Beautiful Split Croatia

Sanja Pokrajac

Beautiful Split Croatia

Introduction

Split is one of the most fascinating and most visited cities in the Mediterranean. It attracts many tourists from all over the world for the hospitality and excellent homemade cuisine that it offers, for its historical architecture, sacred art, nightlife and of course for the sea amusements. The biggest attraction has always been the famous Diocletian's Palace and its Roman architecture which directly overlooks the port of Split and represents a small city within the city, built with marble and white stone. Inside there is a real labyrinth surrounded by 26 meters high ancient walls where religious structures such as the Cathedral of San Domnio Katedrala Svetog Dujma (Katedrala ssvetogh Duima) and in the north the miniature of the church of San Martino, Crkva Svetog Martina (Tsrkva Ssvetogh Martina) are preserved. There are four doors along the perimeter walls of the Palace. The center of Split is the peristyle of this ancient Palace represented by the central square of the Palace around which, in ancient times, there were several temples built in honor of the emperor Diocletian. Visiting it even today you can imagine its magnificence of those times.

A must see is the Croatian Maritime Museum-Pomorski muzej (Pomorsski museums) located in a 19th century building in the fortress of Gripe (Grippe), Ethnographic Museum inside the Diocletian Palace and the Art Museum of the famous Croatian sculptor Meštrović (Meshtrovich). Not far from the center there is also the Archaeological Museum with its finds from the Prehistoric, Medieval and Early Christian Eras. You do not want to miss the Museum of the city of Split located in a Gothic palace of the 15th century that summarizes the whole history of this city. And finally, to get to know Split and Dalmatia using the senses just visit the Museum of the Senses which offers attractions that erase the limit between the real and the imaginable.

Absolutely not to be missed is the hill of Marjan (Marian) with its gardens and terraces from where the panoramic view of the city and the sea is truly breathtaking.

For outdoor activities, the mountain Mali Kozjak (Mali Kosiak) at 1207 m altitude is very well-known. It is located above the Castles City of Split.

Walking through the alleys of Split you will surely notice the large statue of St. Gregory, Sveti Grgur (SSveti Grghur) which represents the Saint as well as the protector of the Croatian Catholic Church. The story says that it is enough to touch the big toe of the Saint's foot to get one wish fulfilled.

The famous beaches of Split are Bačvice (Bacivitse), Ježinac (Iejinats), Žnjan (Jgnan) and Firule (Firulle).

Excursions and day trips to visit the islands of Brač (Braci), Šolta (Sholta) or Hvar (Hvar) with the famous Blue Cave are also organized very often. You have to absolutely visit the magnificent Plitvice Lakes (Plitvitse) and the Krk Waterfalls National Park.

In the nearby you will find the charming town of Trogir (Troghir) all in stone, elected World Heritage by UNESCO and the beautiful beaches in its surroundings.

The 12 km rafting on the richest water river in Dalmatia, Cetina (Tsettina) is also exciting.

Not far away, even if it is in the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are the beautiful Kravice waterfalls (Kravitse), the city of Mostar, full of Ottoman-style bazaars and its famous bridge, symbol of the city of the last wars in the Balkans and Medjugorje (Megiughorie), and the religious site where the Virgin Mary appeared and that is visited by many faithfuls from all over the world.

The capital of Croatia is Zagreb (Saghreb). The Dalmatian climate is Mediterranean with mild winters and average annual temperatures around 15 Celsius degrees. Dalmatia is a geographical region located on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea. In the northern Croatian plains the climate is continental. Unlike in the northernmost sea area of Rijeka and Istria, summer storms in Dalmatia are much rarer. The religion is predominantly Christian Catholic. Croatia is part of the European Union and the local currency is the Kuna. All European phone cards are normally used in Croatia at no additional costs.

Croatian gastronomy

A large number of Croatian restaurants offer a wide selection of spirits produced in their cellars. Excellent grappas are made of vines, lozovača (lòsovacia), pears, viljamovka (vìgliamovka), apples, jabukovača (iàbukovacia), herb grappa, travarica (tràvariza), or quinces, dunjevača (dùgnevacia). There are also many excellent red and white wines such as Malvazija (Malvasia), Dingač (Dinghaci), Pošip (Poship), Muškat (Mushkat) Merlot, Rizling (Risling), Pinot Nero, Sauvignon, Cabernet and many others. Croatian wines are highly awarded in many world events and are perhaps better described by the words of a Croatian producer who said: "If you respect the grapes in the vineyard, the grapes will respect you in the bottle."

The Croatian specialties are mostly those made on the grill and obviously those of fresh sea fish of all kinds but also of mixed meat consisting of ribs, skewers and venison. Famous is Split's pašticada (pashtitsada) made of heifer in sauce, seasoned with bay leaves, nutmeg and pepper. It is served with gnocchi, njoki (gnoki). One of the historical Croatian dishes are štrukli (shtrukli), a kind of puff pastry with cow's cheese and sour cream. Fišpaprikaš (fishpaprikash) is a spicy goulash made from river fish. Winter dishes include boiled pork hock cooked with spices, beans with pork ribs, djuveč (downveci), that is pork with baked vegetables, fish soup, pita (pitta) that is pizza dough with the cheese filling, salted pita with meat (burek), savory vegetable pie, apple pie (jabukovača-iàbukovacia). Typical Dalmatian sweets are kroštule (kròshtule) fried puff pastry in the form of a flake, sprinkled with powdered sugar, fritule (fritulle), small fried balls made of leavened dough with raisins, pandišpanj (pandishpagn) biscuits soaked in prosecco and candied fruit, smokvenjak (ssmokvegnak) dessert made of dried figs, almonds, walnuts and spices, klašuni (klashùni) puff pastry with the filling of almonds and liqueur of a particular species of rose. Paradižet (Paradijet) is made of milk and eggs and looks like white clouds, rožata (rojatta) is a caramel cream with rose liqueur and many other sweet Dalmatian delights. In all the restaurants there are also Italian menus which are highly appreciated in Croatia.

N.B. below all the sentences in bold are in English and you will find the relative pronunciation of the translated Croatian text, which will be highlighted.

Greeting

GREETING/POZDRAVI/ POSDRAVI

Welcome/ Dobro došli/ Dobro dòshli

Cheers/ Nazdravlje/ Nàsdravlie

Good morning / Dobar dan/ Dobar dan

Good bye/ Doviđenja / Dovidʒèɲa

Have a nice trip / Sretan put/ Srètan poot

Conversations

CONVERSATIONS/RAZGOVORI/

RASGHOVORI

How are you? (formal) Kako ste? Kakko ste?

I'm well thank you and yoy? (formal) Hvala, dobro, a Vi? Hvala, dobro, a Vi?

Do you understand me? (formal) Razumijete li me? Do you understand me? (formal)

I understand all / Sve razumijem / I understand all

Do you speak English or Croatian? (formal) Govorite li engleski ili hrvatski? / Do you speak English or Croatian? (formal)

Yes, I speak a little Croatian / Da, govorim malo hrvatski / Yes, I speak a little Croatian

I don't understand /Ne razumijem/I don't understand

How do you say this word? Kako se izgovara ova riječ? How do you say this word?

Could you repeat, please? (formal) / Ponovite, molim Vas / Could you repeat, please? (formal)

What's your name? (formal) Kako se zovete? What's your name? (formal)

My name is/ Ja se zovem/My name is

What time is it? Koliko je sati? What time is it?

It's ten to eight/Deset do osam/ It's ten to eight

It's half past five/ Sad je pet i pol/ It's half past five

It's a quarter past nine/Devet i kvarat/ It's a quarter past nine

What's the weather like? Kakvo je vrijeme? What's the weather like?

Today is a beautiful day/ Danas je divan dan/ Today is a beautiful day

When can we meet? Kada se možemo vidjeti? When can we meet?

Where can we meet? Gdje se možemo naći? Where can we meet?

I live in / Ja živim u / I live in

How old are you? Koliko imaš godina? How old are you?

Yes-No, thank you / Da-Ne, hvala/ Yes-No, thank you

Have you ever been to Croatia? Jeste li ikada bili u Hrvatskoj? Have you ever been to Croatia?

Nice to meet you (formal)/ Drago mi je što smo se upoznaliNice to meet you (formal)/

Will we meet this evening? Vidimo se večeras? Will we meet this evening?

Excuse me / Oprostite/ Excuse me

You're welcome/ Molim/ You're welcome

Tooday is the 1st of January/ Danas je prvi siječanj / Tooday is the 1st of January

Happy New Year / Sretna Nova godina / Happy New Year

Happy Birthday / Sretan rođendan / Happy Birthday

I was born on the 10th February/ Rođen-rođena sam desetog veljačeI was born on the 10th February/

I'm 30 years old and you? Imam trideset godina, a ti? I'm 30 years old and you?

I'm not married/ Nisam oženjen/ I'm not married/

Meet my friend/ Predstaviću ti mog prijatelja/ Meet my friend/

Have we already seen each other? Jesmo li se već vidjeli? Have we already seen each other?

How old do you think I am? Koliko mi daješ? How old do you think I am?

I would say you're 25 years old/ Dao bih ti dvadeset pet godina/ I would say you're 25 years old/

You are very nice(formal)/ Vi ste puno ljubazni/ You are very nice(formal)/

Can we meet tonight? Možemo li se vidjeti večeras? Can we meet tonight?

It's love at first sight/ To je ljubav na prvi pogled/ It's love at first sight/

I'll come pick you by car/ Doći ću autom po tebe/ I'll come pick you by car/

Can I have your phone number? Mogu li dobiti tvoj broj telefona? Can I have your phone number?

Let's have lunch together/ Ručajmo zajedno/ Let's have lunch together/

Shall we go for a walk? Hoćemo li prošetati? Shall we go for a walk?

I'm sorry I'm late/ Oprostite što kasnim/ I'm sorry I'm late/

Shall we dance? Hoćemo li plesati? Shall we dance?

It was a pleasant evening/ Večeras je bilo lijepo/ It was a pleasant evening

Thank you for your hospitality/ Hvala na vašem-tvom gostoprimstvu/ Thank you for your hospitality/

Is she your girlfriend? Ona je tvoja djevojka? Is she your girlfriend?

He's my brother/ On je moj brat/ He's my brother/

See you on Saturday at/ Vidimo se u subotu u / See you on Saturday at/

I'm sorry I can't come/ Žao mi je, ne mogu doći/ I'm sorry I can't come/

I'm glad I met you/ Drago mi je što sam te upoznao/ I'm glad I met you/

Cardinal numbers

CARDINAL NUMBERS / KARDINALNI BROJEVI / CARDINAL NUMBERS

0 zero / nula / 0 zero

1 one / jedan/ 1 one

2 two / dva / 2 two

3 three / tri / 3 three

4 four / četiri/ 4 four

5 five/ pet / 5 five

6 six / šest/ 6 six

7 seven / sedam / 7 seven

8 eight / osam / 8 eight

9 nine / devet / 9 nine

10 ten/ deset / 10 ten

11 eleven/ jedanaest / 11 eleven

12 twelve / dvanaest / 12 twelve

13 thirteen / trinaest / 13 thirteen

14 fourteen/ četrnaest/ 14 fourteen

15 fifteen / petnaest/ 15 fifteen

16 sixteen / šesnaest /16 sixteen

17 seventeen/ sedamnaest/ 17 seventeen

18 eighteen/ osamnaest/ 18 eighteen

19 nineteen/ devetnaest/ 19 nineteen/

20 twenty/ dvadeset/ 20 twenty

21 twenty-one/ dvadeset jedan/ 21 twenty-one

30 thirty/ trideset30 thirty/

40 forty/ četrdeset40 forty/

50 fifty/ pedeset50 fifty/

60 sixty/ šezdeset60 sixty/

70 seventy/ sedamdeset70 seventy/

80 eighty/ osamdeset80 eighty/

90 ninety/ devedeset90 ninety/

100 one hundred/ sto100 one hundred/