From Greece to Croatia we had a 6 hour stop over in Geneva..we put our luggage in storage and took the train into the down town (it only took 7 minutes!) We were able to walk around for a bit and see some sites....not nearly enough time to call it a proper visit, BUT we did get another stamp in our passport, ate a meal and walked around, so I think that counts as a country....
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| Lake geneva |
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| Geneva was incredibly clean, and as it was a work day the streets and parks seemed empty |
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| loved the very European looking streets |
Back to the main event
My very well traveled BFF's did an Italy and Croatia trip a few years back and said that Croatia blew them away. Coupled with the fact that I am a HUGE Game of Thrones fan (many of the cities in GOT are filmed around Croatia), and that we loved the idea of renting a car and driving the coast, we always knew Croatia was a must and worked our journey around visiting this unbelievable country.
We landed in Dubrovnik and woke early to start exploring. We had an amazing apartment- a 10 minute walk to Pile Gate. From the moment you set eyes on the old city a feeling of awe sweeps over you. Taken out of a page of a fairy tale, Dubrovnik took my breath away from start to finish, and after 18 countries, this is the most beautiful city I have ever seen, (warning- a ridiculous amount of pictures ahead).
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| our first view of Old town Dubrovnik |
We spent our first day just wandering around the old streets, taking everything in. Total sensory overload.
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| the laneways on our way to the old city |
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| on the draw bridge at Pile Gate |
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| Onophrian Fountain |
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| the main street inside the walled city |
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| the Archives Museum |
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| for all you GOT fans- "SHAME!!!!" |
After walking around the old city we realised we needed another day (3 days was not enough), this way we could take our time and really see Dubrovnik. We were so close to our apartment we came home every day for lunch (restaurants around the old city were quite pricey...for our standards anyway). The next morning we did the hike up to the view point, (well actually Johnny hiked up as the girls were desperate to ride the Gondola, and then we all hiked down). The views over Old Town were spectacular with an old museum and fort at the top.
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| perfect view of Fort Lovrijena- just outside the old city gates |
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| 4 minute cable car ride to the top |
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| Lots of switchbacks on the hike down |
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| perfect view of the old city and the wall and Lokrum Island |
That afternoon we splurged to walk the wall, pretty steep price at $30/pp but we knew we would have regretted it if we did not do it. Being on a budget, we are always aware of how much things cost, very different mentality then when you are on vacation, that said we vowed going into this, that we would not miss something we really wanted to do, because it was "out of our budget". We save in areas that do not mean so much to us, (eating at fancy restaurants and upscale hotels).
The massive walls that encircle the old town are a sight to behold, different sections are overlooking the sea, with towers throughout to climb, this is undoubtedly, the city's most famous tourist attraction. The walls measure 2km around and take a couple hours to really enjoy...it helps that there are taverns and ice cream stops along the way. Not to mention there are a dozen GOT scenes filmed from and on this wall...very cool...
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| some sections are narrow, but most are quite wide and a comfortable walk, even with all the tourists |
The next day we decided to visit Lokrum island (another big GOT location). Lokrum is a beautiful,very lush island about a 20 minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik. Also known as Peacock island for the amount of wild peacocks that roam around (there are also tons of little bunnies too, perfect for the kiddos). There is a fort at the highest peak with awesome views of old town, as well as an old Monastery from the 10th century. After hiking around for a couple of hours we went to the coast and had fun in the sun, cliff jumping and swimming (once again I tapped out- way too cold for me!). There is also a small salt water pond called the Dead Sea-connected to the sea through underground tunnels, very pretty, crystal clear (it reminded us so much of the cenotes in Mexico- but the water was freezing!)
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| these peacocks get right up in your face showing off their feathers |
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| the front of the old monastery, refinished in the 1800's as a vacation home for the Archduke Ferdinand |
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| sweet littl bunnies everywhere |
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| view from the fort at the highest peak |
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| the Dead Sea |
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| Love that all along the coastline in croatia they have ladders built into the rocks |
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| The old monestary |
On our last day before we left we walked about the city some more. Dubrovnik has been one of my most favourite places. I have heard that it is very different in the summer as there are so many people you can barely move. For us timing was perfect, the weather was warm, but crowds were kept to a minimum. If you ever have a chance you must see this magical city....it really was spectacular.
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| walking down the main street on our last day, busy, but not so much you couldn't move |
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