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Our next stop down the Dalmatian coast was Split, another 3.5 hour bus ride south of Zadar (every single bus ride we took in Croatia, no matter the distance covered, lasted between 3 and 4 hours - what’s with that?) This is where we saw our first dalmatian dog in Dalmatia … get it? Haha. Apparently that particular dog breed is actually thought to have originated on this coast. And no, that’s not a dalmatian dog in the photo - cats (of all colours) also ran free all over Split, and some of them lucked out by getting tasty snacks from the fish market.

The highlight here was Diocletian’s Palace. Diocletian was the Emperor of Rome untli 305, when he retired to his cushy new palace in what is now Split. He was the first Roman emperor to retire voluntarily, supposedly so he could spend his time growing cabbage. He left behind a fractured empire under the rule of 4 emperors: 2 for the East and 2 for the West of the empire.

The centre of modern Split is built in and over what remains of the palace. The ruins are ok, but over the centuries much of the stonework was taken apart by Split inhabitants for new buildings. There was quite a bit of enthusiasm for the local soccer team, Hajduk Split, but there was an uglier side to the graffiti we encountered around Split: slogans such as “Srbi Out”.

We lucked out with the weather and decided to spend a second night in Split. There was no Hostelling International location in Split, so after checking out a tiny closet of a room near the train station, we had taken a couple of dorm beds in Hostel Mediterranean Split a bit closer to the town centre. The price was the same, and the first night we had the hostel to ourselves. There was even a small kitchen available, and the caretaker gave us her office keys so we could use the office computer and internet whenever we wanted. Unfortunately, on the second night a large Finnish man checked in and proceeded to snore loudly enough to shake the windows. That was less than fun.

We spent our second day in Split in outdoor cafes and on patios, progressing from coffee/juice next to these lovely gentlemen in the morning, to large beers at a place where the seating was made up of cozy bench swings.

For dinner, we ate at a fishermen’s buffet the first night. It was very very casual, and also quite smoky. The house wine was ridiculously cheap and I had some yummy grilled fish (red mullet? not sure). We were quite obviously tourists so it was a bit uncomfortable among the locals at the beginning, but once the wine started flowing it was a fun night.

The second dinner we ate in Split was at a Riva (waterfront) restaurant where I ordered the Dentex with polenta. I didn’t realize the Croats add cuttlefish ink to their version of polenta, so my dish was an unappetizing shade of … well, black. Apparently so was my tongue, but Ian didn’t tell me until much later!

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