Dubrovnik

I really couldn’t sleep from the Bosnian coffee I had, so instead, I got up early and walked around the city one final time. I had a long bus ride, so I made sure to bring my water bottle with me to the fountain they had in the middle of the city. There is an old legend that says that anyone that drinks from the fountain will return to Sarajevo. For me, even in my short time there, I knew it would definitely be true. 

I retraced my steps in the early morning light back to the Latin Bridge, then to the city’s Eternal Flame. I then headed back to the river and looked into it for a bit, thinking. Solemnly, I walked back to the hostel, had my breakfast, said my goodbyes, then caught a cab to the bus station.

While the fare was 4.50, I gave the taxi driver a 10 and told him to keep the change in an effort to get rid of what currency I had remaining. Little did I know that there would be a bus station tax, a bathroom tax, and a bag fee. Luckily, I had just enough, but my funds were completely depleted, an OK thing when leaving a country. I hopped on the bus, found my seat, and began the slow journey to Croatia. 

As I passed through Western Bosnia, encapsulated in its beauty, my mind wandered back to that Boomer on my tour. Having lived abroad and watched with my own eyes how arrogant Americans could be, I understood why a lot of the world despised us. Wouldn’t you if some crazy, entitled moron shoved his camera in your face as you were describing how your family was murdered? As if it was some form of entertainment? Or one taking a piss on such hallowed ground? I could not get over the disrespect. He said he was living in his parents’ house, one he probably inherited as I could not see him actually being able to purchase one. 

To take my mind off the ire I was feeling towards one of my countrymen, I began watching the fantastic BBC series The Death of Yugoslavia which I had downloaded for the ride. It was in 6 parts and was captivating. It followed the rise and fall of Slobodan Milosevic, the massacres in Bosnia, the dirty hands of Croatian factions, and many other parts. However, there was one part that particularly struck me. It was a news report after the shelling of a Bosnian market by the Serbs. Even though it was from the ’90s the area did not change. This was a market only half a block from the hostel I was staying in. There was a body slung across a bright yellow metallic divider that I ran into just the day before. It was utterly surreal.

After a brief pitstop in the idyllic countryside, replete with a lookout point to a pristine lake, we got to the border. First, all the passports were checked when we crossed out of Bosnia, then all of them were checked again when we got into the EU country of Croatia. About an hour later, we arrived at the Dubrovnik bus station.

The problem with Google Maps is that it does not really show you the topography of the map you are using. And Dubrovnik is nothing but topography. From what I could see, where I would be staying was up a steep mountainside. I hailed a cab and he took me as close as he could as the streets became incredibly narrow and I would need to hoof it the rest of the way. After wandering a bit, I finally found my place. I greeted the owners and they showed me to my room. It was a stand-alone room with the twin bed looking out into the blue Adriatic. While it was still summer, I did have a fan that would keep me cool. I dropped my stuff and headed out to learn Dubrovnik.

The first thing I learned was that HOLY SHIT THERE ARE A LOT OF STAIRS. The main city was about two miles away and 200m closer to sea level. Inside the city walls, it was incredible Romanesque with lots of glistening marble. This was not that surprising as Croatia was part of the Roman Empire. I then came back up and made myself dinner, a tuna sandwich, pretzels, and wine sangria with apricots. I sat on the terrace and looked out at the Adriatic. I was tired from not sleeping the night before but downloaded Welcome to Sarajevo. I booked a Game of Thrones walking tour and started the movie, but then went to bed.    

The next day, I woke up and headed for my tour. It was pretty crowded, given the summer tourist travel season. I found my guide Luka and he showed us around. Dubrovnik stood in for King’s Landing in the show, but locals would often point out what was CGI and what was not. He showed us the Shame stairs, as well as a prized image of Peter Dinklage passed out in a hostel foyer after a night of debaucherous drinking; art mimicking life. 

I enjoyed the tour and Luka answering all my questions, so I waited an hour for his history tour to start. It was also a great tour and even better than the other. I learned a lot, such as in the 15th Century, Venice was Dubrovnik’s big rival in the maritime trade. I learned that during the Napoleonic Wars, when choosing to whom to surrender, the Russians or the French, Croatia chose the French.  I finally learned why Croatia was slightly bisected by Bosnia instead of having a complete coastline. They did it as a way to halt an invasion by their nemesis Venice, as well as honoring treaties they had with the Ottomans giving them access to water.  

After the tour, I came back, made myself lunch of two paté sandwiches, drank 1L of beer, and some Sesame sticks. I chatted with the son of the hostel manager who speaks English pretty well. He asked if I was here because of Game of Thrones. I said partly. I told him I am one of those rare Americans that care about the history of the places I visit. I finished lunch and took a long nap. I then headed out to get past Old Town. As I was walking, I found a beach, which was just concrete and rocks. I didnʼt have my suit, so, I just peeled down to my skivvies and jumped in. It was cold at first, but lovely. After my swim, I dressed and headed back.

While I was having more apricot Sangria on the terrace, I made friends with the little kitten that lives there. There were so many cats in the city, I guess from their former duties of hunting plague rats. 

The next day I got up and had breakfast and wanted to take the cable car to the top of the mountain where they had a War of Independence Museum. When I arrived at the cable car, it was shut down. Apparently, the cable car operator and the city were having negotiation issues. Like any good capitalist, cabbies were waiting by the station to offer rides to the top for €50. I asked one what he could do to me. He told €20. I still declined. 

I ended up back in the city and walked around some more. Since I had seen almost everything Dubrovnik had to offer, I headed back up to my room to finish out my European travel plans of getting from the UK to Ireland via ferry. I took a long nap and when I woke up I went and got some supplies for my travel day the next day. I had my customary pre-bus early dinner. I then decided to go for another swim. 

Around the back (or front depending on whether you were invading with an army or navy) of the fortress was a landing where people could swim. I jumped into the blue water which was cold at first, but refreshing as you got used to it. I then decided to go back to the previous beach. There was a steep drop off a few meters out where the cerulean water turned to black. I chased fish and they chased me. This swim was refreshing for my body and soul as there was a lot weighing on me at this particular moment. Although as I climbed the two miles uphill back to my room, my thighs sure did chafe from my salty and wet boardshorts.