The adorable Adriatic........

Today we enjoyed a comfortable 3½ hour coach trip from Zagreb to Zadar, with scenery ranging from lush green hills with the occasional quaint old church or castle, to snow-capped mountains. We passed through many road tunnels through the mountains, a couple of them more than five kilometres long.

We are now on the Adriatic coast and the temperature has risen from thirteen degrees to twenty-three degrees. Zadar means “already existed” in Greek and traces of continual settlement on the Zadar Peninsula go back to the tenth century BC. We started our exploring this afternoon by walking the three kilometers from our seaside hotel into the old town centre. On the way we thought we must have taken a wrong turn as we came across the Sphinx in the grounds of a grand old mansion.

Zadar is a walled town and most of the walls and gates, built under Venetian rule in the sixteenth century, are still standing. We visited two of the city gates, including the elaborate Town Gate, built in 1543, embellished with a statue of the Venetian lion and coat of arms. Nearby is the Trg Pet Bunara (Five Wells Square), the site of a former moat and still containing a cistern with five wells that provided Zadar with water until 1838. We passed the town watchtower, dating from 1562, and walked through the Roman forum, constructed between the first century BC and the third century AD.

Two of the more unusual sights were the Sea Organ and the Sun Salutation. The Sea Organ (the world’s only) consists of a set of stone steps descending into the sea, with pipes and whistles built into them. As the movement of the sea pushes air through them, they exude wistful sighs and very hypnotic ‘music’. Right next to the Sea Organ is the Sun Salutation, a 22 metre diameter circle of solar plates cut into the pavement. The panels collect the sun’s energy during the day and with the wave energy from the Sea Organ, create a trippy light show from sunset to sunrise, simulating the solar system. The energy created from both of these attractions powers all of the lighting along the lengthy waterfront promenade.

We stopped for dinner at a little sidewalk restaurant, tucked away in one of the many narrow alleys, before wandering home as the glorious sun set over the Adriatic Sea. Tomorrow – explore Zadar old town in earnest.