Croatia Part 1
Croatia Day 1: Arrival/Split
So as I mentioned in my last post, I had a really annoying trip to get to Croatia from Greece. I had to fly to Munich and then double back. In Munich, my one hour flight to Croatia was delayed an hour and a half (so annoying) so I didn't end up landing in Split until 9:30pm. After taking the bus into town, it was 10:30 on Friday night. Now in most cities, this wouldn't be a problem, however Split was different. The hostel that I booked was right in the centre of the old town, which doesn't have street names and does not allow cars (or taxis). On a quiet Sunday morning, it would have been hard to find, but on Friday night with drunk people everywhere it was tough. Add the fact that there was a huge concert going on (so street closures and thousands of extra drunk people) and it was a nightmare.
I had directions, but because of the street closures I couldn't follow them. Carrying my huge backpack, I got told to turn back about 5 times because of the concert. Finally someone pointed me in the right direction. Some of the streets were so narrow and there were so many people that at times I couldn't move. At one point some jerk grabbed on to my backpack and pushed me aside trying to get by me. Because my weight was all on my back, when I was pushed I couldn't keep my balance; I rolled my ankle and fell over. No one stopped to help me. People did laugh however, which was nice. I then stumbled my way to a square with no name. I had a map, but given that there were 8 squares on it, it was not very helpful. So I went to ask for help. One person didn't know, and then next shooed me away and started laughing when I asked again. I was mad about being pushed over, but the rudeness of this woman really bothered me more.
I had a general sense of where to go, so I just followed my instinct and ended up in another square (also packed with drunk people and no one to ask for help). I couldn't think of anything productive to do, except for cry, so I was about to start doing that, when I looked up and found my hostel across the square. Pure luck. I literally had been walking around for an hour and could have been stuck walking around another hour...so I was very relieved.
Of course checking into my hostel was not easy either. There was no one around for 15 minutes and when they finally turned up they seemed annoyed at me for being there. I also couldn't get the Internet to work (on my phone, iPad or kindle) and when I asked the front desk I was told "ours is working...must be your computers...not my problem." Given that it didn't work on all 3 of my devices and that it suddenly started working the next morning, I'm pretty sure it was their problem.
So I went to bed that night super annoyed and grumpy
Croatia Day 2: Split
First thing in the morning I moved out of my hostel to the hotel I was meeting Emma at. She arrived at 11:30am and had no problems finding the place. Of course the streets were empty and I had given her directions, but she had a much more pleasant arrival experience than I did, which is good.
We went for a drink as we waited for our room. This was our first experience with the atrocious Split service. We sat at a table for 15 minutes before anyone came over. When the waitress did (after we had waved her over) she told us to "hold on!" as she turned her back and slowly cleaned the table next to us as we waited. She then grumpily took our order and disappeared. That turned out to be common practice; cleaning/setting tables takes priority over waiting customers. In addition, an empty glass does not invite a server to ask if you want another one....you have to wave at them constantly until they get annoyed enough to come back and find out what you want. I've done a lot of traveling and I can easily say that the service in Split was the worst I've found anywhere in the world, because not only do they ignore you they are rude about it too. They act like you asking for another drink is a huge inconvenience to them.
Split is an interesting town. There is the "old town" part, surrounded by walls with marble cobblestone streets and narrow lane ways, which is where we stayed. Outside the old town is more modern buildings, many of which have been graffitied. There is a city beach about 10 minutes from old town and a water front promenade just outside the city walls with a number of bars and restaurants. The old town is definitely the prettiest and most pleasant area of town.
Our room was nice. It was a perfect location in the main square of old town with a nice balcony and good air-conditioning. It did have some negatives though. While being on the top floor (4th floor) was nice for the view, it was quite a walk up and the steps were quite steep. It was quite the effort to get back up to the room. Also, the towns main church and bell tower were right across the square. We discovered the next morning (at 6am) why being next to a bell tower is not a good thing.
We spent the afternoon at the city beach. It was packed but it was nice to get some sun and go for a swim. The water was perfect.
We had dinner in the old town. Croatian food turned out to be a mix of Italian food and fish. Most menus were pizza, pasta, seafood risotto and fish plates. Emma tried the local beer and I tried the prosecco. Our waiter at this restaurant was nice enough to tell us that Croatian prosecco is different than elsewhere; in Croatia it's a desert wine. It was interesting. A brown liquid with a bit of a licoricey taste. Not bad.
We bought a bottle of wine and some gelato and went back to our patio. There was a wedding going on in the square and we were able to watch as red flairs were lit and the bride tossed the bouquet. The bottle of wine was empty by 9:30, so we had to go find other entertainment. We went down to the promenade and then out to a club. We didn't like the club much; once again because the people were so rude, but the rest of the night was fun.
Croatia Day 3: Split
In hindsight, we should have just spent the one day in Split, but when we booked the rooms we thought the half day which Emma arrived might not be enough. So we decided to go on an excursion for the day to see the area.
We took a boat (about a 1 hour trip) to a town called Trogir. It was a very pretty little town. Like Split, it's an old walled city, but we liked it more as there were less people and it was cleaner. We spent the afternoon just walking around the town, stopping for a drink and ice cream and a late lunch. We took the return boat in the evening and it was such a pretty ride sitting on the top deck.
We had a quieter night; dinner in town and then a few drinks in the main square.
One strange thing to note is Emma's inability to find a hair dryer. She forgot hers and since her hair is thick and the weather is humid it takes forever to dry. We tried so many places and nowhere sells them. It's like people in Croatia don't dry their hair. Someone was able to special order one....but it would take 3 days. It's a hairdryer....shouldn't be this hard. It's become an ongoing joke because we continually fail to find one anywhere.
Croatia Day 4: Hvar
The ferry system in Croatia is really dumb. You can only buy your tickets the day of and they sellout, so you have to be there early. We were planning on an 11:30am boat so we were told we needed to buy our tickets between 6-9am that morning. I had planned on getting up at 7:30 and doing it, but the bell ringing (for about 10 straight minutes at 6:30) woke me up enough to go get the tickets and then come back to bed. So that worked.
The boat to Hvar was only an hour and we found our accommodation easily. Technically its a hostel, but we have our own private room and bath. It is Emma's first experience in a hostel and she was very excited about it. It's owned by a really friendly Croatian man named Luka, but he has a guy on staff who is Canadian. Turns out the guy went to both my elementary school and high school. We did not know each other at all (he is a year younger), but we know a lot of the same people. My sister thinks she might know him. Small world! I thought that maybe Luka was a relative or something, but it turns out he was just traveling and liked it here and stayed.
We went down to the beach for the afternoon. There a lots of beaches in Hvar town and on the surrounding islands. We went to one just outside of town. After that we went to a beach bar (which we had heard was awesome) called the Hula-Hula bar for a drink. The place was crazy. It got so busy so early; I guess it's a 4pm-9pm type of party place. Emma and I split a bottle of wine and people watched.
Just as we were thinking about leaving we got talking to some Kiwis. They were older (2 men and one women) and had been cruising the Mediterranean for 6 weeks on a boat. They were really nice and we had a good conversation. Then Emma decided to buy a round of shots. That's when things turned. One round turned into 10 and we were all done for. Throughout our time talking to them, I got the impression they had money, but there was never any flaunting of it, or bragging. They said that they would be in town the next morning at 11am, and if we wanted to come out on the boat, to just come meet them.
Emma and I then left (wasted) and came back to the hostel. There was a party going on there. Emma got dressed up to go out, but then passed out instead. I joined in the hostel crowd and went out partying with everyone to a bar in town. Really fun day. Hvar was definitely proving more fun than Split.
Croatia Day 5: Hvar
We got up and went for breakfast in town. As we sat there we contemplated what to do about the boat offer. My instinct was that it was fine, but I'm a cautious person and getting on a boat with strangers is not the smartest thing to do. So I hummed and hawed.
When we met them in town it was all ok. They told us what the plan for the day was and wanted to make sure we were comfortable. It was also revealed that the boat had a staff (and one came to pick us up), which helped me too, as it meant there were a lot of people on the boat. Finally the boat was docked around other boats in a cove, so there were lots of people around. I trusted my instinct and we went. It turned out to be the best decision.
The "boat" is actually a yacht. And a huge one. There is a staff of 5, 3 of whom are employed year round on the boat. It was incredible; absolutely stunning....I've never been on a boat anything like that. Emma and I were in shock since they hadnt talked it up at all.
We went for a swim off the back while the cook prepared us a packed lunch. We then went ashore to a beach and set up for the day. They had everything; umbrellas and padding to lie on and water and sunscreen. The packed lunch was awesome. Mine was a brie and tomato sandwich and the most delicious beetroot humous and veggies. We spent all afternoon beaching; reading, chatting, swimming.
Our company proved to be very interesting. They are definitely good people to know and we got their contact info and will remain in touch. The woman knows Nelson Mendela. And she is going to Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday party later this year (hosted by Bono). One of the guys has a friend who owns an island in Fiji, and so on.
We returned to the boat for some cocktails and more interesting stories. The boats engineer then took us back into town. It was a fantastic day; just incredible and we were so lucky to have met such great people. They really were incredibly nice to us and it was a lot of fun.
We had dinner in town and then went back to the Hula-Hula bar where were met the Kiwi's and their staff (who had come to join). Not as many shots as the night before, but still lots of booze. We then went to a bar in town and met up with some hostel people again. We intended to go to the famous island club here (carpe diem) but by the time we made it over to the club boat launch we were too done for.
4 more days in Croatia, then home on Monday.
- Siobhan
So as I mentioned in my last post, I had a really annoying trip to get to Croatia from Greece. I had to fly to Munich and then double back. In Munich, my one hour flight to Croatia was delayed an hour and a half (so annoying) so I didn't end up landing in Split until 9:30pm. After taking the bus into town, it was 10:30 on Friday night. Now in most cities, this wouldn't be a problem, however Split was different. The hostel that I booked was right in the centre of the old town, which doesn't have street names and does not allow cars (or taxis). On a quiet Sunday morning, it would have been hard to find, but on Friday night with drunk people everywhere it was tough. Add the fact that there was a huge concert going on (so street closures and thousands of extra drunk people) and it was a nightmare.
I had directions, but because of the street closures I couldn't follow them. Carrying my huge backpack, I got told to turn back about 5 times because of the concert. Finally someone pointed me in the right direction. Some of the streets were so narrow and there were so many people that at times I couldn't move. At one point some jerk grabbed on to my backpack and pushed me aside trying to get by me. Because my weight was all on my back, when I was pushed I couldn't keep my balance; I rolled my ankle and fell over. No one stopped to help me. People did laugh however, which was nice. I then stumbled my way to a square with no name. I had a map, but given that there were 8 squares on it, it was not very helpful. So I went to ask for help. One person didn't know, and then next shooed me away and started laughing when I asked again. I was mad about being pushed over, but the rudeness of this woman really bothered me more.
I had a general sense of where to go, so I just followed my instinct and ended up in another square (also packed with drunk people and no one to ask for help). I couldn't think of anything productive to do, except for cry, so I was about to start doing that, when I looked up and found my hostel across the square. Pure luck. I literally had been walking around for an hour and could have been stuck walking around another hour...so I was very relieved.
Of course checking into my hostel was not easy either. There was no one around for 15 minutes and when they finally turned up they seemed annoyed at me for being there. I also couldn't get the Internet to work (on my phone, iPad or kindle) and when I asked the front desk I was told "ours is working...must be your computers...not my problem." Given that it didn't work on all 3 of my devices and that it suddenly started working the next morning, I'm pretty sure it was their problem.
So I went to bed that night super annoyed and grumpy
Croatia Day 2: Split
First thing in the morning I moved out of my hostel to the hotel I was meeting Emma at. She arrived at 11:30am and had no problems finding the place. Of course the streets were empty and I had given her directions, but she had a much more pleasant arrival experience than I did, which is good.
We went for a drink as we waited for our room. This was our first experience with the atrocious Split service. We sat at a table for 15 minutes before anyone came over. When the waitress did (after we had waved her over) she told us to "hold on!" as she turned her back and slowly cleaned the table next to us as we waited. She then grumpily took our order and disappeared. That turned out to be common practice; cleaning/setting tables takes priority over waiting customers. In addition, an empty glass does not invite a server to ask if you want another one....you have to wave at them constantly until they get annoyed enough to come back and find out what you want. I've done a lot of traveling and I can easily say that the service in Split was the worst I've found anywhere in the world, because not only do they ignore you they are rude about it too. They act like you asking for another drink is a huge inconvenience to them.
Split is an interesting town. There is the "old town" part, surrounded by walls with marble cobblestone streets and narrow lane ways, which is where we stayed. Outside the old town is more modern buildings, many of which have been graffitied. There is a city beach about 10 minutes from old town and a water front promenade just outside the city walls with a number of bars and restaurants. The old town is definitely the prettiest and most pleasant area of town.
Our room was nice. It was a perfect location in the main square of old town with a nice balcony and good air-conditioning. It did have some negatives though. While being on the top floor (4th floor) was nice for the view, it was quite a walk up and the steps were quite steep. It was quite the effort to get back up to the room. Also, the towns main church and bell tower were right across the square. We discovered the next morning (at 6am) why being next to a bell tower is not a good thing.
We spent the afternoon at the city beach. It was packed but it was nice to get some sun and go for a swim. The water was perfect.
We had dinner in the old town. Croatian food turned out to be a mix of Italian food and fish. Most menus were pizza, pasta, seafood risotto and fish plates. Emma tried the local beer and I tried the prosecco. Our waiter at this restaurant was nice enough to tell us that Croatian prosecco is different than elsewhere; in Croatia it's a desert wine. It was interesting. A brown liquid with a bit of a licoricey taste. Not bad.
We bought a bottle of wine and some gelato and went back to our patio. There was a wedding going on in the square and we were able to watch as red flairs were lit and the bride tossed the bouquet. The bottle of wine was empty by 9:30, so we had to go find other entertainment. We went down to the promenade and then out to a club. We didn't like the club much; once again because the people were so rude, but the rest of the night was fun.
Croatia Day 3: Split
In hindsight, we should have just spent the one day in Split, but when we booked the rooms we thought the half day which Emma arrived might not be enough. So we decided to go on an excursion for the day to see the area.
We took a boat (about a 1 hour trip) to a town called Trogir. It was a very pretty little town. Like Split, it's an old walled city, but we liked it more as there were less people and it was cleaner. We spent the afternoon just walking around the town, stopping for a drink and ice cream and a late lunch. We took the return boat in the evening and it was such a pretty ride sitting on the top deck.
We had a quieter night; dinner in town and then a few drinks in the main square.
One strange thing to note is Emma's inability to find a hair dryer. She forgot hers and since her hair is thick and the weather is humid it takes forever to dry. We tried so many places and nowhere sells them. It's like people in Croatia don't dry their hair. Someone was able to special order one....but it would take 3 days. It's a hairdryer....shouldn't be this hard. It's become an ongoing joke because we continually fail to find one anywhere.
Croatia Day 4: Hvar
The ferry system in Croatia is really dumb. You can only buy your tickets the day of and they sellout, so you have to be there early. We were planning on an 11:30am boat so we were told we needed to buy our tickets between 6-9am that morning. I had planned on getting up at 7:30 and doing it, but the bell ringing (for about 10 straight minutes at 6:30) woke me up enough to go get the tickets and then come back to bed. So that worked.
The boat to Hvar was only an hour and we found our accommodation easily. Technically its a hostel, but we have our own private room and bath. It is Emma's first experience in a hostel and she was very excited about it. It's owned by a really friendly Croatian man named Luka, but he has a guy on staff who is Canadian. Turns out the guy went to both my elementary school and high school. We did not know each other at all (he is a year younger), but we know a lot of the same people. My sister thinks she might know him. Small world! I thought that maybe Luka was a relative or something, but it turns out he was just traveling and liked it here and stayed.
We went down to the beach for the afternoon. There a lots of beaches in Hvar town and on the surrounding islands. We went to one just outside of town. After that we went to a beach bar (which we had heard was awesome) called the Hula-Hula bar for a drink. The place was crazy. It got so busy so early; I guess it's a 4pm-9pm type of party place. Emma and I split a bottle of wine and people watched.
Just as we were thinking about leaving we got talking to some Kiwis. They were older (2 men and one women) and had been cruising the Mediterranean for 6 weeks on a boat. They were really nice and we had a good conversation. Then Emma decided to buy a round of shots. That's when things turned. One round turned into 10 and we were all done for. Throughout our time talking to them, I got the impression they had money, but there was never any flaunting of it, or bragging. They said that they would be in town the next morning at 11am, and if we wanted to come out on the boat, to just come meet them.
Emma and I then left (wasted) and came back to the hostel. There was a party going on there. Emma got dressed up to go out, but then passed out instead. I joined in the hostel crowd and went out partying with everyone to a bar in town. Really fun day. Hvar was definitely proving more fun than Split.
Croatia Day 5: Hvar
We got up and went for breakfast in town. As we sat there we contemplated what to do about the boat offer. My instinct was that it was fine, but I'm a cautious person and getting on a boat with strangers is not the smartest thing to do. So I hummed and hawed.
When we met them in town it was all ok. They told us what the plan for the day was and wanted to make sure we were comfortable. It was also revealed that the boat had a staff (and one came to pick us up), which helped me too, as it meant there were a lot of people on the boat. Finally the boat was docked around other boats in a cove, so there were lots of people around. I trusted my instinct and we went. It turned out to be the best decision.
The "boat" is actually a yacht. And a huge one. There is a staff of 5, 3 of whom are employed year round on the boat. It was incredible; absolutely stunning....I've never been on a boat anything like that. Emma and I were in shock since they hadnt talked it up at all.
We went for a swim off the back while the cook prepared us a packed lunch. We then went ashore to a beach and set up for the day. They had everything; umbrellas and padding to lie on and water and sunscreen. The packed lunch was awesome. Mine was a brie and tomato sandwich and the most delicious beetroot humous and veggies. We spent all afternoon beaching; reading, chatting, swimming.
Our company proved to be very interesting. They are definitely good people to know and we got their contact info and will remain in touch. The woman knows Nelson Mendela. And she is going to Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday party later this year (hosted by Bono). One of the guys has a friend who owns an island in Fiji, and so on.
We returned to the boat for some cocktails and more interesting stories. The boats engineer then took us back into town. It was a fantastic day; just incredible and we were so lucky to have met such great people. They really were incredibly nice to us and it was a lot of fun.
We had dinner in town and then went back to the Hula-Hula bar where were met the Kiwi's and their staff (who had come to join). Not as many shots as the night before, but still lots of booze. We then went to a bar in town and met up with some hostel people again. We intended to go to the famous island club here (carpe diem) but by the time we made it over to the club boat launch we were too done for.
4 more days in Croatia, then home on Monday.
- Siobhan
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