Dubrovnik, Croatia has long been on our travel wish list, and we finally made it to this gem of a spot in February 2022. Although we almost didn’t, because of …
Train Trouble in Germany
Often, it’s the airlines who are delaying or cancelling flights, making a mess of vacation plans. But sometimes, it’s the trains. We started our President’s Day holiday weekend first thing Friday morning hearing that due to high winds across southern Germany, Deutsche Bahn cancelled all trains in our area. Including the one we planned to take from Stuttgart to Frankfurt airport to catch our flight to Dubrovnik. Our alternative was a taxi to FRA: 2 hours away and a €400 fare. Rob rounded up two friends who were traveling out of FRA as well, and we all hustled to meet up and jump into one taxi. Our taxi driver is a champ, he got us to FRA in just under 2 hours, in time for all of us to make our flights … and split the fare.
Dubrovnik
Smooth travels after that excitement. A medieval city on the beautiful Adriatic Sea, Dubrovnik is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its walled Old Town, fort, and medieval architecture. The city is built on a point, resulting in stunning photo opportunities of the red tiled roofs, the sea, islands, and the horizon from the hills and curving road around the sea. Scenery all around the city is breath-taking. It’s hard to imagine Dubrovnik was damaged during the war in the early 1990’s, everything has all been restored.
Walking the walls around Dubrovnik is a not-to-be-missed experience. Buy a ticket and then take your time walking around, enjoying the picturesque views. Strolling at an easy pace and taking photos, this will take minimum two hours. We spent 4-5 hours on the walls.
You can reach a very special spot by going out a door in the wall, to the Buza Bar which sits on a rocky cliff that drops off to the Adriatic Sea. Sit at one of the few tables on the little plateau where the bar is, or anywhere on the rocks. Great to relax and watch a beautiful sunset over the sea.
February is off-season travel; the weather was sometimes rainy, and temperatures were cool. Overall, we were so happy to be there and having a great time that we barely noticed the weather. In the high season it’s possible to take a boat, or even kayak, out to the islands. Unfortunately, the boats were not running in February.
Not many restaurants in town were open, but we were still able to find some spots that were outstanding. Our favorite that we returned to several times was Lajk Restaurant. A family-run sweet place where we had breakfast and several dinners. Also, not to worry, we found an Irish Pub. 🍀
Game of Thrones
Like all Game of Thrones fans, we knew Dubrovnik was the site of many filming locations. Kings Landing, Stairs of Shame, Gate to the Red Keep, and many more. In case you missed it, GoT is an epic HBO series that is part fantasy, part adventure, part military strategy, all ultimately fabulous. The show fires you up. Good versus evil. Right versus wrong. It reminds us of our inner fire, inner strength. It’s a wonderful show.
We went on a GoT tour with a tour guide who is a passionate and funny woman who has been voted top tour guide in Dubrovnik. She has seen GoT almost as many times as Rob. She took us on a great walk-around to different scenes, and shared stories about the actors being in town. Some of the filming locations were easy to pick out, and some were a little tricky since some battlements, flags, etc. were added with CGI.
And for fans of Hitchcock’s movie The Birds, there is a daily Pigeon Feeding in Dubrovnik. A city-sanctioned, local-tax-dollars-at-work, Pigeon Feeding at Gundulić Square, near the Shame Steps. Daily, shortly before noon, thousands of pigeons start to gather on every rooftop, their crowding and rustling creating an eerie atmosphere. Eventually, at high noon a city representative brings out a basket of corn, scatters it across the cobblestones, and ducks out of the way. The resulting scene is both horrific and fascinating. It’s hard to believe until you see it.
Dubrovnik is called the Pearl of the Adriatic. It is indeed a precious spot. We love the history, the beauty, the people, the fun, and the adventure of this city.
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