Arrival in Zadar

Today we drove to Zadar (pronounced, “Zaa daa” the “R” is silent like the “P” in Jacuzzi), using the much improved toll road system. All that zig-zag driving to avoid paying tolls was getting to be a bit much. And, once we found out that Croatian tolls are really cheap, it only made sense to use them. Our total toll for the 3-hour drive was 16EUR and saved almost 2 hours of driving!

Once at our destination apartment, we needed to find a parking spot (paid) and then meet up with our host. There are very few apartments in Old Town (yes, another one) that have parking so the hunt for one close to the apartment and at a reasonable rate was on. Fortunately for us, starting 01 October, the parking rates drop to a fixed price for more than 5 hours, 2.40EUR! Another great reason to travel in the off season!

Parked our ride and hoofed it in to meet our host. Couldn’t have been better coordinated. Parked our car outside the ancient wall and our apartment was located just on the other side. Perfect. Met with our host who walked us through the ins & outs and showed us how everything works. Now the task of hauling our stuff to the apartment.

The place is really nice! Looks like it was just renovated and done really well. The real cool thing is the closet kitchen. Sunds small and funky but it is the size of a regular kitchen (in Europe), with doors that close and make it look as thought it’s part of a closet in the hallway. Pretty neat.

The closet kitchen

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

Sitting area in Bedroom #2

Dining area

Closet kitchen closed

Courtyard in back of the apartment. Ancient ruin colonnades and a giant plaster tooth from a failed dental service. Huh?

Checked in, unpacked and decided to head out for an initial walk around the neighborhood. This quickly became a stroll to the ocean, Zadar sits on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, to see what’s there. We were a little surprised to see a Viking cruise ship just at the end of the promenade. Didn’t realize we would have to contend with crowds from cruise ships, but so be it. Guess we’ll find a small restaurant on the beach, have a glass of wine, and let the day pass by.

Pier on the promenade

Viking cruises on the way to another port.

Now this is the Croatia you want to experience!