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Oysters
Leaving Dubrovnik, we took the scenic route up the coast, and headed toward Split. Along the way we stopped at a small market to get some food for the trip, but the biggest highlight was the oyster farm that we discovered. We couldn’t find much information on any public maps (in English) about Oyster farms, though along our drive we saw a sign for an Oyster farm and had to visit it. (See the interactive map below for the exact location; there’s not much info on Google Maps however it is listed and simply called “Fresh Oysters,” which is very appropriately named!) It was one of the most picturesque places we’ve ever seen for a shellfish farm. We parked alongside the road, and there were two floating docks with tables on them. You order your oysters where the lady working there pulls a bag straight from the sea, shucks them up fresh, then brings them over to your table on the floating covered dock. They were very reasonably priced. Saw several groups of locals there too, and noticed that they brought their own wine and bread to enjoy along with the fresh oysters.
One thing to note is that unlike most of the oysters we’ve eaten around Europe and North America, in Croatia they don’t preserve the liquor. In fact after separating the oyster from the lower deep shell, they tip it over and serve it on the flat shell. So there’s no liquor, but they’re still incredibly delicious and also simpler to eat. It’s always fun to enjoy oysters straight from a farm alongside the waters where they were harvested, but there was something special about this place. It was so picturesque, so small, and way off the beaten path. We could have easily spent a few hours here soaking in the scenery, enjoying some local wine and of course enjoying many of these incredible oysters.
We continued our drive to the city of Split, but decided that instead of taking the toll road we would do a portion of the drive along the coast for some different scenery than we had seen on the drive down to Dubrovnik. We passed through many towns along the coast, and while we didn’t take any notes it make us vow to return to Croatia and spend even some more time exploring these little towns.
Split
We arrived in the City of Split. Split is a pretty large city compared to the smaller towns that we drove through. It’s an old city with a very well preserved ancient Roman ruins, but also very modern with plenty of attractions. We stayed at another private apartment conveniently located just a short walk from the waterfront, which also included a free underground parking space. After a quick and easy check in, it was time for dinner.
The Port of Split is the third busiest port in the Mediterranian, it welcomes big cruise ships and smaller ones that take you to other neighboring islands, other ports in Croatia, and also to Italy. In our search for dinner, we found a seafood restaurant called Buffet Zlatna Ribica that specialized in fried seafood. This place was a hidden gem, nothing fancy, more like a family-run cafe serving up plates of freshly caught fish, shrimp, and squid. Despite the name it’s not exactly a buffet; it was more like bar snacks instead of a full sit-down meal, but very fresh, filling, and priced well. The place was also very kid-friendly, as most everything was throughout Croatia.
The next day, we discovered a restaurant in Split called Ba!Će which specializes in Ćevapi which ended up being one of my husband’s highlights of the trip. I won’t go into all the details here, but clink the link and check out the post he helped me write about it, which explains what Ćevapi are and exactly why he loved this place so much.
Return Home
We had another day of more driving, back to Zagreb to end our adventure in Croatia. We didn’t have much time to explore this city, but what a difference compared to what it looked like on the early Sunday morning when we arrived. The evening when we were leaving, it was bustling with activity, having lots of open restaurants and cafes full of people, and people hanging out in the parks. As with all the other places we visited in Croatia this is yet another reason to return to this country and explore all it has to offer.
We just had enough time to return our rental car and grab a quick dinner before boarding the overnight train back to Munich. This time the train journey was slightly easier because we knew what to expect, though I have to agree that it’s still not as convenient or comfortable as flying.
Wanting to cram even more adventure into this relatively short trip, we departed from Frankfurt airport, so we had to get a one way car rental from Munich to Frankfurt, stopping in a few small towns for some additional sightseeting, until we arrived at our hotel near the Frankfurt airport for the evening to get a good rest before our early morning departure.
It was sad to say goodbye but we had a very eventful week full of activity, and we look forward to returning very soon!