We woke up in the morning to the sound of pouring rain - it was coming down in bucket loads so we rolled over and either read, or napped for awhile longer. It wasn't cold, but cooler than the previous days.
By about 11am we had got up, umbrellas in hand and appropriate shoes on feet and planned to catch the local bus into the old town but the manager from the hotel we were staying in was heading that way via car so gave us a lift. Zadar has a population of around 70,000 people. Its main highlight is a compact traffic-free old town that follows the old Roman street plan and contains Roman ruins and medieval churches. There are also cool bars and plenty of restaurants to choose from.
First stop in the old town was a cafe for a crossaint and coffee. We then wandered around the various churches, roman ruins, 5 wells square, and city sentinel.
One of the most amazing sites in Zadar is known as the Sea Organ and Sun Salutation, both created by Croatian architect Nikola Basic. The Sea Organ is set within perforated stone stairs that descend into the sea are a system of pipes and whistles that create an incredible sound when the movement of the sea pushes air through it - I can't give you and idea of the sound except I think of whales in low moaning tones.
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Sun Salutation is a 22 metre circle cut into the pavement filled with 300 multilayered glass plates that collect the suns energy during the day and together with wave energy creates a trippy light show (see photos from blog entry 2 days later). Both of these are simply amazing and totally unique for Croatia and Zadar.
Whilst sitting at the Sea Organ we had a chat with a Kiwi and English guy both in Croatia for an electronic music festival. Apparently Croatia hold a number of them over the summer that attracts big crowds of people from Europe.
After the site seeing trip Al and I stopped in for a bowl of pasta at this cute restaurant with a great catch-phrase that is on their menus etc. I thought it was cute and the pasta was great.
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By about 11am we had got up, umbrellas in hand and appropriate shoes on feet and planned to catch the local bus into the old town but the manager from the hotel we were staying in was heading that way via car so gave us a lift. Zadar has a population of around 70,000 people. Its main highlight is a compact traffic-free old town that follows the old Roman street plan and contains Roman ruins and medieval churches. There are also cool bars and plenty of restaurants to choose from.
First stop in the old town was a cafe for a crossaint and coffee. We then wandered around the various churches, roman ruins, 5 wells square, and city sentinel.
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| Relief of the steps and ramparts of the old city on the wall of a government building |
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| Cool fountain |
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| Church of St Donat on the right, and roman ruins in the fore-ground |
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| Square of the 5 wells |
One of the most amazing sites in Zadar is known as the Sea Organ and Sun Salutation, both created by Croatian architect Nikola Basic. The Sea Organ is set within perforated stone stairs that descend into the sea are a system of pipes and whistles that create an incredible sound when the movement of the sea pushes air through it - I can't give you and idea of the sound except I think of whales in low moaning tones.
Sun Salutation is a 22 metre circle cut into the pavement filled with 300 multilayered glass plates that collect the suns energy during the day and together with wave energy creates a trippy light show (see photos from blog entry 2 days later). Both of these are simply amazing and totally unique for Croatia and Zadar.
Whilst sitting at the Sea Organ we had a chat with a Kiwi and English guy both in Croatia for an electronic music festival. Apparently Croatia hold a number of them over the summer that attracts big crowds of people from Europe.
After the site seeing trip Al and I stopped in for a bowl of pasta at this cute restaurant with a great catch-phrase that is on their menus etc. I thought it was cute and the pasta was great.
Back at hotel about 5pm and we headed straight for the water for a swim. As I said, there is no sand but there are only small pebbles on the beach and quite comfortable to lie on. After the swim we had a drink and a small meal (Al had Pag cheese - famous cheese from the region that comes specifically from Pag Island, off the Damalatian Coast), and I had the beef and noodle soup (a specialty in Slovenia that is also on many menus in Croatia) at the hotel whilst watching an incredible sunset. Great way to end a fun day.
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