Before I left for study abroad, Khristian had planned on visiting me in Denmark and we knew we wanted to travel somewhere together while he was here. It took us a while to figure out where to go since we were looking for somewhere we both hadn’t been and that I wouldn’t be traveling to during my semester, that was relatively inexpensive, and was easy to get to from Copenhagen. We eventually settled on Croatia and picked the cities of Split and Dubrovnik.
On April 1st, Khristian arrived in Copenhagen and I picked him up at the airport. We dropped our bags off at a hotel we were staying at that night and then headed to my apartment so he could meet my friends, Gretchen, Sophie, and Lexi. We sat at the cafe under our building, got coffees and a quick bite, and caught up. I was glad that he got to meet them all because they were all leaving later that night for their travel plans, and only Sophie would be back the next weekend when we returned from Croatia.
We all talked for about an hour, and then Khristian and I headed to the city for our dinner reservations, and my friends went to the airport to catch their flights to Italy and Switzerland. We ate at a restaurant called Zirup and we both enjoyed pasta dishes and a drink. After dinner we walked to Nyhavn and walked along the canal.
It was really pretty to see at night and we walked off our dinner before heading back to my apartment. There, he got to meet all of my roommates: Gretchen, Lennart, Ida, and Signe. We all hung out and drank some wine and beer while talking about life. I was glad that everyone happened to be home since that doesn’t happen much since we all have crazy schedules.
Around midnight we decided to head to our hotel since we had a super early flight to Croatia in the morning. I didn’t do a great job picking a hotel because I didn’t realize that it wasn’t accessible by metro, so you have to take the train. I never have to take the train so I wasn’t super familiar with it and it ran significantly less often. When we got to the train station we were freezing and saw that the train was super late. Khristian pulled up the navigation and we decided to walk the 25 minutes instead of waiting. It was a weird walk through the suburbs at night and it It was 1am when we got to the hotel. We had to wake up at 4am to catch out flight, so we quickly got ready for bed and went to sleep.
At 4am we reluctantly got out of bed, packed up, and ran out the door to catch a quick taxi to the airport. We got coffee and a quick breakfast at the airport from Joe and the Juice and boarded our plane at 5:30am. During our flight we watched a beautiful sunset from above the clouds and we landed in Split at 8:30am.
We took a taxi from the airport to the Old Town of Split, where we were dropped off outside the walls and had to walk the rest of the way to our Airbnb since there are no cars in the inner city. Our host was very nice and let us into our apartment really early, which was great because we didn’t have to carry our bags with us all morning.
The Airbnb was absolutely amazing, and the best one I have stayed at so far. It was a loft apartment in the middle of the city with stone walls and an adorable staircase leading to the door. The first floor had a really comfortable couch, a table, and a mini kitchen, and the stairs led to the loft with a full size bed and a bathroom. It was small but perfect for us and the location was unbeatable.
The host met us there to give us the keys and a quick tour and she was so friendly and gave us a long list of recommendations for restaurants and nightlife. We were starving so we dropped off our bags and left for breakfast at a place called Bepa. I had found it through my own research but it ended up being the first place on the host’s recommendations!
We both got coffees and for brunch I got eggs and avocado toast and Khristian got a burger that ended up being one of his favorite meals of the whole trip.
It was 11am and the sun was already shining more than I had seen in months. We decided to walk around the streets of old town and get acquainted, as well as check off places from my researched list of must-sees. The town was so different than any European city I had seen because it was so quaint and the streets were so narrow and made of beautiful limestone. It would be easy to get lost in the maze of streets, but everywhere led to somewhere we knew. We saw Luza Square, People’s Square, and the Fruit Square, which doesn’t have fruit anymore but used to be where people set up stands to sell their fruit. We walked down the main shopping street called Stradun, passed the Old Town Hall, and took pictures of the beautiful buildings. We walked along the water on the Riva which felt like a beach resort and enjoyed the palm trees, flowers, and fountains.
We walked without a plan and saw beautiful archways, windows, and SO MANY CATS! I didn’t know this about Croatia but they have so many stray cats running around in their cities, but they are really well taken care of because the local people feed them. Some restaurants and cafes have collection boxes where people donate money for them to buy cat food.
We stopped at the Vestibul which was a huge circular stone tower that was open at the top so it had great acoustics. There was a singing group of four men singing Croatian songs so we stopped for some time and listened to them.
Then we headed to Diocletian’s Palace which was right behind our Airbnb. The Palace had a Cathedral (Diocletian’s Mausoleum), Belltower, Treasury (Temple of Cybele), Baptistery (Temple of Jupiter), and a Crypt. We bought the package that included tickets to all of them and ended up getting a 70% student discount which was amazing.
Our favorite was the bell tower which was 60 meters high and 180 stairs. It was a steep climb up the original stairs made of limestone, and then it transitioned into metal staircases that were scarier because they had little holes so you could see right through. But the views at the top were spectacular and offered panoramic views of the ocean, the city, and the mountains behind us. We took pictures and enjoyed the view for a long time before climbing back down.
We did a quick walk through all of the other places which had some religious and historical information and artifacts. The only place we couldn’t find was the Crypt, and we walked around every inch of the palace before deciding that it must have been closed. We happened to find the statue of a bishop and I rubbed his foot which is said to give you good luck.
We walked around the city some more, met some more cats, and then stopped at a gelato shop. When we got to the front of the line we realized it was cash only so we were going to find an ATM and come back, but the worker was so nice and let us get our ice cream and set we can come back whenever to pay. So we got our scoops (which were both delicious) and grabbed some cash on our walk. After gelato did some shopping and I bought a pair of sunglasses. Then we walked back to our Airbnb and Khristian took a nap and I sat on a ledge right outside of our door to enjoy the sun. It felt amazing after months in the cloudy, rainy weather in Copenhagen.
After we took a break for a couple of hours, we got ready and headed to dinner. We went to a restaurant on the water that was well known for its pizza and cocktails, and got a great seat facing the water and enjoying the breeze through the open doors. We decided to treat this as drinks and appetizers so we shared a pizza and got a couple of drinks.
Then we headed to one the restaurants recommended by our host which she said changes from a restaurant into a bar/club throughout the night. We really miscalculated how late people go out there so we ate around 7 which was way too early to be able to wait for it to turn into a bar. But we slit a super yummy pizza and salad and a couple more drinks.
Then we thought we could go back to the Airbnb, nap for a few hours, and then head out to explore the nightlife. But we were both so exhausted from barely sleeping the night before that we ended up going to bed and not going back out for the night. I am sad that we didn’t get to see the nightlife, but it was definitely good to feel refreshed the next day.
Day two in Split was a water rafting tour that we had booked, and we were getting picked up to be driven to the river at 9:30am. We got coffee and a quick pastry breakfast at a small local coffee shop and then stopped at a market to grab water bottles for the day and a snack of paprika flavored Pringles. Then we headed to the Split Sign where we were supposed to be picked up for our excursion.
I thought we would be picked up in a van or bus with other people, but this was super early in the season (in fact, this was the first trip they were taking this season) so we were the only people getting picked up. A Croatian man found us and asked if we were there for the river cruise excursion and we got in his car so it was just Khristian and I, the driver, and a guy who explained who he was but with such limited English we couldn’t really understand. Later we figured out that he was a trainee who would be accompanying us on our rafting trip because he was learning how to be a guide.
The drive was about an hour through the mountains and when we arrived at the river there was a van filled with wetsuits, a huge inflated raft, and a family with three kids who would be joining us. The guide gave us our wetsuits, jackets, water shoes, and helmets. Then we headed onto the raft where we got a quick intro.
We took off down the river while doing introductions. The family with us was really nice and also from the US. They used to live in NYC but they moved to Virginia during Covid to get more space. The dad worked in immigration law and the mom was an anesthesiologist. The guide was really outgoing and such a character. He sang opera for us like we were on a cruise in Venice, constantly made jokes, and had so much confidence that I never felt nervous. Along the way we saw a water snake, an endangered turtle, and lots of fish because the water was crystal clear.
The water was flatter than I was expecting so it was definitely a gentle cruise and not intensive white water rafting, and we had to paddle a lot. But when we hit rapids it was really fun to gain speed and get wet. The scenery was really pretty and it was nice to be so deep in nature and enjoy the view. It would definitely be even prettier later in the season when the trees were less bare. There was one point where the guide had us all get out of the boat and hike for a bit to get to a spot farther down the river. He did this because there was a section of the river where you had to climb through a cave with a flash light and if we all went we would have to swim in the dark. The water was quite cold and with the three young kids, he decided to do it alone. Along our small hike, he picked wild mint and asparagus and we got to try it. Then the guide went back and got the raft and met back up with us.
Along the route we saw beautiful waterfalls and high cliffs surrounding us.
We got to a spot where he said we had the option to get out and cliff jump, and we were only about 20 minutes from the end so we wouldn’t have to be freezing cold for very long. Khristian, the dad, and I all decided to do it and we climbed to the top of the cliff which was about 15 feet above the water. Khristian and I were going first but I was kind of nervous because we were the first group of the season to go and you never really know how the water could have changed during the off season, like if a rock was now where we were jumping. I asked the guide if he was sure if it would be deep enough and he jokingly said “for you, definitely. For Khristian, probably.” We decided to jump at the same time, but I chickened out a little bit right when he jumped so we were a bit staggered in our jump. The water was freezing!! It felt like a polar plunge when we jumped in, and we had to swim all the way back to the boat and climb out. The dad jumped in after us, and I convinced Khristian to jump in again since we were already used to the cold water temperature and I wanted a better video of us jumping at the same time. We did it again and it was more fun that time. Then we were cold but we had a short distance to go before getting to where the vans and cars were to pick us up. We got out, changed out of the wet clothes, and got in the car to be driven back.
It was a great trip and we both had a lot of fun! When we got back we showered and then headed to lunch. We went to Corto Maltese, one of the recommendations our host sent us. They did not have any real vegetarian options so we decided to just get a glass of wine and some bread with olive oil. The menu had funny messages on it.
Then we walked about 20 minutes along the water to the beach. It was so warm out and there were lots of people walking around enjoying the sun. We even saw a chess club or a competition where a big group of old men were playing under tents.
We walked along the beach until we came across a place called Tennis Bar. It was an outdoor bar right next to a big tennis court where some really impressive women were competing. We got a round of drinks, enjoyed the beach view, and watched them play.
Then we walked back to town and got our daily gelato. We stopped at a different shop and sat by the water to enjoy it.
Then we did some shopping and I was determined to find a post card that I looked. I have been collecting them throughout my travels this semester but I am kind of picky about them because I don’t like the classic ones that are kind of obnoxious and have some photos of the most touristy places. Most of the ones I have gotten are watercolored or graphic design-oriented. It took a few stores but I eventually found a great little shop and picked up three post cards that all showed different parts of Split.
Then we headed to dinner at a really cute place we happened to find called Baza. It was kind of funky, the decor was festive, and the servers were really nice. It was actually called “Baza Food Bar & Good Vibes” so it made sense! We had a great meal and it was one of my favorites of the trip.
The next day we had a scheduled group tour of Krka National Park. The bus picked us up at the bus stop and drove us a couple hours to the park. It was stunning from the moment we arrived because the water was so blue and the sun was shining.
The park path had a wooden path so it was easy to follow all the way through. The water was crystal clear so we were able to see lots of fish and some frogs.
Then we got to the huge waterfall and took some pictures on the bridge in front of it. It was the highlight of the park.
Then we were taking a boat through the park to another city. We had a few minutes before we left so we split a veggie sandwich and a nutella crepe, and I grabbed a post card.
The boat was pretty big and it had a top deck that we decided not to sit on since it was pretty cold outside with the wind. The cruise was about 20 minutes and we enjoyed the scenery, including some swans in the water.
When we arrived, the part of our group that signed up for a wine tasting met back up with our bus and were driven to a remote city with a population of only 100 people. The remaining people had free time to spend in the first city. We signed up for the wine tasting, and were so surprised at how intimate and special our wine experience was. I expected it to be a pretty large-scale vineyard since we booked through a big tour company, but we arrived at a small home and were greeted by the owner of the business. He gave us an explanation of his vineyard with the help of our tour guide for translations. When we walked inside there was a table with beautiful spreads of bread, prosciutto, olives, and cheese.
The owner (sadly, I forget his name) poured us white, rose, and red wines to try. They were amazing and everyone had a great time sampling everything. The people in our group were also great company. The girls sitting on my end of the table were a little bit older than me and on a girls trip to Croatia and Amsterdam, and they were from Florida. There was an older Scottish couple who were cracking jokes the whole time, a young Finnish couple, and a few others. At the end, we bought a bottle of white wine before getting back on the bus.
When we got back to the town, we had 20 minutes to do some quick exploring. It was a very small town so that was enough time to see the city center. It was adorable and had bright colored buildings.
When we got back home, we got dinner at an amazing vegan restaurant in Split. We split a pasta dish and a salad.
Then we got our daily gelato at a shop by our AirBnb that we had spotted the day before. They had crazy cones and even one made of funnel cake! I got a coconut and white chocolate ice cream in a chocolate cone with coconut flakes. Khristian got snickers in a chocolate and peanut cone.
We headed home early that night because I had to take an online exam for my Danish exam, and we had to be up super early the next morning to catch our bus to Dubrovnik. Read about our trip to Dubrovnik here!
