Feb 16

Feb 16 Nina's business trip to Split

Since Thomas is currently between jobs (woho!!) we could both go for Ninas business trip to Split. At home it is still full blown winter, but in Croatia it is spring. Some days were close to what we in Norway would refer to as summer.

Diocletians Palace is the star attraction in Split. It is an ancient fortress originally built as a retirement palace for the emperor Diocletian in the 4th century. Today it is bursting with shops and restaurants, and during summer; tourists. Since we were here off-season we had the whole place to ourselves. Walking the streets inside the palace felt like being part of an episode of Game of Thrones. Actually, the palace has been location for GoT, the basement is where Daenerys Targaryen kept her dragons.

Inside the narrow streets of the Diocletian Palace

Just outside the palace, along the shore we found the Riva (the waterfront promenade). This is where you go to see and be seen. It’s like a catwalk where people go to promenade and show off their new clothes. There are lots of cafes to chose from, although slightly higher priced due to the great location.

The end of the Riva is beautifully lit up during night.

One afternoon we went in to the Bellevue to admire its cool 1970’s style. Once inside, Nina found this good looking golden lab:

If you want to avoid the crowds, visit Split in February. It was sunny most of the week we where there with temperatures between 10-20°C although a little windy some days. As you can see from the picture of the Procurative, there’s plenty of space.

Prokurative, or the Republic Square is the biggest and, according to Bellevue Hotel’s webpage, the most beautiful town square. The square is used for concerts and other cultural events.

I love good street art, this piece was just outside Leopolds Delicatessen Bar. Visit Leopold if you’re into craft beer!

I just realised that there is not any mention of food in this post. There should be, the food was great. We had fish most evenings and enjoyed locally produced cheese and cured ham for snacks.

Cured ham, local cheese and an Aperol Spritz.

Our walnut liqueur project

Last September we went to Denmark where we found a walnut tree. This gave us the idea for our own DIY walnut liqueur, and Split was a great place for us to do some further research. Behind the palace we found the market where local farmers can sell their produce. Croatia is famous for their walnut liqueur, Orahovac, and we wanted to try some home made liqueur. Nina and I have planned to make our own walnut liqueur and sampling det various local products helped us to become more familiar with the product (and just a little tipsy). We quickly learned that the branded version was more to our taste, as the home made stuff was quite strong. In July we plan a new trip to Denmark to visit our friends and pick green walnuts for our own production. You’ll hear more about that project later this year.