Snapshot From Croatia - Zadar

"It is better to travel well than to arrive" - Buddha

After an afternoon on the road from Postojna in Slovenia we arrived in the evening in Zadar, with only a half a day up our sleeves to see the sights. Though we were tired and originally thought to get a quick dinner and turn in we were advised, by the owner of the apartment we rented, not to miss the Greeting to the Sun installation at the end of the Zadar Peninsula, at the tip of the old town.

The Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun

Each year many tourists come to Croatia seeking the sun and the sea, so it is wonderful to visit Zadar and see how the artist Nikola Basic has taken the theme of symbolic communication with nature and explores with the Sea Organ the communication between the sea and sound and with the Greeting to the Sun, the communication between sun and light.

What looked to us in the dark, as by six o'clock of an evening it is very dark now, to be a set of steps leading into the sea actually incorporates some thirty five pipes through which the movement of the waves against the Zadar Riva creates the haunting sounds of the "orchestra of nature" by forcing air the pipes.

It was quite eerie and beautiful to sit on the steps and listen to the chords and harmonies created. It was also very cold and so the kids dragged us away to check out the Greeting to the Sun where they could stay active and thus warm.

The Greeting to the Sun is a twenty two metre wide circle consisting of three hundred solar panels that perform a light show on the ground every evening accompanied by the Sea Organ. On the evening we were there a terrific hippy Hindi group were sitting on the installation and it was very cool to watch and listen whilst sitting on the glass plates which are flashing on and off and changing colour and pattern all the time.

Roman Forum and Archeological Museum

In the centre of Zadar the next morning we found the ultimate children's playground, an ancient Roman Forum. Unlike its counterpart in Rome, which we had experienced on a warm day after traipsing around the Flavian Amphitheatre, this one was small and manageable and looked to the kids like the ultimate in sets for a game of "shops".

And so they played at shops and slid down the sides of an ancient Roman pillar and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We talked about all the children who would have helped in those shops two thousand years earlier and what sorts of things they may have sold. All the while we marvelled at the beautiful day and we were thankful that Croatia's weather stays so lovely for so long. In fact we had sunny days right through until late November, but I'm jumping the gun again so back to Zadar.

Adjacent to the Forum sits the Archaeological Museum and with all these lovely Roman remains we thought it worth a peek. Let me warn you thid Museum demands far more than a peek, it is terrific and took up much of our morning.

 I find Croatian history fabulously interesting, firstly as a lover of history it is something absolutely new, as it has never appeared on any of my school curriculums. And so as this museum walks you through from pre-history to the middle ages you gain a much better understanding of the place and the multiple levels of influence it has had along the way.

The kids particularly enjoyed the Roman exhibition and the artefacts displayed were quite fascinating. Of course we had to be in Split to pick friends up from the airport and had agreed to meet a favourite cousin in Sibernik for a late lunch and so we had to curtail our visit.

Church of St Donatus

No visit to Zadar would be complete without a visit to the Church of St Donatus. affectionately known as the donut, which acts as the symbol of the town. The highlights of Zadar can really be seen in a short period if need be because they sit clustered together. Ridiculously we couldn't see the entrance to the church and so we did a lap of the block it sits on before coming back almost to where we started before we found it.

 We had this lovely pre-Romanesque structure to ourselves, which was lucky as the acoustics are amazing and so we sang a few rounds to enjoy the effect. It was really interesting to see that old stones from the Forum with Roman inscriptions were used in the construction of the church.We even played a game of hide and seek, which we didn't feel was too much of a sacrilege as this church, which was finished in the 9th century has had many uses down through the ages including long periods as a warehouse and is now a concert venue.

The long winding staircase to the higher galleries of the church had me looking forward to a rest but the kids were keen to climb the Bell Tower of St Anastasia's church while I popped into the DM for supplies. DM is a great shop we have found across Croatia where I have been able to find some organic food and other healthy options.

Meanwhile my three big kids climbed the 180 or so stairs it takes to get to the top of the 50 metre high tower and from their photos I wish I had have been up to the climb. This should never put other people off as I am just particularly run down after so long on the road.

 We were in fact really looking forward to spending the better part of the next month in our home in a little hamlet in the country I have mentioned, and having left there today I can tell you that it was the highlight of our trip, but again I am off topic.

And so there I leave Zadar, we had only a taste but a very pleasant taste it was. I was amazed it was so quiet as it was during the UK half term holiday and Ryanair flys here directly from the UK. We cant ever imagine coming to Croatia in high season, its just so peaceful, and so affordable in the off season.