When the dust settled after the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia was definitely left with the lions share of the scenery – mountains, forests, and 1800kms of beautiful coastline with stunning ancient ports and hundreds of Adriatic islands. We sampled the modern and pleasant capital of Zagreb before taking the train down to the coastal port of Split. From there we boated to a couple islands, finishing off in the stunning port castle of Dubrovnik.
One huge highlight was meeting up with our Kiwi friend, Rebekah, who used to live near us in Phnom Penh for a couple years. Together we boated, trained, bused, dined, hiked, relaxed and took in all that Croatia has to offer.
Although we can't help think about events like the Siege of Dubrovnik in the early 90s, Croatia is further ahead past the events of the Yugoslav war than some of it's Balkan neighbors.
Some quirks – you get charged for ketchup per portion with your fries and you have to pay extra per bag that you put under long distance buses. To their credit, they smoke and graffiti a lot less than their Balkan neighbors.
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Croatia is as dramatic looking as its name suggests. Rugged coastal mountains plunging into the clear turquoise of the Adriatic.
It is absolutely stunning.
But even more exciting that the natural beauty surrounding us was meeting up with Rebekah who used to live in Cambodia. I couldnƒ??t have asked for a more spectacular place to reconnect over cappuccinos and wine than Diocletianƒ??s palace in Split and the old city of Dubrovnik!
Highlights:
-the high-speed train from Zagreb to Split, traversing mountains passes full of snow, tunnels through the hills, and panoramic vistas on our way to the coast.
-an early morning coffee in Diocletianƒ??s palace with Bex followed by an a-cappella group serenading us in one of the ruinƒ??s domes.
-a whirlwhind shopping spree with Bex at a cute little mall in Split
-overnighting in Korcula, a gorgeous island just off the coast from Dubrovnik
-celebrating our ninth anniversary out on the town in Dubrovnik (a serious contender for most-romantic-city-in-the-world) without the kids, thanks to Rebekah.
-Amie
