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16 July 2001 - Split, Croatia
Zagreb was beautiful, and so is this tourist coastal town of Split, where I am today. I'm staying in tiny Omis, just south
of here, for a few days; it's awesome, with the sea across the street! It's so hot I wish I could go swimming right now.
Last night after a delicious dinner of fish cooked at the restaurant of the relatives of my host, I walked along the beach
into the center of town (just two main streets). It was getting pretty dark, though still warm, so by the time I got to town
the old fort up on the rocky mountain (the rocks/mountains drop off right into the sea, with just a little bit of slope where
the houses are built, all with beautiful views of the sea and the island across the bay) was illuminated for the night, gently
glowing. I got myself an ice cream cone (ubiquitous here, perhaps to counteract the heat) and wandered to the back entrance
to the square where the "klapa" performances were happening. This is local and regional groups of men or women (separately)
a cappella singers, usually groups of about 8. I perched on a shop step so I could see over the tall heads and see the people
in costume singing lovely harmonies in a language I cannot understand -- except for occasional words that are remarkably similar
to Bulgarian.
I caught the bus back to where I'm staying and joined the family and staff at the restaurant, who were
drinking wine (with water) and waiting for the last table to finish and leave so they could close up for the night. That is
one of my favorite parts of the restaurant business--the camaraderie of the staff, all united in being tired at the end of
the night, having worked in the heat... We talked in a mixture of English, German, with a few Croatian words thrown in. I
love the possibilities of multiple languages, though I can not speak nearly enough as I would wish, nearly as well as I'd
like.
This evening I will see the Verdi opera Attila in the 1700 year old square of Peristil, where various old buildings
and ruins congregate, and there is a summer stage with a diverse programme for the next 6 weeks. I'm looking forward to being
there, but first I'd like to go take some daytime pictures of the the city.
Lada Soljan had offered me the following excellent advice:
Try to get to see one of the concerts under the open sky in
the Peristyle (the central piazza of Split). They have symphonies and operas and dramas there, and it is amazing, as you
are sitting in the 1700 year old Diocletian palace, with a sphynx that's 3000 years old to your left, and you see elderly
ladies who live in the apartment withing the palace grounds singing along to the music from their windows. In short, amazing,
beautiful atmosphere.
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