Two for Takeoff landed in Dubrovnik around Noon on Friday. We had an easy overnight flight from JFK to Zurich, and then boarded a prop plane to Dubrovnik via Croatian Air. From the moment we arrived in the city and checked into our Airbnb overlooking Old Town, we knew we were in for magical time. Driving into Dubrovnik is an experience in and of itself. You bend and turn with the winding roads and all of a sudden, the Adriatic Sea comes into view amidst a mass of bright orange roofs and stone buildings that look as old as time.
Once our belongings were unpacked (if you know anything about me, you know I LOVE to unpack my bags), we slapped on our walking shoes and set out for the day. The sun was shining brilliantly and a nice cool breeze was setting in for the afternoon. First on our list was an exploration of the Old Town – which is ringed with medieval walls made of stone so thick that they’re still perfectly in tact today. We made our way down the Stradun (the main promenade), through the twists and turns, across drawbridges and around corners that looked as though they’d never been discovered. We listened to tour guides share stories about filming scenes from Game of Thrones (the first several seasons were filmed in Croatia) and recount tales of Dubrovnik’s separation from Yugoslavia. It felt like we were inside of a Mediterranean fairy tale, snapping pictures and smiling as we made our way along.
The thing that is most impressive about Dubrovnik, aside from her natural beauty, is the steep inclines and massive amount of steps that take you to and from. Hence, the title of this post: stairway to heaven! Climbing our way up the Fort of St. Lawrence was no easy feat, but an absolute MUST DO! It yielded some of most favorite pictures of the trip to date, and provides you with a clear view of all of Dubrovnik’s Old Town coupled with the ocean below. They were actually setting up for a wedding while we were taking in the views — what a lucky couple!
From there we trekked down past massive sail boats and yachts, kayakers and paddle boarders, tourists and locals alike. Given the sunshine and the anticipated rain the following day, we decided to head directly to the City Walls. The experience was one of the most memorable of my travels to date, mainly because you feel like you’re in a movie, scaling castle walls, walking amongst the cobble stones and looking down at the townspeople below.
After collecting 30,000+ steps, we made our way back to the AirBnb, past Banje Beach and the many sunbathers, collected some provisions from the local grocer and got ready for the night ahead.
With the sun preparing for her set to the West, we hiked up from our apartment and over to Dubrovnik’s famed cable cars that scale you to the summit of Mt. Srđ. While the line was defeating, we told each other to think positively and that we’d make it to the top just in time to watch the sun disappear into the sea. Thank goodness for our luck, because we were heading up to Mt. Srđ right as the massive ball of fire (see below) was going down. It was a vision! The candy-colored sky was alight, and we stood together to take it all in. We were so glad that we waited patiently in line, and were lucky enough to enjoy it in the good weather.
Lady Pi Pi was a restaurant that came highly recommended so we decided to give it a shot. After a long wait, we were seated next to two very sweet Americans whom were actually local to New York City. We chatted the night away, shared our dinners – which was a hodgepodge of freshly grilled trout, prawns, mussels and tuna steak, paired with potato wedges – and traded stories from our travels. We ended the night with well wishes as they headed off to Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, the next day and fond memories of our time together. Patrick and I were feeling particularly bold – so instead of giving into jet lag – we were off to explore and find a local bar. We settled on an “Irish” pub and toasted with two of Croatia’s local beers – Ožujsko.
It was a fantastic start to the trip of a lifetime. Truly, Croatia is everything I hoped it would be and so much more. If you haven’t been, start planning your next trip… and start training on that stair stepper because my calves are STILL killing me!
Stay tuned for day two in Dubrovnik, where we venture over to Lokrum Island.
~Two for Takeoff
That sunset is beautiful and Dubrovnik is a place that we visited while in Europe back in 1978 Mags. I just remember that the city was a fortress of incredible breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea- enjoy you two!