Tuesday, July 17, 2012 | Split, Croatia

There were many reasons to leave Zagreb. Probably the top-ranking one was Kansas. Kansas was an Asian-American student from the University of Kansas who majored in Croatian and Serbian languages and dialects. He was the most irritating person I met so far. He hovered in an every conversation everyone had, out of concern that we might need his exemplary Croatian skills to translate something, I'm not really sure. We spent too many days enduring him. That's all I know. He was well-intentioned, though.

By the end of our time in Zagreb, we had seen most people multiple times. We saw people we didn't even talk to ever over and over again on the main street with all the pubs and cafes. We saw them so often we could remember what they were wearing the day before. We couldn't stop bumping into a quintet of Spanish singers--in their 20s, usually drunk and wearing a variety of Spaniard costumes over the course of our days. We saw them on the main street, in the square with the government buildings, by the park, etc. Zagreb was too small. I started to feel like a resident instead of a traveller. Finally, we left.

Now we're in paradise. Split is what Jerusalem might be if it were flat, had a port and was surrounded by the Mediterranean. Everything is old. Across the Adriatic Sea you can see islands covered with more mountainous terrain. Beyond Split you can also see mountains, not quite the Alps but looking equally as imposing and snow-capped.

This place is outstanding and has more sun than anywhere I've been in my entire life. The water is as blue and clear as Lake Bled, maybe even more so because of all the sun and sky reflecting in it. Finally, I'm in a lpace with palm trees. This really is so different from the European cities I've been to. It's really a vacation. A vacation with ancient Roman ruins. All of the ruins are useful to Croatia. Today, I'm writing from an out of the way beach spot that has old stone structures leftover from God knows how long ago. They're useful for creating little pools and rock outposts for sunbathing and watching the harbor and the islands in the distance. Everything here is a beautiful photo. So beautiful that sometimes I worry about convincing everyone else that these places are real.