Split, Croatia

Rolled into Split, a very cool city built on the Adriatic back in the early 300's CE.  Split is comprised of marble lined buildings with very thin snaking walks meandering throughout.  A very interesting place to explore. With the exception of the Palace, the interior of the City has been rebuilt over time as architectural styles have changed.  Since its inception, the City has changed hands many times, with the most owners occurring in the past 100 years, to include: Italy, France, Germany, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and is now officially part of Croatia.

Old Town Split

The original ruler and Palace builder, Diocletian, was on excellent terms with what is now Egypt, received many gifts, and as such, Split has numerous Egyptian artifacts (columns, sphinxes, etc) about the City.  After the fall of Yugoslavia, as outsiders starting coming in with more frequency, they began to notice the Egyptian artifacts, most notably, artifacts that were being used as door stops, paper weights, wall decorations. and garden ornaments.  Apparently, the owners having been blocked from the outside world, did not understand the value of the artifacts.  Must have been a nice surprise for them when they found out.

The Palace

Greta at the Adriatic

European Leg ... So Far

Stage Distance: 150 mi (242 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 20,709 mi (33,275 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia