Cruise ship central

Trip Start Apr 08, 2007
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Trip End Oct 01, 2007


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Flag of Croatia  ,
Thursday, June 21, 2007

Here I am in much-celebrated Dubrovnik. "The Pearl of the Adriatic," they call it. Well, if you ask me, this pearl has lost a great deal of its sheen. This is a place that I've long wanted to visit, and I have to say that it hasn't quite lived up to my expectations or its reputation. Sure, it's a fantastically beautiful place and the setting - jammed up against towering mountains on the edge of the Adriatic - is inspiring without question. But the prices, the tackiness, the over-development, the tourist schlock and the crowds are strangling the place, leaching its very soul. Maybe its just high season . . . who knows. All I'm sure of is that I should have taken the opportunity to come here years ago, back when I was studying in Budapest. Now seeking out the city's charm takes some severe patience and perseverance.

I hate to be so negative about what is an unquestionably beautiful place. The heat doesn't help either though. I thought Mostar was bad. It's far worse here. Probably 36+ outside and humid to boot. Going sightseeing in a town of reflective white walls and marble with next to no foliage under those conditions isn't a whole lot of fun. I can't imagine how treacherous the place would be when its raining though - wet marble plus tourists equals big mess - so maybe I should count my blessings. Still, I've been a dripping ball of sweat most of the day and there hasn't been a whole lot of respite.

Everything's been considerably more expensive than I anticipated. Pretty much all the admission fees listed in the guide are some 10-20 kuna higher now, and numerous formerly-free sights now cost extra. Sure, it may not be much compared to parts of Western Europe, but they're sure catching up fast and all that nickel-and-diming adds up fast. The city walls - which are far and away the highlight of the old town - now require you to cough up 50 kuna (i.e. about $10). In a non-EU formerly Eastern bloc country? Eh? Restaurants cost roughly the same per dish, unless you go for a salad and save about 10KN. So much for sticking to a budget.

In between the frustrations and the sweat, I did enjoy looking around the old walled city. And expensive or not, the walls were definitely worth the 2km walk around, even if I about fell over from the heat a couple times in there. But, I've decided to modify my plans. Since Croatia has managed to devour three days' budget in two, I'm shoving off early. Two nights in Dubrovnik have shrunk down to one, and I'm off for Montenegro in the morning. Really, it takes at most one full day to see everything there is to see here and I'm not putting up with the hordes of daytripping cruise ship passengers and tour groups for another. Beach bums and sunseekers may cry in horror at the prospect of someone spending only two nights in Croatia, but I've had my fill for now.

On to less-developed and (hopefully) more intriguing quarters. . .
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