Blogs from Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe - page 2

“Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.” - Isabelle Eberhardt We have had such a fabulous, full day today in Dubrovnik! We walked and walked, along old city walls, admired amazing views, climbed up and down about a million stairs (over 23,000 steps on my Fitbit today), and just had such a great day. 😀 We’d be walking today, and admiring yet another incredible view, and I just had to marvel, “you’re in Dubrovnik!”. It’s so incredible to be here and to see the beautiful old city. We started the day with breakfast in a hotel just down the street (Hotel Pletka, a sister property to our Hostel Sol). There were lots to choose ... read more

Our shore excursion today was into Dubrovnik (the old oaks). Dubrovnik is one of the main shooting locations for the Game of Thrones. Mainly King’s Landing with a lot of CGI added. Basically a medieval town that had been conquered multiple times. When communism fell and Yugoslavia fragmented there was fighting to determine who controlled the other countries which are now Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina,. They were essentially bombed by their own army. The map shows the strikes that happened to this city. You would be hard pressed to find the damage today after all of the rebuilding. We visited a Dominican Monastery and a Catholic Cathedral that are both functioning. (we found it odd that the cathedral was not selling rosaries). During some free time in Dubrovnik we visited some stores and picked up a ... read more

As of today, here are the State Department warnings regarding travel to my destinations in May. Serbia: Reconsider your need to travel. It has not been updated since Oct, 2021. Belgrade is only 320 miles from the Ukraine border! Croatia: Exercise a high degree of caution. (Mar 2022) Greece: Same as Croatia France: Same as Greece Germany: Same as France So, what am I going to do? The cycling portion of my trip in May in Croatia, from May 14-21. Is the Adriatic Sea safe for tourists? Yet, Poland is rated the same as Croatia, France, and Germany, though they have received upwards of 3 million refugees from war torn Ukraine. At least Ukraine is listed as "Do not travel" as of March 20, 2022. Here are the warnings for the Ukraine: Military action is underway. ... read more

Day 1:Part 2 2016:11 August I finished of writing about me and my family turning around the corner in the taxi to the the magnificent view of the town Dubrovnik. We paid the taxi driver and set off through the town to meet the Airbnb we were staying in, and the owner of it.We were walking through the historically beautiful town and I notice 2(two) things, one is that there were probably more stray cats there than humans and two is that there were bullet holes in the architecture which felt strange to think. If you didn’t know there was a war there in the 90s and you can even see stuff like bullet holes there now. When we met the owner we noticed her English was so good even though she was Croatian.This is probably ... read more

Unless you are a dedicated cyclist like me, you probably have never considered a cycling trip, or better yet, a cycling cruise. Perhaps you might want to reconsider this option, particularly since electric bicycles are now an option. But stop and think about all of the fun "off bike" that you might have. First, and foremost is the social aspect of joining a group that is both fun and interesting. There is plenty of time to socialize, at happy hours, meal times, cycling breaks, and on board activities. And time to meet locals as well. Second, the food is a big attraction, both on board, and on shore. Meal times tend to be the highlight of the day. The stories tend to get exaggerated, and with the help of some adult beverages, louder and more interesting. ... read more