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The weather turned today. From a scorching 34 celcius back down to a more manageable 18. I imagine it’ll still be in the high twenties by the afternoon although dark clouds hang heavy in the air, threatening to unleash the forecasted rain.

I began the morning with the scenic run to post our postcards back home. I made the loop slightly longer by running around the peninsula that sheltered Primosten bay. Out in the distance were the Croatian islands we’d been seeing all week although this morning they were coated in long hanging cloud pouring over the tops of the mountains like an out-of-control moustache on Croatia’s top lip. With a totally flat plateau on top of the clouds it was a truly odd sight.

To my left at this point was something equally unexpected. It was a broken, crumbling shell of a hotel. It had no glass, fittings or furnishings and stood there, crumbling concrete covered in graffiti. I can imagine an investor ran out of money or something similar. It was totally at odds with the postcard perfect beach banking (albeit it an artificial beach – the actual coast is rocky and craggy). I continued my run down the beach, allowing the drops of rain to start hitting me, after poking my head inside the abandoned hotel I decided against taking refuge in there as it was filled with refuse from electrical wires to lorry tyres.

As I reached the post office in Primosten, it dawned on me that the one day a week they’re closed is Sunday. Today is Sunday. In the whirlwind of timelessness that only travelling without responsibility can bring it hadn’t even occurred to me to check what day, or even time it was.

All I could do was slowly jog home, rain dripping on me leaving me feeling a bit stupid. I had discovered Primosten’s huge abandoned eyesaw though, something I never expected.

After showering and changing we headed into the historic town of Sibenik. Another UNESCO world heritage site and set for Game of Thrones. It was easy to see why. I feel like I’m repeating myself here by saying the old town was a spaghetti of narrow winding streets and high sided buildings with the sun peaking through the top of them. It’s something we’ve seen in all the historic Croatian cities we visited but it never grew tiresome. It really does make you feel like you’ve accidently tripped into some weird time travelling vortex into an alternate fantasy universe.

First we walked to St. Michael’s fort. After being told off for looking out at the stunning view it offered by jumping over a broken wall, I paid to have a look inside. Despite its grandeur perched high on the rocky peninsula it was relatively small inside, only requiring a short visit. But on the way out we did manage to make friends with a stray cat who came and sat with us.

We then headed to the square in which the iconic church from Game of Thrones dominated. Apparently its the 18th most beautiful square in Europe – if that’s something to boast about? We then headed down into the inside of the church, it was admittedly less endearing than the enchanting façade from the outside. It was relatively bare and full of scaffolding inside. After being accustomed to ornate Catholic cathedrals it was distinctly understated, yet there was the Omni-present feeling of grandeur that any large church commands.

After finding some chocolate covered doughnut balls (Frutelli’s?) we strolled back to the car eating the hot, sweet lemon flavoured fat blobs.

In the evening we then headed back to Primosten to eat by the harbour as the sun slowly set. It was truly special as we were bathed in progressively deeper shades of orange and red whilst eating traditional home-cooked food from a local restaurant. With a trip to Plitvice planned for tomorrow we had an early night to end another fulfilling day of exploring the ancient streets of Croatia and stepping into our alternate middle-earth-esque universe.