Dalmatian Cruise: Split

Early morning as we approach Split

Split, our next port of call, was what I’d hoped to find on this cruise down the Dalmatian coast. Having read that the scenery was spectacular, we were up and out on our balcony again early on the morning of the 12th May. I missed the sunrise, but as we approached the city, I was

Palm trees on the waterfront reminded me of Nice

struck by its

Shapes of buildings along the quay with mountains behind.

similarity to Nice on the south coast of France. Palm trees lined a boulevard that runs along the water front, the harbour was busy with large tourist ships like ours, lining up to dock, and the local fishermen seemed to compete with leisure craft bustling about on the water which really was a stunning shade of blue.

Part of the ancient palace wall used to create today’s business and living quarters

From a distance everything looked well maintained, but this is an old port city. The famous palace, which still occupies a large area, was built towards the end of the 3rd century when the then Roman emperor, Diocletian, decided to retire from his position in Constantinople (he was very unpopular, so the smart move was to return to his homeland before someone killed him) and use Greek slaves to build his palace, including a mausoleum. (More about that later.)

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Dalmatian Cruise: Zadar

A panoramic image of the sea, the sky and the city of Zadar.

After taking those amazing photos of the sunrise, (scroll down to them if you missed that post) we retreated inside the cabin for breakfast – fruit, yoghurt, eggs, bacon, sausage and tomato plus a pot of tea for Sue and a pot of coffee for me – enough for a family of four served to each of us, by our very obliging butler. By the time we finished breakfast and got dressed, our ship was approaching land, so we went back to our balcony to take more photos.

Zadar is now part of Croatia but in the past it belonged to Rome, to Venice and to Italy after WW1. It was heavily bombed by the Germans in 1944 and became part of Yugoslavia when Tito moved in later that year.

From our position at sea

Plenty of building activity in the new part of the city

we could see that today Zadar is a bustling modern city with lots of tall buildings and in the distance, the mountains create an interesting backdrop. I had the impression that the people of Zadar enjoy water sports in summer and skiing in winter.

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Dalmatian Cruise: Off the coast of Zadar Croatia

5.50 am

5.52 am

Up very early (for me) on our second morning, the 11th May 2016, I captured the sunrise as we headed for Zadar in Croatia.

5.53am

5.55am

If I wasn’t taking these photos I wouldn’t believe the way the sky changed from moment to moment.

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Dalmation Cruise: Koper, Slovenia

Celebrity Constellation towers above other ships in Koper’s harbour

Koper in Slovenia was our first port of call on the Dalmatian cruise. The local guide, who also worked as a teacher, complained about everything to do with capitalism and democracy, claiming that life was better for everyone under the communist regime. She appeared to have little pride in her country, except for the importance of the port as the entrance to much of central Europe.

We had difficulty understanding how her life was better under communism as she worked with her family, digging salt from the marshes, from the age of seven. She obviously had had a tough life and when we walked into

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Goodbye Venice, Hello Celebrity Constellation

The 9th May was a good day to be leaving Venice.

Time to leave the luxurious Hotel Bauer

Over breakfast,with most guests huddled in the main dining room instead of the balcony, we looked out at grey skies and choppy water in the canal, feeling a little sad because our chances of a future trip to Venice were slim. At the same time we were excited about the next chapter in our holiday – the cruise down the Dalmatian coast and parts of Italy.

Gondolas busy despite the cold and rain.

The private water taxi for our departure from the hotel was disappointing after that initial trip but we were glad of another opportunity to photograph gondolas and the buildings that could not belong anywhere else in the world.

Celebrity Constellation was moored in what looked like an industrial harbour, away from the glamourous part of Venice. We arrived by car (arranged again through the very helpful concierge) and told to leave our cases with hundreds of others, which was a bit disconcerting as anyone could walk in and help themselves.

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