Dubrovnik & Split

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I left Podgorica with my friend, Paul, and we headed for Dubrovnik. The road was largely right along the Adriatic coast. The coast is spotted with islands, which might be why it is called the Dalmatian Coast, but I could be way off. On the way we crossed a small sliver of Bosnia. Mountains line the coast and the road is about halfway up for most of the trip. We stopped just before we arrived at an overlook where I could see the fortress walls of Old Town, Dubrovnik. Once in town, our first mission was to find a room. There are many hotels, but they are expensive. Instead, we chose from one of the many family run places. These are usually multi-story houses that have been sectioned off by the owner, who rents out part and lives in the other. The rooms are decent and the price is almost half of a hotel room. We picked a place that was just a 15 minute walk from Old Town.

Old Town is the part of Dubrovnik surrounded by fortress walls. I don’t know how long the fortress walls have been there, but the city itself is probably dates back to at least the 5th century. The town is a mass of houses ranging from 3-5 stories in close quarters. The pedestrian-only streets are all narrow, except for the main walk which is very wide and features marble tile. It reminded a lot of Budva, except much larger. There were at least 4 cathedrals inside the walls. Shops and restaurants were everywhere. Old Town is right along the coast. The west wall is right alongside the coast while walking through the south wall leads you to a port where local and tour boats are docked.

The first day we went to a beach just south of Old Town. The mountainside really makes walking interesting. You always walk downhill to get to the beach, which is fine until you’re ready to leave. The beach was not your typical sand beach. Actually, not many of the beaches had sand at all along the Dalmatian Coast. The beaches are either pebbles or solid rock, which has its advantages. The pebbles are not always the most comfortable to walk on, but you don’t have to worry about getting sand everywhere. No sand in your towel. No sand in your swimsuit. No need to rinse your flip-flops when you’re ready to leave. Its pretty handy. The beach we went to on this day did have some sand, but it was probably imported. The sand only went so close to shore, at which point it turned to pebbles. I’m assuming the rest of the sand was swept away by the sea. The water was crystal clear and turned to emerald then blue out to sea. Definitely the clearest water I’ve seen since Cancun. Paul left later that afternoon and I was back on my own.

The next day I went up along the fortress walls around Old Town. I saw the whole town of Dubrovnik from up there. The wall peaks at a large tower in the northeast corner. A narrow stairway leads up to the top of the tower. Looking down from the west wall is not for the faint of heart because it is directly over the water at, I would guess, about 6-7 stories high. About halfway along the west wall I saw a sign that said “fresh fruit in the shadows”. A staircase led down a couple levels to an area that was exactly as the sign described. A man was watching the World Cup while selling apples, grapes, peaches, and other fruit. The setup was on a lawn in between buildings, but, since the buildings towered above, it was well in the shade. A small fountain was provided to rinse the fruit as well. I got some grapes and a peach and cooled off while eating them. Back up top as I walked around towards the south wall I saw a small beach just outside the wall. Actually, it wasn’t as much a beach as a cluster of small rock platforms. People were laying out on the rocks, jumping into the water from the higher platforms, and using a small rock staircase to climb back up. People were buying drinks from a small bar beside the wall. I took note of the location to try and find it once I was done walking around the fortress wall. The south walls had towers at points with old cannons on display. Once I walked completely around I walked back down to the ground and went looking for the back beach. I walked along the back wall for a while before I saw a very small, non descript doorway. I walked through and after the hallway turned to the right I saw the same scene that I had seen from the fortress wall. It was a really cool area, and I couldn’t believe it was so hidden.

The next day I took a day tour on a boat to explore 3 nearby islands. The boat was smaller but held about 20 people with plenty of room. The view of the coast was great from the boat. The tour took us to the island of Lopud first. I found the beach first, and soaked in the water for a little. After I had cooled off, I found a park nearby with plenty of shade. There were lots of hotels and houses along the coastline. A monastery sat at the far end of the island, which was apparently hot commodity back in its prime. The information posted on the side nearby said the wall in front of the monastery had ports on top for pouring hot tar onto infiltrators. I don’t remember hearing about that while touring the monastery up in the mountains. After a couple hours of exploring we went back to the boat where lunch was served. The lady I bought the ticket from had recommended the fish, so that is what I ordered. What was served to me was exactly that. Two fish cooked and served on a plate… whole… with the head, backbone, and fins still attached. I looked around me at the other people skillfully removing the non-edible parts with efficiency. I tried to duplicate the maneuvers but ended up picking out a lot of bones after the fact. Maybe I’m biased because I had to work so hard for it, but I thought the fish was very tasty. The second island we toured was Sipan. This island was also home to a monastery, but there was no touring this monastery. There was a path alongside, however, that elevated enough to see into the courtyard. Finally, we went to the island of Kokosar. By this time I was ready for more beach, and cooled off in the water. However, the scenery was getting a bit repetitive at this point. More hotels and houses along the coast with a park and a monastery. From there we went back to Dubrovnik.

My last night I went out in Old Town to see how the night life was. I started at an Irish Pub to see what was going on. There I met two guys from California. They had come there for a wedding, but were planning on visiting some other European cities while they were there. As we were talking at the bar we overheard a couple girls speaking American English. We introduced ourselves and found out they were living in New York. One of them was actually an aspiring patent attorney from St. Louis, so we had quite a bit of conversation after that was disclosed. The Irish Pub was closing up, and they asked us to leave. To my surprise they did not ask us to hurry up and finish our beers. Instead, they handed us plastic cups for us to pour the rest of our beer into so we could finish outside. Brilliant! Why don’t more bars do this? We finished the night at a small dance club not too far from there.

The next day I took a bus to Split. The road was entirely on the Adriatic coast. I took many more pictures on the way. When I arrived in Split I was hounded by people asking me if I needed accommodations. There were literally more people asking about accommodations than passengers on the bus. It was insane. A little before this I had discovered an old friend on facebook. Robert was a fraternity brother at UMKC, and although I had only spent a year there, I had really gotten to know him. He is originally from Croatia, and apparently goes there quite often. I was still surprised to hear that he was going to be in Split at the same time I was getting there. I met him near the Diocletian Palace soon after I checked into the hostel. We went to a local pub where we could sit outside and have a drink while catching up. I told him about my journey and he told me about Croatian history. Apparently Croatians were the first to wear a necktie.

The next day I went with Mitch, one of my roommates at the hostel, to the island of Brac. We took the ferry across the sea to the island, then took a bus across the island to the town of Bol, where a beach was recommended to us. The whole transit including the ferry and bus was over 2 hours. However, the beach made it worth it. On the way, we met Ula from Berlin, who joined us for the day. The beach was a thin peninsula that was entirely made of pebbles. People were swimming on either side of the peninsula and laying out in between. This was apparently a good place for kite-boarding and sail-boarding. The three of us spent a few hours out on the beach. It turns out Mitch is a PhD electrical engineering student from Georgia Tech. No wonder we got along so well. We thought the island visit was going to be a half-day excursion, but we didn’t get back to the hostel until after 7.

I took a bus to Trogir to meet up with Robert again that evening. After showing me around some of Trogir, we sat down to eat dinner. He recommended a dish to me that was a Croatian favorite. I can’t remember the exact name, but it was basically a squid ink risotto. Since I was out to try new things I took his recommendation. He warned me that some people don’t like it because it is actually very black. When the dish arrived I realized he wasn’t joking. I was kind of assuming it would be a deep, dark brown or something like that, but it wasn’t. It was just pure black. The kind of pure black where it almost has a hint of blue to it. Despite the fact that it stained my lips, teeth, and tongue black, it was very delicious. We met once more in the Kastela, where he was staying. I was introduced to his brother and his family there. There are actually 7 Kastelas along the coast north of Split. Each one is an old stone building that opens up to the seaside for entry from a boat. A small town has formed around each of the original Kastelas. Robert’s place is conveniently located next to an alarm clock know as the town church. The church bells ring throughout the town everyday at 6 am, and then every hour after. After enjoying Croatia for one last night, it was time for him to catch a plane back to Kansas City.

I decided I should finally explore Split for my last day in town. I started off by going up the Cathedral tower in the middle of the Diocletian Palace. The stairs to the top were steep and narrow, but the view was grand. I took a tour through the basement of the Diocletian Palace next, where I learned about the fascinating history of Split. During the era of the Roman Empire, the Emporer Diocletian built a summer palace along the portion of the coast where present day Split is. After Diocletian and especially after the fall of the Roman Empire, the palace became abandoned. Centuries later, people in a nearby town suddenly felt a threat from the Slavs. They fled the city and found shelter in the abandoned palace and surrounding islands. Over the next few years, the people began transforming the palace to suit their needs. The palace was completely transformed inside, but the outer walls and the basement structure remained. The city extended far beyond the original walls, and a large port was built on the sea side. Around the 15th century, a large fortress wall was built to protect the city from the Ottoman Empire. The wall was a semicircular with 5 large bastions protruding from it. Depictions of the wall look like a rising sun surrounding the city. The wall does not stand today, but it would have been quite a sight. From there I went to the west of the city to go up the big hill. I started up the Marjan path which was a staircase that led to a scenic overlook by a cafe. From there a road went further up the hill towards a zoo. Just past the zoo was a road that led further up the hill. I finally arrived at the summit, where a staircase led up to a large stone platform. The Croatian flag wove on the east side overlooking the city of Split. On the way down I took the road leading to the backside of the mountain. The hillside became steep and turned to cliffs on the side. A couple monasteries were built into the side of the cliff walls. I walked around to one such monastery to find a couple taking wedding pictures. The hill was completely surrounded by coast, and I walked along the coast from the west side of the hill back towards the city. There were two main public beaches along the way. One of them was a nice lagoon with shallow waters stretching far from the shore. It looked like an excellent place for swimming. Another was a small family oriented resort area hidden away from the city. Closer to the city was a large port where many boats, both big and small, were docked.

I finished the day at a restaurant recommended by the hostel owner as a cheaper place. I walked onto the front porch and was told I could sit anywhere. I looked around and it seemed there were people occupying each table. She then told me it was normal to sit at the same table as other people. As I looked around again a man waved and signaled that I could sit at his table.

I was really surprised by the Dubrovnik and Split. Previously, my favorite vacation spot was Cancun, Mexico, but I think I have a new favorite now. The water is crystal clear, the mountains are in the background, sea is littered with islands, and the cities are full of history. It really is the complete package. I came here to find new things, but I had no idea such a paradise existed. I am definitely coming back here.

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Photos

Durbovnik
View from highway overlook

Old Town
Main walkway

Fortress Wall
Including the highest tower

Old Town
View from the highest tower of fortress wall

Split
If you rub the big toe you will return to Split.

Bol
On the island of Brac

Trogir
Riva at night

Split
View from the Summit

Comments

[David Miller]

Rubbing the big toe
So did you rub it, so you would return?

[Adam325]

Rubbing the big toe
Oh I didn't need to rub the big tow to know I would return ;)