Sights and Sounds of Zadar

Zadar, Croatia

Before we knew it, the month of May had arrived and Mac and I found ourselves nearing the end of our year-long trip. Unbeknownst to my family, we had booked a flight from Zadar, Croatia to Dublin, Ireland after which we would catch another flight direct to southwest Ontario. We were going home. But not before we spent a few days taking in the sights and sounds of Zadar. We had one of our most unsuccessful hitchhiking attempts trying to get to Zadar (I’m talking, standing in the rain for eight (8!!) hours with nothing but cold shoulders and no ride offers.) When we finally arrived we were so stoked to be out of the rain and were ready to make the most of our last few days in Europe.

Sights and Sounds of Zadar

Old Town

We spent the majority of our time in Zadar doing what we normally do when we get to a new city: walking around and meandering through the streets. Zadar is a cool city with a unique blend of Old Town feel meets a dab of modernity. We sampled gelato on the promenade, admired the old stone buildings, traipsed across the tiled alleys, and enjoyed the relaxing bird song in the Queen Jelena Madijevka Park (Perivoj kraljice Jelene Madijevke).

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Sea Organ

One of the coolest things about Zadar – for me at least – was the Sea Organ (Morske Orgulje). This architectural feature is the highlight of the city’s waterfront. It’s hard to explain, but through a series of slats and holes in the concrete peninsula, the incoming waves of the tide make hauntingly beautiful sounds. It’s essentially a natural symphony and I easily could have spent all day there listening to the music of the waves. I recorded some audio of this Sea Organ – take a listen!

Ugljan Island

For our last day in Zadar – and Croatia at large – we decided to finally visit one of the country’s 1000+ islands. The island of Ugljan is just a short 20 minute ferry ride from the city center. The views of the receding mainland were quite impressive, and we admired them alongside a fellow Canadian couple (Mac and I even went to the same university as the husband! Small world!). We landed in the port village of Precko and immediately caught a bus to the nearby town of Kali.

The tourist information center was extremely helpful and the woman there gave us a map filled with various hiking routes. After a quick lunch down by the water we were on our way to the top of the island. We followed a mix of trails and dirt roads across the island, bypassing some friendly goats, then finally ending up at a viewpoint that overlooked an island shaped like Napoleon’s hat!

Fort Saint Michael

There was one final push to the top of the hill where Fort Saint Michael (Tvrđava Sveti Mihovil) still stands – though it’s mostly in ruins now. The views from the fortress were pretty epic and looked out over seemingly hundreds of islands (and sailboats) that dotted the sea below.

A glance at our watch and a quick bit of mental math later had us running down the road and through a neighbourhood in order to make it back to the ferry. We made it with a few minutes to spare (which I spent catching my breath…) and soon we were on our way back to the mainland.

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Experiencing the sights and sounds of Zadar was such a great way to end our time in the Balkans, and a memorable way to end our year-long trip through Europe. We had one final relaxing night in the city before we headed to the airport to begin our journey home. We had a brief stop in Dublin where we had Guinness and hiked in the rain – how’s that for an Irish experience?

Tell me, have you ever had to run to catch a ferry? (Mac and I nearly missed another ferry in Costa Rica after we severely underestimated the walking distance and were too cheap to get a cab. That one we made with mere seconds to spare!)

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