Looking back at January 2020, I can’t help but feel like it was the calm before the storm. It’s strange to think about how carefree we were then, and how isolated and different we are now. I wonder if early 2020 will become one of those things that we will remember forever, like where we were when the towers fell, or when man landed on the moon?
Luckily for me early 2020 I was doing what I love, traveling. This time I was on my annual “bestie trip” with my good friend Mariana. We decided to do a backpacking trip through Croatia and Slovenia in January. We had about 2 weeks and we planned to make the most of it! If you read my post about Fernando de Noronha you will know that my friend Mariana is amazing at planning trips, whereas I tend to just get lost and explore. She always has a hit list of things to do and this trip would not be the exception. In 16 days we would hit Dubrovnik, Split, Šibenik, Zadar, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Bled, and finally, we would fly out of Vienna. 7 cities in 16 days is a very busy travel schedule but thanks to my bestie we had a plan and we were going to take advantage of every minute!
Before I get into the trip I should say that packing a backpack for a winter European adventure can be a bit challenging. I managed to fit everything into a North Face Terra 55l pack plus a small day pack. Check out the photo of me below, one bag on the back one on the front. The trick to traveling in Europe in January is layers! The temperature swing between our destinations was 16°C (61°F) to -1°C (30°F), so making sure we had enough layers were key. I also packed a pair of winter boots, Smartwool socks, a book, my traveling goat Phineas (more on this later), and of course my camera. I loaded up my backpack and jumped on a plane bound for Dubrovnik.
Arrival in Kings Landing
I landed at the Dubrovnik airport and grabbed a taxi to the gates of the old town. I had booked an Airbnb inside the walls of the Old City. Since we were traveling at an off time, I was able to get accommodation for a very discounted price. As we approached the old city from the airport, I was immediately in love. The beautiful waters of the Adriatic sea against the expansive walls that surround the tightly packed town. It’s no wonder why HBO chose this as the location to film King’s Landing for the series Game of Thrones.
The driver dropped me off at the Pile gate and I made my way inside the walls on foot. It’s hard to explain the feeling I had when I walked into the walled city, it was impressive, the architecture, the small stone laneways, the millions of stone stairs, all of it was beautiful. I weaved through the small streets and with the help of some other backpackers I found the street where my Airbnb was located. It’s important to understand that the streets are not “streets” like you may think, they are more like long staircases covered in plants, cats, and laundry drying on lines. I found the apartment and chatted with the owner for a bit to get a few local recommendations. Mariana wasn’t to land for a few more hours so I put a few things in my small bag and headed out to see what I could find.
I started in the main pedestrian street called the Stradun, this is a large limestone “street” lined with many shops and restaurants. I made my way to the Dominican Monastery and then to the Church of Saint Blaise. From here I just began to wander through the alleyways taking in all the small nooks and crannies. It was the first week of January so all of the Christmas decorations were still out and as it began to get a bit darker the old city began to twinkle. Shortly thereafter Mariana arrived and we decided to get some food at a local Irish Pub. We spent the rest of the evening catching up and discussing plans for the next few days.
Proposals, and Forts
The next morning we met early and tried to find a coffee shop, unfortunately, the trouble with traveling in the offseason is that most of the businesses are closed or have very limited hours, so after walking around for nearly an hour we settled back where we started and had a simple coffee and toast breakfast. Today would be our only full day in Dubrovnik and we had a few things planned. The first thing on our list was to watch a wedding proposal! Two people that Mariana had been on tour with had arrived in Dubrovnik and he was planning a surprise proposal at the West Harbor. So we got to West Harbor and found a good spot to hide to watch and take pictures. It wasn’t long before we saw Louise and Kaleb, in a picturesque spot he got down on one knee and proposed. After much hugs and celebrating, the happy couple went off to take some engagement photos, and Mariana and I climbed the hill to explore Fort Lovrijenac.
Fort Lovrijenac is often called “Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar” it is built into a cliff on the western side of the city and is 37 meters (121 ft) above sea level. From the fort’s terraces, you have a panoramic view of the old city. The fort played a major role in the resistance against Venetian rule, currently, it is a popular tourist attraction and is also the location of the Croatian leg of the Red Bull cliff diving competition.
The Dubrovnik Walls
After successfully exploring the whole fort, we headed back into the Old City to explore the streets and alleyways together. We crisscrossed our way around the city just following our feet. Dubrovnik Old City is beautiful and is very easy to just walk and take in the sights. There are also millions of cats, most of them are laying around in sunny spots on the roofs of the building. On the east side of the city, we found the marina, full of colorful little fishing boats and emerald water. During the summer months, it is a popular destination to have a coffee or a beer at an outdoor cafe, but unfortunately, all of these were closed the first week of January. We made our way to the southern wall of the city and found a bar called the Buza Bar, who’s sign said “cold drinks with the most beautiful view” we marked it on a map and decided that we would come back for the sunset. We carried on around the southeastern side of the city winding our way back to the Pile gate. The Pile Gate is one of the main entrances to the Old City but It is also the place that you can access the top of the walls that surround the Old City.
According to Google, it takes about 2 hours to walk the perimeter of the Dubrovnik walls and due to the winter schedule, the entrance closed at 3 pm so we arrived around 2 pm, purchased our tickets, and climbed the stairs to the top of the wall. At this point, Louise and Kaleb joined us and the 4 of us made our way around the city. The view of the Old City from the top of the walls is incredible. The densely packed city buildings with tile roofs. If you are a Game of Thrones fan, Croatia is the country for you and Dubrovnik shouldn’t be missed! We made our way around the walls stopping for photos along the way and drinking in the sunshine. As we closed the loop of the walls we decided to head back to the Buza Bar to watch the sunset. We sat and watched the sun slowly descend into the ocean while drinking a few local beers. The sign was correct, the view was beautiful and the beers were very cold!
The last hours in Dubrovnik
We finished up the evening and went our separate ways, I spent a bit of time wandering the city in the night before heading back to the apartment. The next afternoon Mariana and I would be flying up the Croatian coast to the city of Split. Our flight was in the afternoon so had one more morning to explore. As I headed off to bed I decided that I would definitely be coming back to Dubrovnik. It is amazing and though we took in many of the sites, I would need another few days to feel like I had seen everything!
The next morning I got up, packed my bag, and checked out of the apartment. The owner let me leave my bag while I went for my last breakfast and walk through the old city. I spent a bit of time taking some last photos and getting lost one more time before I picked up my bag and headed to the airport to meet Mariana. We arrived at the airport at roughly the same time and checked our backpacks. We headed to the “lounge” area of the small airport and waited for the plane to arrive.
There were only a very few people taking the flight from Dubrovnik to Split that day, in fact, there were not many people in the airport at all. Suddenly they opened the boarding area for our flight and we saw the plane. The plane was a LET Turbolet, which is a twin-engine short-range aircraft, in other words, a very very small plane. I should take a minute here to explain that though Mariana and I travel for a living, she is petrified of small aircraft. She began to hyperventilate and looking for ways out of this flight. All the other passengers had already gone through the gates and they were now waiting on us. I tried to calm her down but it was pretty clear she was not getting on that plane. I asked the airport staff to give us a bit more time to decide what we were going to do. I wasn’t going to leave my friend alone, but I wasn’t sure how to get out of this now…
As I mentioned this post will cover quite a few cities so I will break it into a few posts. If you like the blog please subscribe below, I promise you won’t get any weird emails from me, only updates of new content.
Dubrovnik Fun Facts:
- There are 5423 steps in Dubrovnik.
- There are only three entrances to the Old City.
- The city walls have never been breached.
- Europe’s longest & oldest operating pharmacy in the world is located inside Dubrovnik’s Franciscan Monastery, founded in 1317
Love the details of this post. When reading, I could imagine being there. Thanks for sharing.b
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