Pile

Today we are going to experience more Croatian history. We’ve got bus tickets to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dubrovnik. It sustained considerable damage in the early 90’s when it was pummelled by artillery fire during a conflict with a neighbouring country, but work began soon after the conflict ended and the damage has been repaired.

It was just a short walk to the bus station in Split, but it was a bit of a long wait for the bus because I got the time wrong and we got there kinda early. Onboard the double decker bus we were just settled into our front row seats when we had to move. Apparently, some seats are reserved. How you are to know which ones are is anyone’s guess.

All the mixup was soon forgotten as we started leaving Split. Around almost every turn in the road was another beautiful sight. There are small picturesque villages, lots of beaches, orchards, vineyards and more. Some sections of the route are quite mountainous and the road gets fairly steep, narrow, as it winds it’s way high above valleys and the ocean. There are also several tunnels with a few that are very long, and an amazing cable stayed bridge across a stretch of ocean.

About four hours later we arrived at the bus depot in Dubrovnik. A large cruise ship was moored nearby. That got me a bit concerned. The bus depot is about four Km from the Old City so we decided to catch a city bus to save some time and legwork. Once there, it became apparent that there are hoards of tourists off the cruise ship and from elsewhere here to see the historic, Walled City.

We decided to make the most of it. So, map in hand, we made our way in. First priority was not the sites, but food. We just needed to find a bakery to buy some bread. The paper map was not helpful. Google Maps came to the rescue and located a grocer, but the lineup for the cashier was ridiculous so we soldiered on and luckily found a bakery.

With the precious loaf tucked safely under my arm we made our way to a shady spot with a bench and enjoyed our lunch of bread, cheese and cold drink. Now, one last thing before we could get into serious touring: WC.

We were able to locate one nearby using our paper map and then fight our way through the crowds to get to the lineup. Yes, even I had to stand in line! But, then came the next hurdle. It was one Euro to get in. No problem, I had a two Euro coin. But, the machine doesn’t give change and nobody else in line could either. Now I was going to have to find a shop or cafe that would be willing to change my coin so that Laura and I each had exact change.

I started off, but didn’t get far. Someone in the lineup was waving and whistling frantically to get my attention. I went back and learned that the toilet entry machine would accept tap! So great. We both have credit cards on our phones. I wait my turn in line and just as I’m about to tap, the bathroom door flies open and the guy leaving holds the door so I can get in for free. Great!

The room is tiny with one toilet behind a door and two urinals along a wall, positioned uncomfortably close to each other. The room is so small that when I try to leave, the guy using the urinal next to the door has to press himself into the wall just so that the door can open. Not sure why it has to swing inward?

When I get back out to the alleyway with the lineup, I see Laura frantically waving for help. Her card didn’t work and she hadn’t been able to get in to the women’s side. You can’t tap your credit card if you don’t have cell service. So, now I had to go to the machine guarding the women’s side and use my phone so she could get in and use the toilet. All the while there is a lady looking after the washrooms who couldn’t give change or even open the door to let someone in that hasn’t got the stupid one Euro coin required to use a toilet!

Finally, we were ready to tour. Our map had the key points of interest marked. With Google I was able to give some background information on the things we were seeing. I guide would have been helpful, but it was all so crowded and hectic that I’m not sure we would have learned much more. We walked up and down the main streets and many of the narrow alleyways. The more stairs we climbed the thinner the crowds became. We saw a lot of interesting things but after a couple of hours we’d had enough. It was a bit of a circus with the throngs of tourists.

We chose not to pay the roughly $100 it would cost to access the tops of the walls and museums. We were able to climb to some great vantage points outside the Walled City and didn’t feel the need to pay that much to walk the walls. It might have been nice to go to a museum, but they too would likely have been overrun with tourists.Read more