Split, Croatia

In Split, we stayed in a two-bedroom apartment very close to several beaches in the heart of Split. The owner of the apartment gave us some great food and restaurant recommendations, so we set out to try some Croatian food, see the walled city, and relax at the beaches. The beach was a close walk from our apartment, and it was packed with people. Our host supplied foldable cushioned mats and we soon realized why; everyone lying out in the sun was lying on what looked like a concrete sidewalk. Most of the beaches we went to were constructed from either large rocks or concrete, however that didn’t stop us from enjoying the water, jumping off things and laying out in the sun. It’s amazing how much fun people had just being in the water. The most common game the locals played was hitting the ball back and forth with the palm of your hand (in Greece they used a wooden paddle).

We sampled lots of different Croatian (and Bosnian) food while in Split. We tried what is called “cevape” (ground beef, hand rolled into sausage-like shapes that were then grilled, put into a bun, and served with some cheesy sauce and onions), as well as the local oysters and other seafood creations.

Unfortunately, the weather turned on us so we headed to a mall in search of a suit for Kevin to wear at the upcoming wedding in Serbia. Turns out that malls in Croatia are very similar to the US. However, Split did have something much different than we usually see in the states… an old walled city and Palace with narrow streets only for pedestrians. We hiked to the top of the bell tower, which had some amazing views of the city.

Also foreign to us, drinking in public is also common place, so we grabbed some roadies and headed down to the waterfront. We joined in with what seemed like the entire town out on the bluff with the same idea. After chatting with some of the locals we learned about the clubbing culture and headed along the beach to try out the waterfront clubs.