Returning To King’s Landing: Dubrovnik

by | Aug 17, 2017 | August 2017: The Balkans, Border Crossing, Croatia, The Nightlife, Walking Tours | 0 comments

 

Just how many monsooners are there really on this trip?

 

Take a closer look (click to zoom):

 


 
 

 

Dubrovnik. It’s good to be back.

 

 

I was here for the first time 3 years ago, as part of my Crossing The Adriatic monsoon. Even though I got to see a lot, I also missed important things like the Dubrovnik Old Town walls. Otherwise most of the things we were able to see today have already been covered my last time here, but what new things we did this time around, there have been many.

Today we woke up at 6am in Mostar to catch a 7am Croatia Bus to Dubrovnik. However, not only was the bus late, but they overbooked us by a few seats and caused 3 of us to stand (and myself to sit in the exit stairwell) for the first 20 minutes before the first few people got off at the next stop. Not a total disaster but it was annoying that they also add insult to injury by forcing you to pay 1 euro to store even your personal items when you’re already relegated to standing room only.

We crossed the Bosnia & Herzegovina border into Croatia at around 9am.

 

 

They’ll take your passports, stamp you out, give you back your passports, and then you pass through onto into Croatia without stopping.

 

 

We then crossed back into Bosnia & Herzegovina to get into Neum, where I also had crossed through 3 years ago while traveling from Split.

The photo of Neum I took 3 years ago:

 

 

Today’s photo of Neum:

 

 

We arrived late into Dubrovnik Bus Station at around 11:30am, from where we then took 4 taxis for 10 euros each to Old Town. It never gets old, though, walking through the gates for the very first time.

Can you even tell which photos are from 3 years ago and which ones were taken today?

 

 

We first dropped our stuff off at Hostel Amnesia, located smack dab in old town (I learned my lesson after the last time) and had lunch there.

 

Photo Credit: Lei Zhao

 

After lunch we did the obligatory tour around Dubrovnik’s old town, peppered with highlights that I didn’t get to do last time, namely filling up our water bottles at the public fountains…

 

 

…stripping off our clothes and jumping into the Adriatic Sea by Buza Bar

 

IMG_6040

Where did my diginity go
Photo Credit: Lei Zhao

 

…returning these lozenges I had bought from this exact pharmacy 3 years ago back to its rightful place…

 

My lozenges, after 3 years in my travel bag.

Photo Credit: Rucha Deshpande

 

…chasing all the Game of Thrones on-site filming locations…

 

4-shame-stairs-2

Photo Credit: Taylan Stulting

 

But the main thing that I regretted missing last time was walking along Dubrovnik Old Town’s city walls. For 150 kunas each, you get to saunter across the entirety of the 1.2km length of old town’s fortress walls in a single direction. We took about 2 hours to do the whole thing comfortably before 7pm closing.

It’s totally worth it.

 

Now press play. And then start reading.
 
  
 

 

Photo Credit: Ted Chen
Photo Credit: Ted Chen

 

We even had a Rhode Island reunion at the walls, all thanks to my killer sunset playlist I was playing in the background (FYI if you’re reading this right now, the song is Moments Descend On My Windowpane by Rafael Anton Irisarri).

 

Lily & her Rhode Island family...for liking my music that I was playing in the background, before discovering a mutual connection with Maria over your shared Rhode Island roots. You would then go on to recommend visiting Our Lady Of The Rocks church in Kotor the next day (which we did thanks to you!), and then following up with another email a week later attached with more photos from our chance encounter! 08/17/17.

 

Leaving the walls, we had a perfectly atmospherically seafood dinner at underrated Nonna’s Ragusa, which was totally worth it especially with a 20% discount for having our group eat with them. They even held onto Alfred’s wallet for him when he thought he lost it at the hostel.

 

 

After dinner we pregamed at the hostel with the owner’s moonshine.

 

IMG_6077

 

… and by 11am headed out to Club Revel located within the old town walls, gaining free entry with flyers they hand out to hotel/hostel owners. Surprisingly, they played no electronic or house music as it was hip hop all night. AMAZING.

And we danced,
And we cried,
And we laughed,
And had a really, really, really good time. . . .

 

Photo Credit: Lei Zhao
Photo Credit: Lei Zhao
Photo Credit: Lei Zhao
Photo Credit: Rucha Deshpande
Photo Credit: Rucha Deshpande

 

We stayed at the nightclub until 3am, after which we probably took most beautiful walk of shame we’ll ever have in our lifetimes.

 

 

 

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- At time of posting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, it was 26 °C - Humidity: 59% | Wind Speed: 3km/hr | Cloud Cover: sunny

 

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