8. Zadar: Salt, wine, and a history lesson

22 July 2026

After leaving Venice, we cross the Adriatic Sea overnight, waking up to the grinding noise of the ship berthing at a pier. We are on the Silversea Silver Muse, a ship with approximately 600 passengers, small by current standards, and very elegant. Our room is larger than I have experienced with other cruise ships but you won't hear me complaining. I lean over our balcony watch the activity on the pier. Some people are already disembarking ahead of their excursions.

We have arrived in the Croatian port of Zadar, a few steps away from the old town and we soon join the throngs of passengers leaving the ship. We quickly find our tour bus and settle into our seats. We leave the city of Zadar behind us and a short time later arrive in the small town of Nin. The flat land reveals unique salt lakes that have been here for 1,500 years. Salt is collected in open fields by allowing sea water to flood the salt pans in spring. Natural evaporation produces brine from which the salt crystalises. In good years, the crystallisation and harvesting of salt begins in the early summer and lasts until the beginning of autumn. The salt harvested from the Nin Salt Fields is unprocessed, therefore is rich in minerals. After listening to a brief overview of the salt production we venture out into the salt pans, an area divided into separate lakes. The flow of the water is controlled by a gate system invented by the Romans and still in use today. We wander out along the narrow paths dividing the lakes. Egrets make their homes here in the salt lakes in the summer before migrating to warmer climates in the winter. The unrefined salt here is produced through only natural processes; the sun, sea, and the powerful Bura wind that blows incessantly over these flat lands.

We stop briefly near the Church of Nicholas, a tiny 12th century pre-Romanesque style Catholic church built on the top of a mound, which is above a Liburnian prehistoric tomb. How does this mound hold the weight of the church is a mystery to me. Mass is celebrated each year for the feast of St Nicolas on 6 December and the day of St Mark on April 25.

Boarding the bus, we are transported the short distance to our next stop, the Royal Vineyards. Turning into the vineyard, the grape vines look anything but royal. Planted directly into the stony landscape with tiny handfuls of soil at the base of each vine, the vines are wilting under the blazing sun and 33C temperature. We walk the short distance to a large restaurant, which overlooks the sea. The Royal Vineyards has a story as good as the wines it produces. The original vineyard was a gift from King Petar Kresimir IV in 1066 to the to his sister, a nun of Benedictine Monastery of St Mary. The gift included a large parcel of land. The nuns, being an enclosed order, employed enough people to tend the vines and to make the wine. As for most of this region, the history of this vineyard is as complex as history of the region. Suffice to say, we are welcomed by the current owners and offered the first of three wine tastings. Now, a tasting in Croatia is the same as a regular glass of wine everywhere else. A tasting platter complete with bread, olives, olive oil, cheese, dips, and a delicious fig paste are all perfect accompaniments to the rose, white, and red wines we are offered.

We eventually stagger to the bus and return to Zadar to begin our tour of the old town. Before entering the old city, we walk along the promenade, where a series of steps lead to the water. On this very hot day, there are people sitting on the steps and enjoying the ambience of the place. As we walk along the promenade, I think I can hear music discordant, but somehow fitting into the environment. The music appears to be coming up from below my feet through a series of holes in the paving. The Zadar Sea Organ was created by Croatian architect Morske Orgulje. The music is caused by wave action against the steps on the promenade, the number of steps affects the pitch of the sound. As we walk along the promenade the sound deepens, and is more melodic to my ears than the higher sounds I had first heard. How does a person think of something as brilliant as this?

The fortified city of Zadar, or old town, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a history so complex and layered that after three wines, is hard to follow, so I am unlikely to try to explain it all here. All I know is that after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Zadar became part of the Republic of Croatia. Whilst I appreciate and love the age of this city, I think it is not the time to try to work out the puzzle of its history but to enjoy what it has to offer.

We decide to partake in coffee and in the ancient art of ice-cream tasting.

Our day is wonderful, our ship is located right next to the most important part of the city, and I am enjoying myself immensely.