ZADAR IN CROATIA |
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In these hard times it good to report that it’s not just the birds that go cheap, If you can be clever with your packing and make do with one carry on case Ryanair have some very reasonably priced flights to Croatia
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I took a two hour fifty minute one to a city where they don’t yet use the Euro.
Zadar has a delightfully small and friendly airport and as far as the UK is concerned tourism there is taking off.
When we arrived they were having a party to open the season. Music played and, as a few bags revolved on the luggage carousel, passengers circled a table laden with nibbles and drinks.
(They included the local cherry brandy.)
Zadar is the chief city of northern Dalmatia located above Split and south of Pula. It is a picturesque and historical
town and was once the capital of Dalmatia. Over a thousand islands lie around the coast and it is very much ‘a city of the sea.’
As you stroll from the hotel and beach area at Borik towards the old town it would appear that almost every local resident has access to a boat. They line the waterfront and if the sight of them put you in the mood to be afloat the urge can soon be satisfied by taking a short cut to the old town.
At the mouth of the harbour you find a man rowing a sizable red boat. He does this standing up, taking you on a ferry that is in use all year round and maintaining a tradition that has been in the same families for over 250 years.
The honey coloured stone paving of the narrow streets reminded me of Venice. We entered a place that was once called the Nobleman’s Square but with the arrival of communism after WW2 it was renamed the Peoples Square. It is still elegant and history seems to ooze out all over the place. It is not everywhere you can walk through a café and find a church that dates back to Roman times.
The city sits on a peninsula and if you stroll down its central street in the early evening the atmosphere is almost like a noisy cocktail party. There is much social promenading by the locals. It is the place to see and be seen. Little alleys lead off to friendly bars and cafes.
Zadar was a popular international resort in the early days of tourism but it has also suffered more than its fair share of wars. Most recently it was cut off from the capital Zagreb for 14 months during the Yugoslav conflict of the early 90’s.In the town much remains of the early architecture but some was lost due to allied bombing during WW2. The target was two German warships but the bombs strayed over the narrow peninsula and now only a line of modern shops form the backdrop to the Roman ruins and the 9th century Byzantine church of St Donatus.
Trees line the seafront and it’s a good place to have a picnic and watch a glorious sunset. it’s also where people gather to listen to the sea organ.
The sound rises from holes in the paved esplanade. 35 pipes lead out to sea and the surging pressure of the waves produces weird musical notes.
While this can be fascinating for the tourist it is perhaps not popular with some local residents, one who lives nearby told me
“In a strong south wind people who live in that building can not even sleep, I do not like the sound. It’s a moaning sound, it is as if someone from down under the sea was calling for help. It’s very spooky, it’s awful."
Another unusual attraction comes as the day end. It is called “Salute to the Sun” and takes the form of a large circle of glass plates set into the ground. It is powered by solar panels. By day it collects energy from the sun and at night it produces beautiful and ever changing light patterns. Children skip over the sweeping waves of light pursuing a veritable kaleidoscope of colour. It is very effective particularly when experienced along with the sound of the sea organ.
It is just one of the magic things that happen. One of the most attractive events is the "Full Moon Nights" when people and musicians gather in Zadar from all over the country.
It is festival that takes place every year at the end of July during a full-moon night.
The Zadar city centre lighting is turned off and there is music and dancing under the light of the moon. (This year it’s on the 30th of July)
Excursions
Pag: Travel north from Zadar along the seemingly barren rocky peninsula to Pag and it can come as a bit of a surprise that the place is famous for cheese produced from sheep’s milk. So where are the sheep? They are on the hilltops grazing on the abundant herbs that are flavoured by the salt blown in from the sea. They produce milk with a unique taste.
Pag has high walled paved pedestrian streets that are shady and cool. In the town square you find trees and cafes, and birds sing overhead. There is a lace museum and nearby on the waterfront a host of little self drive motor boats just waiting to be hired.
If you swim from the beaches near Pag there are places where you can feel natural springs of water rippling up through the stones. Cool and fresh, the water in this ‘Jacuzzi of nature’ is pure having been filtered over the centuries on its journey from the mountains.
The town sparkles in the sunshine but the odd weather worn window and door are evidence of the strong winds of winter. Then gusts of up to 180 km per hour leave the houses, salt caked and white as though there had been snow.
Nin is just a short bus journey from Zadar, it sits on a small island.
There is an excellent museum that delves back into distant days when it appears that women ran the affairs and that men seemed to be used mainly for breeding. There is a statue there that does little for the male ego.
You can wander by the remains of a Roman temple; see what is claimed to be the smallest cathedral in the world, or, for good luck, rub the toe on the statue of Gregory of Nin. He was a 10th-century bishop who strongly opposed the Pope.
In his statue he appears to be doing a lively dance. Perhaps the ‘Hokey Cokey’ or maybe his right arm is just out pointing to heaven. Anyway hordes of tourists before you have buffed a brilliant shine on his toe.
There is a beautiful beach nearby but you have to go out quite a way to get into deeper water. Oh and if you are into ‘healing mud’ you can find that too, but I am told that it pongs a bit.Other places well worth visiting are seaside towns Biograd with its large Kornati Marina, hotels and camping facilities and the ancient city of Sobenik.
There you can laze in the sun at waterside cafés and watch fleets of novice sailors gingerly set out to sea in large yachts.
It’s a place that reminded me of the early days of St Tropez.
My favourite day of the visit was spent at the Krka National Park. It began by boarding a tour boat at Skadrin for a journey through a tree covered valley towards a massive waterfall.This was followed by a magic climb through a wood laced with fast flowing streams and water falls.
Wooden walkways took us through trees punctuated by sparkling streams. Some trickled, others roared with foaming white power.
There were yellow flowers and singing birds it was rather like Rivendell,
the land of the Elves in the Lord of The Rings
Report and pictures by Allan Rogers
FACT FILE
Ryanair has two direct flights a week (five in July and August) from Edinburgh to Zadar from £57 return including taxes. Flights also from Stansted to Zadar, http://www.ryanair.com
The 4 star Funimation Borik has standard doubles from £52 per person per night, all inclusive including use of spa and taxes, http://www.falkensteiner.com/borik
More information on Zadar, http://www.zadar.hr
More information on Croatia from the Croatian National Tourist Office, 020 8563 7979, http://www.croatia.hr
