Tag Archive | Dubrovnik

Wrapping Up an Exciting Eastern European Tour–From Budva to Dubrovnik to London

Oct5

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Kotor-Dubrovnik-London

We arrived finally at the last day of our travels and although both of us had a terrific time, we were both suffering from sightseeing fatigue and were ready to call it a day. Furthermore, Montenegro appeared like something of an anti-climax to us after the glories of Split and Dubrovnik—so we were not too unhappy to be returning to London.

When I had checked, the previous day, at the bus station to confirm that our tickets from Budva to Dubrovnik would leave at 2. 30 pm, I had a slight shock. There was no bus at 2. 30 and, in fact, our tickets were issued for the 9.30 am bus. Well, what a good thing I had checked! Overall, we found the folks manning public services in Montenegro unhelpful and very surly. The language was an issue and since they did not speak it too well, we all struggled to make ourselves understood. So, in a way, we were glad that our bus was leaving at 9. 30, as this mean that we had a good several hours to spend in Dubrovnik, our favorite place, and would be ending our trip on a high note.

Accordingly, we washed, showered, dressed, repacked and came down to the Reception of the Hotel Kangaroo with our bags and went straight to the Restaurant for our buffet breakfast. We basically stocked up well on proteins to keep us going for several hours and, once again, packed a ham and cheese sandwich with us to eat for lunch. Saying bye to the Receptionist and returning our keys, we trudged along to the Bus Station where we arrived at 9.00 am for our 9.30 am bus which left right on schedule. The bus was empty but picked up passengers in Kotor. The three hour bus ride was uneventful and comfortable and after Kotor, the Bay was, of course, stunningly beautiful to peruse from our window and the highlight really of our stay in Montenegro.

Arrival and Final Strolls in Dubrovnik:

On arrival in Dubrovnik at about 12. 30, we decided to spend the last few hours of our time in Croatia in the city we had really grown to love. So we stashed our bags in the Left Luggage locker and took a local bus to the Old Town—once again scrapping together the few kuna we were still carrying with us.

Once in the Old Town, we felt like veterans as we recalled how confused we had been on first arriving there in the dark, a few days previously. This time round, we knew exactly where to go and what to do. We would stroll around, pop into a couple of churches, shoot the breeze in the big open-air squares and then sit by the waterside and contemplate the sheer beauty of this lovely antiquated settlement. And that was exactly what we did. We purchased the last of our souvenirs, used up our kunas by ordering a meal and gelato at a waterfront restaurant before we departed from the city and then retraced our steps back to the bus station to take the 5.30 pm shuttle to the airport which was about 45 minutes away. We reached the airport at about 7.00 pm which was well in time to check in for our Easyjet flight back to London’s Luton airport which was to depart at 10.05 pm. All the time we kept saying how lucky we were that we had the bonus day in Dubrovnik—an unexpected delight.

Departure for London:

It was late and we were tired but with a lot of resting at the airport, we were able to survive the wait for our flight. It was a short flight of just over two hours and we arrived at Luton at about midnight. We had made shuttle bookings on the National Express bus service to get us back to Victoria, where we reached at 1.00 am and about 1. 22 am, along came the 44 bus that took us to Battersea High Street where my friend Roz had concealed her key for us in a hiding place so that we could let ourselves inside. It was then almost 2. 45 and we were ready to crash. Luckily, she had two guest rooms ready so that we had a room each and we really did appreciate that little luxury as we lay down to sleep.

Conclusion:

On the morrow, we would meet Roz who would join us for breakfast and meet Chriselle for the first time…but for the moment, I fell asleep looking back upon an incredible trip with my daughter with whom I do not often get the chance to spend such prolonged periods of quality time. It was a trip we would both savor for a very long time to come and always appreciate. It had introduced us to some amazingly stunning parts of the world and offered a lot of opportunities to sample unique and interesting food and to undertake a plethora of experiences that were different and delightful such as trekking along a river surrounded by mountains, riding a train through subterranean caves filled with strange rock formations, singing under the stars to the accompaniment of a guitarist, boating to an island in the middle of a lake, ringing a Wishing Bell in a spectacular church, going up in a funicular train to a castle at the top of a mountain, scaling the walls of an ancient Town, buying interesting souvenirs in shops and flea markets, interacting with local people in public transport that was usually efficient, crossing international borders several times to have our documents scrutinized, and just gabbing for hours over steaming tea while rain drummed down upon the roof of a cafe. Yes, truly, these are the images that would remain fixed in my mind and which I would call upon often as I tried to process, over the next few weeks, the distinctive experiences we had accumulated on our travels.

Thanks so much for following this travelogue with me. I hope you have enjoyed being an armchair traveler. I have certainly enjoyed having you by my side, if only in spirit.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…

Departing from Dubrovnik in Croatia and Arriving in Budva, Montenegro

Oct5

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Dubrovnik, Croatia-Budva, Montenegro:

Chriselle and I woke up excited because soon we would be on the road again. However, for the start of the day, we’d be in Dubrovnik and since it was a Sunday and we had not yet managed to get inside the Church of St. Blaise, it made sense to go for Mass there.

We washed, showered, dressed and packed our bags and kept them ready for our departure and then we set out to pay a visit at the church—not sure if we would get a Mass as the church did not have a website and I was not able to confirm timings. To our good luck, the church was open when we got there at about 7. 45 am and we soon discovered, by the numbers of people who kept trooping in, that Mass was at 8.00 am. Needless to say, we attended Mass and received Communion and then left quickly. The church is gorgeous—it is again decorated in the Baroque vein with lavish gilding at the altar and beautiful marble cherubs and saints scattered all around. We also found deep Catholic devotion in Croatia and a congregation of a wide age range.

Outside, vendors were getting their goodies ready for new buyers—we later discovered that the open-air market was part of a two-day festival that occurs once a year. We were lucky to have caught it. Chriselle bought a jar of preserved cherries which she absolutely adored. We also returned to the same bakery to buy ourselves something for breakfast—croissants and ham and cheese twists with coffee—and we sat at a square that was just coming to life, we chatted with other tourists who had just arrived in Dubrovnik and were clearly enchanted by it.

With our breakfast eaten, we took a couple of last strolls around the place and then return to our hotel to pick up our bags. We then made our way to the bus stop from where we caught the 1A bus that took us to the Main Bus Station.

Off to Montenegro:

Our bus to Montenegro left promptly at 11.00 am. We were scheduled to arrive in Budva at 2.00 pm. We did go through another border check-point when our passports were checked and stamped and as we entered Montenegro, we found ourselves growing more and more charmed by the scenery. Leaving Dubrovnik was also wonderful as it offered us exciting views of Old Town from a height as it receded from us.

Our arrival in Budva brought us to the main Bus station past the many twists and turns that make up the gorgeous Bay of Kotor. The drive snakes around the water’s edge for a good couple of hours offering stunning scenery that combines water, mountains, small red roofed hamlets and many luxury hotels and spas that have been completely taken over by Russian tourists. We passed by the main town of Kotor and other much smaller settlements that hug the water’s edge and finally arrived at Budva.

Arrival and Check-in at Budva:

In Budva, I had made reservations at Hotel Kangaroo which Lonely Planet had recommended warmly. Its name derives from the fact that it is run by an Australian couple. Asking for directions at the bus-station, we managed to find our way to the hotel after about a 20 minute walk—which was not very pleasant given that we had baggage with us. Still, once we were in our hotel, it reminded us much of Goa—with its shack-like appearance and its lush greenery. No sooner did we stash our bags in our very spacious ensuite room than we realized how hungry we were—luckily, our hotel had a very large restaurant attached to it and it was there that we ate our first meal in Montenegro. I ordered the Beef Goulash which turned out to be a very large and hearty helping of an Indian–style beef curry served with a bit of mashed potato. Chriselle chose to have the grilled fish with chips—potato fries. This turned out to be much too large a helping for her—but the food was tasty and very reasonably priced.

Our first impressions of Budva were that it reminded us a lot of suburban Bombay. It is a very modern city with the kind of urban sprawl that is not very attractive despite the fact that new high rise buildings are apparently being constructed for clients with money—more Russians, perhaps? After the charming, old-world, medieval ambience of Dubrovnik, we were a tad disappointed, but we hoped we’d find antiquity in Old Town.

Going out to Discover Budva:

Having sustained ourselves well for the evening ahead, we decided to go out in search of Old Town which was a good 20 minute walk from our hotel. We took a map and directions from our hotel receptionist and as we began to cross a large garden towards the waterfront, we felt the first fat drops on our faces. Soon the drizzle became a steady downpour and we had to take shelter in a restaurant as neither one of us had an umbrella. After a while it seemed to clear up and we raced towards the main walls of Old Town which were just a few meters in front of us.

Caught in a Massive Downpour:

Well, all we managed to do was get into the town walls. Within a few steps, the rain re-started and we had no alternative but to seek shelter again. This time we sat in a restaurant and ordered cups of tea which felt really good as we were cold and quite miserable at being caught in the rain. However, we also reminded ourselves that this was the very first time we had to deal with rain on our entire trip—indeed we had been hugely fortunate with the weather—so we could hardly grumble.

The rain drummed on and on. The two of us looked at it as a great time to just sit and catch up with every aspect of our lives. But for the two of us, the restaurant was empty and we had the wait staff pouring attention upon us. It was not just the rain but deafening claps of thunder that alarmed us and streaks of lightning that shot across the sky. We talked about our past, about our future, about friends and family members that we now see so rarely, etc. It really was a great way to bond and get in touch with all the happenings in our lives. About two hours later, after Chriselle felt the need to order a bit of dinner (I was still too full after our late lunch), we nibbled at a dessert that she ordered and after darkness had fallen over the city and the rain had thoroughly drenched everything, we found our way back to our hotel. In the end, we did not see anything of Old Town—but tomorrow was another day!

There was little else to do but a spot of reading before we got to bed as the TV in our room did not play anything in English. By 9.30 pm, we were switching off the light, wishing each other a good night and hoping for better weather tomorrow.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…

 

 

Discovering Dazzling Dubrovnik in Croatia

Oct5

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Dubrovnik, Croatia:

We spent the entire day discovering Dubrovnik.  And what a city it was! And what a fine discovery it turned out to be! Having fallen in love with Split, we thought it would be impossible to find anything quite as enchanting. But Dubrovnik far exceeded Split in terms of charm-value.

Going in Search of Breakfast:

We found breakfast pastries (apricot croissants, hazelnut twists) in a small bakery where we also found coffee and a very surly assistant serving us. We beat a hasty retreat, sat by the wonderful round fountain of Ornofrio right at the main entrance to Old Town called Pile Gate and ate our breakfast. When we were done, we were ready to launch upon our sightseeing for the day which began with our climb up the City Walls.

Exploring Dubrovnik’s City Walls:

The biggest (and most expensive) attraction in Dubrovnik is a walk around the City Walls—these are located right at the very entrance. For the equivalent of about $25 (paid only in kuna), you get a ticket and with it, you are allowed to enter the main door that leads to about four floors worth of steps. These are steep and narrow but they take you up to the very top from where you get unbelievable views—of the New City lying beyond Pile Gate, of the uniformly red roofs of the Old City, of the shimmering Adriatic with its multitude of watercraft.

Encircling the City Walls takes about two hours—although much depends on how often you stop to take sweeping views of the landscape, how many pictures for which you pose, whether or not you stop for a cup of tea or a cooling juice drink (for there are small cafes dotted along the walls). It is a really unique experience and one I have not had anywhere else in the world. You are on the ramparts, basically, of a really huge castle—a castle that was built in Medieval times but in which life still carries on—for the place is a living entity of contemporary Croatian life. There are architectural elements, for instance, that you can only appreciate from a height. Occasionally you find yourself peering into people’s home, taking in their terrace gardens and viewing their laundry that hangs out to dry. You see the domes and spires of grand Baroque churches (that you will visit once you get down again). You see the bays and coves that are part of this visually stunning part of the world. Everywhere you turn, there is a picture postcard waiting to be photographed. It is simply visual overload and you will love every second of it.

As expected, we took a little over two hours during which we had the time of our lives. I mean what was not to love? There was the weather that was just perfect. With zero humidity, we climbed up and down a series of staircases but we were never tired. There was the tourist energy of other people who passed by us, went before us or lagged behind us. We laughed and chatted with them as if they were close friends. When eventually we did have our fill of the sights and took enough pictures to exhaust the battery on our camera, we descended the stairs and came back to the center of Old Town again.

Taking Three Self-Guided Walks:

After we had refreshed ourselves with a long drink of water and a snack of gelato, we set out again for the next item on our agenda. The Tourist Information Center which is located right at the entrance to the Old City at Pile Gate distributes a rather nice map with three walking tours very clearly traced out in colored dotted lines. We decided to do all three of them with a stop in-between for lunch.

Free Samples and Nibbles in St. Blaise’s Church Square:

It was when we were on our walk that we came across the Square of St. Blaise Church that was simply filled with tables laid out with goodies and manned by Croatian folk many of whom were in their traditional folk costumes. As we moved from stall to stall, we were inundated with requests to sample the goodies and indeed we did not disappoint the good salespeople. We tasted candied almonds, candied orange rind and loads and loads of jams and preserves. At one of the stalls, we were plied with samples of homemade brandies and liqueurs that were simply amazing. At another stall, we had savory nibbles—crackers and biscuits.

When we’d had more than we could manage, we continued with our walk. All the while, we took in the breathtaking interiors of churches, the architectural wonders of palaces, wharfs and quay sides where we were plied with requests to buy tickets for boat rides and excursions to the neighboring islands. We visited the Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius, we entered an ancient apothecary or pharmacy that has been in regular business since the 1300s, we saw cloisters attached to various abbey and missions–for Croatia is staunchly Catholic. It does not seem to have gone through a Reformation and faith is firm. At about 4.00 pm, feeling very tired, we decided to return to our lovely comfy room to take a rest and a nap. This idea was great as it did both of us a world of good.

Dinner at Taj Mahal Bosnian Restaurant:

About an hour or two later, when twilight was descending upon the city, we decided to go out for dinner and it was in a Bosnian Hotel called (of all things!) Taj Mahal Bosnian Cuisine that we experimented with a bit of local cuisine. Since I had not eaten the famous kebabs of the region called cevapi, I ordered those. They were served with pita bread (much softer and fluffier than American pita) with a dollop of sour cream and with diced fresh onions. Chriselle ordered the Brocolli soup that was simple divine and a large mixed salad which came with cured beef slices (similar to Proscuitto) which she (being a vegetarian) did not eat but passed on to me. The food was very tasty indeed and we could see why it is one of the most popular restaurants in Bosnia.

Right after dinner, we decided to go for another short walk as the lighting brings a magical glow to the city by night—and we could not get enough of it. But by 10.00 pm, we were home and getting ourselves organized for our departure for Montenegro.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…

Sadly Leaving Split and Journeying to Dubrovnik in Croatia

Oct5

Friday, September 30, 2016:

Split-Dubrovnk, Croatia

Split was so spectacular that it simply stole our hearts away.

After a very comfortable night and a very good sleep, Chriselle and I awoke in our Air B&B feeling very pleased with the choice we had made. We showered and then packed away our bags and took them down to the real estate agency where Laura took charge of them as check-out time was 11. 00 am. We then left to find ourselves a spot of breakfast.

Breakfast by the Harbor:

Split was already hopping at 9.00 am when we set out to get some baked goods for breakfast as the cruise ships that come in each morning and disgorge vast crowds of passengers arrive early. As we walked towards the center of Old Town to find a bakery, we kept running into these hordes with their tour guides rattling off all sorts of information in varying languages. As we searched for a bakery, we wandered out of the Town walls and into the more modern part of Split. As we neared the waterside, we could see many watercraft bobbing lazily—from small yachts to big cruising ships, there were an impressive variety of them. When we did finally find a bakery, I got a hazelnut and chocolate twist with a cup of decaff coffee—and Chriselle got something along the same lines. We found ourselves a bench facing the water and people-watched as we munched on our goodies that tasted so good as we were ravenous.

Aimlessly Exploring the City:

A little later, we did some more strolling aimlessly. Everywhere we turned, there was something wonderful to see. We walked the length of the waterside promenade, we nipped into souvenir shops to buy magnets and postcards, we browsed in a few shops and bought T-shirts as gifts and then when Chriselle became deeply charmed by a cloth bag in the shape of an owl, we scoured some of the street-side stalls to make sure we got the best bargain. She did eventually find the one that she most adored and feeling very pleased with her purchase, we walked on.

A little later, we came across a flea market that was full of knick-knacks as well as a section that sold fresh fruit and veg. I bought a small quantity of dried figs as I really do love them. Munching on them, we browsed through the vintage and antique items until Chriselle found a heart-shaped topaz-colored crystal pendant that she adored. I bought it for her as a small souvenir of our times together. She immediately put it on and was once again very pleased with her buy.

More aimless wandering took us to parts of the Town we had never seen. We continued our Walking Tour as laid out in Lonely Planet and found Diocletian’s private apartments in remarkable form. We entered an ethnographic museum and enjoyed looking at the various exhibits that delineated varied aspects of Croatian life—dress, food, jewelry, crafts, hobbies, etc. All of it was a very good introduction to the region and its people. We entered a church and found the interior decoration dazzling. We did not climb to the top of the five-tiered Tower as we’d had enough of climbing the previous day. However, we made sure we combed through every alley, nook and cranny that the book suggested we comb—and at each turn, we were enchanted. We were also glad that we’d had a chance to see the buildings and the square the previous night in electric lighting as the look by daylight was completely different.

Departure from Split and Arrival in Dubrovnik:

By 1.00 pm, we returned to Laura at the agency to pick up our bags and begin the short trek to the bus station. We boarded our bus to Dubrovnik for a 2.00 pm departure with expected time of arrival being close to 6. 30 pm. Once again, it was a beautiful drive as we hugged the Adriatic coast and passed numerous hazy islands throughout.

What was also interesting about this drive was that for a part of it we traveled through Bosnia-Herzogovina. In fact, our coach made a short stop after we had our passports checked by border control. While we were in Bosnia, we used rest rooms, bought souvenirs and snacks and took some pictures of the lovely area through which we were passing. What a thrill it was to stop in Bosnia and spend a little while there! Little did we dream, when we had been reading about the dreadful war there, that we would one day travel to these parts of the world! It was a huge thrill for both Chriselle and myself. Not too much later, we were entering Croatia and going through another border check-point. Luckily, these stops were quite speedy and did not cause us too much impatience or anxiety.

Arrival in Dubrovnik:

By the time we arrived in Dubrovnik, twilight had already descended upon the city. At the bus station, we found out about our on-going journey to Montenegro, two days later, and booked our tickets. We then bought tickets for the local bus that took us from the bus station to the Old Town where it terminated. Here again our accommodation was in the heart of the Old Town (an Air B&B arranged by Chriselle) and with very good directions, we managed to find it quite easily. The only hassle was that it was at the very top of a steep flight of stairs which was not a picnic to climb when we had our baggage with us. Still, we could not complain too much as the accommodation was very classy and very nice with a spacious room and a very modern bathroom. Once again, we stashed our things and decided to go out in search of dinner—which would also give us a chance to take in the Old Town by Night.

Our first impressions of Old Town? Well, it is every bit as glorious as our friends had told us. This entire vast sprawling Town is made of marble—it has marble paving, gorgeous palazzos, superb Baroque churches that are as beautiful on the outside as they are within, and loads of lovely restaurants, cafes, bars and shops studded all over the place.

Dinner in Dubrovnik:

With the best intentions of discovering the city the next day, we sauntered around until we found Cele, a restaurant in a busy square that was lively and fun-filled and offered live music. We ordered Croatian beer and decided to try some of the seafood for which Croatia is famed: we had a vast tureen of mussels with a thick and flavorful broth for which we were provided bread so that we could sop it all up (it was delectable!) and a platter of grilled vegetables that included eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and cucumbers. They were very well seasoned and slightly charred and dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. We really did enjoy our dinner and our beer and felt pleased that we had not yet had a bad meal on our trip.

Once dinner was done, however, we did not waste too much time hanging out as we really did need to catch up on our sleep. It was easy to find our accommodation once we knew were to go and about a half hour later, we were preparing to call it a day knowing that we had an absolute treat in store as we began a proper exploration of the city.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…