A Few Days in Dubrovnik, Croatia
August 22nd, 2022 (G)
We entered Croatia via afternoon bus. Upon arriving at the main bus station in Dubrovnik, we waited for a little while to be picked up by a friend of a friend to pick us up and take us to our new accommodations. Before long she had arrived. A pleasant woman, who chatted with us as she drove and after she had helped us find the landlord of the studio apartment we would call home, she wished us well and left. We had hoped we might have a chance to see her again before leaving Dubrovnik.
Our landlord was an old gentleman with a bright smile and a twinkle in his eye. We communicated in gestures, the little Bosnian we knew, and broken English. Soon we had sorted out all the details for the apartment and were very pleased with it. It was only a 5-minute walk to Old town Dubrovnik and situated very near a bakery and market. After settling in and visiting the market for a bit, we decided to go for a little walk around to get our bearings. It was dark, but even at night, the mighty walled Old town was spectacular. We even managed to spot a small hedgehog by one of the stairways that led back up to our apartment from near the entrance of Old town. T saw a wild hedgehog for the first time when we were in Germany so she was especially ecstatic to find another one and to get to see it up close.
It didn’t take too long for the day of travel to catch up with us and we soon returned up the many steps to our apartment and called it a night.
August 23rd, 2022
We slept in and enjoyed a slow morning before setting out to explore the walled interior of the Old town in the light of day. The night before we had not actually entered the walled area which really is where the true medieval charm begins. Entering through the western gate, it felt like stepping back in time a little. It is easy to see why the place was a UNESCO site and why it was chosen as a main film location for Game of Thrones (which since we never watched the series we would not realize until later when we spotted a lifesize statue of Peter Dinklage).
We spent the afternoon wandering the white stone streets, all worn smooth and polished by the passing of feet and time. Small alleys, nooks, and passages beckoned us to explore them so before long we had left the main streets and squares and were delighted to find deserted passages beautifully decked with plants.
We eventually found our way to the walls of the city. We walked the walls and admired the crenulations of the walls and red terracotta tiled roofs with a backdrop of the beautiful Mediterranean behind it.
After completing a loop along the walls we re-entered the main streets and found our way up a flight of stairs to exit by the northern gate of the city. It was along this stairwell that we spotted the statue of Mr. Dinklage. His likeness was enshrined in all manner of GOT merchandise, tipping us off that this must be a film location. Turns out after doing a bit of googling, Dubrovnik was the filming location for King’s Landing the mythical capital of the GOT world.
After exiting the city we returned to our apartment and spent the evening cooking, planning the next day, and simply relaxing.
August 24th, 2022
Once again, we didn’t overbook ourselves and after another slow morning we headed down to a beach. The particular beach of interest to us was a bit further away than most of them. We worked up quite a sweat in the summer sun by the time we reached our desired spot. It was a small rocky beach which was tucked under a cliff making it feel secluded and quiet. Here we left our belongings and hopped into the clear cool water. We had picked this beach for its proximity to a sea cave that was normally only accessible by kayak or boat tour. We opted to swim for it.
For the most part, the swim went smoothly. T struggled some with the rhythm of the waves initially, but mastered their cadence in no time and we were able to swim the rest of the way without any concern. The cave itself was an intriguing spot. Reaching some 60 M (~200ft) in height. It faced southeast and was very open and airy with a wonderful pebble beach. It was well worth the swim. We rested there for a while, then began the return swim. We didn’t bring our phones or GoPro with us, so we didn’t get any photos. The swim back was uneventful. We lay in the sun for an hour or so until we were both dry and the sun was beginning to ride low in the sky. T had wanted to visit another beach for sunset so we collected out things and hiked back up the cliff to the main road.
Heading west we found ourselves passing by the Old town port and under the eastern gate. We walked through the main street again and out the western gate. After passing through the maze of houses outside the city walls, we arrived at a separate local beach that our friend recommended to us with a small rocky peninsula, which afforded beautiful views to watch the sunset. We spent the next hour just watching the sun dip lower and lower into the clouds on the horizon and finally vanish in a red blaze.
August 25th, 2022
We woke a bit earlier, packed our belongings, said fairwell to our landlord, and caught a taxi to the bus station. Our time in Dubrovnik had been brief, but lovely.