own transportation but geeze the rental agencies screw you on price. I thought I got a great deal and thought I had included insurance. But I had only bought liability, so for a mere $185 more we’ll have collision coverage. Dangit!
We do the car check, which is filthy. Then head to our hotel. We paid for coverage on Jamie’s phone, but it’s not working correctly. It kind of points us in the right directions but is. Slow on the turns. I had printed the directions before we left, just in case, but those only work when there are posted street names and addresses. Surprisingly, there’s not! After a couple turn arounds we finally found the right area. But not finding an address or a sign, I called the number from the site. First an error message, then no answer. But luckily the owner called me right back and said her mom would meet us in the parking lot. We found it – woo hoo!
We got our room, got unpacked, then headed up the road to try to find a store serving beer. Success! So by 9pm we cheered and happily drank to the beginning of a new journey.
Monday morning we got up a little later than usual and started the walk to Diocletian’s Palace downtown. Again the phone GPS was a little misleading, but we finally found it and wandered around seeing the sites and watching people. It was lovely. After awhile we walked back to the room and took showers. Then laid around for a bit and napped. Then we got some stuff to make dinner and sat on the balcony eating and plotting out our journey for Tuesday. It was still early evening, so we walked down to the beach and checked out the swimming holes. Lots of people laying in the sun, swimming, and enjoying the restaurants. We sat by the water for a bit enjoying the cool breeze. Then headed back up to our room and hit the sack.
On Tuesday we needed to find our way to Skradin, to our hotel. We stopped at Klis Fortress to see where some of the Game of Thrones scenes were filmed. It was fun to see and the chapel was really cool. It was a cement room, and the reverberation was amazing. Jamie just spoke quietly, and the sound carried throughout the room. We could imagine what it sounded like when the congregation would sing.
We continued to Skradin, and found our hotel Malin Guesthouse. It was very sweet, and the couple that ran it brought us a homemade aperitif in the court yard after we got settled. Tomorrow we hit Krka National Park to see the waterfalls.
We decided to try to beat some of the crowd and hit the ticket office by 8am. Success! We were on the boat by 8:30am, and sat next to a couple who told us about their journeys on the way tot he entrance. We docked, departed, and started the walk around the park. It was lovely, and we finished the morning with a swim under the falls. It felt fantastic!
We jumped in the return boat at 11:30am and made our way back to Skradin. We had a delicious lunch in town, then walked to the swimming hole for some water and sun. After a lazy afternoon we stopped at the store for dinner stuff, then to the room for showers. Later that evening we went to the courtyard to relax and make dinner. We ended up chatting with two ladies visiting from England, and talked to them for quite awhile. They headed out for dinner, and we headed upstairs for bed. Tomorrow we drive up the coast!day we hoped in the car about 8:30am and started the journey to Fažana. We decided to take Highway 8 because it followed the coast, and we imagined it would be like following Highway 101 here. It was, and it was beautiful!
Thursday, August 24
Today we hoped in the car about 8:30am and started the journey to Fažana. We decided to take Highway 8 because it followed the coast, and we imagined it would be like following Highway 101 here. It was, and it was beautiful!
We stopped in Zadar to see the sea organ, and what a great idea! Jamie said Olympia should have a piece like that, and we should. Especially because we’re such a music town. We continued up Highway 8, and after a couple hours I suggested we get on A1 outside of Revin, because while the drive was pretty, I was over being stuck behind RVs. He agreed so we found our way to the A1 and cruised our way to Fažana.
We had enough time before we were to meet the lady for the house that we stopped and stocked up on groceries. We’ll have our own kitchen for the next five days.
The Sea organ is an architectural sound art object located in
Zadar, Croatia and an experimental musical instrument, which
plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a
set of large marble steps.
Jamie standing on the Sun Salutation. This is a 22m-wide circle set
into the pavement filled with 300 multi layered glass plates that
collect the sun’s energy during the day. Together with the wave
energy that makes the Sea Organ’s sound, it produces a trippy light
show from sunset to sunrise that’s meant to simulate the solar
system. It also collects enough energy to power the entire harborfront
lighting system.
Friday, August 25
We did absolutely nothing today but walk to the beach, swim, lay in the sun, then eat. This is what it’s all about. Tomorrow Cape Kamenjak and Fish-Food More.
Sunday, August 27
According to the guidebook, Cape Kamenjak is where you’d go for seclusion, but the line of cars at the ticket booth indicates the opposite of that. Skeptically, we buy our parking pass and follow the snake of cars into the park. We find a little spot under a tree, grab our towels and water, and set out to explore.
It says there are walking trails to check out, but we learn they’re more just paths between parking lots. But we wanted our way down the peninsula and find a little cove that looks like a nice spot for a swim. Jamie brought the goggles, so we take turns checking out the fish swimming around us.
There are a few boats around us, and the one closest to the beach houses a gent we called Sir Lancelot because he was neck naked, sitting in a position that displayed his flesh sword for the world to see. He was close enough to shore we could have just swam to his boat.
It made me wonder that if you had a boat allowing you to go anywhere so you could be by yourself, why would your journey take you somewhere you could just get to in your car? Why spend all the extra money and time with no additional benefit?
After some swimming and laying in the sun, we wondered back down the path toward the car and found another swimming spot. Spent some more time swimming and watching fish, then headed up to a bar for a beer. A nice, cold beer quenched our thirst, then on to more swimming.
About 4pm we decided to head back to the car, and find Fish-Food More for some dinner. The iPhone directed us to the restaurant but it was closed, doh! So we did a search for a seafood restaurant in the area and found Konoba Dub. We shared the meat platter for an appetizer, and each ordered the seafood platter and a green salad. We also each had a local draft beer, and enjoyed a delicious meal! The total came to 466k, and with a 10% tip – because the waiter was great – we spent 512k. That equates to about $85. Not bad for such an extravagant meal.
We headed back to the apartment, stopping at the market to pick up a few things. Tomorrow is another day of relaxation.
Wednesday, August 30
We’re sitting on our nice little deck at the Rooms & Apartments in Zagreb. Today we visited the Museum of Broken Relationships, and it was really good. I didn’t quite know what to expect – I thought it would just be mostly funny – but it was a great mix of funny and sad; memories and ideas; current and past.
After that we had a little snack and some water, then hit the Museum of Naive Art. It was on the next clock to Broken, and we had talked about checking it out, so now’s the time. It was really cool, and the colors on some of the paintings were very motivating. Some were done with oil on glass, which now seems obviously brilliant. The colors just pop since, I assume , they aren’t soaking into the material. I took shots of the artist’s names so I could check them out more.
We got done with museums about 1:30pm, so we looked up a local craft brewery for lunch. The magazine in the plane said Zagreb is a new haven for micro-brewers, which we’re experts in. We walked about a mile to Pivnica Trešnjevka, which Google says is a craft beer bar. We ordered a Panonska each, a salad each, and a pizza to spit. The beers were good! And the bill was only $18, so even better!
After lunch we walked back to the car and found a parking ticket. 150k, doh! Jamie looked online and we could pay at the post office. I had postcards from Broken Relationships to send to the girls, so we drove back to the hotel and hit the mall. We got the parking tickets paid, the postcards in the mail, money withdrawn, and food for the next couple meals. Then we headed back and hit the pool. So refreshing on a hot day.
On Monday, it was kind of cloudy in Fažana when we got up, which was a surprise. We had talked about heading to Church of St. Blaise because you could tour a church that had three bodies of saints on display. It was really weird. We walked into the church/museum and got to see all the stars and the really cool stained glass pieces around the top. Then the priest asked if we wanted to pay to see the saints, and of course we did! Side note: this priest was the Catholic Priest version of Jon Waters! He put on quite a show, and could speak six languages.
It was really weird. They label them as un-decomposed, but they were decomposed. That’s why all you saw was the skeleton and shriveled up hands and feet. But, they had also died about 10,000 years ago, so the fact they were still this together was amazing. But still weird.
We headed back to Fažana, had some lunch, then went on a walk to the beach. The skies were still overcast, and it had rained a bit. We should have brought our shirts because it was still warm, and only a few people were out. We would have had the place to ourselves!
We spent the evening sitting on the deck, watching the storm, and listening to a new podcast about a murder mystery. Spooky…
On Tuesday we slowly got rolling and got stuff packed up to leave. We’re leaving the coast today and driving to Zagreb to finish the last leg of our trip. Goodbye beautiful Croatian coast! I’ll miss your warm, clear waters but not your swarms of naked Germans…
We drive across northern Croatia, and it’s beautiful. Way more trees and hills, and yet nothing compared to Washington. They say they ski, but I can’t figure out where.
We hit Zagreb about 1:30pm and work our way to the room I rented. There’s a little confusion from the online reservation, but we figure it out. We’re right across the street from the mall, so we load up on food and beer, and settle in for our last three days.
Saturday, September 2
We’re sitting on the final flight back to Seattle, with six hours left until landing. We made a quick dash into the DutyFree store at the Zagreb airport to burn the rest of our cash and are happily carrying a bottle of Jameson, a bottle of absinthe, and two little lunch boxes full of Kinder bars for Willow and Piper. The Duty Free got a little confusing. We were trying to burn through our cash and brought more to the register than we had kunas for. This did not make the clerk happy at all, but her nice coworkers kindly helped us sort if out, and we booked it to the gate. In our defense it was listed din Euros, and with it being only 6am we couldn’t do the conversion in our head. Turns out we nearly missed our flight because as we were rushing to the gate Jamie said “Why is no one else there?” Good point, but we carried on and made it on board with three minutes to spare. I will was the fastest boarding ever!
On Thursday we lazed the day away going between the pool and laying in the sun. It’s silly because part of me feels guilty for not seeing more, but this is a vacation. It’s supposed to be about relaxing. So to help I poured another drink and got a better tan line.
On Friday, we had to check out of Rooms & Apartments, and check-in to Cool Rooms. Then drop the car off at the rental at the airport. We had some time to kill between check-out and check-in, so we decided to explore Park Maksimir. What a lovely park! Neither of us expected it to be that big, and it was well manicured. The guide book said it was the first park built in Eastern Europe. We spent about two hours walking and seeing the ponds and trees.
After that, and since we were in the area, we got to check out one of the breweries mentioned in the plane magazine. We found our way to the Garden Brewery and it looked much like a brewery in the Northwest. Guys in beards, records to pursue, and creative decor. We got an IPA and a Nitro Stout. The Nitro takes a bit to settle, and when it did, it was only about 3/4 full, so Jamie wasn’t very happy. But the IPA was good.
With the beer scene explored, we made our way to Cool Rooms to check-in for our last night. They were nice enough to pick us up from the airport after we dropped off the rental car. I’m glad we did that before we were actually having to catch a plane because what a cluster-fuck! We pull into a tiny parking lot where all the cars are trying to maneuver to their specific agency, and it is not going smoothly. But we make our way around, get the car checked out and approved, and then called the hotel for a pick-up. The whole thing took an hour.
We got back to the hotel about 4pm, and settled in for the evening. We leave the hotel at 5am to start our journey home. It’s been another fantastic trip, and I’m happy about all the cool things we got to see and do. I’ve thought about some things I want to do when we return, and am feeling very motivated and excited imagining what’s to come. I’m also excited to hug the cats and sleep in my own bed.
