克罗地亚／Croatia（Part 1）

嗯，该怎么形容克罗地亚呢？就这么说吧，克罗地亚应该等于阳光、沙滩和漂亮的大海。呵呵，意外吧？这也难怪，因为我也没有想到克罗地亚会是这样的一个国家。因为从未听说过克罗地亚的任何什么，也没有碰过任何到过这个国家的人，所以就和其他国家一样，只知道它的足球，也就因此以为它应该和之前去的几个东欧国家没有什么两样。尤其是当我去的第一个城市是首都萨格勒布，感觉那里没有什么精彩的，也就以为整个克罗地亚会是一样无味。好在有到其他城市去才知道，克罗地亚其实精彩得很！
Croatia, hmm… how should I describe it? I guess, to me, Croatia means the sun, the sand and the sea. Surprised? Yeah, me too. I hadn’t expect Croatia to be such a country since I’ve never heard anything about this country (except its football, of course!) and have never met anybody who has been there. And since the first city in Croatia that I went to was the capital city of Zagreb, where it did not feel special at all, so it led me into thinking that this is probably what Croatia is all about. How realized how wrong I was when Croatia turned out to be a much more interesting country than at first glance.

＊萨格勒布／Zagreb
从旅游指南上看不出萨格勒布有什么迷人之处，不就是那一般首府有的几座大建筑、教堂、博物馆和古镇等，于是决定不要在这里浪费太多时间。结果证明了，这个决定是对的，花一天的时间就可以看完想要看的。也不是说萨勒格布那么令人讨厌，至少比起布拉迪斯拉发，感觉萨格勒布有味道多了。像是这里的古镇没有其他地方那样有浓浓的游客区味道，虽然这里的商店很多，但逛这些商店的本地人比游客多。而在这一带的咖啡座内喝咖啡的大部分都是本地人。
From the guidebook, I could not see much in Zagreb that will interest me, just the typical big buildings, churches, museums and Old Town that you will see in any other European cities. Hence I decided that one day is more than sufficient for it (especially since I don’t really like big cities). It turned out to be a right decision. It’s not that Zagreb is hateful. At least compared to Bratislava, I liked Zagreb more. Here, the Old Town is less touristy, and the shops are patronized by locals as much as tourists. And the locals do sit around in the cafes and restaurants in the Old Town, giving it a nice feel. It’s just that after seeing so many European cities, Zagreb hold less of an appeal to me. 这里的旧建筑比起布拉迪斯拉发更有特色，可惜的是，最漂亮的部分在我去的时候正好在进行装修，不过从这里还是可以眺望整个萨勒格布。
The old buildings here are more interesting than those in Bratislava. A pity though, a huge part of town was under renovation when I was there, so I could not get a good look at some of the nicer buildings. 广场的后面是一个菜市场，这也是我认为是萨勒格布最精彩的部分。
On the tiny hill behind the main square is the market. To me, this is definitely the most colorful part of the city. ＊斯普利特／Split
因为克罗地亚面积长，像是个长长的香焦一样，而想要去的其他城市大部分都在南部，因此当初先从匈牙利到萨格勒布待一个下午，再从那里到斯洛文尼亚去。然后从斯洛文尼亚回到萨格勒布，转火车直接到波黑去，游完波黑后再从莫斯塔尔到克罗地亚南部的斯普利特去。巴士沿着岸线行使，风景宜人，可惜的是当天天气阴霾，随后又下起大雨，因此拍不出漂亮的照片。抵达目的地之后，要走一段路才能到要下榻的青年旅舍去，结果找到旅舍时已经变成了落汤鸡。接下来两天也都是雨天，所以哪里都不能去，你说这样怎么可能会对克罗地亚有好印象呢？好在到了第三天雨终于暂停了一会儿，才有机会出去走走，才发现这个城市其实还真不赖。
Because Croatia is shaped like a banana, and most of the places that I wanted to visit is in the south, so I first went to Zagreb from Hungary. Then I headed for Slovenia, after which I went to Bosnia & Hercegovina, changing trains in Zagreb, before heading back to the south of Croatia, going to Split from Mostar. From Mostar to Split, the bus was going along the coast for most parts, hence it was a very scenic ride. Unluckily, it was a dark and cloudy day when I started the journey. Halfway through, it started pouring, so I was not able to get any pictures of the beautiful scenery. The hostel was a good ten minutes walk from the bus station, and thus, by the time I got there, I was soaked to the skin. The next two days the weather was equally crappy, pouring without stopping, so I ended up seeing only the insides of my hostel, which luckily was quite cosy, with a nice kitchen, free internet and even comes with a television with more than 1000 choices of movies! When the sun finally came out on the third day, I was able to find out for myself how nice this city is. 最先去参观的当然是古镇。斯普利特古镇其实就坐落在建于四世纪的罗马皇宫戴克里先宫废墟之内。这里其实保留得相当不错，城墙虽然陈旧，而且还长满了杂草，但还是保存得相当完整。沿着城墙可以看到一整排贩卖各种各样物品的小摊位，和一般古镇不同的是，这些摊位卖的不只是纪念商品，其实大部分卖的都是日用品或是当地人也会购买的服饰。
The first place to go to is of course, the Old Town. Split’s historic centre is actually located within the massive Roman palace ruins, the Diocletian Palace. Although the palace was built way back at the turn of the 4th century, and was abandoned for centuries, parts of the palace is still very well conserved, with a huge part of the palace wall still standing, although it is full of weeds. Along the wall, you can find a whole row of stalls, selling everything from daily necessities to souvenirs. As such, you can find as many locals as tourists shopping here. 走入古镇大门会先来到一个大广场，这里最引人注目的是圣杜杰大教堂。这个教堂是世界上最古老的教（建于305年），但真正吸引人的不是它的历史而是它那钟楼。其实爬这个钟楼感觉战战兢兢的，因为梯级狭窄，最后三层楼更是只有梯级，没有确实的地面，如果失足就会跌在钟楼中央的大钟上，绝对不适合有惧高症的人挑战！如果爬上去之后感觉脚软，那只要看一看四周漂亮的风景就会忘掉一切怕怕的感觉。从这里你看到的不只是古镇，而是整个斯普利特，包括整个港口和城市周边的山区。
Upon stepping through the main gate, you will find a huge square which is dominated by this huge cathedral, St. Duje’s cathedral. This is actually considered the oldest cathedral building in the world (built in 305 AD.), but more often than not, visitors are not here for the rich history, but to climb the massive bell tower of the cathedral. Climbing this clock tower is definitely not for the faint hearted, because the staircases are quite narrow and as you get closer to the top, all you get are these metal staircases along the walls and just a huge empty space in between where one can look down onto the huge bells in the middle of the tower. If your legs are feeling like jelly after the climb, then one look at the beautiful surroundings is enough to cure you of your jittery. From here, one not only can see the Old Town, but the whole of Split, including the harbor and the surrounding hills. 欣赏完整个城市的风貌后，可以到教堂旁边的地道去走走。这里比较有游客区味道，因为这里的摊位贩卖的都是游客商品，像是油画、首饰、衣服、明信片和他纪念品。
After having my fill of the beautiful scenery, I next checked out the basement next to the church, which was in actual fact full of little shops selling all sorts of souvenirs, crafts and jewellery. Naturally this area feels very touristy, but it is a good place to browse for something for the loved ones back home. 古镇内的建筑都是石头建的，大部分都保留得相当完美。穿梭在狭窄的街道上，不时钻入那些小商店参观，感觉真的很悠闲。虽然才走到一半又开始下雨，但雨中的古镇看起来更迷人。
The buildings within Old Town are mostly made of stones and most are well conserved. Walking through the narrow streets and checking out the tiny stalls was quite a good way to while the afternoon away. Although it started drizzling again mid-way through my walk, it did not quite reduce the charms of this place. 古镇的另一边是海港，一看就知道这里的商店、餐厅和咖啡座都是专门赚游客钱的，个个看起来都非常高档。像我们这种背包旅行者当然没有那么多钱到这些地方去，所以只好满足于拍照留念。
On the other side of the Old Town is the harbor. One look and you can tell, this area is meant for tourists. Along the whole harbor are tons of up-market looking cafes and restaurants, definitely nothing suitable for a poor backpacker like me. So I did the next best thing, i.e. take pictures of the beautiful harbor instead.