Dubrovnik, Croatia

13 September 2007

There definitely was a “wow” factor the minute I had my first glimpse of the walled city of Dubrovnik as our plane flew over the Dalmatian coast. I had taken a budget flight out of Budapest at 6 am Tuesday 11 September and was in Dubrovnik airport in a little over an hour. A 40-minute bus ride dropped me off at the Pile Gate, the main connection of this fortress to the outside world. As I walked through this 6-meter wide gate and into Old Town Dubrovnik, the sight of pale-colored stone walls that seemed to blend seamlessly with the shiny marble of the main street took my breath away.

Arriving in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik sparkles

The city was still empty; it was early in the morning. I walked into a square with a huge circular fountain, detoured into a couple of narrow streets until I reached my soba (private room in an apartment). I waited a few minutes in the cafe next door until my host arrived, a young lady named Dajana (pronounced Diana) whose family owns the apartment.

Meandering

My soba (rented room)

There are no cars allowed inside the walls of the Old Town. The Stradun is the city’s main promenade with the Pile Gate and the main square, Luza Square, occupying opposite ends. On either side of the Stradun is a labyrinth of smaller streets. Very steep and narrow streets jutting out of the Stradun and arranged in parallel are on the north side, while similarly narrow streets arranged in a more disorganized manner are on the south side. Tourist shops and restaurants line the main streets but farther out in the periphery, by the walls, one can walk aimlessly in the maze of streets and get lost in the surreal world of Dubrovnik. It has been termed the Pearl of the Adriatic, as it sparkles in the tip of the Dalmatian Coast by the Adriatic Sea.

The Stradun, Dubrovnik’s main promenade

Dubrovnik street

Dubrovnik is filled with tourists during the day, though my host says that September is nothing compared to the crowds in the summer months of July and August. In order to avoid the crowds, I´ve done most of my sightseeing early in the morning; and in those quiet moments I’ve truly savored my “special time” with Dubrovnik. Late at night, the majority of the streets are empty as well, although a few have bars and pubs for the party-going set.

Dubrovnik at night

Yesterday, I took a short trip to the island of Lokrum, just off the coast. I wanted to relax in a beach. I bought a salted anchovy sandwich with tomato and lettuce in cornbread and a soda as my packed lunch. Lokrum´s beaches are rocky beaches. I had the preconceived notion that these are just the same as sandy beaches but with small rocks instead of sand. I was mistaken. The beaches look like small cliffs and people sunbathe on large boulders.

The Dalmatian coast

Lokrum’s rocky beach

It is a trek getting to the rocks and one has to have pretty good balance navigating the rocks and crevices. In rocky beaches, there is no sandy floor that one can stand on; one has to thread in the water whose depth starts at about 15 to 20 feet. There are white ladders similar to swimming pool ladders that are strategically located for people to get in and out of the water. The more adventuresome dive or jump off rocks into the blue green Adriatic Sea. I picked a nice flat boulder a few meters above a ladder, laid out my towel, and enjoyed my packed lunch and the magnificent view. Mid-afternoon, I was ready to take a swim in the sea. Of course I chickened out of diving off a rock and took the steps instead. The sea was salty and cold at first, but I slowly got used to the temperature and swam and stretched out in the clean waters, excited and unbelieving that I am actually in the Adriatic. I emerged from the sea refreshed, took the steps up and found my way to my boulder again. I was sun kissed as I read Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It was around 5 pm when I finally decided to conquer my fear and jump off a rock into the water. I saw a group of friends challenge each other to do this, one resisted, one just dove straight in head first while the other two jumped feet first. I put my book down, gave it a thought for a few seconds, mustered enough courage, and finally dove in (well, feet first). Alas, I finally did it! It was one of those “been there, done that” moments. I was ecstatic!

My boulder

Been there, done that!

I’ve befriended a nice couple from Manchester, England (about my age) and have shared dinner and drinks with them the last couple of nights. We’ve tried seafood restaurants that Rick Steves recommends – delicious grilled squid, steamed mussels, and seafood risotto. Croatia is more Mediterranean in food and attitude than most of Eastern Europe (Italy is across the Adriatic). Rozata (crème caramel) is their creamy dessert. They have good wine and spirits. The most memorable is Rakija, their brandy with herbs, which one can literally taste. The atmosphere is  laid back and there is always that sense of “la dolce vita.”

La Dolce Vita

There is still that deep hurt, though, from the terrible war in the 90s and in the Old Town, if one looks closely, one can see the scars…
But today, as I walk through the streets of Dubrovnik in the early morning as the sun casts its warmth and light, I see glistening sun baked pale brownstones and reddish orange terra cotta roofs and the turquoise glimmer of the Adriatic sea underneath the blue sky.

And I am happy.

The author in the Stradun