Along the beautifully re-developed sea front in Zadar, Croatia you are treated to a feast for all the senses. The best time to visit is just before sunset, when the area comes alive with sights, sounds and people.
First, take some time to listen to the Sea Organ and watch as the sun slowly sinks towards the sea and dips below the horizon. Don’t forget your camera, the Zadar sunset is known to be one of the best in the world, according to Alfred Hitchcock anyways. Once darkness begins to descend, move along the promenade and grab yourself a seat beside the Greeting to the Sun, a solar light installation designed by Nikola Bašić, the same Croatian architect who designed the Sea Organ. As the sun disappears behind the islands off the coast of Zadar, the Greeting to the Sun (or Sun Salutation as it is sometimes called) begins its show, with multi-coloured lights dancing across the 22 meters diameter of photo-voltage solar modules.
If you time it right you just might catch the sunset being reflected in both the sea and the Greeting to the Sun.
As the lights of the Greeting to the Sun begin their nighttime dance, the plates come alive with people – young, old, tourists and local alike. As entertaining as the installation is, the best show is put on by the visitors. Settle in for some of the best people watching in the world. I am not exaggerating when I say that I could spend hours watching people act like complete lunatics in the attempt to get the perfect photo of themselves under these challenging conditions. I’m not ashamed to say that we got in on the action too. When in Rome and all that.
Once you’ve had your fill of people watching it’s time to make your way back down the promenade and find yourself some dinner or a drink and spend the rest of the evening laughing at the memory of the jumping, laying, cartwheeling and dancing tourists making the most of this remarkable piece of public art. Welcome to my perfect evening in Zadar.
A Crafty Traveler | Family and Travel Adventures 