Leaving our friends behind we rolled along the waterfront and on to the bus in less than 20 minutes. Our destination is the ancient city of Trogir.
Protected by UNESCO this Romanic island town was founded by Greek colonists in the 3rd century BC. Then came the Romans, Byzantines, Hungarians, Venetians and even Napoleon. Trogir is billed as the best preserved Romanesque-Gothic town in Central Europe. We just thought it was a delightful labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets with, again, no cars!
Seems those small cruise ships often begin and end their trips in Trogir....on Fridays! Because we arrived on a Friday we had to rely on tourist information to find us a place. They scored with a lovely room next to the old church and above
Restaurant Vanjaka....and for a pretty good price considering it was in the old city. After doing some laundry we set out to get lost. The island is pretty small so getting lost is difficult. We were surprised at the number of old stone structures in need of repair. In conversations we learned that property is handed down to family. If the family moved during the war or if there are family disputes then the place just falls in to disrepair causing a hazard at times. The courts are not efficient and there is no system in place to seize property. "They're working on it" we are told.
On our second day in Trogir we thought we might take a bus to the village of Kastela. Undecided we wandered around the market then, though we'd changed our mind about Kastela, we thought we'd stick around until the bus arrived from Vodice in case our friends decided to make this a stop. Sure enough all four of them were on the 1:10. Stan & Doreen got off while Deloy & Linda stayed on to Dubrovnik. After wishing our friends yet another farewell the four of us went to the old city with Shane and I acting as tour guides. They negotiated a good price for a room next us and off we went to make another attempt at getting lost.
This town is on my list of favourites. Love the fact that you can wander down centuries old travertine alleyways with delightful little twists and turns that take you past homes and lead you (eventually) back to a quaint restaurant, bakery or ice cream parlor. I love holidays!
We played crib, sipped wine and ate munchies on the penthouse patio while listening to distant music and horns from a wedding celebration. Did I mention how much I love holidays?
All things come to an end... we caught a ferry to Split the next day then another to the Island of Hvar.
I read that Hvar city was a noisy party place
So we opted for the quieter village of Stari Grad. We didn't make reservations as it is off season...bad mistake. The bus stop is next to Information Touristco which is closed on Sunday. Hauling our roll bags in to town (where the other tourist information was closed) we noticed that most everything is closed on Sunday. Bravely we wandered the harbour looking for signs that said "sobe" or rooms to rent. There were a few of them but after the third hill and the fifth attempt we came to understand that they didn't want to go to all that trouble for less than 3 nights. Seems this truly is a sleepy destination town. It took a few attempts at the Croatian language, some finger gestures and help from an English speaking German tourist to find our way to a hotel. Now I just loved the town of Stari Grad (again one of my favourites) but the hotel!!! As we approached the reception entrance we were struck by the grey drab communist look of the place. The second thing we noticed was the locked door. It was dinner time and for those of you who know me I'm past my comfort zone (and haven't had my glass of wine...which by now was sorely needed). Always the ones to persevere we trudged deeper in to the drabness only to find a very cheery receptionist with a welcome "yes of course we have room"!! Turns out this is an all inclusive destination resort for, what I gather are mostly Russian tourists. Boy did I look skinny on the beach. We stayed here two nights. Actually the rooms were utilitarian clean and the swimming beach was away from the busy village harbour...and they had a pool.
We opted for bed and breakfast turning down any more dinners after trying the buffet the first night. Even with wine included you couldn't make the food taste good!
The town was worth the stay. At the end of the long narrow harbour this former hub of Greek activity (and another UNESCO world heritage site) claims to be one of the oldest organized towns in Europe. Actually evidence has been found of Neolithic tribes occupying the area from 3500-2500BC. The Greeks came here in 384 BC creating an independent city/state with their own minted coins. Then came the Romans, the Turks, Napoleon and the Austrian Empire. However, in spite of all the take overs the most devastating occurrence was a blight on the vines and the introduction of steamships..both of which took a toll on their exporting business. Now, of course, tourism is the new cash crop. I'm glad we got to this sleepy hamlet before it gets on the main tourist route. We were able to enjoy the area without the hype. Found great local food and a peaceful ambiance.
Just a side note - when it rains or the wind kicks up, the water rises
Above the pier which is actually the main walkway, we noticed that every doorway had a sill and that many had boards that slid in to slots
in an attempt to keep water out of their homes. Apparently it happens quite often.
Swim...walk...eat...explore...take photos...ahhhh!
Again all good things must end so now we are setting our sites on Korcula Island.