At the Crossroads

Split is home to one of the most impressive architectural remnants from Rome, Diocletion's palace. That said, it is not your typical archeological site. Over the centuries it has been adapted to be the old town of the city - using crumbling pieces of the Roman palace complex to create apartment buildings amidst what remains from the original edifice - not a ton, but plenty to recognize what might have stood here in centuries past. The Mausoleum where Diocletian was buried still stands, though like most relics from that age in Christian Europe, has been adapted to a church. One can also pay to go below the streets to see the original basement of the palace, with rooms that mirror that which sat above them. The old town area has plenty of small nooks and crannies, with small little cafes at every turn, and a fair bit of charm if one can look beyond the tourist oriented culture thriving this time of year. Beyond the walls of the palace is a second tier of old town, almost as interesting but without the roman flare. There is just as much life though, and would be in and of itself a cool area to see if not for being overshadowed by what lies directly next door. The rest of the city is typically grimy but vibrant port city with its fair share of intimidating, sparse rocky mountain ranges once moving further inland over an industrialized bay. It reminds a lot of naples, or to a small extent Pula, a fast paced life in a city crawling with people. There are though, way too many tourists - English speaking - who arrive and leave in an instant on the way out to the Islands. It is a shame, but obviously a big part of the local economy.

As you probably can tell, I am really taken by this city, a close second to being my favorite on this trip right behind Ljubliana. It has almost the beauty of Dubrovnik, but more bustle and life to it making it seems a little bit more real, a little bit more alive. And, as found all over Croatia and Slovenia, it teems with some of the most beautiful women I have seen, though my fellow travellers claim I havent seen anything yet, that the further east I travel, the better they get. We shall see. As mentioned yesterday I head inland tomorrow to Mostar, in Bosnia but part of the Hercegovina portion. It is a divided town, with a Muslim and Serb populations living on different sides of the the river which is spanned by what is the quintessential Balkan picture, the Mostar bridge. Any book or travel guide on the region uses it as their cover photo, and though only three years old - this iteration, it had been blown up in the most recent war - its said to be a pretty amazing spectacle in person. They used many of the same pieces to rebuild it after some Croat hooligans destroyed it back in 93 despite UNESCO protection. I think this is to be a really interesting place to spend two nights, given the Muslim influence and latent tension. It is a city that even 4 years ago the state department didnt want us to go, but now its cool, dont worry.

Ok, two in a row, feeling good about it. Hope you are all well. It is too hot - high 30s - and am going to spend the afternoon at the beach.

Also, nearby in Sibenek: