Dubrovnik is Divine!

I write from the Dubrovnik airport, and leaving Croatia is bittersweet. We are, of course, excited to see even more of the world- that is what this is all about. However, Croatia has surpassed all of my expectations, and Rich and I could both stay longer in a heartbeat.

After fifteen days in Croatia (in Zagreb and Rovinj ,Split and Hvar , Korcula, and now Dubrovink), we have gotten in a bit of a rhythm- grocery shop at Tommy or Konzum, go swimming in the sea every other day, walk or take public transit into town, enjoy chocolate pillow cereal for breakfast, cook at home with the exception of dinner out every three or four days.

We were able to stay pretty consistent with this schedule in Dubrovnik, which I may have mentioned, is divine.

Day 22: Travel from Korcula to Dubrovnik

We took another quick ferry from Korcula to Dubrovnik. This ferry was a bit more crowded but still easy breezy.

Getting to the AirBNB in Dubrovnik

We got off the ferry in Dubrovnik and debated trying to walk to our AirBNB, but it was 8.6 km, and that struck us as just a bit too far. We messaged our host that we were here, and she said we should stop at the Konzum by the port for groceries because that was the nearest grocery store (for my mostly American readers, 8.6 KM equals more than 5 miles). Since we had all of our luggage, I sat with the bags while Rich tackled picking up what we needed for the next few days.

So at this point, we have our backpacks, and we are carrying groceries. But we have not actually seen our AirBNB yet. Luckily, Croatia has Uber! We will just Uber to our apartment. Yes!

No. First, we got an American Express Platinum credit card because of all of the travel rewards, including a $15 Uber credit each month. We log into Uber, we see a car, and then we see that the Uber credits are not available in our area, with our “area” being any place outside of the US. Bummer #1.

No big, still worth it– let’s get an Uber. We put in our location, request a car, and then get a message that we need to walk 400 meters to meet the driver. Remember: we have all our luggage and groceries, and we have been in Dubrovnik for all of an hour so we don’t know where we are going.

We walk the distance- no car. Now the car is turning around. Now the car is 8 minutes away. We wait the 8 minutes, then the app shows the driver driving past us, but we don’t see the car. Another 8 minutes. Then we look up, and see the right license plate…on a taxi. Rich tells me to go chase it down, I walk up beside it, and the driver NEVER turns his head (difference in opinion between Rich and Amanda on how hard I tried to get his attention). Bummer #2: We cancel the Uber.

Bummer #3: We just get a taxi, and it costs us 143 Kuna = $23 = the same amount we spent on groceries for four days. Ugh.

BUT the view from our AirBNB was simply incredible, and we enjoyed watching on of the most beautiful sunsets of my life that night.

AirBNB View in Dubrovnik — Keep in mind: Our AirBNB had NO air conditioning, and Croatia is hot in July. Still, this was our outdoor space.

Sunset in Dubrovnik — The sunset was warming up…

View from AirBNB Balcony in Dubrovnik — The sun on the rocks…

The end of the sunset in Dubrovnik, Croatia — El fin.

Day 23: Old Town Dubrovnik

If you watch Game of Thrones on HBO, you already know that it is an amazing show, punctuated with breathtaking scenery from all seven of the fictional kingdoms. Dubrovnik is the set for Kings Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne.

I’ll avoid nerding out too much more on GOT but two quick notes:

Walking the very streets where the characters walk was as cool as I imagined it would be, and
Dubrovnik was super chill about GOT being filmed there. We tagged along behind a Game of Thrones walking tour at one point, but I had halfway expected to see people dressed up on Jon Snow costumes or a Cersei bar or toy dragons being sold. We saw none of that. Basically, on the GOT tours, the guides carry laminated pictures of famous scenes to prove that they took place in the very spot the tourists are now standing.

Exploring Old Town

On our first visit to Old Town, we basically just wandered. At every turn, there was a new lovely staircase or view of the sea or tower or chapel or group of cats sleeping. It was like being in a storybook (thankfully, one without actual dragons!).

Path into Dubrovnik — On our way into Old Town– there are stairs and pathways like this everywhere in Dubrovnik.

Outside City Walls of Dubrovnik — Outside the City Walls

Cathedral in Dubrovnik — The largest cathedral in Dubrovnik

inside of cathedral in Dubrovnik — Inside the Cathedral.

Couple in Dubrovnik — Amanda hands the phone to a complete stranger to take our picture.

So many cats in Dubrovnik– they are fat and well-fed!

Cersei stairs in Dubrovnik — SHAME! (Had to include a GOT reference). Rich in front of the Cersei stairs looking quite unashamed.

Outside the walls of Dubrovnik — A final view from outside the walls

Day 24: Old Town Dubrovnik…by the Sea!

We spent most of the morning and into early afternoon the next day doing life catch up- laundry, trip planning, bill paying, blogging, etc.

home office Dubrovnik — Not a bad view from the home office. Rich likes an ordered desk– note the clothespin arrangement.

We then caught a bus (on time in Croatia = 25 minutes late) into Dubrovnik to hit up a swimming spot we saw the day before.

Bus to Dubrovnik — Waiting for the bus to Dubrovnik from Zaton. We spent a good hour and fifteen minutes here.

Dubrovnik bus schedule — The bus schedule. You will note that the only times listed are when the bus leaves each end point. Also, note: the buses run every hour. TIMETABLE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE! Makes WMATA look like they are already back to good.

Walking in Dubrovnik — The hot hike from the bus station in Dubrovnik to Old Town

Buza Bar

Buza Bar is built into the side of the cliff outside the fortress walls. A tour guide came through while we were lounging, and she said when she was a kid, there was a hole in the wall there that all of the kids would climb through to jump in the sea. Now, there is a pretty swanky, but still chill, bar overlooking sunbathing/lounging/swimming rocks.

The late bus got us into town a little too late to swim in the quite cold Adriatic, but we enjoyed a glass of wine and a beautiful view.

Buza Bar in Dubrovnik — Amanda at Buza Bar

Older people in Dubrovnik — This table of older ladies and gentlemen were getting it in at Buza Bar! #RetirementGoals

sea view in Dubrovnik — View from the rocks below Buza

Reading in Dubrovnik — Rich reads on a rock.

It was beautiful, but rocks are not the most comfortable to sit on for long. So we grabbed some gelato (yum yum yum) and caught the bus back to Zaton!

Gelato in Dubrovnik — Gelato: How I have longed for you on these hot summer days. I got Tiramisu flavored, and Rich went with coffee.

Day 25: Zaton by Day, Dubrovnik by Night

Running in Zaton was out of the question due to the lack of sidewalks, so we got a little strength training in with the help of my Aaptiv app on my phone. Whew! Our deck was a great place to work out, but we were wiped when it was over.

workout Dubrovnik — Whew. The sun was not playing with me.

We hiked down to the local beach in Zaton to read and enjoy the sun, before heading back into Old Town to enjoy dinner out. We have been cooking most of our meals at home- we are gone for nearly a year on savings- so dinner out was a treat.