Split is the second largest city of Croatia on the Adriatic Coast. Hard to believe it has been under Roman, Venetian, Austrian, French, Italian & Yugoslavian Rule.
This is a very pretty city and I decided I wanted to stay away from the crowds, so when we got off the ship, a young man asked us if we wanted a ride into town on his rickshaw, of course I said yes! Once we got to town, which by the way was a distance (no problem if you have good knees, which I do not),so we asked how much he would charge to take us all over the area and he gave us a great price and off we went.
Make sure to get away from the crowds, if you can by rickshaw – and look for Duje, tell him I sent you.
Sustipan
The southwest cape of the Split harbour is called Sustipan after a Middle Aged monastery of St. Stephen under the pine trees, which served as the resting ground to the Croatian Kings. At the beginning of the 19th century Sustipan became Split’s first cemetery, outside of the city at the time, only to be demolished and made into a glorious park.
Our rickshaw driver, Duje, rode us up to this location and the views were spectacular. The blue skies with big white clouds against the dramatic coastline is worth a stop while in Split.
As we walked around the park and took pictures, I saw a nun and decided to take some pictures of her…
Built in the second half of the 15th century, and dedicated to St. Jeronimus, or Jere , saint patron of Dalmatia. Andrija Alessi finishes and signs the altar in 1480. In the immediate vicinity are the hermit hermitages, walled in caves where hermit monks resided protecting the church.
Definitely suggest spending your time on the rickshaw because I felt like rather than spending the whole day walking around another busy city, we got away from the crowds and saw parts of Split I would never have imagined, and loved it.
One of the most picturesque beaches which is a local favorite and surrounded by lush vegetation is called, Jezinac Beach.
As we headed back to town we asked to be dropped off at the old city walls and what better time to find gelato and walk the streets.
As we headed back to our ship, we were walking along the promenade and ran into Duje and all his friends. He said he would be happy to take us back to the ship at no extra cost and we jumped at the chance – saved the knees and time.
Until next time…
Beautiful pictures, I felt like I was in Croatia! The transportation sounded like a great way to get around and really see what the area was like. Fun time!
What an extraordinary time you had…..We wished we had done more of these trips than the excursions. Oh well. Thank you for your insights and fun…hugs
Great photos. We loved Split (except the graffiti) and rickshaw idea was fantastic thinking!