Day 2, Split....Part 2 , Toeing Off

We reached Split at around nine in the morning and after a coffee and putting my luggage at the counter, it was time to go exploring. Ofcourse Split is most famous for two things. One, being the home town of Goran Ivanisevic (I love how that comes first in my head) and two, for Diocletian s Palace, the retirement home of one Mr. GAIUS AURELIUS VALERIUS DIOCLETANIUS (and that is just the first 4 in a list of 22 names by the way. I suppose he had a tough time when someone asked him his middle name. And it was 22 when he was emperor. He added a few more just for the fun of it on retiring. I suppose he decided to retire when visiting dignitaries never got his name right. Infact, I am sure he never knew his full name himself. Just imagine waking up and trying to remember what your name is? And then continuing to do that the entire day after which you finally give up and go check the plaque in front of your house) .

Diocletian was famous for his persecution of Christians in the latter half of his life and strived to eradicate Christianity all together. I found it ironic and somehow typically Christian that what was once his masoulem is now a cathedral containing the sarcophagi of two of the saints he had tortured and killed. Infact the only proof that exists that this was old Diocletian's humble abode at all is a small little inscription hidden away in the dark corners of the masoulem. There was even a cafe called LVXOR on the steps of the ruins and I just had to have an espresso there. What i didnt enjoy however was having to pay to enter each and every attraction within the palace walls. It's not the paying persay that I had a problem with, but the number of times I had to take my wallet out. I would have much rather prefrred to pay 50 Kuna at the entrance rather than pay 10 kuna at five different points. There is something quite alarming in seeing your wallet reduce in size like Tom Hanks in Castaway.

Outside the 'Golden Gate' (it's not actually golden, just called golden. the other two gates are called silver and iron. Apparently bronze was not vey highly thought of, as it is today) is a huge statue of Gregory of Nin by Ivan Mestrovic, the most well known of modern Croatian sculptors. The monumental sculpture shows the bishop reading the Bible with his long, reedy fingers (a characteristic of Mestrovic's style) seemingly pointing to his hat, which he seems quite proud of. Grgur Ninski was a 10th century bishop that strongly opposed the Pope and official circles of the Church and introduced the Croatian language in the religious services after the Great Assembly in 926. Until that time, services were held only in Latin, not being understandable to the majority of the population. Not only was this important for Croatian language and culture but it also made the religion stronger within the Croatian nation. Mr.Gregory apparently also had a foot fetish and is quite prepared to bestow upon you good luck and grant your wishes if you give his big toe a good rub. If only he had been my co-passenger last night on the train. He would have been quite the happy chappie. Anyway, his big toe was nice and shiny as a result but the rest of his toes looked neglected. I felt a bit bad about that so gave all his toes a decent rub. I am hoping that earns me brownie points.

Then I hopped onto a bus and went to Kasjuni beach surrounded by pine trees and a lovely mountain back drop. After a quick swim it was time to head back to the bus station to catch my bus to Dubrovnik. I wanted to catch a late night one but that wasn't running that day. This means an extra, unplanned night's accomodation at some hostel. With just 1000 swiss francs with me and no way of withdrawing money from here, it's a scary proposition. I hope I have enough to last the trip. It doesnt help that Dubrovnik is supposed to be really expensive due to the influx of tourists. Otherwise it's the benches at the bus stop for me tonight....