The wonderful thing about traveling without expectations is that there are no expectations to meet. On the flip side, expectations usually come from research and planning and I did neither before arriving in Dubrovnik. The good thing was that upon arrival I was pleasantly awestruck, but it still took me a little while figure things out.
King’s Landing?
The moment the bus from Montenegro came around last bend in the road and the city that was built straight up out of the Mediterranean Sea came into view, I knew I had made a great choice. I decided to go to Dubrovnik because my flight home is out of London, and I found a cheap flight from Dubrovnik to London. it seemed like as good a place as any to end the Balkans leg of my journey, but I had no expectations.
First thing first, I checked into my Airbnb. I debated between getting an Airbnb and staying at what I heard to be a very fun hostel for far too long before choosing the prior. I was so damn tired and felt like to truly enjoy the city I needed some good rest. The counter argument was that this was my last stop in the Balkans, so suck it up and go party, old lady. The mature, 34 year old side of me won, but it was a battle. My Airbnb was delightful, just outside the old city with a view of the sea and the forbidding towers of the city walls, grape vines that climbed the terrace and a tree full of ripe pomegranates over the stairs.
After resting for a bit, I walked past the imposing old city walls, which effectively protected the citizens of the autonomous state of Dubrovnik for over 500 years. While there are walls on all sides of the city, the walls on the coast side plunge right into the sea, and the parts that are the natural limestone foundation with sheer 100’ walls built right into them are so fucking cool. I decided that after eating, walking the city walls would be my first activity.
I entered the old city through the Pile gate, and was immediately struck by the polished beauty of the city. Italian and Venetian vibes, mixed with a subtly Slavic aura, meets Disneyland. Yes, since Game of Thrones was filmed here, the city has absolutely blown up and locals have capitalized on selling GOT trinkets and t-shirts to the hoards of tourists that come here just for that reason. But the Disneyland/HBO/movie studio vibes are superficial, because just under the surface is a wild and rich history, incredible architecture, and of course, absolutely stunning natural beauty. Like I’ve said, give me a charming town with interesting history right on a beautiful body of water, and I’m all in.
I decided to walk the city walls at sunset, so I got a late lunch of pizza at the highest recommended restaurant in the city, which wasn’t the best idea. I was hungry, and the pizza was delicious, and I didn’t want to carry around leftovers, so I tried to pretend I was an Italian and finish the entire pizza in one sitting. It damn near killed me. As I ascended the stairs to the top of the city walls, the pizza felt like an anchor in my bowling ball stomach.
From the tops of the city walls, I had a panoramic view of the sweeping bay. Around every corner the views got more and more beautiful. I was so taken with the 1km circuit, that I decided to do it again and catch the sunset on my second loop. The sights were just as beautiful as the first time, if not more so as the sun set and cast a golden glow on the limestone buildings, church spires and red tiled roofs.
I got half way around the walls for a second time, when a guy stopped me. “You’ve already been around once,” he said, grumpily. “Yeah it’s so awesome I decided to do it again,” I said, thinking he would be so flattered with my joy for his city that he would smile. He scowled. “That is not allowed. One time around only.” “Oh, I didn’t see that anywhere. I just want to watch the sunset, I’ll only be up here five more minutes.” He replied with a flat, “No,” and showed me to the exit. My perfect plot to see the sunset and squeeze the most out of my €33 tour was foiled. Damn. I walked down to the city streets annoyed but still vibing on the insane feat of engineering that was building those walls some 700 years ago. I spent the evening wandering the streets and had a few pints before calling it a night.
The next day I opted for a walking tour of the city. I learned that the city made its fortune through manufacturing salt, building ships, and through trade. Based on its geographic location, Dubrovnik was a big trading center, and I could only imagine the thriving markets, trade and cacophony of languages one must have heard walking through the city hundreds of years ago — as one does today. Walking the streets it is easy to feel the richness of the city, literally and metaphorically. It has always been a wealthy (and expensive!!) city, and continues to be.
Dubrovnik was an independent city-state for 500 years, in part by paying off the Ottomans, who conquered the rest of the area, for protection and to leave them alone. Diplomacy at its finest. The tour guide gave her account of what happened during the war of ‘91, and there are signs all over the city reminding the world that the heathen Serbs and Montenegrins bombed the city just 30 years ago. I sense there is still some animosity between the former Yugoslav countries.
After the tour and peppering my tour guide with questions, I headed for Buza beach, which is more of an outcropping of rocks (than a beach) just outside the walls where backpackers hang out and jump off the rocks. There were a few people hanging out, but nobody swimming or jumping off rocks. I was intimidated to jump without seeing someone else do it first, but the water was a clear, sparkly blue and it seemed deep enough, so I went for it. The water was a brisk and invigorating 66 degrees so I did a little swim and then warmed up in the sun. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but delightful just the same. As I sat on the rocks I watched boat tours of all sorts go by — kayaks, speed boats, day parties and old replica pirate ships. I felt like it was appropriate to do a water tour of some kind to celebrate the beauty of the Mediterranean before heading for the chilly shores of England, but figured I’d save it for the next day.
I was determined to see the sunset from a historical place of beauty that night, so an hour before sunset I climbed the San Lorenzo fortress. From there looked upon the old city and marveled at the 12’ thick walls. After walking the fortress I still had a half hour before sunset, so I tucked myself away in a corner to read my book for a while. I kind of kept an eye on the sun, but not much else. Maybe 10 minutes before sunset, a guy walked up to me and said, “We’re closed. You almost got locked in here for the night,” with a scowl. I jumped up and followed him down to the exit, not realizing the entire place was empty. Alas, my plot to see the sunset from a historical viewpoint was foiled yet again. At least I didn’t have to spend the night in the stone fortress. Whew.
The next day I decided to do a kayak tour. I was still itching to paddle, and with all the hiking and stair ascending I’ve been doing, my arms have been neglected. So I signed up for the 7km kayak tour with a guy who looked like Poseidon. The sun was warm and the water was sheet glass as we paddled around the city walls. They were equally as impressive looking up at them from sea level as looking down from the turrets.
We paddled around Lokrum island and went into a few dark and spooky caves. Then we paddled back to the mainland (my arms were near breaking) and stopped at a beach where the water was brilliant cobalt to aquamarine to ultramarine. Like, wow. I braved the cold and went for a snorkel, and found another cave that hosted bright orange and purple soft corals and some reef fish. Mind blown. I had no expectations when I arrived in Dubrovnik, but I had no idea I would be snorkeling in pristine waters just outside the ancient city.
That evening I was absolutely, 100% determined to see the sunset. I walked out to the place where I had swam the day before, but instead of going left I went right. I found a lovely bar outside the city walls that said, Buza Bar. Wait, I was in the wrong place yesterday? Sure enough, I walked down the steps and found a bunch of backpackers jumping off the rocks, drinking beers, listening to music and having a great time. I even ran into a few people I had met in the hostel in Kotor. Gah. I was annoyed that it took me until my very last hours in the city to figure out the hang out place, but then had to pat myself on the back and say, “hey, maybe it took you forever, but at least you figured it out, and all on your own!” Yes, I’ve been talking to myself a lot.
And so wraps up my time in the Balkans. What a wild ride. I could never have fathomed that I would travel these countries — alone or otherwise — but it is truly an incredible part of the world, and delightfully affordable (except Croatia, that shit was expensive). I’m now on my second flight since arriving in Europe (yay alternative methods of transportation!) heading to see family and friends in England.
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