We left Split on a bus headed to Zadar. The three hour bus ride was awesome - even had great WiFi (which resulted in the completion of many overdue blog posts). We recommend Croatian buses.
Zadar is another ancient city with many Roman ruins in the downtown area. While not exactly on an island, it feels like one, as it is on a peninsula with only a small passageway connecting the city to the mainland. It is a little bigger than Trogir, but not by much.
As always, the city is surrounded by a protective wall with many gates:
My favorite attraction was the Church of St. Donatus. It was built in the 9th century on top of the old forum romanum. It is round in shape with a double ring. The most interesting thing about the church is that it was built out of old Roman materials. It's foundation is now bare, so you can see the antique building materials, including fragments of pillars, stones, and capitals. They even used part of the sacrificial altar to the goddess Juno, which still bears Roman inscriptions. While it no longer serves as a church, concerts are now regularly held there due to the structure's great acoustics.
Church from the ground:
Top view:
Inside:
Roman fragments:
They used a column fragment at the base of the pillar! Crazy!
Probably the most famous thing in Zadar is the Sea Organ, an experimental musical instrument on the shore of the peninsula. It plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath the large marble steps. It produces somewhat random but harmonic tones. Our hotel owner informed us it is listed as one of the 35 most romantic places in the world - a perfect place for us to celebrate our three year anniversary!
Here's a view of the water:
And here we are on the steps:
Near the steps is the Sun Salutation. It's a series of solar panels that power a circular area of leds (and the whole lighting system along the harbor) at night, creating a fun, interactive art piece.
The next day we saw the Cathedral of St. Anastasia:
Climbed the bell tower for a phenomenal view of the city:
Saw St. Mary's Church, located across the square from St. Donatus:
Bought cat food and fed it to a friendly, pregnant park kitty:
Saw St. Michael's Church:
Drank a beer at some more church ruins (Caryl's favorite Croatian activity):
And on our way out of this wonderful town we stopped by the Five Wells square:
Zadar is another ancient city with many Roman ruins in the downtown area. While not exactly on an island, it feels like one, as it is on a peninsula with only a small passageway connecting the city to the mainland. It is a little bigger than Trogir, but not by much.
As always, the city is surrounded by a protective wall with many gates:
My favorite attraction was the Church of St. Donatus. It was built in the 9th century on top of the old forum romanum. It is round in shape with a double ring. The most interesting thing about the church is that it was built out of old Roman materials. It's foundation is now bare, so you can see the antique building materials, including fragments of pillars, stones, and capitals. They even used part of the sacrificial altar to the goddess Juno, which still bears Roman inscriptions. While it no longer serves as a church, concerts are now regularly held there due to the structure's great acoustics.
Church from the ground:
Top view:
Inside:
Roman fragments:
They used a column fragment at the base of the pillar! Crazy!
Probably the most famous thing in Zadar is the Sea Organ, an experimental musical instrument on the shore of the peninsula. It plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath the large marble steps. It produces somewhat random but harmonic tones. Our hotel owner informed us it is listed as one of the 35 most romantic places in the world - a perfect place for us to celebrate our three year anniversary!
Here's a view of the water:
And here we are on the steps:
Near the steps is the Sun Salutation. It's a series of solar panels that power a circular area of leds (and the whole lighting system along the harbor) at night, creating a fun, interactive art piece.
The next day we saw the Cathedral of St. Anastasia:
Climbed the bell tower for a phenomenal view of the city:
Saw St. Mary's Church, located across the square from St. Donatus:
Bought cat food and fed it to a friendly, pregnant park kitty:
Saw St. Michael's Church:
Drank a beer at some more church ruins (Caryl's favorite Croatian activity):
And on our way out of this wonderful town we stopped by the Five Wells square:
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