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Published: March 8th 2007
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I had long dreamed of going to Croatia since I saw one of those beautiful bird-eye view photos of the old town by the blue Adriatic sea in travel magazines. So I had made my effort to visit this small country of the former Yugoslavia Republic. I did not know what to expect and I did not do much research of it before leaving the States.
Anyway, after a few days in Bergen, I finally managed to leave the wonderful city. I did not do much of any sightseeing in my last day except to go out to the firsh market to get some fresh cooked shrimps and do my own cooking at the hostel kitchen.
Then asking the receptionist which would be the shortest way to the airport bus stop to catch the bus to the airport. Even though arming myself with the information I managed to take a different route and I had to make a long walk through the bus terminal and zipped out to the outside curbside and then waited for the airport bus.
Arrived in the airport quite early in the early afternoon to check-in and board the 3:20 PM flight. Notice Bergen
International Airport is a "silent" airport meaning there will be no flight departure announcement. Passengers are advised to check the monitor for departure times and gate changes. Check-in was quick and I did not have to show my printed itinerary of the flight rather just handing over my passport and voila, I was given the boarding pass.
I quickly finished my lunch and after get some water from the fountain I headed upstair to spend some time in the airport lounge to read and to watch people. There is a passport control check-point right at the gate for this particular international flight so I handed over the passport and got the exited stamp and allowed to leave. Very sad to leave Scandinavia and exciting to fly again to a unknown destination.
Since this is a low cost carrier, the in-flight service is offered at minimal. I understand there is a charge for lunchbox or snack but drinks are not free either. Welcome to the extreme "lowest" cost airline. To the least, I felt very safe despite the fact it is a low cost airline due to the fact that the airline had to pass extreme restrict regulations set
by the government.
Anyway, arrived to the Dubrovnik international airport in the evening. The plane parked on the tarmac and passengers were walking to the terminal. Through the window I saw people inside the terminal were waving and pointing at us ... it was such a good feeling to know we are welcomed here. The flight was mostly with passengers from Norway ( I hope) and going to vacation in Croatia meaning bringing spending power to this emerging country.
We circling the airport on arrival and got the view of the beautiful Old town through the window. It was spectacular.
Don't know how to get to the center city but I breathed a sign of relief to know there is a bus waiting outside for each arrival flight to take passengers to town. The cost is 5 euro or cheaper if you pay with local currency.
The drive from the airport to town is via the coastal line which is beautiful. Got the sunset view and enjoyed the view from the window.
I sit next to a Irish young guy who happened did not have hotel reservation and we managed to agree on sticking together
Dubrovnik beach
floating on in the blue turquois water to look for a hostel (from the unclear map on the lonely plannet guide book). We passed all the locals who try to take us to their spared rooms or apartments to make some extra income. We walked to the uphill direction and finally more steps and arrived at the hostel. We were then informed the hostel was full unless we had reservations. I vaguely remembered I had reservations for a youth hostel in Dubrovnik but DID not print out the reservation confirmation so the reservation was suddenly disappeared. Anyway, at the last, we got lucky and the receptionist put us in a room. Thanks godness for his effort.
Took a quick shower at the end of the hall and we ventured out to the outside hunting for a place to eat. Stopped by a supermarket to buy a bottled water and settled with pizza and beer for dinner at a restaurant nearby the hostel. The price was good so did the food, and the beer.
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