Helgas travels: Zadar, Croatia

Patrick & I caught a morning bus, not to early, to Zadar. The scenery along the way changed to a much rockier terrain, pines and low shrub like trees. Very different than when first arriving in Croatia. The view was very pretty travelling down these winding coastal roads, however I did not like sitting at the window seat when the bus seemed so close to the edge. You've got to hand it to those drivers, all those twists, turns, wow! Arrived in the early afternoon to Zadar. I must say I was very surprised when entering the city. There were so many highrises and apartments buildings, something I had not expected. Pulling into the bus station, there were at least 16 bus bays! Wow...but when I thought of it, Zadar is midway on the coast, making it the central spot for bus traffic for the north and south! My travel companion, Patrick from South Africa split, he was headed to the town of Split. Earlier on he had booked a week on a sailboat, you know what that means! Party, party!! Well here I was on my own again.

Made my way to Borik, just on the outskirts of town and found my accommodation. Not on the beach this time but just across the street from a bay full of sailboats! It was a nice sight to see in the morning and the sunsets were just gorgeous! This hostel was huge, very new and modern. I had the room all to myself ( only 1 key per room), worked out great! The staff were very friendly and helpful.

Promenade Krala Dmitra Zvonimira

Zadar turned out to surprise me again! There was an old and new section of town which was connected by a walking bridge. In the old town were many little restaurants, shops, gift stores and old Roman ruins. I did not take a tour this time, decided to venture out on my own. Along I went with my trusty map and headed off to all the sights, most of which were close together. I started out the Land Gate a lovely old Art Nouveu? archway, then headed off to the Five Wells Square close by.

The Land Gate

Five Wells Square

View of St Marije Church from shopping area

Wandering back I stumbled upon a square which contained the Church and Monastery of St Mary and Church of Saint Donat. Beautiful very old structures. These churches were located by the Archaeological Museum.

Down from the Museum were various ruins of walls and figure statues. Just like everyone else, I took many photos. I returned to this same site the next day, later in the day, the lighting giving it another look.

Church of Saint Donat

St Marije Church & Monastery of St Mary

Now was the time for some window shopping or maybe shopping...hmm let's see. There were many shops to look in and a lot of kiosks on the promenade.

After the window shopping I took a long stroll on the promenade, heading to the point where the Sea Organ was. The way this piece of architechture (stone steps) was designed is that when the water & waves hit the steps there are musical sounds, similar to an organ. Very unusual, I have never seen anything like that! One could sit there for hours and listen, the sounds were always different! Almost hypnotizing!