Hvala, Hrvatska! The Pearl of the Adriatic

Dubrovnik, Day 1. Some observations about this immensely popular cruise-ship stop.

• The locals speak beautiful English. I don’t know why I was expecting more of a language barrier, though all the signs were in Croatian.
• The groceries are so cheap (coming from my Doha perspective).
• Local wine is pretty good. And pretty easy on the pocket.
• The bus system runs on time (always a magical thing to people raised in the Third World) and commuting is painless. 12 kunas will get you a ticket valid for an hour, the buses are clean and comfortable, and everyone is just so polite and civilized.
• Yes, even the dogs – and there are plenty, Dubrovnik loves its canine pets- are well-behaved.
• Motorists stop for pedestrians and it makes me want to shed tears of gratitude.
• Old gentlemen with hats and canes give up their bus seats to ladies (at least one did for me).
• The tourists are a pleasant breed.
• Over here, it’s “Lady!” not “Miss!”
• The entire city was made to be photographed.

So. What’s a girl and a polar bear to do on their first day? Explore.

After breakfast (see, these newly developed domestic skills come in handy) I made my way to the nearest bus stop (they’re all labeled neatly and there are timetables posted) and looked around for the bright red newspaper stands marked Tisak where I could get tickets.

Right on the dot an orange bus arrived and we all piled on in an orderly manner. The fact that you all have to stop and insert your card has something to do with this. Found a window seat and kept my eyes wide open as we wended our way through the city to Old Town.

Now all the buses stop at the Pile Gate (sounds grander than Chicken Gate, which is what pile is in Croatian) because Old Town is a strictly perambulation-only zone. I’d warmed up on my walk down from my flat so this was not an issue. 🙂

Stepped over the drawbridge and into a wide walled courtyard (used to depict Jaime Lannister’s return to King’s Landing sans hand) and down the sweeping staircase (used to show that part of town where Joffrey and his retinue are walking along  and then someone throws some excrement at him so he goes into full tyrant mode and then the good people of King’s Landing riot) and past Big Onofrio’s Fountain and onto Stradun, the impossibly picturesque main street whose cobbles are worn so smooth by the endless steps of eager tourists that if you’re not careful you will actually slip. This is why you should not wear flipflops.

Right off the bat I saw a notice about the local orchestra performing with a visiting opera the following night, and a shop selling official GoT merchandise that was extremely difficult to tear myself away from. Common sense won in the end.

People who know me will attest to my terrible sense of direction, so I simply resolved to let my feet decide. Down Stradun, past the Rector’s Palace, up to the Jesuit church, where I gratefully prayed…

 then by some funny cosmic twist then ended up in the beautiful Serbian Orthodox Church, where I lit some candles and prayed again…

and then on to the Dubrovnik Cathedral where I made like a good (non)Catholic.

It was a lively area: a row of guides offering glass-bottomed boat tours, a steady stream of arriving and departing vessels, a gaggle of tourists intent on sunning themselves, the odd dog and seagull and pigeon, benevolent sunshine and the salty sea breeze over it all.

I found a prime seat in the restaurant facing the sea and ordered an octopus salad. Eat seafood, they said. It will be fun, they said.

(Also my friend Ida says there is a great restaurant out by the other gate that has good grilled fish and I’m not sure if that was it but it sure looked like it.)

The salad was delicious. (And so was the boy in the blue-striped uniform who brought it to me and asked if I was enjoying myself. I am indeed, I said with complete honesty.)

Energy restored, my feet decided to keep on walking…through a new gate, up an alley and out another gate, till I got to the gorgeous Banje Beach where you could not see the sand for the towels and tourists on it. Then I kept on walking, and walking upwards – wheeze – until I arrived at the cable car station.

Surprise! It was on my list, but I hadn’t exactly planned on doing it on my first day. Then again I hadn’t exactly planned to do any of the things I’d done today- the joys of not traveling with anyone. So I hopped aboard for the trip up Srd mountain…

…where I was blessed with a million-kuna view. (109 kns in practical terms.)

There. Are. No. Words.

Utterly pleased with how the day turned out, I plumped for an overpriced margarita, and silently toasted myself and this jewel of a city.