We woke to a grey morning but we only had a drive ahead so it was perfectly timed. Say Tesla and I immediately think of electric cars, but I hadn’t realised they were named after an inventor called Nikola Tesla, so we visited the memorial centre in his birthplace of Smiljan to find out more.
The site includes the restored church where his father was priest and the house where he was born. We also saw a demonstration of the wireless transfer of electric energy from a Tesla Coil to the florescent tubes that we were given to hold – I definitely felt like I had been handed a light sabre!
Looking round, it became obvious he was dedicated to the point of obsession and experimented with various concepts including neon lights, wireless, X rays, hydro electric power and turbines. He registered loads of patents, but others often converted his research into actual workable inventions. Nonetheless, he is best known for designing the modern alternating current electricity supply we all have in our homes today..
From here, we took the toll road literally through the mountains, with several tunnels, one over 5km long and emerged into the middle of the clouds!
We arrived in Zadar, the main city in North Dalmatia, and most famous for its old town set on the tip of a narrow peninsula and surrounded by city walls.
We are staying at its heart and successfully negotiated our way into the city and located not only a handy parking space but also the Greta Residence through the gate at No9 where we will be for a couple of nights.
We’ve had a lovely time pottering round the narrow streets exploring. Zadar was bombed heavily in WWII so there is a mixture of old and new, restored bits and ancient Roman bits all mixed in together.
Kalelarga is the main thoroughfare, leading to the Cathedral of St Anastasia with her bell tower.
Zeleni Trg is the bustling central square and was once the Roman Forum, although very little of it remains apart from the paving stones and some walls.
Behind is the circular, Byzantine-style church of St Donatus, built using some stone from the Forum.
There is also a 14m high column to which, up until 1840, the town’s offenders were chained to suffer public humiliation.
At the east end is a park at the top of the bastions …
… with a view down to the Mainland Gate …
… and a harbour…
… and Trg pet bunara, a square containing pet bunara or five wells built as the original city water supply with the Captain’s Tower behind.
When it got a bit warm in the centre, we found the sea …
… and walked till we reached a couple of modern installations designed by local architect Nikola Bašić. We particularly loved the Sea Organ.
As the sea laps, air is pushed through the a series of pipes and set into the steps to make random, but strangely harmonic sounds, which can become louder and more strident with the wake of a passing boat.
Watching the sun set in Zadar has become a bit of a thing so we returned later, as did everyone else! There’s something quite special about sharing sunset with a group of people who have come together just to watch the sun sink below the horizon …
… and the sound of the sea organ made it memorable.
Nearby is Sun Salutation, made of glass panels that capture sunlight during the day …
…which then powers its own light show – conceived as a tribute to the solar system. It also collects enough energy to power the entire harbour-front lighting system.
We had noticed a small restaurant in a courtyard tucked behind a wall called Konoba Dalmacija and we went for dinner on our last night in the city, finally getting to try blitva, the Croatian side dish of chard and potatoes which is supposed to be ubiquitous but has so far evaded us. Cooked with lots of garlic and lemon, it went perfectly with my bream, while Chris had lovely grilled veg with his gnocchi.
On the way back, we stopped at St Donatus to see the lightshow, atmospherically illuminating the old stone church.
The Sunday morning church bells ensured we were awake and we were on the road once more.
Off Travelling Together 