Zadar: Melodies of the Adriatic
Towards the very end of summer, my partner and I decided to explore the Adriatic coast. We wanted to spend some peaceful time away from the extreme heat, and our quest guided us to Zadar, the oldest inhabited city of Croatia.
People who heard our travel plans were very surprised that we decided to spend three whole days in the little town of Zadar, and not explore other more famous parts of Croatia. “That’s unusual. At least visit the nearby Plitvice Lakes National Park.”, they said. But we have never been conventional travelers: we try to explore the unexplored and are always very excited to visit little towns of Europe! So we decided to surrender to the heart of the Adriatic for three whole days by visiting the Dalmatian town of Zadar.
We had booked an Airbnb in the heart of the old town, with a gorgeous view of the Adriatic islands. We reached just in time for the sunset, and opening our balcony door was like stepping into a dream. As we sat sipping coffee, we could already hear the famous sea organ which was a minute away from us. The sea organ is a musical intrument located underneath some steps, and it plays music by way of sea waves. Some could label the resulting sound a “cacophony,” but it made for lovely background music as we leaned back and relaxed on our balcony after a long journey.
We missed the heat wave in Zadar by a few days, and reached just in time for windy days, high tides and intermittent rain. I expected no less from Europe (sigh), and we had to plan all our sightseeing according to the weather forecast. We visited the old town early in the morning to beat the crowds and rain. The old town is full of historical buildings and the Venetian gates reminded me of my short trip to Venice. The numerous little alleys with the cutest cafes and restaurants were the icing on the cake. We climbed the bell tower to get a panaromic view of the town (as one does in Europe) and the weather Gods rewarded us for waking up early :)
Alfred Hitchcock had once said “Zadar has the most beautiful sunset in the world”. Due to the unusual weather, I had almost given up on watching another beautiful sunset. However, it took all of fifteen minutes for the sky to clear up so miraculously that it felt like the clouds had opened up just so we could have that one (final) sunset, accompanied by the music of the sea organ. As we sat on those marble steps in anticipation, I realised why the “Master of Suspense” had lauded this sunset :) One could only have such a musical sunset in three places in the world, and we were blessed to have experienced one of them.
The frequently changing weather meant that our plans were often made on the fly. On some days we were forced to wake up at 6 am while on others we could enjoy an afternoon nap. For someone like me who likes to draw up an itinerary and follow it word by word, this was a refreshing change. For my partner who is more of an explorer than planner, this was a dream come true! Since the old town was at a walking distance from our Airbnb, we could play hide and seek with the rain and still cover all of it. We even squeezed in a short walk to the new town of Zadar, which seemed worlds apart from the historic old town.
On the mornings when the sun didn’t rise, the universe rewarded us with cool breeze, thick clouds and rainbows. Not a bad consolation prize! The sea organ was hard at work on all the windy days, and some of our favorite moments were from our beautiful balcony. We made the most of the beautiful blend of history, culture and nature that Zadar had to offer, and three days passed in a jiffy.
Traveling together as a long distance couple is about spending time with each other away from the work commitments that usually keep us apart. It is about celebrating the fact that we are no longer separated by screens, and the mighty Atlantic. It is about questioning the traditional definition of home, and realizing that the home we are building together is already inspired by so many places and cultures. I don’t know how well we will remember this trip in the years to come, but I sure hope we remember how beautifully our laughs melted in the melodies of the Adriatic.