![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.philsego.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_20190419_074518-Large-504x1024.jpg\")
Over the years, we\u2019ve come to a \u201cless is more\u201d travel planning framework, so decided to only focus on southern Croatia, starting with Dubrovnik, going only as far north as Split, and then visiting islands on the return to Dubrovnik. We booked apartments in each place to give ourselves the opportunity to meet some locals and to have a kitchen for leisurely morning coffees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our overnight flight to Dubrovnik (via Dublin on Aer Lingus) was uneventful, and the bus from the airport left us directly at the Pile gate to the Old City. It was a wonderful way to start the trip. While Dubrovnik is full of tourists, nothing can take away from the magic of walking through a thick stone gate and seeing the preserved medieval and Renaissance architecture and the polished white marble of the Stradun, the main street of the old city. Most of Dubrovnik is perched on two hills on either side of the Stradun, but our apartment was just a few blocks off the Stradun on a quiet street in the \u201cflats\u201d of the city. For our first evening, we just wandered, taking in the Venetian influence on the architecture and celebrating only having to wear light jackets. Many of the tour groups visit from cruise ships during the day, so the town is peaceful before 9:00 AM and in the evenings \u2013 at least in April. During the summer all accommodations are double to triple in price and there are long waits at restaurants, so we were very happy to be traveling off season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On our first full day of Dubrovnik, we got up early and walked the walls that surround the old city. While the distance around is less than a mile (the city is surprisingly small) it took us nearly two hours, as we had many stops to see the vistas over the red tiled rooftops, with sun shining on the limestone buildings and the sparkling blue Adriatic. We had also stopped to read some of the placards identifying the damage done to Dubrovnik in the early 1990\u2019s during the war with Serbia, and from the walls could see how many new roof tiles had been needed. We visited several of the city\u2019s museums, including one which still had visible damage from the war.
It didn\u2019t take long to discover Croatian pastries. Croatia\u2019s cuisine is influenced by its many invaders \u2013 Turk\/Ottomans, Hungary, and Venice. Savory flakey boregs, filled with cheese, became a favorite. Apple and cheese strudels reminded Phil of his Hungarian grandmother. Fresh grained breads with local sheep\u2019s cheese were a favorite lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our pace was, for us, pretty sluggish, with daily stops for morning cappuccinos and evening drinks on terraces watching the world go by. On our second day, we fortified ourselves at a terrace restaurant on the main square with coffee and a delicious almond cake before climbing up the many stairs to a fort just outside of Pile Gate. We have never seen Game of Thrones, but it is filmed in Dubrovnik and it was amusing to see some of the props inside of the fort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We ended our Dubrovnik stay with a seafood dinner overlooking the harbor, watching boats come in under swooping gulls and swallows. It was so very peaceful and beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We traveled by bus to Split. Estimates for the trip were 4 hours, but clearly that didn\u2019t include the border stops. Bosnia-Herzegovina has a small bit \u2013 just 6 miles – of sea access that bisects the road from Dubrovnik to Split, and relations between the two countries appears strained. At each border, a border agent got onto the bus, collected all passports, took them off to be checked, and then redistributed them, carefully checking photos to be sure everyone got the right passport. This added a 25-30 minute stop at each border. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After checking in to our apartment, just two blocks from the Golden Gate of the old city, we began exploring. Split\u2019s old city is within the walls of what was originally Roman Emperor Diocletian\u2019s retirement palace. Now, 3,000 people make their home within the palace ruins. We went through every corner of the city, sometimes to catch the early morning light and sometimes in the evening, amazed each time at the preserved Roman ruins intertwined with centuries of new buildings. Layer upon layer of history, with sphinxes that the Romans brought from Egypt in corners just to make it even more historical. Really magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We took a day trip to Trogir, just a short bus ride from Split, after a visit to the extensive vegetable market in Split. Trogir is a UNESCO Heritage Site, a perfectly preserved medieval city. We had a coffee in the square and were lucky enough to catch several performances of traditional klapa singers in the medieval loggia of one of the palaces. From Trogir we took a bus to the Kastela \u2013 small towns along the water, each with a fortified \u201ccottage\u201d that defended the harbor at various points. We were able to find excellent pastry shops to keep us going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On our last day in Split, we visited the cavernous basement that is the foundation of Diocletian\u2019s palace, which gave a sense of the scale of the building. We walked along the waterfront, the place to \u201csee and be seen\u201d in Split, backed by the remains of one of the walls of the palace, and found the ferry company that would be our means of transport for our next sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Split, we took the ferry south to Hvar. During high-season, Hvar is the playground of the wealthy \u2013 it is the island where Prince Andrew apparently partied his way into infamy at some point. However, we arrived on Easter morning, and it was very quiet. The ferry sailed into the picturesque Mediterranean harbor, with stone houses and terracotta roofs winding up the hills from the dock. Hvar has a large public square that ends at a medieval cathedral, and it is a stunning small town. We had an apartment quite a few stairs up the hill from the plaza, so got a good workout during our Hvar stay. Our apartment owners were lovely, and greeted us with a homemade Easter bread and chocolates. Once we got settled, we wandered back down to the plaza, and watched the families leaving church services, with all the mothers carrying their children\u2019s Easter baskets. Most of the shops were closed for the holiday, so we were able to wander around and enjoy the aromas of orange blossoms and honeysuckle as we walked around the coat line. Hvar is known for its wine and cheeses. We did our duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the next day, we got up early for a 500-foot ascent up a hill to the fortress that overlooks the town. There were few other people around, so we had the beautiful vistas to ourselves. As the afternoon wore on the winds started up, and our landlady informed us that there was a chance that our ferry onwards to Korcula could be cancelled. It was good that she warned us as we would have carried our bags all the way down to the ferry landing the next day; instead we called in the morning and learned that the boat was cancelled. We notified our Korcula hostess and decided to explore the other \u201cmajor\u201d city on the island, Stari Grad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kocula surprised us. The old cityis tiny, located inside a renaissance fort that stuck out into the Adriatic on a peninsula. The peninsula is so small that ferries use both sides of peninsula, whichever side is free at the moment. The village is also beyond sleepy. It has only one main street, with tiny alleys branching off it. The village is frozen in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The village dates to the 12th century – or perhaps to Greek times – depending on the history one reads. The primary entrance is via a 14th century former drawbridge, up a flight of picturesque steps, and then stepping into “Trg Antuna i Stjepana Radi\u0107a”, the town’s central square. The square is tiny, and is dominatedby the Cathedral of St. Mark, (14th C.), decorated with all types of animals, withmedieval buildings on the other side of the small street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Korcula is supposedly the birthplace of Marco Polo – at least according to local lore (which Venetians dispute). Nevertheless, his supposed birthplace is now a museum (unfortunately closed for renovations while we were there). The Town Museum, near the Cathedral of St. Mark, provided an understanding the history of the city of Korcula and its relationship with Venice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The village is surrounded by the remnants of the city’s walls. The circumference is now the home to numerous restaurants. We sat on the north side watching a massive cruise ship disgorge boatload after boatload of tourists into smaller shuttle boats, giving us a taste of the summertime hordes that descend on this amazing place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n