Mediterranean Trip Day 4: A Stop in Split 🇭🇷

For my first stop, I am back in Croatia. This time in the historically significant city of Split! Tour the home of Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, explore Emperor Diocletian's palace, and take a scenic drive to dine on local Croatian cuisine with me.

For my first full day on board the Oceania Riviera, I began with breakfast in the grand dining room while the ship docked in Split. Soon enough I was off for a full day of adventure through the Oceania excursion 'Best of Split and Its Countryside.' First we all got on a bus and drove to the home of Ivan Mestrovic, a famous Croatian sculptor that made detailed forms out of marble, copper, and wood. The home was quite fascinating and was filled with incredible works of art that truly expressed all ranges of human emotion. My favorite part about Mestrovic's work is how he incorporates people from his own life into iconic images - like using the face of his wive or son as the face of Jesus or Mary to draw parallels between events in his life and messages from the bible. Ivan Mestrovic left many of his sculptures to the Croatian people (not the government) but his works are displayed around the world - recognizable by their signature long fingers.

Getting back on the bus, our group drove into the historical center of Split where we toured the subterranean levels of Roman Emperor Diocletian's palace. Since Diocletian murdered so many Christians during his reign, afterwards, many people began to move into his palace, destroying the upper apartments and throwing raw material into the lower levels and filling it up as a sort of dumpster while the constructed homes in and around the complex. Since the lower levels were so solidly filled, it has been preserved extremely well and much of the original brick-work is still standing today. Interestingly, the Croatian people still live amongst the palace and it is almost hidden behind and amidst a network of apartments and shops. Some lower levels cannot be cleared of debris today because it partially supports inhabited apartments above.

Moving through, we went to the Temple of Jupiter, originally Diocletian's temple since he claimed to be the son of the Roman god Jupiter, it was later converted into a Christian baptism location. Then we entered the cathedral which although beautiful, is incredibly small. Due to its unimpressive size, a large bell tower - which you can walk up - was added next door to increase the presence of the cathedral.

Our tour guide gave us some free time in Split, so my mom and I made a stop for gelato (as is our tradition when we travel) and returned to the vendors that line the entrance of the palace for some souvenir shopping. My mom picked out a snow globe to add to my sister's collection, and I bought matching Croatian red coral bracelets for my sister and I.

Traveler's Tip:

There is a lot of fake Croatian coral jewelry or some made with only coral dust to achieve the color. Be sure to purchase from a reputable seller.

We took a quick walk around before heading back to meet the bus and drive out of Split and into the countryside.

Traveler's Tip:

There are clean public restrooms in Split's historical center, but you must have either a 5 Kuna or 1 Euro coin to enter. There are money exchanges close by too.

Note: 1 Euro = $1.02 USD and 5 Kuna = $0.68 USD

The drive to the town of Omis was beautiful and we even got to see half of a new but unfinished bridge hanging in the air which was quite an eerie sight. This bridge project is supposed to alleviate the traffic we were caught in. It was our traffic-induced late arrival along with strong winds that caused our river boat cruise to be cancelled which was a bit of a bummer. However, we made it to the serene local restaurant just as well.

The restaurant, restoran Radmanove Mlinice, cooks out of an old mill and all seating is outdoors under the shade of large trees with the ambiance of a bubbling river flowing past it. Typically you can reach the restaurant by river boat. Our typical Croatian meal began with wine, bread, olives, smoked cheese, and prosciutto; was followed by a main dish called Peka which consisted of potatoes, pork, and chicken stewed together; and finished with small doughnut like balls topped with powdered sugar for dessert. It was soon time to drive back to the ship, and to avoid traffic, we took a winding road up the mountain and got to have a good view of the countryside and city of Omis below.

Back on board, I took my classic siesta, read the paper, did some Duolingo (so I don't forget all my Spanish before college) and went to the grand dining room for a light dinner as the ship left Split. We are now sailing to Montenegro!

I'll see you back here tomorrow with more adventures from the Mediterranean!

Always,

Paris