9 - 11 September 2013
Day 1: Arriving
The Bosnian border control seemed really easy and I don't think they even stamped me out. The Croatian border control was a bit harder but also quite strange:
Hill climb
I was organised this time and knew where to go for my hostel although I didn't bother to book it. As I was grabbing my bag I had a quick chat with an American couple who looked a bit lost and when they heard that I knew (roughly) where I was going they asked if they could follow. I warned them that it was about a 15 minute walk up a decent hill but they didn't seem to mind so the three of us set off. It all turned out ok in the end because there was a free bed for me at the hostel and although there wasn't space for the couple, the guy rang his mate down the road who did have a private room for them.
Evening
The place had a large balcony with a poorly equipped outdoor kitchen so after fumbling my way through making dinner with the minimum of utensils, I joined a group of English girls, some Sydney boys and a Kiwi girl at the table for a chat and to play cards (lucky I just bought those Uno cards).
Day 2: Proper hill climb
I spent the morning planning what to do during the day while I waited the rain out. Once the clouds disappeared I headed toward the top of a nearby hill. I still had to walk through a bit of the town before I reached the walking trail but it was good fun because there's lots of small, curvy alleys that cut between some interesting backyards.
Once I crossed over the main road that goes past the top of the town I was on the walking trail to the top of the hill. It was a fairly well maintained track that zigzagged its way to the top and gave some awesome views on the way. At the top I had a look around the castle remains and found a nice spot to have lunch.
Old town
From my perch on the top of the hill I could see the old town but it was about an hour before I made it down to the entrance to the walled city. I went for a bit of a wander through the city but it was very touristy and felt a lot like the Zadar old town. I had a lot of people recommend doing the walk around the wall and after some searching I found the stairs up onto the wall. They were right, the wall walk is pretty cool because you're well above the city so you get good views of the old town and the surrounding areas. Apparently Game of Thrones was filming on a nearby beach but all I could see from the city walls was a bunch of tents for the crew.
Back home
As the sun was starting to set I headed back to the hostel, with a stop at the supermarket for cheap beer and dinner supplies. I spent the night talking and playing cards with two French girls and whoever else decided to turn up on the balcony.
Day 1: Arriving
The Bosnian border control seemed really easy and I don't think they even stamped me out. The Croatian border control was a bit harder but also quite strange:
Border cop: *looks at passport* Do you have a big bag in the storage area of the bus?During the rest of the bus ride we crossed back into Bosnia and then back into Croatia again so that's a total of 6 checkpoints on one bus trip. The second checkpoint entering Croatia was super lazy and he didn't even bother walking to the back of the bus to check passports. The bus ride was made even more exciting by the fact that water was leaking from the overhead compartments in the back row and eventually the back four rows of speakers. I was sitting in the back row but I was lucky because there were free (dry) seats to move into.
Me: Yep
Border cop: Ok, you'll have to hop off and grab it.
Me: *Only just jumped out of the bus*
Border cop: Do you have anything to declare?
Me: No (they haven't even seen my bag yet)
Border cop: Ok, get back on the bus
Hill climb
I was organised this time and knew where to go for my hostel although I didn't bother to book it. As I was grabbing my bag I had a quick chat with an American couple who looked a bit lost and when they heard that I knew (roughly) where I was going they asked if they could follow. I warned them that it was about a 15 minute walk up a decent hill but they didn't seem to mind so the three of us set off. It all turned out ok in the end because there was a free bed for me at the hostel and although there wasn't space for the couple, the guy rang his mate down the road who did have a private room for them.
Evening
The place had a large balcony with a poorly equipped outdoor kitchen so after fumbling my way through making dinner with the minimum of utensils, I joined a group of English girls, some Sydney boys and a Kiwi girl at the table for a chat and to play cards (lucky I just bought those Uno cards).
Day 2: Proper hill climb
I spent the morning planning what to do during the day while I waited the rain out. Once the clouds disappeared I headed toward the top of a nearby hill. I still had to walk through a bit of the town before I reached the walking trail but it was good fun because there's lots of small, curvy alleys that cut between some interesting backyards.
Once I crossed over the main road that goes past the top of the town I was on the walking trail to the top of the hill. It was a fairly well maintained track that zigzagged its way to the top and gave some awesome views on the way. At the top I had a look around the castle remains and found a nice spot to have lunch.
Old town
From my perch on the top of the hill I could see the old town but it was about an hour before I made it down to the entrance to the walled city. I went for a bit of a wander through the city but it was very touristy and felt a lot like the Zadar old town. I had a lot of people recommend doing the walk around the wall and after some searching I found the stairs up onto the wall. They were right, the wall walk is pretty cool because you're well above the city so you get good views of the old town and the surrounding areas. Apparently Game of Thrones was filming on a nearby beach but all I could see from the city walls was a bunch of tents for the crew.
Back home
As the sun was starting to set I headed back to the hostel, with a stop at the supermarket for cheap beer and dinner supplies. I spent the night talking and playing cards with two French girls and whoever else decided to turn up on the balcony.
Day 3: Leaving
After a brekky of sausages, yoghurt and juice and a morning of blogging I walked down the hill toward the bus station. I was expecting a bus to be there in about 45 minutes but of course that bus didn't run on the day that I was there so instead I had to catch the bus that came a few hours later. In the few hours I had to kill I walked around and found a grassy area to sit and relax.
After a brekky of sausages, yoghurt and juice and a morning of blogging I walked down the hill toward the bus station. I was expecting a bus to be there in about 45 minutes but of course that bus didn't run on the day that I was there so instead I had to catch the bus that came a few hours later. In the few hours I had to kill I walked around and found a grassy area to sit and relax.
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| Panorama from the hostel balcony |
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| Panorama from the top of the hill |
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| Panorama over the old town from the highest point on the walls |
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| Another panorama of the old town from the wall |
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| Another panorama of the old town from the wall |
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| Nice view from my hostel room's balcony (and that beer is worth about $3 AUD) |
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| Part way up the walking trail, looking down at the old town |
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| Looking out over Dubrovnik from the top of the hill |
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| Taken on the city walls with the old town in the background |
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| This cyclops/Power Rangers putty looking "Do not enter" dude is everywhere in Europe |
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| Looking up at the castle on the hill from the old town |
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| The old town walls taken from on the wall |
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| A cannon that is almost aiming at the ship |
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| Another cannon but this one is more on target |
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| The leaky bus |
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