Kasteel de Haar, Utrecht, Netherlands

Visiting Kasteel de Haar

It was a slow start this Sunday morning as we climbed out of an Indian food coma. 

With the humid not-hot-and-sunny summer we've been experiencing in the Netherlands we thought it would be a great chance to go and explore an old castle. We set off late perhaps it was around 11am for Kastel de Haar, just half an hour south of Amsterdam and a little west of Utrecht city. 

Locally known as Kasteel de Haar, the De Haar Castle lies next to the village of Haarzuilens in the province of Utrecht. Surrounded by farm land as far as the eye could see we weren't expecting much but from the moment we saw the castle from the road we knew it was going to be a fabulous place to visit. 

Closer inspection across the moat

View across the French Buxus parterre garden

De Haar Castle was founded in the 14th century on sediment deposits along an arm of the river Rhine. It was first mentioned in documents around 1391. Originally the owner of De Haar Castle was a member of the Van de Haar family, who as a manservant of the Prince-bishop of Utrecht, had enough prestige to have a fortified residence built for himself and his family.

Ross's in front of the Grand Cour

In 1449 the castle became property of the Van Zuylen family through marriage and it was expanded into a pentagon shape with huge towers but after an argument with the then Bishop of Utrecht the castle was almost entirely destroyed.

From the late 1500s onwards, the castle fell into severe disrepair. In the late 1800s, the ruined castle passed to Baron Etienne van Zuylen and his wife: Hélène de Rothschild who came from the fabulously wealthy Rothschild banking family.

View towards the gate house

Baron Etienne was fascinated by his inherited ruins and wished to strengthen his ties to his ancestors, who had owned the site for hundreds of years. 

As a result, he drew on his wife’s significant wealth to entirely rebuild the medieval castle and over the next twenty years renovated the ruins into the grand gothic fairy-tale castle we saw as we drove in. 

Now the castle stands proudly, magnificently and beautifully renovated surrounded by an enclosed English styled landscaped garden. It is stunning, a true magical wonderland.

Kara by the stable windows

Entrance to the stable yards

After waltzing in for free with our new Dutch museum cards we started off at the stables which has been transformed into a beautiful restaurant and gift shop. The family colours and coat of arms hung above the doors, etched into the brick and surrounding the perimeter was a deep, dark looking moat.

Stable doors, stable yard

Working our way around

We ventured towards the rose gardens rewarded with a stunning view of the decadent home. If there was ever a fairy-tale castle this must surely be it. It had everything, moats, drawbridges, ramparts, fortress towers. It didn't matter where we stood the castle rose up out of the water that surrounded it with such elegance. 

Moving around towards the front side we passed by a small medieval town church but the town was no where to be seen. Interestingly, the look of the old village of Haarzuilens (which was mostly home to the castles staff) didn't appeal to the Baron and so the entire village which once stood close to the castle was broken down and carted off. 

The inhabitants were moved to a place a kilometer further up, where a new Haarzuilens arose and remains today (sans church). 

Haarzuilen town church

Guardians of the castle entrance

We were super duper excited to go in the castle. Like something out of a Disney film we could imagine a rapunzel sitting waiting for her prince in a tower. 

We bounded up the stairs passing by the large stone lions and winged gargoyles. Although the online reviews mentioned a compulsory walking tour through the castle we were able to amble about in our own time. 

An extravagant dinning hall

Castle lounge room

A kitchen ready to feed a feast

The interior of the castle was decorated with richly ornamented woodcarving and statues which is designed to remind one of the interior of a Roman Catholic Church. 

A little odd, but still striking given its size. We walked through lavish ballrooms, a poker room and even hair salon remenesent of the first half of the 1900's when the castle played host to a number of elite well off guests and celebrities. 

Ancient tapestries 

A rare collection of international treasures 

John stopping to smell the roses

After our ambles we explored more of the gardens, the roses were in bloom and smelt soo delicious.

We took a path down through an old English maze and following a long lake walked under huge oak trees where a family of swans effortless preened themselves. 

Exploring in the gardens

We were so glad to have taken the opportunity to see another magnificent European castle and will be eagerly on the hunt to top it! 

Tot siens,

John and Kara

Split, Croatia

Split from the Marjan lookout

The summer sun beat down on the smooth white washed marble streets of Split. Tourists walked around in a near naked state, their skin as red as tomatoes and their accents overwhelmingly Australian.

The formidable Dalmation heat slowed the pace and the humidity slowed it further. 

Natasha had arrived from Moscow and the guys on a delayed flight from London late last night. 

Starting from our apartment in the old town we had traversed through the cobbled back roads, lit only with dim street lamps. 

Raduninca lane

Natasha has arrived! 

Split, old town and Diocletians palace

The evening heat had pushed against our damp skin sticking our clothes to us and the fluorescent coloured lights from a nearby nightclub shone into the night sky.

But we had felt energised and excited by the prospect of enjoying the summer heat. We had started our Croatian adventure with a feast at a local restaurant which served a number of Croatian specialities like charred bbq'd fish and succulent slow cooked meats. 

We had sat outside on a terrace gulping our cold beer, laughing about visiting Splits froggy museum. We had smelt the wood burning as we had waited for our tasty dinner.

Trg Republic plaza

The following morning we had departed the apartment with breakfast on the forefront of our minds. With a few hours before having to check in to our adventure sail week we  were able to amble around slowly. 

By 10am it was well over 30degrees and as we lugged our bags through the old town our backs dripped with sweat. In the daylight the old town enchanted us, at each side street we crossed we bent our necks to see what lay down each one. 

We were enticed by the narrow archways and the solid walls of the hundreds of years old houses. Many over half a meter thick and high enough to offer a tiny respite of shade. Above our heads gorgeous pink and purple bougainvillea cascaded down the old rock and flags were strewn along the alley in preparation for next weeks neighbourhood party. 

An old bank, Split

Ancient street corners

Flowers everywhere!

Amazing lanes in the old city

Narodni plaza, Split

Ispud Ure gate

Katedrala de Split

We took a short cut through the Diocletian palace, built over 1725 years ago in 305AD it's now part and parcel of the old town. The palace was often considered as the creation of the city! But evidence has shown that actually split is one of the oldest cities in the area and was in fact founded as a Greek colony in the 4th century BC, about 2,400 years ago.

Entrance to the silver gate, Split

Bosanska lane, old town

We decided that we would come back later to explore the palace further. First up was breakfast and then our yacht check in. After we had eaten and checked in we still had half a day of exploring so after a quick interlude at an amazing ice cream shop we jumped in an uber and ventured out of the city towards the seemingly undiscovered (from mass tourism) Klis fortress. 

Klis fortress down towards Split

The medieval Klis fortress sits overlooking the village of Klis, high in the arid rocky foothills above Split. From the 2nd century BC the hills above Split were inhabited by the ancient Illyrian tribe, the Delmati. 

View across the fortress Split

One lone tower

Four dragon hunters heading to Klis fortress

While first records from the Romans indicate a large fortress high in the mountains it evolved to become a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian Kings.

Klis Fortress has guarded the frontier, being lost and re-conquered several times throughout its more-than-two-thousand-year-long history. Still considered one of the most significant fortifications in Croatia, due to its strategic importance and location between the mountain passes. We were drawn there however by the hope of finding a dragon.

Not just any dragon, but particularly, one of Daenerys Stormborns dragons shot during season four of Game of Thrones! The appeal of visiting the film location of Meeren was very exciting to our little game of thrones fan group of four!

A renovated entrance way

Making our way into the fortress

High in the rocky foothills of Split

As we jumped from the uber we hardly had a moment before he raced away in a trail of dust. It crossed our minds that we could be stuck on this hot mountain for a while - could we even catch a bus back to the city?

There didn't seem to be anyone around. We trudged up the steep embankment wiping sweat brow our brows to see an amazing view over the Damation coast line and across the Adriatic Sea.

From the top of Klis fortress

Directly behind us was the fortress had an amazing panoramic view over the lush vineyards, farms and craggy mountains. We clambered through the main entrance completely ignored by the man at the ticket counter who looked utterly engrossed in his cigarette. 

We proceed to venture off in our own time, climbing through small doorways and down narrow tunnels which lead onto ancient terraces. There was an old church and Venetian foundations strewn about from some of the oldest buildings. But no Dragons. 

The boys bringing up the rear

Views across the valley

Hunting for dragons

Military tunnels (maybe a ghost in here)

Eventually we felt we had done the fortress justice and had explored it's knooks and crannies so we grabbed a cold drink while we negotiated the public holiday bus schedule. We realized we had just enough time to bus back into Split and explore the Diocletian Palace. So chuffed with our efforts to make the most out of our time in Split we felt we were getting a full days worth of sun and Mediterranean heat.

A cathedral and statue of Grugur Ninski 

Considered to be one of the most imposing Roman ruins, Diocletian’s palace is certainly the main attraction in the city of Split. The old ruins are considered some of the most valuable surviving buildings of the Roman era on the Adriatic coastline.

Emperor Diocletian, who voluntarily gave up the throne of the Roman Empire, in the turn of the 4th century CE built the palace for himself and after his retirement in, 305AD settled here, on the beach, in what was then the Illyrian province of Rome. Pretty sweet gig really! 

The Diocleatian palace was a massive structure in its time and contained not only the palace itself but also buildings, intended for housing military garrison. The whole complex occupied around 30,000 square meters and today these ruins make up the heart of Splits old town. 

Splits golden gate, entrance to the old town

Walking through Dioklecijanova lane

As we walked down into the old city from the bus station past an array of shops and restaurants we slid about on the white stone beneath our jandals. We made our way towards the ancient limestone and marble palace surrounded by old Roman columns. Emperor Diocletian had a wish to enter his palace by ship, without leaving the deck. 

Quite an engineering feat at the time, huge underground vaults beneath the palace were created to fit several boats. Although today the Adriatic sea has receded and water no longer floods the basement it's still possible to imagine what it must have been like as we wandered around the dark, damp vaults beneath the palace. 

Kara in an old Roman bath tub (or horse trough)

Exploring the underground vaults

Ancient walls of the palace

Matt and Sam on a mission

The palace itself is a sort of irregular rectangle shape with numerous towers on the western, northern, and eastern facades. The Emperor’s apartments were was located on the southern part of the complex - along the seaside, but only the foundation and lower floors of these apartments have survived.

Split opera house

Marmontova shopping street

Uvala Matejuska marina

As it got closer to 6pm we eventually made our way back along the water front to the ACI marina. It was time to board our sail boat and get ourselves acquainted with the next exciting leg of our Croatian holiday.

Tot siens, 

Kara (and John by subsidiary