First time in Croatia | 3 things in central Dalmatia – Šibenik, National Park KRKA…

The town of Sibenik is located in central Dalmatia and has about 50,000 residents. A sweet little town with an amazing old town core – winding little streets, where you can get easily los; repeatedly spaces open with beautiful Croatian monuments. The proximity to the water adds a maritime flair. Šibenik lies at the mouth of the river Krka into the Adriatic Sea and provides mixed river and lake water. As a matter of fact, the water quality is great for clam breeding. The Croatian cities are reminiscent of Lake Garda’s little towns. Likewise, people are sitting outside during any kind of weather drinking coffee. The coffee culture is similar to the Italian one here given the fact that an espresso costs around 1€.

Unfortunately the weather has scotched our Sibenik-visit. Therefore, we saw the city just quickly. This is a good reason to come back soon!

• The Katedrala sv. Jakova. Also, St. Jacob Cathedral Šibenik. It is among the most important Renaissance buildings in Dalmatia. There are 71 engraved portraits on its facade, which is quite impressive. Unfortunately, the Cathedral and was renovated during our visit and we couldn’t climb up to the cupola.
• Lunch at the restaurant Pelegrini. A fabulous gourmet restaurant. A post will follow!
• Up to the St. Michael Fortress. You’ll have a fantastic view onto the city and the canal. It was renovated some time ago and has a generous Arena, where concerts are held in summer. Admission is here 20-35KN, around 2.6 to 4.6 €.
• Medieval Mediterranean Garden of St Lawrence Monastery. On the way up to the fort you may stumble over this pretty garden – a small oasis in the city. Admission costs 15KN. Tip: under the garden there is a beautiful Marian grotto!

Who would have thought that I can check off a point from my travel bucket list already in the first half of the year. On the second day a visit to the National Park KRKA was on the agenda. Croatians are very smart and have protected most of their nature.

From our hotel, the D-Resort Sibenik, it was a short 20 minute drive. We left around 9:00 am and we could get a glance from the top onto the beautiful sea landscape. My tip here – start much earlier, because the park is a popular destination. In particular, the basin of the waterfall Skradinski buk quickly fills up with American travel troops jumping into the water in every season to take pictures.

Admission to the park costs 30-95 kunas (5-12 €) depending on the season. This includes the park, the ethnographic museum and also a half-hour boat ride from Skradin and Lozovac a rail shuttle service.

As wonderful end to our press trip we had dinner at a typical Konoba, a Croatian tavern. We visited the Kuća Dalmatinskog pršuta Roca in Pirovac, which is a 25 minute drive away from Šibenik. A beautiful traditional hide living from wine and olive growing and selling one of the best ham and various sausages.

Everything is homemade, smoked, boiled and grilled. From the pig to the finished smoked Dalmatian Pršut. The ham and the sausages taste great and delicious potato bread fits only too with it.