Zadar

The next morning we took the coast road from Opatija to Zadar.  It was steep and winding (not good for my vertigo) but the views were stunning, something which became old hat the more driving we did.  After a couple of hours we cut over the mountain to the auto route.  The landscape there was different but also breathtaking.  

Zadar is another of the once island towns.  Its strategic location made it a target for bombing during WWII, so the architecture is a mixed bag of old and new.  Yet, there are the remains of a Roman forum and a 9th C church built with pieces of it.

There is a sea side park ideal for a promenade with a very surprising feature -- a sea organ. 

It was designed by a local architect and installed in 2005.  The waves washing against the underwater pipes produce the sound which exits through the holes in the pavement.  The sound it produces is musical, if random, sometimes soothing, sometimes discordant, sometimes just weird.  The same architect designed a second installation of solar panels which produce a light show after sundown.  

We finished the day with a pleasant meal (almost).  Three troubadors -- accordian, guitar, bass -- came into the restaurant and surrounded our table.  It would have been entertaining if they had played a tune or two, but the seranade lasted most of the meal.  I thought that tipping them might get them to leave, but no such luck. They played even longer. No matter, I'm going back to Zadar.  For those of you who enjoy looking at vacation photos, here is the link.  Zadar