Split - Living with Relics

16th to 20th of December

After a chilly, fun and an exciting start to our break in pretty Zagreb, my partner & I packed up our affairs and set out for warmer Split to stay at her parents’ house. Apparently, the connectivity is quite poor between Zagreb and Split which is a shock. We knew about this and had rented a car for the duration of our stay in Croatia. The journey saw us drive about 4 hours in waning sunlight on a scenic highway listening to generic Croatian radio while the landscape continued to swap mountains for tunnels or lush green plains. This was my second rodeo on this route but only the first time struggling to participate in a conversation owing to said conversation being dominated by an alien tongue. We watched as the night consumed us and the road took us through unending tunnels that bore through mountains. About halfway there we arrived at the iconic Macola. It is an institution, a pit stop where truckers and traveling passengers indulge in ridiculously good food.

It is a canteen, much like Ikea, but the food is miles better. They give away hearty bowls of stews, sweets to share, coffees & sodas. The setting is comforting and warm. We had a lamb stew, a tripe stew & bean stews and they were excellent. As is customary, we allowed each other to try just one spoonful of each other’s food and rated who had the best one that day which I felt was my bowl of paprika stew which was punchy. Someone later enlightened us that the turnover in Macola is fast because people were conditioned to eat during bus breaks to not miss the bus. The tradition continues today whether they were traveling via buses or not. We finished our coffees and headed out to mess around in some freshly collected snow. First snow – check.

There is a problematic element to Macola however, where they have showcased their taxidermy animals from the owner’s hunts, which is unfortunate.

I was working remotely in Split so our escapade wasn’t as prolific as Zagreb, but our hosts made it special. Split is where my partner’s family spent most of their lives. While during our travels we see how beautiful our chosen cities are and how monumental the sights are, we never see how it affects the people who live there. Due to the ridiculous popularity of the old town, the city extended outward to build industry and new residences outside the popular parts. We had the opportunity to get a BTS view of how a tourism crazy city affects its people. We stayed in Dracevac which is about 10kms away from where we wanted to be. Anything worth doing requires preparation and thought. These fury roads of Dracevac are left to endure inferior infrastructure going through endless transformation all the while ruining the beautiful vistas. Our saving grace was that we were staying at a family home meaning this was a B&B with the air fraught with unrelenting cigarette smoke.

Coughing through a cluster of smoke, the lady of the house whipped up some holiday classics. There is an unwritten rule in choice of food. Bakalar (dried cod fish) for Christmas eve, roast lamb for Christmas Day and pasticada (braised lean cut of beef) for New Year’s. Since we were not spending these days with our superhosts, celebrations were advanced. The food was special. Pasticada is a time-consuming dish made with a specific lean cut of beef, braised and cooked for hours. It is the only time the male host sprung to action after an annual hibernation much like Mariah Carey. It was terrific. I am not a bakalar person so I had the pasticada twice – I would have it every day if it were up to me. Guests joined for the roast lamb and bestow us with clouds of cigarette smoke. While our lungs did a lot of heavy lifting, the lamb was phenomenal, roasted with care and a bucket load of rosemary.

The times we got away from the residence, I kept getting into the marvelous, majestic and living heritage site in the ancient Diocletian’s Palace. There is something magnetic about it. The fact that it is laid bare in the middle of the city for everyone to enjoy is unique. The fact that people have incorporated living in a monument is even more special. I kept doing rounds around the palace, getting shushed by women in churches for being loud, and admired the Riva. It is a small and an approachable city. I think the idea is to keep doing the rounds because each time you find something new. A college friend of mine joined us in Split and we did a hike up Marjan Hill. It is a nice hike up to the top & the views are spectacular.

Unlike Zagreb, Split is sleepier this time of the year. There are some christmassy things to do but it’s not busy. Fewer places are open, and I suspect things that would otherwise be open were all closed for the holidays. The Riva barely had anyone, and the frustrated staff all seemed rather bored. But we did have some luck around some nice cafes and restaurants however and let’s get into that then.

Mokosh – Named after a Slavic goddess, the café was alfresco and practically empty. I was walking in and out of the table taking the last of my calls for work while the rest of the gang were getting into good coffee and great desserts. Funny story about our waiter who was sloshed beyond his consciousness, and he was a riot. He was so drunk that the management team had to send him home and even shorthanded the rest of the service pulled the evening through, treating everyone with a smile. Been told that that dining here is great too, so something for the next time. It is also a spot for Christmas festivities so could be a great spot to hang.

Dvor – Michelin Guide is a bit short in Split and the list gets smaller off season. But Dvor has been a popular choice and apparently someone we know, knows someone who ran the restaurant, so we were curious about the restaurant. We went for dinner which is a shame because the views ought to be tent-worthy during the day. It is primarily a sea food restaurant, and we obliged. Between my partner, my friend and I we had two starters, three mains and a dessert. Clearly, they are comfortable with seafood because the Beef Carpaccio and Osso Buco were passable. The seafood trio, grilled John Dory which was literally farm to table, and shrimp pljukanci were all terrific. The dessert lacked imagination probably because you can’t put fish in it.

Krug - The last dinner at Split was at Krug. Suggest everyone to mark this down as a must do perhaps in a couple of years if not immediately. This restaurant is equal parts nerdy and hipster. The restaurant is equal parts global and local. It is generous and restrained. The service is smart, well informed and exceptionally kind. In a night of insane highs, my favourites were the hake with peach kosho and an insane knock your socks off dessert which included vinegar ice cream, beetroot and cherry syrups and blackberry granita.

I loved being in Split. I rubbed the toe of Grgur Ninski to bring me back the soonest. The city festers imagination, you can’t help but envision the lives of the roman emperor and his entourage that once graced these famed lands almost two millennia ago. The serene Riva is a touristic draw, and the walk is littered with bars and cafes with frustrated staff. A word on our hosts whom we met after a couple of years. They are quite industrious, proud and well abled still into their 70s. Their energy and keen interest in keeping up with conversation is admirable. But only for the intense pollution and perhaps shortening my life by potentially three days I rate them a strong 7/10. I jest of course. It’s a strong six I’m afraid – Red Card.