Geekstreamers - The Legendary Adventures

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Adventure Report: Split, Croatia

02 July 2022

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14 June 2022

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Adventure Report: Dubrovnik, Croatia

30 May 2022

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26 April 2022

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14 April 2022

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31 March 2022

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[NEW POST] For our second stop in Croatia, we went

[NEW POST] For our second stop in Croatia, we went to its second city, Split! In our new Adventure Report, we reveal the experiences & expenses of our 29-days uncovering the mysteries of Diocletian's Palace! Link in bio!

As visitors to Split, a lot of our time was spent

As visitors to Split, a lot of our time was spent exploring the many obscurities of the old city and Diocletian’s Palace. Like the Gregory of Nin statue doing some wizard cosplay. Or the weird fountain shooting water from a disembodied hand. Or even enjoying a glass of Croatian wine at one of the many wine bars. But we also managed to get out of the old city. Like the day we climbed a whole bunch of stairs to get to the observation point in Marjan Park. Or wandered the streets of the Varos neighborhood in search of murals and the Church of St. Nikola. Or the time we walked over to a local craft brewery tucked into a massive neighborhood of communist-era apartment buildings. Split has kept us very busy, but the time has come to move on. Next stop: Zagreb!

Usually, our descent into cellars ends with a nice

Usually, our descent into cellars ends with a nice glass of wine. But the cellars in Diocletian’s Palace serve a different purpose. The central hall is a passthrough from the interior of the palace to the outside. It also hosts small shops selling various crafts. The rest of the substructure is a museum. These basement halls were once the private apartments of the Emperor and are considered the best-preserved of their kind in the world. It’s an entire underground network of various caverns ranging in size from small to enormous. It’s kind of like a cave system, except with human-sized openings and 100% less 🦇! Apparently wine was once, in fact, stored in these cellars, but we’re several hundred years too late to partake.

As we’re way too nerdy to pass up the chance to

As we’re way too nerdy to pass up the chance to explore a fortress, we were practically required to make an excursion to the outskirts of Split to visit the Fortress of Klis.The hilltop location was used for filming the city of Meereen in Game of Thrones. Apparently they’ve decided to shed some of the GoT connections as the museum that housed props from the show had mostly been emptied out. We arrived shortly after opening and had the place to ourselves, save for a class of little kids practicing archery on one of the terraces. Yep, we were careful where we walked after that.

The fortress has a long history as an ancient stronghold, the seat of many Croatian kings, and a defensive position during the Ottoman conquests of the Balkans. From the various vantage points, there were spectacular views of the sea, Split and the mountains. We also found an old pub, but the taps were dry. Boo!

On the way out, we noticed a set of stairs meandering down the hillside. We had no idea where they went, so of course Jimmy wasted no time descending them while Mack followed behind complaining that he was probably leading us into a trap. Fortunately, they just led to the nearby town,where we were able to hail an Uber back to the city.

The beating heart of Diocletian’s Palace is Peri

The beating heart of Diocletian’s Palace is Peristil, the courtyard in the center of the old town. We usually wandered through in the mornings, when the locals were still setting up for the day. By late morning, it’s a popular meeting spot for walking tours and fills up with tourists and Instagrammers. At night, the lights come on and people sit on the steps drinking cocktails from the Luxor Cafe while watching performances.

In ancient times, this square was used by Emperor Diocletian to address his subjects. It was also where his subjects could engage in some next-level ass-kissing where they would kneel down and kiss the hem of his cloak. The overachievers would simply fall to the ground in his presence. Dioclentian was also a fan of purple and forbade all but emperors from wearing it. So apparently he was the OG of loving purple before Prince and Vicky Vale. 🦇

Among the many things named after Diocletian in Ol

Among the many things named after Diocletian in Old Town Split is Diocletian’s Dining Room. The first time we wandered through we didn’t really know what we were looking at, but thanks to our self-guided audio tour, we learned that it was home to famous Roman Bacchanalias. It mostly just looks like a bunch of ruins today, but once upon a time, these elaborate festivals were known to serve more than 20 courses that would be served in a single evening. Often they would take breaks between courses, vomit, freshen up and then return to the feast. That’s some serious gluttony! 🤢

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