Today I took went on an adventure outside of Split.
Krka National Park
The first step was Krka National Park. It is known for seven waterfalls and an un-altered ecosystem, and is about 42 square miles. The Krka Waterfalls area has the second highest density of lavender in Europe, which also means a huge population of wasps and bees in the area, but my sweat was apparently not what they were in the mood for, and I got through unscathed. The park has over 860 species of plants, and the river has 18 species of fish. There are also 222 different types of birds, and even 18 different types of bats.
As I hiked through, I also got to see some old mills and learned about how they harnessed the energy of the river, including a hydroelectric mill that was built in 1895.
Hydroelectric
The first hydroelectric mill was technically in Niagara Falls – but the one here opened 3 days later, and was actually functional – the one at Niagara Falls was just for “show” initially, and didn’t provide power to Buffalo until later. Šibenik (the nearby town to Krka) became the first city in the world whose street lights were powered by a system of this type.
Nikola Tesla was actually born in what is now known as Croatia, which is why he installed it here. (For those that don’t know, he is credited with figuring out alternating current electricity and other things, like radios, though he was quite reclusive and didn’t file patents for many things he could have).
Water Mills
The water was also used as a food mill. These stones were turned to grind the wheat. You can see a metal strip on the outside – that metal was actually when you knew to replace the wheel, as it had been warn down too much.
Nature
But the real point of today was the nature. The waterfalls throughout the park were gorgeous. I saw a handful of small birds, and some ducks and geese, as well as lots of dragonflies (a really pretty blue kind), frogs, and trout.
Skradinski Buk Waterfall (the most well known of the waterfalls)
“Slap” means “Waterfall”, in Croatian. The total height of these falls (which includes a series of cascades) is about 200′, and an average of about 1,950 cubic feet per second flow down the Skradinski annually.
Zadar
After the park, I went to Zadar. (This wasn’t initially part of a tour, but I had read a lot about it online and wanted to go, and found a guide willing to take me. Politeness and a few extra Euro can go a long way.)
Zadar has been around for more than 2,000 years. It is situated on a peninsula, and has seen everything from Roman dignitaries to Crusade attacks. It was also one of the points of invasion during WWII, and became the location for the Italian government’s new seat during that interlude in history.
This also meant that Zadar was bombed by the Allies, destroying about 80% of the buildings. It’s actually called the “Dresden of the Adriatic” (I got to visit Dresden last year, so it was interesting to compare the two). The comparison is because Dresden was also basically destroyed by the Allies, and has also been almost completely rebuilt, as historically as possible.
For the record, this was the second time Zadar was destroyed. The first time was in 1202. Though it was a Christian city, it was destroyed during the 4th crusade; Venetians had tried to take over the city a few times and lost, and the Crusaders owed them a debt for some ships, so they got the Crusaders to destroy it for them.
Above the gate, you’ll see a winged lion. This symbol represents St Mark; under his right paw is a Bible. St Mark is the patron saint of Venice. At one point, Mussolini said that any place that bears the symbol of Venice should belong to Italy again; this area was under Italian control but the symbol of the winged lion was all over the broader area as well. Once word of what he said spread, the symbol was destroyed all over the country – 12 in the nearby city of Trogir were destroyed the next night.
Morske Orgulje
However, why I wanted to visit had nothing to do with that history. Instead, I wanted to experience the Morske Orgulje (Sea Organ). This massive underwater instrument, designed by architect Nikola Bašić, plays musical notes generated by the sea. The constantly shifting and moving waves means the organ never plays the same tune twice. The site opened to the public in 2005.
Steps lead down to the water; there is a system of polyethylene tubes and a cavity that makes the sound resonate hidden under the steps.
I sat for a while and just listened. The sound is hard to describe; kind of like soft, out of tune horns? Or maybe whales? But beautiful.
The below is a short video of it, but it might not come through?
Sun Salutation
The other really amazing thing I wanted to see in Zadar is the Sun Salutation. This installation consists of 300 multi-layered glass plates, which absorb solar energy during the day and produce a crazy waterfront light show once the sun goes down. The glass plates form a 72′ diameter circle. Beside the main (Sun) installation, there are similar smaller installations that represent the solar system. The size of the sun and planets are proportional, as well as the distance from the center of each plate, but the size and distance proportions are different (based on practicality of space for the installation. The solar system is really big in real life, fyi.)
The monument was also designed by Bašić – it is meant to symbolize communication with light, while the Sea Organ communicates with sound. Two different ways for nature to communicate with us, when we take the time to let it. The idea for it actually (sort of) came from Alfred Hitchcock – he was there at some point and said the sunset from this area was the most beautiful sunset he’d seen in his entire life.
Surrounded by art, and music, with a day spent in peace in nature was a pretty fitting way to celebrate dad’s birthday, I think.