2 Trips from Dubrovnik: Split and Lokrum

We are rolling these two trips in to one blog post but they are different in that one is a stone's throw from Dubrovnik and the other is hours north -- and we took them quite a distance apart time-wise. They are, however, similar in that we really enjoyed both experiences.



Lokrum

Lokrum is a small island which is a very short boat ride across from Dubrovnik. It is a great place to explore with lots of beautiful views of both the Adriatic and Dubrovnik, bunnies and peacocks, a botanical garden area, walking paths, swimming spots and ruins of a monastery.

Pea hen and her pea chickies

Peacock taking advantage

One of the many MANY bunnies

Unfortunately due to family dynamics we got there later than we'd wanted to which meant that our time was limited in order to catch the last boat back. However, we made the most of our visit by walking around a bit, enjoying the vistas, swimming into a cave in a salt 'pond' and swimming in the Adriatic. We really recommend this place as a great spot to visit and spend the day. We had been hoping to get back to it before we left Dubrovnik but we ran out of time!

Facing Dubrovnik

Lokrum has an exercise park too!

Some call this the Dead Sea -- a natural pool with a cave to swim in to

Otis gives a wave

Split

We took a weekend to head north to check out Split in combination with our canyoning trip. It is a fairly easy (and pretty) three and change hour drive along the coast and you do go through Bosnia Herzogovenia for those interested in another passport stamp.

Road trip view

View from the road of Wall of Ston, which is known to very few as "The Great Wall of Europe"

Lots of wildlife crossings!

We arrived in the early afternoon, checked into our Airbnb, which was has been one of our favorites so far, and set off for some lunch. Chris found a great choice called Makrovega which was perfect for us and we fueled up for an afternoon of walking around.

All of this tastiness was about $11

After lunch we wandered over to an unusual storefront called Froggyland. It is an odd place to find a vegan and a bunch of frog admirers but I think the statute of limitations ran out 99 years ago on this thing (we go to natural history museums too). Anyway, this place is full of hundreds of taxidermied frogs in large dioramas positioned to look like they are doing everyday human activities that appealed to folks living at the turn of the century -- going to school, after the pub closes, a scene from a courtroom, numerous outdoor scenes like enjoying a walk brookside and also playing basketball which triggered Otis's suspicions about the claim that this exhibit was over 100 year old. He was dubious that a game invented in Massachusetts in the late 1800s would have become so popular that it would have been a top choice for a froggy diorama created by a Hungarian not too many years later. Hmmm. He may have a point. This place was weird but we had a fun if not strange time there, and that is a big reason for going on this trip -- seeing fun and strange sights.

We didn't miss this opportunity 

Pictures of the actual diorama were not allowed

After Froggyland, we walked around through Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is Split's old town and it is really something to behold. Roman Emperor Diocletian retired from his role in the Empire in the 300s and moved on back down to retire in Split (he was believed to have originally hailed from the region). Naturally, he needed a beautiful palace and in the way that Roman emperors do (or cause to be done), he built a massive and beautiful complex of imported marble and naturally threw in some sphinxes from Egypt. 

Lots to admire

Can ferret out a feline anywhere

View of the Peristyle outside of the church

On the phone with Nina while Otis loads up Pokemon biz in the Peristyle. The cushions are for bar patrons who want to stop in and have a drink while sitting in the square.

The ruins have been added on to throughout the centuries and are very much alive, housing shops, restaurants, hotels and other businesses -- and a thriving tourist economy. Otis and I poked our heads into St. Dominus, once a temple but later converted to a Catholic church which must have had Christian-persecuting Diocletian spinning in his grave (which was actually a tomb, which was...located in the church. Karma!). Chris climbed to the top of the bell tower not really for the view so much as to have some time to himself (he got the gorgeous view anyway). Nearby is the Temple of Jupiter.

Church and bell tower 

Outside of Jupiter's Temple (whoo! narrow!)

From the top

Strolling the Riva

We spent the afternoon wandering around, hanging out for a bit on the Riva, which is Split's waterside promenade lined with cafes, benches, flaneurs and vendors. We headed back to our place for a breather and so I could work. At dinner time, we retraced our steps, grabbing some dinner at a burger bar.

Sunset view from our Airbnb

After our giant veggie burgers, we ambled back down the Riva. It was a pretty night. Lots of people were out and there was a concert going which added to the ambiance, but we couldn't stay out late...we had an intense day of canyoning ahead of us!
Split was very pretty and well worth the trip. We had been wondering if after visiting Split we'd feel badly that we chose to stay in Dubrovnik instead of Split for the month but that isn't the case. Split is actually a very big city and for our purposes, Dubrovnik was a far better choice. We do wish we had been able to spend a couple more days there, because we found where we stayed in the old section to have a really nice character and vibe.

Riva at night

Outside the palace walls, ready for a fun day ahead (or were we?)