We left our home at 200pm Monday (9/11) and arrived weary but very excited at 230pm on Tuesday the 12th. Our enchanting visit to Dubrovnik began with picking up an airport transfer bus to Old Town, with a winding road down the coastline giving us our first breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea. Deep clear dark turquoise water crashing on a rocky shoreline glistened in the sun. We passed small villages and stone homes and arrived at the Pile Gate of Old Town Dubrovnik where we unloaded and began our walk to our apartment. Motorized transportation is not allowed into the Old Town, so this was our first time lugging luggage and cursing ourselves for not packing lighter. After a few wrong turns we arrived at Celenga Apartments and then had the joy of climbing to the 3rd floor with 2 large suitcases and 2 carry-ons. Lesson to anyone traveling…..don’t over pack!!!!! The apartment was not only beautiful, but we found after a couple days that the location was also perfect. We unloaded a few items, freshened up and headed out to explore the town.
It truly feels like stepping back in time. There is the main street Stradun which is busy with tourists and shops, and branching off are smaller streets and alleys filled with shops, restaurants, apartments, nooks and crannies to explore. It is incredibly clean and the people are friendly, helpful and eager to pull you into their establishments. We leisurely walked with no specific agenda enjoying the history and architecture. You could always pick out the cruise ship or bus tour groups because the street would fill with crowds led by a guide with umbrella in hand high above their head.
We eventually wandered towards the Old Port (Stara Luka) and as night set in had a beautiful view of the harbor and soon learned that Port towns are favorite places for cats. Stray cats lounge here and there oblivious to all who pass by. Different types of music floated in and out of alleyways and we followed one into the Soul Cafe where we enjoyed a few drafts of “Pivo” (Beer) accompanied by the sweet sounds of a young man playing the cello. These are the types of places we found to be the little gems in the treasure of Dubrovnik. Off the beaten path with local food, music and friendly people.
The next morning we were off to an early start and headed to walk the City Walls after breakfast. It was sunny, hot and fairly crowded. The 15th-century walls enclose the Old Town and the entire walk is about 1.25 miles. There are a lot of stairs and inclines, but the views of the city, Fort of St Lawrence and the Adriatic make every shin splint I experienced later worth it. We then headed over to the Fort of St Lawrence for more stairs and amazing views.
A cable car ride up to Mount Srd for dinner at the Panorama Restaurant overlooking the Old Town and surrounding coast was beyond expectation – including my fully intact King Prawns which literally required a bib and leaving my table manners at home to truly enjoy them. Our plans were for an early dinner and then hike across the hill-top and wait for the sunset. We walked cross-country over rocky crags, around trenches and arid scrub brush – I joked that I was hoping the area had been cleared of landmines from the war in the 90’s, and learned later on that officially it had been however local people warn to stay on clearly defined paths, Sitting upon rocky outcroppings, we watched as the sun set adjacent to small islands that dot the coastline.
Our evening was complete with a night view of the Old Town, a ride back down the cable car and a couple of drafts listening to music playing on the Stradun. A walk back to our apartment and organizing for our drive to Split tomorrow.