Split Croatia -> 2 nights

I didn't really know what to expect going into Croatia as I had heard very little about it before our trip. All I really knew is that it is an eastern european country on the Adriatic and its where MMA fighter Mirko Cro Cop "the Croatian Sensation" was from. We flew from Rome to the city of Split. The flight was less than an hour and as we got off the plane and were waiting for our bags, Jack's came but mine did not (this is the first time an airline lost my bag on the trip). So I went to their lost and found area and put my report in to a guy speaking broken english and smoking a cigarette. He told me that my bag was probably in Rome still but could have been sent to Zurich, I was hoping for scenario one. He went on to explain that the budget airline that we were on does not deliver lost baggage so we would have to come back to the airport to pick it up and he would let us know if and when it arrives. This threw a wrench into our plans because we were only supposed to spend 1 night in Split. So we ended up staying 2 nights and my bag had still not arrived so we decided to press on without it and I would just travel a little lighter. So we get to our hostel and got settled in before going for a walk around town to check things out. There was an area nearby with shops so I bought a toothbrush, bathing suit, t-shirt, pair of underwear and a pair of sandals all for 80 kuna (kunas are the Croatian form of currency and 80 kuna is like 25 bucks so I made out like a bandit.) Here is a shot from the plane coming into Croatia. The picture does not do it justice but basically there all these little islands all along the coast, it is really cool to see. 

Here is a main drag through Split. This had the store where I bought all my clothes and everything. It was inside a palace from the year 305 AD built for the Croatian Emporer Diocletian. Throughout the palace now is all these shops and restaurants for tourists and it is really well preserved considering its over 1700 years old.

Here is a giant cruise ship that was leaving port. It was yuuuuge.

We stumbled across this sign that said the Marjan Trail and

 we had nothing better to do and time to kill so we decided to check it out. We walked up steps for about 20 minutes and all we were thinking was about how bad we wanted a beer because it was like 80 degrees out. Here is the view from the top.

Well, it turns out the Croatians really got their shit straight because at the top of the trail, there's a bar. This wasn't any bar, it was on this outdoor deck with a spectacular view, it had couches, a retractable sun shade and smooth jazz playing in the background. We could have sat there all day but we had to keep on keepin' on so we settled for a few beers before we moved on. We continued along the trail and saw signs for a zoo. We had more time to kill still, so we checked it out. The entry fee was 4 kuna (like 75 cents). It turns out you get what you pay for because this was like the land of misfit zoo animals. Here are some pictures from the zoo. 

I stood at the fence taunting this llama for about 3 minutes before Jack made us leave. I am not even going to put up any more pictures from the zoo because they're so pointless. Some highlights were peacocks and chickens that walked around uncaged, a blue butted baboon,goats, and black bears in a 10 foot by 10 foot cell that just walked back and forth and stared at you. This is why you hear about bears in zoo's attacking people in other countries, it was legit like they were in prison.

We went to the beach one day, there are very few sandy beaches in Croatia. Most beaches are pebbles or just sheer rocks, that is the one downside about Croatia if you find that to be a downside. But here are some shots from da beach mahn.

Nightlife in Split was pretty tame. They said it was because it was september and the end of the tourist season. One night we took an absinthe shot after dinner. We did it the real way, where you drop the sugar cube in the absinthe and then light it on fire before you drink it. It tasted like warm sambuca (which I like) but it had very little effect on me or I wasnt tripping balls at least and I was quite disappointed. One night we were gonna take it easy and we went back to our hostel around 11, but there was this Australian kid there by himself who had just been on a cruise where he bought 5 liters of vodka for like 20 kuna (5 dollars for 4 bottles.) Needless to say we stayed up till 4am drinking cheap vodka and rockin out to AC/DC. The next day was our ferry ride to Hvar (our next stop). Miserable is a good word to describe how I felt.

Antolini said he'd never been to Croatia, but he had no alibi for this piece of evidence. Definitely his handwriting too. Next up, Hvar, stay tuned.