(it just goes on and on my friends)
I flew into Dubrovnik on the airline Lufthansa, with a layover in Frankfurt. My mom has very strong feelings about Lufthansa, thanks to the time she was living in Germany (Dad was stationed there, in the Army), and there was a hijacking of a Lufthansa flight. She still managed to fly safely on one after the 1977 incident, and so did I. My flight was slightly delayed out of Berlin. I refuse to book any flight with a layover less than 90 minutes (at any airport in any country) so though I had to hustle a little through the Frankfurt airport, it was ok.
As you can also see from that image, Dubrovnik is down at the southern point of the country. Throughout the next few weeks, I’ll make my way north through the Croatia, but DB is my first home base.
Dubrovnik
The city itself was added to a UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979, which I think means I’ll see a lot of really old stuff. I’ll also get to see lots of water, as we are on the Adriatic.
This area of Croatia was hotly contested when Croatia declared their independence in 1991 – including a 7 month siege. Our dear friend Milošević (Yogoslavia/Serbia) thought the region should be given to Montenegro (which coincidentally was still basically under Serbian control). The area was liberated by the Croatian Army in 1992. It’s a little hard to see on the map, but this area is actually disconnected from the rest of the country – separated by a small part of coastal access for B&H (where Neum is, by the M2- that’s a different country, with about 12 miles of sea board for B&H with the dotted line).
Pop Culture
If you’ve seen the TV Show Game of Thrones, you’ve seen a bunch of Croatia, and the Dubrovnik area. A lot of the filming of the show was done here. Specifically, Dubrovnik was used for King’s Landing and Qarth. I am confident/hopeful my experience here will include a lot less murder, incest, and giant wolves compared to the show.
My First Day
The drive from the airport to the city area is this cute little two lane highway. There was a rock wall to my right most of the time, but gorgeous views of the water to my left. Which was really important because there was a car accident ahead on the road, which meant we sat in one spot for about 90 minutes.
Travel is a great reminder of the million things out of my control. My taxi driver didn’t really speak English, but I just relaxed watching the sky turn a beautiful pink, ate my purse snacks (I did offer him some, but he declined), and listened to Croatian pop star Jelena Rozga. No idea what the songs are about, but this one was my favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqYGW0toXRQ
I did get to see a bit of the City Walls, which I’ll see close up tomorrow, as we finally got close to the destination. Because of how late it wound up being, I decided to just stay “home” tonight and enjoyed the peace.
Airbnb
I’m staying in a cute apartment that is walking distance to the Old Town area of the city, which I’ll explore tomorrow. It has two balconies (or “terrace” as we apparently say in Europe), which was critical in my location selection, and one of the benefits of an apartment versus a hotel. The view is amazing, and the sound – a mix of the water and bugs (none of which bit me) is incredibly soothing.
The view from my living room is pretty awesome.
This other terrace is just outside of the front door, but has a slightly broader view.
I have an appreciation for their use of space in Europe. The bathroom includes the water heater and a washing machine, and doesn’t feel cramped at all.
And you can see the dryer in this one, on the patio.
You might also see that there appears to have been a curtain situation above the doors in that photo.
This time, it was not my fault – one of the hooks was falling out of the wall when I got here, when the owner let me in. She apologized profusely, and tried hammering it in with a shoe. I offered to help – I have hiking shoes with me with a thicker sole – but she declined. She was panicking (the reviews of apartments are a big deal, and this is a newer listing), but I assured her I didn’t actually mind, and didn’t need the curtains. I’m here because of that view – why would I ever want to block it? She didn’t believe me – but no worries, because there are back up shutters.
I’m not feeling quite as tired as I should be, and I have an early morning tomorrow. I planned ahead, and brought some sleepy-time tea with me. This brand basically includes a fortune cookie message with the tea bag, which is why it is my favorite.
Good night from Dubrovnik!