The ruins and its laundry.

Day 4, Part II

Split, Croatia

It was dark as we got to Split. We phoned the owner of the apartment to say that we were near. But getting to the apartment proved much more challenging than the map pointed out. The city was old, and so were the streets. They were narrow and sprawled everywhere. There were cars and bikes parked in all sorts of positions along the sides. The one-way system took us into a maze, with street signs often disappearing. It finally took us an hour to find the place with the help of the owner, Suzi. She was really helpful to us. Earlier, she offered to meet us at the port, but as we had a map, we thought it unnecessary. However, later we’d find out that the map showed steps as a street, lacking in street names, and was just unreliable in such a place. But we knew that the apartment was near the centre, so it couldn’t be far from where we were driving around, after all, Split isn’t a big place at all.

We decided to tell her the street we were on, which happened to be around the corner of the apartment. The small street that the apartment was on connected to another small street, which was called something else on the map. It turned out that she was waiting for an hour with her husband, a taxi driver, and her children, and who seemed to be friends, too. Not sure why they were all waiting for us. Maybe it was some sort of welcoming party, but I couldn’t see anything that even resembled such a thing.

So, after some awkward uphill reverse parallel parking, she showed us the apartment. It was through some gates and in a tiny courtyard. The building in the outside was a bit run down, so we didn’t know what to expect inside. She opened the door, and it was modern inside, as it if had been recently renovated. The room we stepped into was a small room with a dining table and a kitchen unit. There were two hobs on the cooker, and pans in a cupboard, not that we’d be using them. There was an old banana and half a Twix in the fridge, and all the cutlery and crockery in the other cupboards.

The bathroom had a decent shower and all the facilities, including a washing machine. There were also two bedrooms, one with a double bed and another with two singles. Both had air-conditioning (with remotes) and satellite television, which also had German channels.

The apartment was great. It was good to have a room each, especially after that night in Ljubljana. And at the equivalent of nine Euros each per night, how could we complain?

So, we dumped our stuff there and walked into town, which took a grand total of five minutes (which was another great thing about the apartment and the price). We had a look around the centre, and it was old. The walls were still original, but in good condition. The streets and alleyways were narrow, with the same slabs and pacing that were placed there centuries ago. The buildings were old and weary, but still used for bars, restaurants, shops, banks and even accommodation. The buildings are built around the ruins. The original Roman pillars still stand in the bank offices, even though they only reach shoulder height and no longer hold up any roof. There are gate arches over streets, connecting one building to another, yet they serve no real purpose now. Flats and apartments are in the old stone walls, with tiny windows overlooking the narrow walkways and squares. Their occupants’ laundry hangs on small lines over streets and tiny yards and the countless people who walk them. However, despite being this a weekend, the centre was absolutely deserted. In such a place, we expected quite a lot of people in bars and restaurants and walking around in groups making noise and stumbling around drunk. But there was hardly anyone to be seen. It was quiet, which seemed to be very eerie in such a place.

We found this restaurant that Suzi recommended, it was at the far end of the front and apparently it was cheap, but good. There was, however, a lot of cats around, presumably stray ones. But they didn’t just go around this area; they were nearly everywhere, even by the apartment. But these cats were comical; doing normal cat things, like chasing each other, play fighting. We could see them running around on the canopy above us.

I had some shark, as I thought I’d try out the local stuff, especially as it was by the sea. And it was nice, too, especially with this kind of vinegar and pepper. And after a while walking around this ancient settlement and along the front, we heard some voices and laughter. We couldn’t see where they were, until we looked up and on a balcony, there was this bar. So we went to see what it was like.

We climbed these stairs into this narrow, dark bar and sat down. The balcony was even narrower and busy, but eventually found somewhere to sit. And as it happens, there were two Irish guys sitting next to us. They weren’t the same ones in Ljubljana, and they were in a more cheery mood and went on about how great it was to win the Grand Slam. One of them was really drunk, trying to hug his friend and joking about his bald head, even though he was bald himself. But it was funny to watch, especially as he tried to get his drunken friend off him.

But now it was time to go back to the apartment. We caught up with the Irish guys on the way back, one who tried to climb a statue, and the other who hid behind a corner to jump out on his friend, but his plan failed when he mistook us for him. They obviously had quite a lot to drink, so I wonder if they did get up early enough to go to Hvar the next day.