Seattle – Frankfurt – Split

My first international trip in 27 months. Last one was to Taiwan in January 2020.

Decided to go to Italy for a class reunion and discovered that if I travel before Memorial Day, the savings on the airfare would be enough to cover the cost of a stay somewhere near Italy for a few days. After reviewing several options, I decided to go to Croatia and check out the coast and see if the stories about it being a sailing paradise are true.

Frankfurt

Direct flight from Seattle to Frankfurt on Lufthansa with a layover evening before the cheap direct to Split in the morning.
COVID: Took the more expensive $170 test the day before to comply.

For some reason, I had more jitters about this trip than I have had about any trip in my life that I remember. No idea why. Arrived at the airport way too early. Walked the whole airport. Didn’t sleep on the flight but I did rest. Arrived early in Frankfurt and decided to pay an extra $30 for morning check in at the hotel which got me an executive upgrade. Took a shower and went for a walk to help with jet lag. Not a beautiful city. I did a river walk and most other people I saw doing the same on a Thursday were not locals, maybe just some of the hardcore runners. Heard a LOT of different languages and saw a lot of fashion choices, some very conservative and some questionable. Diversity.

Frankfurt -> Split

I chose a super cheap direct flight (under $200 all in) and paid an extra $30 for a window seat. This was a highlight I have been looking forward to. As we crossed the Alps over Austria into Italy, I made a video. Not entertaining but it cost me an extra $30 to make it.

I made a lot of video of the Croatian coast, which is very pretty but quite monotonous. Although I have never been, it made me think of descriptions of the Sea of Lopez. Rocks, beach and water. The last video I took as we banked in resonated the next day. Amortized the $30 upgrade. Remember that pic, turns out I learned a lot about that place the next day (Saturday).

Split

Hopped into an Uber for the ride into town and had a really engaging discussion with the driver who knew how to carry a conversation about Russia, Ukraine, sailing, Seattle, Trieste, soccer, local history, etc.  The AirBNB is in the ancient part of town where there only alleys, not streets and even Google maps doesn’t know the dead ends. The driver started walking me up the alleys, but we ran into a local couple who then led me the rest of the way to where I met my great host. It is a very small place with a section of a shared courtyard that I have rights to.

After a trip to the grocery store to buy food (I usually cook instead of eating out when I travel) I met my courtyard neighbor. I was able to communicate with him because he is from Idaho and is here doing research mostly related to a species of trout specific to the eastern Adriatic, so yeah, we broke through the language barrier quick although he did not appreciate my mention of Boise State.

As if this was not welcoming enough, I made a new friend in my part of the courtyard before I went down to the harbor to watch the sunset.

This trip is totally worth spending part of my kid’s inheritance on. Friday night I was finally able to start to catch up on sleep.