Written by: David Press
10/15/2010 3:27 PM 

Having been blessed by a week of amazing weather in London, we arrived in Dubrovnik (Croatia) to the sight of grey skies and the threat of rain for the first time on our trip. It took only 24 hours for the rain to appear and dampen our party (ha ha see what I did there?) Thankfully it is still anywhere between 16 and 20 odd degrees even when raining at this time of the year, so we aren't complaining too much.

Dubrovnik certainly lives up to the hype in terms of geographical beauty. The coastal city is hundreds of years old and has long been a holiday destination for Europeans (even the Roman Empire enjoyed the area), but it also has a chequered history of conflict, being remembered infamously for the attack on the city by the Yugoslav Navy and Army in the early nineties. We have had running history lessons from our hostel owners and also a highly educated history boffin from the UK who was staying with us, so we need not buy any books on the matter. The attack and continuous bombing of the UNESCO Heritage Listed “Old City” was a tragedy of the conflict and still pulls at the heart strings of locals and visitors alike. Thankfully the “Old Town” has been almost completely rebuilt back to near original beauty. We came across an older Croatian lady who appeared to be visiting the Old Town for the first time since the conflict. Her emotional state as she walked the walls surrounding the city was something we found quite moving. We are incredibly lucky to have grown up where we did with conflict and wars being something we see on TV and read in the papers.

As far as coastal holidays go, I can't see it getting any better than the Adriatic Coast. Our next stop is Split, which I have no doubt will be as amazing as here. The waters are crystal clear and not too cold for a refreshing swim (even at this time of the year). There is nothing quite like swimming with views of mountains that run straight down to the waters edge. Those same hills and mountains however make for some serious walking back to our accommodation. Something tells me obesity is something the locals in Dubrovnik need not worry about, with flat sections of road basically non-existent.

It's definitely a lot quieter at this time of the year, although our hostel has been fully booked most of our stay. Most nightclubs are closed now, but bars and cafes remain open and you certainly don't have to walk far to find a nice place for a meal or coffee. Buying beer from the local mini-marts are definitely the cheapest bet if your keen for a quiet drink at only 5 kuna ($1 aud) for a long neck European beer (500ml for the alcoholically uneducated). Expect to pay about 4 times that at a bar or club.

We've been making great use of Hostel World in finding our accommodation. The site hasn't let us down so far, with our current hosts being absolutely fantastic. Anyone looking for a place to stay in Dubrovnik should go no further than the award winning Dubrovnik Backpackers Club. The family run hostel offers great dorms and an amazing breakfast every morning. History lessons are a given and advice for things to do and accurate weather forecasts are more than forthcoming.

We have a few more days here while we catch up with our friends Cat and Vonny who we know through Jess's uni days with Cat. We should be in Split by early next week and the hopefully on to the Plitvice National Parks. I am trying to organise a walk up the mountain/hill face here before we go. On top of the hill is an old fort built by Napoleon and was a key battle ground in the recent war. We could simply take the cable car to the top, but I figure what could be more rewarding than a walk to the top. I'll keep you posted on whether I can convince Jess to do it with me.

Check out our Gallery for more photo's from our trip. We'll progressively add more and more as we go along. Some of the beauty has to be seen to be believed though, or maybe I just lack the skills required to capture them with a camera.

Trackback Print

Tags: travel , Dubrovnik , hostels , coast , Croatia , Mountains

Categories:

Location: Blogs David Press Croatia

Your name:
Your email:
	(Optional) Email used only to show Gravatar.
Your website:
Title:
Comment:
Add Comment   Cancel