A day on the Croatian Coast

For the past week or so I had been debating where to go over the long weekend. I facebooked a classmate from Croatia, and she sold me on her home country. I was at first going to go with some other girls, but they had other trips planned or school assignments (some people here actually have to study) so I got on the bus at 10:00 with just my backpack. My shoulder bag stuffed with a jacket made a perfect  pillow, and I slept remarkably well considering. The bus was unloaded at the Slovenian border sometime around 2 am for passport control. A few minutes later a Croatian border guard walked through the bus, and we were officially admitted into Croatia.
Besides a short stop at a rest station (with a meters long line for the bathroom), I the next thing I distinctly remember is blearily asking the fellow next to me if the bus leader had just announced that we were in Zadar. At 5 am I stumbled off the bus, asked a taxi driver which direction town was, and walked through the gate as the sun hit the islands. My first hours in Zadar were spent walking along the white stone promenade and through the city. There is a "sea organ"built along the wall which is "played" by the waves as they roll in. The rhythmic splashing of the water was turned into chords which were quiet and peaceful in the morning and louder when the breeze picked up in the evening. You can listen to it on the Videos page. (click Read more)



By seven the market was starting to buzz. Zadar has a special fish market built inside the city walls and full of the local catches. Raw fish didn't sound so great for breakfast so I visited two bakery stands to satiate my grumbling stomach. It was even more fun at the fruit stands, where I tried to explain to the apricot lady that I only wanted one piece of fruit, but ended up with one kilo! The currency in Croatia is the Kuna, which was trading at about 7,5 Kn : €1. Even in a tourist town like Zadar, everything runs cheaper. Boutique gelato cones are 6 Kn (€0,81 vs Graz, €1,10), a gourmet cappuccino 10 Kn (€1,35 vs Graz, €2,50-€3).
At 8-ish I stumbled across my lodging, Hostel Elena, and decided to give it a shot even though I was not technically supposed to check in until 12:00. The owner greeted me at the door, showed me to the bathroom so I could freshen up and change clothes, let me deposit my heavy backpack in the office, and then led me up to the kitchen on the top floor and put a pot of water on for tea for me, since it was still so early that I probably didn't want to go see the city yet. The hostel was full of English, Aussie, and American students/recent graduates.
My morning/afternoon consisted of walks through the harbor, a Franciscan monestary/museum, a ride across the harbor from one of the "Boatmen of Zadar" in his bright orange boat (rowed standing up), finishing my history class reading at a cafe, sun-bathing on the wharf and beach, visiting the archeology museum, catching one of the Zadar sunsets over the islands made famous by Alfred Hitchcock, and my first Casablanca at the Garden. Why is it that when I finally find my ultimate club I am travelling alone? Relaxed music, bean-bag chairs and pillows stacked on benches, overlooking the harbor from the top of the city wall. Dreamy!