Sibenik/ Krka National Park
Our Saturday started very early with a hail and rain storm at around 4am. Most of us slept through that game of nature and heard about it in the early morning from those who got woken up by thunder. As we approached Sibenik akvatory, the daylight called the early risers out on deck to enjoy the most beautiful entrance between two narrow islands into a protected harbor where we docked. Breakfast passed very quickly and then we were pleasantly surprised by Marijana , our local guide bringing us new big maps of the territory and city, which needed to be discovered!
And there we went first exploring the north of Sibenik and National Park “Krka” – famous for its vegetation—and powerful river Cetina, used by the Romans to build their watermills. People continued using that power and even built the first hydroelectric generator to make electricity in Europe, opened 2 days after the one at Niagara. After walking, hiking, and shopping we returned to the city ,where we admired the gothic and renaissance architecture of the old city. The outstanding St. James cathedral is the symbol of Sibenik, a masterpiece made totally of limestone (even the roof), has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the year 2000. Lunch was of course served on time on board under the direction of our hotel manager Alex. The sun came out as we left the port and sailed along, simply resting or enjoying the sunlight from deck. The afternoon was reserved for lecturing on the subject; “Tito and Croatia in Yugoslavia and Today”, where I was honored to give my Croatian perspective. Before dinner Grace gave us a very detailed overview of how the war started and at the end Tom gave us a lesson about the names of the countries we have visited in their own language, which was well taken. We simply had a great day. After dinner some of us were getting ready to have a look at Hvar city, expecting us tomorrow!
Our Saturday started very early with a hail and rain storm at around 4am. Most of us slept through that game of nature and heard about it in the early morning from those who got woken up by thunder. As we approached Sibenik akvatory, the daylight called the early risers out on deck to enjoy the most beautiful entrance between two narrow islands into a protected harbor where we docked. Breakfast passed very quickly and then we were pleasantly surprised by Marijana , our local guide bringing us new big maps of the territory and city, which needed to be discovered!
And there we went first exploring the north of Sibenik and National Park “Krka” – famous for its vegetation—and powerful river Cetina, used by the Romans to build their watermills. People continued using that power and even built the first hydroelectric generator to make electricity in Europe, opened 2 days after the one at Niagara. After walking, hiking, and shopping we returned to the city ,where we admired the gothic and renaissance architecture of the old city. The outstanding St. James cathedral is the symbol of Sibenik, a masterpiece made totally of limestone (even the roof), has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the year 2000. Lunch was of course served on time on board under the direction of our hotel manager Alex. The sun came out as we left the port and sailed along, simply resting or enjoying the sunlight from deck. The afternoon was reserved for lecturing on the subject; “Tito and Croatia in Yugoslavia and Today”, where I was honored to give my Croatian perspective. Before dinner Grace gave us a very detailed overview of how the war started and at the end Tom gave us a lesson about the names of the countries we have visited in their own language, which was well taken. We simply had a great day. After dinner some of us were getting ready to have a look at Hvar city, expecting us tomorrow!
