It means no worries. And in Split, Croatia it took very few kuna (Croatian currency) to be worry free. I traveled with the usual suspects, Lauren and Julia along with Lauren’s friend Susy and Julia’s friends Katie and Taylor. We ended up being a great travel group that was up for pretty much anything. We had to catch a flight at 6AM which required me getting up at 3AM to get my things in order, catch a bus, catch a train, check in, get through security, get through customs, and wait outside the terminal’s closed 7-Eleven with a growling stomach.
We got to Split by 8AM and walked onto the tarmac with our jackets in hand- a monumental moment for six girls who have been weathering one of the worst winters in Copenhagen.
After meeting our adorable hostel owner we headed out to the beach and met up with other DIS kids. We all laid out and soaked up the sun not even caring that we were turning into little lobsters. It had been so long since our arms or legs had seen the sunlight that being a little pink was preferable to being ghost.
Croatia is possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been to so please bear with the absurd number of pictures that are to come. On Sunday Susy, Taylor, Katie and I hiked up Marjan, which is this giant hill in Split that overlooks the harbor and the Diocletian Palace. It’s a bit of a hike, but totally worth it.
After climbing what seemed like a million stairs we came to the top with the perfect spot to see the whole city.
We didn’t stop at the lookout spot. We kept going across the entire hill, which is actually fairly big. The hike is pretty high up, but almost entirely along the water so there is always a bit of blue peeking in between the trees and every few minutes a beautiful view opens up. Here are just a few of the pictures I took.
When we came to the end we ran into a road that wound all the way down the hill. There were these cliffs along the road that were terrifying just to look up at. Luckily we did because we saw some amazing buildings that functioned as Renaissance hermitages in the 15th century.
We also spotted one very brave rock climber.
Down below we saw a beautiful beach which soon got the nickname “The Beach Out of Reach” from Taylor because it was at the bottom of this road that never seemed to stop winding down the hill. It probably took us about an hour and half to finally get to it.
But when we did it was gorgeous. Split doesn’t have many sandy beaches, but the small pebbles were actually pretty nice because we could wear our tennis shoes and not worry about all the sand getting everywhere.
At the end of the day I treated myself to some 6 kuna ice cream. I let the sweetness of cheap delicious ice cream and this sunny beautiful place melt my ice cream and my heart because let’s be honest, it’s hard not to be super cheesy and cliche when you’re in paradise.
We woke up bright and early on Monday to go to the Plitvice Lakes, which make up the oldest national park in Southeast Europe. On our way there our guide took us by Krka, which is another national park known for its waterfalls. Unlike Plitvice Lakes, you can swim at Krka, but it was a bit too cold for that when we went. The water was freezing even though it was in the 70s.
Our ride there was a bit terrifying thanks to our guide’s driving, but it was gorgeous! Plitvice is much deeper into Croatia than Split so you leave behind the Adriatic Sea and head towards (and under) the mountains. Along the way we saw goats scaling the side of the mountains, sheep being herded by a shepherd and amazing views of the snowcapped mountains.
The lakes were gorgeous and home to the largest waterfall in Croatia along with many smaller waterfalls. The water was a beautiful blue-green color thanks to all the algae in it. Even though the trees were in full bloom and green yet, the waterfalls alone were impressive enough.
We walked over these rickety boardwalks which had water actually bubbling up from underneath them at some points. They were terrifying, but wonderful because there were no railings so we felt like we could just reach out an touch the waterfalls. I loved the abandonment of safety precautions.
At one point we ran into some ducks which had obviously become very comfortable with humans because they were practically grabbing food out of our hands.
When it was time for us to go they hopped back in the water and swam right over these giant fish. The water was so clear we could straight to the bottom. It was incredible.
After a great day we headed back and watched the sunset from the balcony of our hostel, which became a nightly thing.
On Tuesday we woke up and took a bus to Brela, which is the number 6 beach in the world. It was gorgeous and totally empty. We were the only people on the beach and it seemed like the whole town too. It was quite a hike to get down there, but again totally worth the burn. Getting fit and seeing beautiful places, what more could you ask for?
Here’s Susy and I at Brela. 
We brought some Somersbys to the beach. It was the only taste of Copenhagen we needed that day.
Sitting under a mountain on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Every single day in Croatia was perfect.
On the last day it was just Susy, Lauren and I so we walked around the Diocleatian Palace and went to the next island over.
In the Palace there was a sphinx brought to Split from Egypt.
We walked through the Fish Market which obviously had a lot of delicious smells and sights… Buckets full of dead fish. So appetizing.
With that we headed over to Supetar which is the island over from Split. It was a great ferry ride and we got to see the Split harbor from a whole new point of view.
The beach we found on Supetar was rocky, but we made the most of it with the help of some sunshine, a camera, bread, cheese and Radlers- my new favorite lemon flavored beer.
As always, the perfect day in Croatia.
It was hard to say goodbye to such a perfect place full of five perfect days, but I was headed to Budapest and would soon find an even more perfect place if that’s even possible (and grammatically I know it’s not).
EMN in CPH 