Dubrovnik: picturesque and cruise-ship-riffic

Dubrovnik! Larger than Kotor, though with many of the same "how do you get past the tourist-oriented stuff?" challenges. To a large extent, with the possible exception of getting away to Lokrum Island (a gorgeous woody retreat from the city) I don't know that you can or that we did... Both here and in Kotor, going in March instead of June would probably make a huge difference. But it's still gorgeous, and I guess I understand why they film television shows and movies here. After the jump: mostly photos!

One of approximately 4,000 photos I took through turrets on a walk of the Dubrovnik city walls. This is a thing worth doing for sure, but also do it first thing in the day because it gets hot and a million other people have the same idea. We got there right away and it was cool but one hour later and it would have been disastertowne.

I'll have a video up later this week combining all my Croatia footage; in the meantime here's this! Dubrovnik was gorgeous; our host was a charming and delightful grandpa who spoke almost no English but was always friendly and helpful, from offering us a bottle of juice when we arrived to encouraging us to make ourselves at home in his gorgeous garden.

I AM A FAN OF THIS BACK YARD SITUATION.

We found the Croats (and Bosnians, foreshadowing!!!) to be incredibly friendly. Case in point, actually, and very much a change from Kotor: we got incredibly lost trying to find our AirBnB and at one point, I wandered down a street that turned out to be a dead end with a cafe at the end. The waitress asked if she could help, I muttered an apologetic explanation... and she invited me into the cafe, got me onto their wifi, pulled up my confirmation, and helped me sort out the map. Adding to this, she seemed surprised when Kate and I showed up later for coffee - this was just a friendly gesture, not an ingratiating investment for future custom!

And THIS dude was apparently just GIVING PARROTS OUT LEFT AND RIGHT.

In any case, it was real pretty if a little sleepy, and I do think the highlight was sneaking off to an island. It's funny: I actually sometimes crave a kind of sleepy "grab a book and read on the beach" vacation, but by virtue of being over here, in cultures that aren't my own, I immediately and instinctively want to be culturally exploring, and tend to feel like that recharge-and-relaxation approach is somehow wasting time. It's not! But I do think I learned, in Kotor and Dubrovnik, that if I ever want that kind of trip, I need it to be in a culture I've already spent some time, because if I spend a week eating nice food and relaxing in the sun in Fort Myers, I feel a lot better than if I do the same in Croatia.

One of the least cinematic places on earth, why do people come here even.

Up next: Mostar! Our taste of Bosnia, a lot more cultural exploration, and a major bus-connection mishap. Whee! In the meantime: here's a photo pile.

The courtyard in the old apothekary. I think this used to be a monastery! Maybe still is! Courtyard.

The rooftop stairwell from a Napoleonic-era fortress that Croats used to defend Dubrovnik from attack during the war in the 90s. The exhibit here is shockingly propagandistic and one-sided, but you do get a remarkable sense of what this chapter of their history felt like.

W E  L E F T  T H E  C I T Y  T O  F I N D  A N  I S L A N D

This happened. For an extended period of time, actually. Peacocks were all over Lokrum island. And there was swimming! A+ time, Lokrum. Definitely recommend this, especially on heavy cruise-ship traffic days or on weekends.