Well, well, well……well, well! … Zadar


I’m not sure who was grumpiest after party goers had kept us all awake until the early hours and then bin and delivery drivers woke us around 6am!

Woolly says – I was finding it hard to stop yawning but at least breakfast helped the situation, having shared a continental one with Jo providing us with an omelette, croissants, jam (wondered why my paws were sticking to the keyboard!) and fruit salad we all felt more able to cope with the forthcoming attractions. Walking back through the streets I thought it was a good idea to start furthest away that made our first stop at the Church of Our Lady and Health,

built in 1703 on the site of two much older churches it contains a copy of a famous painting “Our Lady of Kastelo”, as I led the way into the rather plain building I was intrigued to see what was behind the grilles. You have got be careful of grilles when your my size and once Jo had helped in removing my head I peered at a lovely gold fan affect surrounding the painting, rather nice and a lot more modern looking than I had expected for the age of the church. Heading back into the morning sunshine I hurried across the road and found one of the city wells, built by the venetians it now stood alone having lost it’s two companions. Across from that was the old Arsenal……hmmm must check on the football scores…..

Before he could get side tracked and as the Arsenal is now a nightclub I suggested leaving the old city for a short while and walking along the harbour front.

Woolly says – Lots of yachts and boats with the newer parts of the city spread out behind it, not enjoying the amount of traffic I hurried back through the Sea Gate and towards St Chrysogonus’ Church…..no I have no idea how to pronounce it either! The Romanesque church was consecrated by Lampridius, Archbishop of Zadar, in 1175 and was built on the site of a Roman emporium, it replaced the Church of Saint Anthony the Hermit and is the only remaining part of a large medieval Benedictine abbey. In 1387 Elizabeth of Bosnia, the murdered queen dowager of Hungary and Dalmatia, was secretly buried in the church where her body remained for three years until being moved. Oh err the body-snatchers, I’d better be careful!

I started to look round in the hope that they might actually be some and I could have a break from the small fiend!

Woolly says – Yep she’s still grumpy! The outside was marvellous especially the rounded area at the back, sadly it was closed so having taken the usual pictures I led the way towards the Church of St Andrew and St Peter the Elder, from the outside it looked unremarkable with it’s 17th century façade but it was defiantly open as they had turned it into a gallery selling lots of jewellery, as Zoe and Jo browsed I was far more interested in looking at the other parts that date back to the 5th and 6th centuries. Through an apse I entered the very unusual church of St. Peter the Elder which was a lovely rounded area with the remains of it’s Romanesque-Byzantine frescoes that date from the end of the 12th century. Small but perfectly formed, just like me! Chivvying the women away from the sale table we entered Peoples Square which houses the Cities former Senital, Hall and a Lodge all of which now provide exhibitions and cafes rather than there more formal history. I spied a poster for an exhibition, Zoe caught my eye and we headed up the steps of what had once been the City Lodge with a very reluctant Jo lagging behind.

I had also seen the poster but I’m not a lover of snakes and the idea of viewing a whole room of them left me somewhat cold, but in the interests of them not eating the mammoth I followed behind them.

Woolly says – Lots of snakes of all different colours from pythons, puffers and cobras to constrictors and adders, some moving round their cabinets whilst others dozed. They were lovely I waved at several of them before sitting and watching the monitor lizard, the man from the ticket desk approached and warned me to stay back as this huge beastie could move quickly and might eat me for lunch!

In his excitement he was dangling over the edge of the glassed area so having removed him and put him back on the floor I retreated to the outside world and left Zoe in charge.

Woolly says – she’s such a bore! Having helped Zoe with her videoing for the vlog we re-joined the scaredy cat and I trotted through the shady streets,

passing the fetching orange frontage of St Simeons Church, which was closed, and racing past the cities second Column of Shame before Jo could get any ideas.

Having clambered up some steps I to find myself in front of the five wells, well, well well…..hehehehe I just couldn’t resist! Five wells square as it is known was built in 1574 on the site of a former moat and takes its name from the five wells that supplied Zadar with water until 1838. There were rather fine and as Jo attempted to get a picture with all of the wells in I regretted bitterly having left my skateboard at home as this would have made an ideal skating park.

Behind the wells and set into the neighbouring bastion is Queen Jelena Madijevka Park, it looked lovely and shady and would provide a chance to get out of the sun.

Woolly says – as Jo and Zoe relaxed with a lemonade I strolled through the foliage finding small shrines and lots of greenery as well as a pyramid, strange place to find one! A lovely little place and once we felt refreshed and cooled by the gentle breeze I suggested a stop at the room to change before the highlight of Zadar! I had read all about it….. ‘The Greeting to the Sun consists of three hundred multi-layered glass plates placed on the same level with the stone-paved waterfront in the shape of a 22 meter diameter circle. Under the glass conduction plates there are photo-voltage solar modules through which symbolic communication with nature is made with the aim to communicate with light, just like the Sea Organs do with sound.

Simultaneously with the most beautiful “sunset in the world” the lighting elements installed in a circle turn on, and, following a particularly programmed scenario, they produce a marvellous, exceptionally impressive show of light in the rhythm of the waves and the sounds’. I could barely contain my excitement!

That became obvious as every two to three minutes he would demand to know if it was time yet! We let him watch his favourite TV show but that didn’t work and still with a couple of hours before sunset he just got louder and louder, I thought maybe feeding him might help….

Woolly says – the food was appreciated but I just wanted to get there and finally having stomped, sulked and sighed the girls left there seats and I galloped off to the harbour. First came the sunset, not bad if you like that sort of thing, I stood looking at the huge circle and waiting with baited breath.

…….. Unfortunately I’m not capable of making the sun set any quicker (plus all the loved up couples might have objected) or making the moon rise any faster. We waited and waited.

Woolly says – I had selected my square and sat firmly in place glaring at anyone who attempted to even step on it, I watched as more and people arrived and the massive circle was filling up with them, then I noticed some blue lights under my paws followed by some green ones, as reds, yellows and purples joined in I tried jumping up and down to see if it affected the patterns (it didn’t) I raced through the crowds chasing the colours before spotting that the rim of light make me look like a ghost, so much fun I really wished my bestest friend Sion was with me to enjoy it as well.

He was a picture of contentment as he bounced, danced and sped through peoples legs trying to catch the lights, coaxing him away took some doing but I think he had worn himself out by that point.

Woolly say – it was so wonderful and just to finish the evening off completely, as we left the noise behind I could hear the Sea Organs haunting sounds or maybe a whale in distress, I sighed in happiness I don’t think our next destination will be able to surpass this!

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