It was still drippy when I awoke. My bus would leave at 2330. I have decided to skip the section of the Croatian coast between Zadar and Rijeka as there isn't much to see unless I go to an island, and I've had quite a few of those already. However, Croatia is not a large country and if I were to alight at Rijeka I would only catch a few hours of sleep, so I've decided to go all the way to Pula, on the west side of the Istrian peninsula and arrive around dawn, then work my way back to Rijeka. I'll sightsee Zadar during the day and pick up my backpack in the evening, and have dinner before going to the bus station.
At the markets I bought some cherries and apricots, using German. Zadar was modernised in the Tito years, however it suffered during the War of Independence and has not quite recovered its former relative prosperity. But it still attracts tourists; I saw quite a few Germans, Americans and French. Direct budget flights into its airport might also help. Perhaps I wasn't seeing it in the best light, during a rainy day, but it seemed to me that Zadar was looking for better days. Like in Šibenik, there were pro-Ante graffiti on walls.
The St. Donatus' church from the 9th century is the most prominent landmark. The old city has many narrow streets. Notice the tourists toting umbrellas.
I came across a laundromat but unfortunately they would close at 1800, which was too early for me, as I would have to spend several hours in the city before departure. But I used the Internet terminals there. An email from the niece said that she had reached Split airport ok, returned to London pfft, and missed the warm weather. Well at that moment it wasn't so great in Zadar either. A strong storm front was sweeping across Europe and was crossing Croatia. While I was sitting at the terminal it started hailing, showering the pavement with ice pellets.
At the botanic gardens I met a fellow Australian but I couldn't have a conversation. That was because it was a Wollemia (Wollemi Pine). A sign explained that this was one of several gardens around the world to receive a specimen to raise, to reduce the risk of the species going extinct should some disaster befall its home.
By mid-afternoon I had seen all I wanted of Zadar, and the cold was sapping my energy so I returned to the hostel. I napped for a while in an armchair in the reception area.
Towards sunset I took a walk around Puntamika. There is a nice view back towards Zadar across the channel. I was also looking for a likely restaurant. Unfortunately Borik, the large tourist complex in Puntamika, seemed to cater for most visitor needs inside, and the few restaurants outside of the complex got only scraps of business, so there wasn't much choice.
At 2000 I caught the bus back to the city. The self-service place mentioned in the guide didn't exist anymore. Eventually I found a grill restaurant that I liked. The waiter was quite accommodating to a single diner with a backpack. The decor was nice. There are photos on the wall from the days when the city was called Zara, under Italian rule.
I finished dinner around 2200 and caught another bus to the station rather than walk along deserted streets to save 1€. A hour of waiting, we were off and then I tried catch as much sleep as a bus seat would allow.
The other backpackers in the room, a couple it seemed, came in even later than we did. As it was the eve of Sunday, there was carousing in the streets into the early hours. Seemed like a um, lively neighbourhood. I also heard a catfight. The room was a bit stuffy but fortunately there was a breeze coming in from the window.
We first visited the markets and then had a breakfast of fruits with baked goods on the esplanade. I suggested to the niece that she buy some sweet cherries and flog them to her colleagues or at least wave the fruit in their faces to make them envious.
We had until about midday to do a whirlwind tour of Diocletian's Palace. Then the niece has to catch a shuttle to the airport and I have to catch a bus for Zadar. The palace dates from the 4th century and is very well preserved for its age. Diocletian's home town was Salona, just a few km out of today's Split. We tend to associate the Romans with Italy only but their empire was large and thinking about it, it's not surprising that some of them lived in other Mediterranean lands. Of course Croatia as a nation didn't exist then, there were just colonies of Rome on the coast, such as Dubrovnik.
Diocletian is known for his persecution of the Christians, which would be passé within decades of his death with the Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. But it seems he was a good reformer and his efforts enabled the Roman Empire to last longer. He also retired from office voluntarily, unusual for Roman Emperors. Sadly he only lived for 3 years in his retirement. The story goes that emissaries tried to persuade him to come back to fix the empire but he declined, saying how happy he was in his garden.
The sphinx in the picture really did come from Egypt.
The whole palace complex is part of the modern city of Split and people work and live (and hang out laundry, I could see) within it. So they are definitely not ruins.
We ended up at the fish markets of Split where we saw these unusual (to us) pink fish. I don't know what they are. I'm sure a search will yield the answer but perhaps someone will tell me.
The niece was a bit worried because the bus left at 1355 (it was intended to connect to a Croatian Airlines flight and not the slightly earlier BA flight) and that was cutting it a bit fine, but the bus driver assured her that it would be ok as the airport was seldom crowded. I had to leave at 1345 for my bus but I promised to check by email later how it went.
I reached Zadar about 1720, with a 20 minute stop at Šibenik, familiar territory. I missed two urban buses going to Puntamika, where the hostel was, the first pulled off just as I reached the stand, and I missed the second because I didn't know that number was also valid. No matter, it gave me time to check the timetables in the station for Plitvice NP. I decided that I should visit the national park the very next day because I didn't want to miss the night bus to Pula two days hence in case the return bus was delayed.
Puntamika is about 5 km out of Zadar. It's an area of resorts and other tourist accommodation. The supermarket was closed early because it was Sunday, so I had a dinner of steak and chips. It was expensive, exceeded only by the fish platter we had in Milna, on Brač, but I felt that I deserved a treat after all that hard travel.
The only other occupant of the dorm was a Japanese backpacker, already asleep when I got back. Someone had been to a Gotan concert from a ticket stub left behind. A heavy downpour started just after my return. Good, I will sleep well.
