Day 176: Wednesday 10 September – Croatia: Klis Fortress, Trogir and Split, by Ken

It was another fine day on the coast. Our batteries felt sufficiently recharged for us to have a day visiting some of the local sights. 

Jane fancied a pastry for breakfast to set her up for the day and I decided to join her opting to eat a light breakfast while she walked to the pekara attached to the camping ground. Instead of pastries she returned with two burek! Jane ate a cheese version and I ate one filled with meat. I hate to think what the calorie content of a burek must be, it’s high whatever it is, and if I’d known she was going to come back with burek I wouldn’t have eaten anything beforehand.

Burek - Heart Attack On A Plate

We drove in Smarty following the coast road to Split and then took the mountain pass that started to climb as we left the coast. It wasn’t long before the fortress at Klis came into view above us and to the left on a steep rock pinnacle.

The town of Klis was quiet but the small car park serving the fortress was full. We eventually found somewhere to park in an area designated for buses behind the fire station. The walk up a steep cobbled road to the fortress was taxing. We stopped a few times ostensibly to take in the view to the coast a long way below, but really to catch our breath.

The pinnacle on which the fortress stands was first fortified by the Romans and subsequently taken over by the Croats in the 9^th century. It changed hands to the Turks in 1537 and then the Venetians captured it in 1648. Considering its chequered and troubled history the fortress is in remarkably good condition with the walls and buildings being virtually intact.

Croatian Flag On Klis Fortress

Inside The Fortress

It was easy to see why a fort had been established at Klis, the commanding views over the surrounding countryside and all the way down to the coast would have ensured there was little chance of a surprise attack.

Split Seen From The Fortress

We made our way up through the fortress via cobbled walkways that passed through a series of gates. Just inside the first gate a woman was being videoed – we thought for a TV programme. Nearby a target was set up for visitors to try their hand with a bow and arrow. The TV person was shown how to use the bow, one of the key points being to plant one’s feet apart to provide a steady platform. That message didn’t seem to have got through as the woman stood nock-kneed waiting to fire as she spoke to the camera.

Not Quite The Way To Hold A Longbow

We made our way slowly up to the top of the fortress where we found there was nothing to stop us taking the quick way down to Smarty 30 to 40 metres below. It was interesting to see the fort had garderobes very similar to those we had seen at Corfe Castle in Dorset. There was no mention of whether there was a ‘gong farmer’ responsible for clearing up the droppings below, or whether they were part of the fort’s defences.

Look, There's Smarty (on the far side of the bus) And There's Nothing To Stop Me Falling Off Here

Garderobe

From Klis we drove to Trogir which is situated on the coast approximately 25km west of Split. Described in our guide book as one of the most seductive towns on the Dalmation coast, the old town occupies a small island sandwiched between the mainland and the much larger island of Ciovo. We crossed the short bridge linking the old town to the mainland, parked Smarty and set off to explore the old town. The guide book wasn’t wrong, it was by far the nicest place we had visited in Croatia to date. The fact it wasn’t raining, in fact it was a bright sunny day, certainly helped in that regard.

We entered the town through the seventeenth century Kopnena Vrata (Land Gate) topped with a statue of Sveti Ivan Trogirski (St John of Trogir, the town’s protector) and found ourselves in a maze of narrow cobbled streets lined with tourist shops, takeaways and restaurants. Some streets had market stalls selling some very good artwork. 

Kopnena Vrata

The streets took us to the main square flanked on one side by Katedrala Svetog Lovre (St Lawrence’s Cathedral). On the opposite side of the square was the fifteenth century Gradska loža (Town Loggia) with a squat square tower and very large clock. Part of the square was taken up with restaurant tables.

Cathedral Tower

Loggia

From the square we walked along the quayside on the south side of the island. A large motor yacht flying the Stars and Stripes was moored there and on the other side of the waterway we could see much larger yachts painted in an unflattering grey.

There's Money In Croatia

A street musician played a guitar intermittently. Frolicking on the grass next to him were a young puppy and a very young kitten that appeared much too young to be away from its mother. There was a large container of milk which I recall Harry saying was not good for kittens. In any case it didn’t seem very interested in the liquid, but the dog seemed to enjoy putting a paw in it.

Puppy and Kitten

We visited the Kamerlengo Fortress that stands on the south west corner of the island. There wasn’t a lot to see – a quick walk around the battlements and a peek inside an octagonal tower in one corner of the fort and we were back out on the quay. Walking back we found the musician and his pets were taking a break. The dog was stretched out on its side while the cat used one of the dog’s haunches as a pillow. They both looked very comfortable.

Kamerlengo Fortress

Quayside From The Fort

Puppy And Kitten Tired After A Frolic

We wound our way back through more side streets to the main square and visited the cathedral. Begun in 1213, the cathedral wasn’t finished until three centuries later. The west portal was particularly impressive with its intricately carved masonry. Adam and Eve stood on lions, one on each side of the doorway. Alongside them and around the door’s archway were dozens of intricately carved figures.

Trogir Courtyard

Eve 

Cathedral Interior

It would have been a lovely day to have eaten lunch at one of the tables in the square, but we were full after our breakfast burek. Jane bought an ice cream, I opted to wait until dinner time.

We walked over the bridge to visit a market on the mainland side. Passing under us were two coxed fours occupied, according to their T Shirts, by members of the Copenhagen rowing club. The waterway left by boats moored on either side was much too narrow for them to row properly and there was much clunking of oars on boats as they made slow progress. The market was very good with lots of fruit, fresh and dried, vegetables, olive oil and much more. We bought a few supplies.

Copenhagen Rowing Club Find It A Tight Squeeze

Market

We drove back into the centre of Split intending to park and explore. It was busy and didn’t seem to have a lot to commend it, so we drove straight back to the camping ground.

We had had a few conversations with our affable Austrian neighbours.  Albert was the sales director of a recently formed company manufacturing pet doors. His goal was to sell one to the Queen and asked if we could help in that regard. We said that while we had been to Buckinham Palace, we didn’t actually know her. When we arrived back at Mabel Albert dropped by and gave me a copy of his brochure, in German. The doors were very sophisticated, operated electrically triggered by a chip that could be embedded in a cat or dog. I asked what a door suitable for Ziggy would cost - €1,000 plus fitting. At that price probably only the Queen could afford one. Later I looked at the company’s website in English. It seemed it was founded by an enthusiastic inventor who had developed the door technology, I wondered whether it was another case of someone not thinking through the commercial side of things. Are people really going to spend €1,000 on a pet door?

We played two games of Banagrams which Jane won and we attempted two quizzes, doing very well in one and very badly in the other. After that we visited the camping ground restaurant for dinner. Jane had pork in a mushroom sauce and croquette potatoes, I had steak with the same sauce and fries.