Croatia, Primosten

Continuing north with the Dinaric Alps soaring above us inland and catching the clouds as they rushed in from the sea we stopped again at Primošten, not because there was anything in particular to see there but just because we liked it there.

In the past Primošten was situated on an islet close to the mainland and was protected by walls and towers and it was connected to the mainland by a draw bridge.  When these protective arrangements were no longer required the draw bridge was replaced by a causeway and in 1564 the settlement was named Primosten after the Croatian verb primostiti which means to span. This old part of the town is built on a hill and is dominated by the parish church of St. George which was built in 1485 next to the local graveyard from which there is a splendid view over the sea and the surrounding mountains.

After we had been to the top and back we stopped for a drink in the same bar as the previous Saturday but it was much more comfortable today on account of there being no wind on this occasion.  Sitting in the hot April sun was very pleasant and after the drink we walked some more and completely circumnavigated the little islet and investigated some of the little back streets and alleys.  This was probably the most picturesque of all of the Adriatic towns that we passed by or visited on our journey and it was lovely here today but I imagine that it can get a bit overcrowded in the summer.

Leaving Primošten we carried on north past Šibenik and retraced our route back towards Zadar and the airport.  On the way we stopped off at Šukosan where we had spent the first night and had a late afternoon early evening meal at the Kod Gusta restaurant where we had enjoyed our fish on the first evening.  At four o’clock it was empty but the staff made us feel welcome and to be consistent with all of our previous menu choices this week we choose the catch of the day that turned out to be a succulent sea bass with red gills and bright eyes and pulled fresh from the Adriatic.  As we dined the restaurant began to fill with locals and it became clear that this was the place where men would stop off on the way home from work for a glass of beer and plate of whitebait or calamari.

After an excellent meal we walked for the last time by the sea and enjoyed the warm late afternoon sun before it was time to go back to the airport, return the car and get the late flight home to Stansted.  The visit to Croatia had been a wonderful experience that surpassed all expectations.  The highlights were Mostar, which strictly speaking is not really in Croatia at all, Diocletian’s Palace in Split and the Krka National Park.  Oh yes, not forgetting Trogir, Primosten, Hvar and the two nights at the Pink Inn.

 

Croatia, Krka National Park and the Skradinski Buk Falls

 

We woke this morning to the depressing sound of steady rain falling on the balcony of the room and dripping onto the street below and a quick weather inspection confirmed the worst.  The street was full of local people who were wandering about with umbrellas fully extended and attired in wet weather clothing.

We considered abandoning our plan to visit the National Park and finding something else to do instead but a furious flick through the guidebook didn’t reveal anything nearby that was especially appealing and as we were staying here in Skradin for a second night anyway there seemed to be no alternative but to press ahead with our plans.

During breakfast the weather started to improve and we debated the alternative boat times of ten or twelve o’clock and after some indecision eventually decided, what the heck, let’s just do ten.

Back at the visitor centre we purchased our tickets and walked to the boat and to our horror we discovered that we were sailing with a coach party of German Saga louts who rushed on board and took all of the covered lower deck seating, which forced us up top.  This was all right at first but very quickly into the journey it started spitting with rain and the wind got up and it didn’t look very good at all.  Luckily the rain stopped quite quickly and although it remained overcast at least it was dry and quite warm when the boat docked at the dropping off point within easy walking distance of the Skradinski Buk falls.

A short stroll took us straight to the hundred foot  high falls that cascade down over seventeen rocky steps for a distance of over five hundred yards and they were really truly impressive.

I haven’t seen any of the world’s major falls such as the Angel Falls in Venezuela (the highest, and twenty times higher than Skradinski Buk), the Victoria Falls (claimed to be the largest in the world by volume) or the Niagara Falls (the widest in the world), but these were nevertheless really most exciting, probably better than the Aysgarth Falls in Yorkshire but not quite as spectacular as Gullfoss falls in Iceland, both of which I have been lucky enough to see.  These falls were quite dramatic and even better because the river was swollen from weeks of heavy rain and the water thundered over the rocks adjacent to the paths and the spray gathered into a white mist that felt damp but invigorating.

All along the route there were local vendors selling olive oil, figs and fruit and things we didn’t need so we passed by without making eye contact or making a purchase.  On the walk to the top of the falls it was encouraging to see the clouds breaking up and the blue sky starting to replace the chalky grey and by about eleven o’clock the sun was attempting to make a very shy appearance.  At the top there were more shops and some interesting craft exhibitions including a weaving demonstration where a nice lady in national costume gave us an informative presentation on carpet making.

At the very top there was a boat trip to Visovak and the Roški Slap Falls further into the National Park but upon enquiry there were disappointingly no boats available  until at least two o’clock because a party of school children had commandeered them all for the day so that was too long to wait for us and we decided to walk back and return to Skradin.

There was an alternative route back to the boat landing station that involved an elevated walk on wooden walkways constructed across and around the falls.   This was good fun but was certainly dangerous and almost without doubt would not be allowed in the UK due to over zealous health and safety considerations.  The wooden walkway was wet and slippery and there were no guardrails to prevent walkers toppling over into the falls and certain death further down river.  

We negotiated the dangerous walk back to the bottom where the sun was coming out now so we stopped and had a drink before taking the boat back to Skradin as the only two passengers on board and where the weather was now so much improved that after we left the boat we enjoyed a cake on the waterfront overlooking the crystal blue lake.

After the second refreshment stop we took the car back into the National Park and to the two o’clock departure point where we bought tickets for the forty-minute journey to the monastery of Visovac, which is built on an island in the middle of the lake and which was slightly reminiscent of Lake Bled in Slovenia.

After a thirty minute tour of the island and the monastery the journey back was exceptional.  The sun was shining and the lake was a clear azure blue, the wooded hillsides were a tapestry of lush greens punctuated with purple Acers and yellow brooms and a day that started needing a jumper ended  requiring  only a shirt and it was simply just perfect.

Later we walked into the town and went back to the restaurant that we had been to for lunch on the previous day and we had another fish meal that was twice as good as that of the previous evening and didn’t cost nearly so much either.  

Croatia, Skradin and Lake Knin

 

It is a driving rule in Croatia that main beam lights must be used at all times and I kept finding this quite difficult to remember.  This rule seemed a bit unnecessary to me because the weather was bright and the driving conditions were perfect but the advice was that it is important to remember because the police don’t like it if you forget and can administer a hefty on the spot fine.

We drove back through Šukosan and then following the coast and the string of islands out in the Zadar peninsular in the Adriatic Sea arrived at the town of Biograd na Moru where we stopped off looking for a bar only to find that the whole place was closed and with lots of construction work in preparation for the forthcoming holiday season, so we quickly moved on.

April must be the season for wild asparagus around this part of Croatia because for a mile or two there were people at the roadside holding out handfuls of the stuff trying to encourage drivers to pull over and make a purchase.  Having no real use for wild asparagus at this time we declined.

Next on the route was the large city of Šibenik, which is interesting because unlike other Dalmatian towns that were founded by the Illyrians, Greeks, and Romans,it is the oldest native Croatian town on the eastern shores of the Adriatic and consequently does not have the ancient monuments that exist elsewhere.

With no help from the navigator I got hopelessly lost in Šibenik and so passed through without stopping (except at a supermarket to purchase beer, wine and a corkscrew) and moved on to the final destination for the day, Skradin, about fifteen miles away inland.

This took some finding as well especially with a confusing network of feeder roads for a new motorway and no signs for the town itself (that I could see) only to the nearby Krka National Park.

Eventually we found the right way and there was a spectacular approach on an elevated road down to the town that sits next to the Knin Lake, which led almost directly to the Hotel Skadinski Buk that was conveniently located in the centre of the pretty little town.  It was rather overcast and the town wasn’t very busy at all so we found an empty restaurant for a spot of lunch and then set off to investigate.

At an interesting National Park visitor centre we obtained information about boat trips the following day and then walked slowly around the small town in case we saw everything there was to see too quickly.

When I say that it wasn’t very busy, it really mean that it  wasn’t very busy…

Behind the harbour there was a fish restaurant where the owner intercepted us and persuaded us that we should return later.  He told us that his chef was also the fisherman and that his fish was guaranteed to be top quality fresh and not like that sold in competing restaurants that was sure to be caught in Morocco, deep frozen for a year or so and then served up to unsuspecting diners.

He must have caught us off guard because we were sucked in by all of this and promised to return.

Walking further on we came upon an old church that was in a state of considerable disrepair.  The iron gates were locked and inside we could see that there was a lot of debris.  This seemed a shame but we had no idea why.  The walk continued around the back of the church and all was revealed.  This was a Serbian Russian Orthordox Church and in the side was a huge hole caused by a direct hit from a shell that had caused the roof to collapse.

In the war of independence as many as four hundred thousand Serbs, no longer welcome, were forced out of the country and they simply abandoned their villages and churches and moved east.  To compensate for this mutual ethnic cleansing a great number of Croats moved west from Serbia but they went to the major cities and the balance of the rural communities was lost, probably forever.

I asked about it later but the staff in the hotel were reluctant to talk about it. The church in Skradin looked like a place that was going to remain abandoned until the wounds of the war are finally healed and that may take some time.

This taught me a lesson – always research carefully before travel, I knew about the wars of course but not about the intensity of the ethnic hostility which even today continues to persist.

Later we went back to the fish restaurant and paid way over the odds for what was only an average meal, but, hey, so what, you learn from experience, and this was not a restaurant that I would return to in a hurry.