The Pearl of the Adriatic
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2006
1
26
100
Trip End
Sep 08, 2008
Dubrovnik,
Croatia
Friday, February 2, 2007
Things seemed to be going well for us. We had just enough euros left to get our bus tickets for Dubrovnik, cleaning out our wallets before we would get some Croatian currency out of an ATM once we arrived. Unfortunately we weren't prepared for the 'luggage slug'. It seems in this part of Europe that buying a bus ticket isn't enough, but you're forbidden from taking a pack on board, instead having to pay a euro to store it in the hold. With a total of about 7 euro cents left between us we found ourselves in a small argument with the bus driver, but after some persistence mostly on my half we made him give up and he let us put our packs on board. The drive to the Montenegrin border post was quite short, however it was followed by the longest 'no man's land' I have ever come across. It must have been a 1500m drive up the side of a hill from the Montenegrin border to the Croatian border. For the first time we were taken off the bus and asked to open our bags, but thankfully things went much more smoothly than in Ukraine and by 10am we were in Croatia.
The drive along the Adriatic coast was very scenic, and it wasn't more than a couple of hours before I spotted Dubrovnik's red roofed old town and its massive city walls. I'd known about the city for years, having heard stories that it was one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Luckily it slotted in perfectly with our Balkan's itinerary, which meant there was no I was going to miss the opportunity to spend a few days there. Our welcome wasn't the warmest we'd receive though, and as I stepped off the bus I found myself being hounded by the most persistent touts I'd seen since I was in India. Whether or not they were offering what they said they were offering was beside the point - I refuse to stay with anybody who doesn't have the decency to let me leave a bus and get some money out in peace!
After checking into a pretty ordinary hostel Chris and I made for Dubrovnik's Stari Grad, a short 15 minute walk away. After passing beneath the imposing Pile gate, we came into the old town's main pedestrian thoroughfare, Placa. The sun shone a brilliant light on the stone walls, red roof tiles and marble paving stones, and we spent the afternoon wandering around past churches, monasteries and museums ornamented with finely carved stone, stopping on more than a few occasions for a cappuccino. There were photo opportunities at every turn, and as much as we both thought of Krakow as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, we couldn't help but agree that Dubrovnik was much nicer. As the sun lowered, we found a great bar on the rocks outside the city walls, where we spent an hour or so tasting our first of what would be the best beer we would taste on the trip, Croatia's Ozujsko Pivo.
Later that evening, a little disheartened at the fact everyone in the old town seemed to be of high school age we met a Canadian guy who invited us into his small bar for a drink. He'd been living in Dubrovnik for three years, and given the biting wind and lack of a local host it seemed as good an idea as any. We ended up spending the evening there, talking to an interesting group of local guys. One of them provided a very detailed explanation of the Kosovo situation for us, but it was two young former soldiers who I'll never forget. While one of them struggled to keep his eyes open, the other told us of the days when the former Yugoslav army were shelling the city, back in the early 1990s. He drank his beers, laughing hysterically as he recalled the time he ran from Serbs. "I was running on my own, and I ran into a house, and then I looked up to see there was no roof!" I can't imagine what it must have been like at the time, and I'm sure this guy would have been pretty scared, but as he told us the story he was nearly crying he was laughing about it so much. He later told us that we should spend our entire trip in Croatia, as Bosnians and Serbs were much more primitive. I guess it was attitudes like that that helped prolong the conflict for so long.
The following day was a special one, being 'St Blaise's Day' (St Blaise being the patron saint of Dubrovnik). City banners were carried in a procession from the Pile Gate to the Church of St Blaise, watched by hundred's of the city's inhabitants. We had one of the best views in the house, taking advantage of another sunny day and heading up onto the huge walls surrounding the city. We spent nearly two hours up here, slowly wandering the 2.5km length of them around the city. The view was magnificent in every direction, further confirming everything I'd heard about the place.
We had a cheap lunch and spent the rest of the day walking through the old town and to a few places outside the walls, including a short stroll to Fort Lovrjenac, a massive stone structure overlooking the city. The only downside of my stay here was the prices - Dubrovnik certainly proved to be the most expensive place we'd stay in on the trip. I would have liked to have taken advantage of the Saturday night and seen some more of the nightlife, but given the amount I'd spent on just food and a few drinks I simply couldn't afford it. I had two days in Bosnia to get through before my next pay went into my account, and I wanted to make the most of them. So it was back to the hostel for a decent nights sleep before our 8am bus to Mostar the following morning. Despite the money problems, probably exacerbated by the fact we couldn't get in touch with any hosts from hospitality club, I had a fantastic time in Dubrovnik. I'd always wanted to see it, and after seeing it I knew why everyone said such glowing things about it. I was grateful for two more days of blue skies and sunny weather, and I couldn't help but hope I'd get another chance to visit the Croatian coast.
