Vagabundo del Mundo

First of all, Thank You to everyone who took the time to send me Happy Birthday wishes by email. It was quite a surprise to open my email today to so many e cards and emails.
so back to the boat from Italy to Split
There was something calming and satisfying about leavaing Italy in the late afternoon and arriving in Croatia in the morning. My original plans had been to travel down the Adriatic coast of Italy to Bari, then take the ferry to Dubrovnik. However, I became impatient with Italy and decided to make the early move from Ancona to Split. The best part was that I didnt know a thing about Split. So my expectations were zero.

The first thing that struck me when I arrived was the immense difference in hospitality between the Croatians and the Italians. I was greeted at the boat dock by several older Croatian women offering Sobe or Rooms at a reasonable price. (This would become a staple of my accomodation in Croatia) I chose one and followed her back to the family apartment where she showed me to my room. Afterwards her and her husband invited me to morning coffee, turkish cofee freshly prepared. It was only 8am but I was feeling good so I went for a shower and to explore the town. They wouldnt let me leave without taking a sip of Croatian plum brandy, a traditional sharing between Croatians and there guest. 8 am or not I had a few sips, bumbčled thrpough some rough conversation and went on my way.

The city center of Split is the old Diocletian Palcae that the Roman Emperor had contructed in 300AD. It was later used as a Roman Army fortress and later inbaited by the people of Salona when thay were forced to flee there city in the 7th century. This is ironic because the Salonians were persecuted by Diocletian himself who personally saw to the execution of the Martyr Domin and all of his followers. There are still Salonians living in the palace to this day. even though a UNESCO world heritage site, this palace is far from preserved. The locals fraternize bars and restaurants, stores and shops. There are lots of great pubs and night life throughout the palace. The whole time I just couldnt wrap my mind around having a few beers in a 1700 year old palace.

I actually got stuck in Split for a little longer than planned. I met some great people including a young fotographer named Ivana. In the pub where I met Ivana, she has managed to decorate all of the walls were here signature photos of black and white nudes. Also the owners of a great restaurant who had met on a Croatian Yacht sailing around the world, made for lots of great conversation. By my last day, I coulčdny walk through the center without being greeted by people I had met. Its a big city but the center is small and you see everyone there. All in all I could have easily stayed for quite a while, but I was feeling the pinch of a May 9th departure from Munich and I decided to press on.
Heres a good shot of a typical alleyway in Split passing through Diocletians palace. Late a night and after a few, well, you can imagine

So I headed off to the Isalnd of Brac for a little relaxation where I rented a one bedroom apartment for $12 a night. Got in some good R and R and headed for Dubrovnik