Day 2 - Trogir and day trip to Split, first winery visit The old city is fairly crowded by day, but jetlag helps me wake up at 5am just as the sun is rising, so I go for a walk to see what it looks like people-free.
They literally wash the streets here in the morning. The wet stones in the following pix are not from rain but from early am cleaning.
Back out to the promenade, there are a lot more ships docked, rafted several deep.
The fortress is closed this early, so I just peek through the keyhole...
The sunrise is cool as I walk back to the hotel.
The airport is not far away so depending on wind direction there are planes taking off or landing fairly close overhead.
Another one of the cats is sitting around near the hotel entrance. It is clear what the cat thinks of me.
The included breakfast is nice and what I learn is typical here, it will be the same on the ship. A buffet of cured meats, sausages, scrambled eggs, tomatoes/olives, and various fruit. Works for me. I meet some of the cruise group over breakfast. As expected, mostly older retirees. Couples, primarily, but one or two single travelers like me. So far I think I'm the youngest.
I have a full day on my own, and having already explored Trogir by day and night I decide to take the 1-hour bus ride into Split to see what's there. There will be a guided tour that is part of the itinerary before we board the boat there tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see the difference unguided/guided. The bus costs 4 euros, is nice and is not crowded. I take a few snapshots along the way but can't really see a lot from the bus.
Getting off at the bus terminal, it's a 15 minute walk to the old city. The newer parts are fairly unremarkable but clean-ish.
The old part is clustered around the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian. The palace was built 18 centuries ago, the surrounding old city is newer. Similar construction to what I saw in Trogir. Since most of the old buildings use stone from the same quarries, there is a cool aesthetic consistency even though construction is centuries apart.
The palace itself has four gates - North (gold), South (bronze), East (silver) and West (iron). The metal names are symbolic, all the gates are actually stone.
Inside the palace it's busy. There are many shops, tons of tourists, and people actually live in here as well. It's an interesting mix.
At noon there is a performance for tourists with 'Romans' in authentic-looking outfits (swords and spears appear sharp!). Does offer an additional perspective on the place.
There are several sites of interest - the bell tower, the cathedral, the crypt, the treasury, and Jupiter's temple. You can buy tickets to visit some or all. I go for the latter. Bell tower was built by Christians couple centuries after Diocletian's rule. The cathedral is right next to it so I start with that first.
The sphinx is one of several brought by Diocletian from Egypt (how did they do that back then?) and is believed to be about 4,000 years old.
It is definitely unique and quite different from what I saw in Florence a week ago. Has a darker, more 'raw' feel to it.
Back outside, the bell tower is next.
Then, on to the crypt.
On the way from the crypt to Jupiter's temple, another shot of the bell tower from below.
there are many restaurants and shops in these almost 2,000 year old buildings.
Jupiter's temple was turned into a baptistry by the Christians, but much of its original structure and ornament is preserved.
The treasury is the last on my self-guided tour. There is much religious art, but again compared to what I saw in Florence it is somehow darker and more basic. It resonates more with me, for same reasons that I liked El Greco's painting better than the others in Florence. Could be that he took some of his inspiration from these. Him being from Greece, would make sense.
I take the bus back to Trogir at 2 pm and it is crowded. As in standing room only, almost hanging out the doors. It's been a while since I've experienced rush-hour mass transit. It is hot, and due to traffic the ride takes 1.5 hours. I spend the time refining my ideas for better public transport systems. Back in Trogir I stop by the supermarket for another prosecco bottle, rinse off at the hotel, then go walking around again. Couple shots of the fortress now that it's open but I don't go inside.
In the evening is the first official activity of the cruise - three vans take us to a hilltop winery for a tasting and dinner. The rough gravel road leading up to it goes past the stone quarry.
The views are spectacular and the story of how the winery was built is fascinating. It is the highest elevation winery in Croatia, and all the soil had to be brought up after shaping the slopes by blasting.
There is an old boat on the adjacent property. We are told the owner has plans to make it into and aribnb. He has some work to do. Regardless, an odd place for a boat and getting it up here must have taken some effort, given the condition of the road.
The wine and the food are excellent, and we start learning about each other in the group. It's an interesting mix with varied backgrounds, mostly successful retirees having had (an some still involved in) multiple companies, wineries, sailing schools and so on.
A dark rose'. Delicious.
It is dark on the way back down. Tomorrow a bus will take us to Split where we drop the luggage at the boat, take a guided tour of the city, and then cast off.
I decide to take a shor walk around Trogir to see what it looks like this time of night, about 8pm.
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