Week 4

7/28 - 7/31 | Split and Hvar

I really should learn my lesson about taking overnight buses, but oh well. After leaving Belgrade late at night, I arrived early in the morning at the Split bus port. To my annoyance, I had booked a hostel far away from the old town and ended up having to taxi to it from the bus station (a running theme that made my experience about the same price as if I had just paid for a more expensive hostel in old town).

After dropping my things off, showering, and changing into presentable clothes, I headed to the premier attraction in Split as soon as it opened at 10am: Froggyland. Words cannot describe the special, unique, transcendent experience that is Froggyland. One must simply go, and bask in its glory for at least 30 minutes. Words may fail, pictures must suffice (though they’re officially prohibited in the museum and I have no comment as to how I obtained these).

The rest of my day paled in comparison, but I tried to salvage what I could. I went on a walking tour of the old Roman city and recruited my (new) Spanish friend Marta to join me in exploring the rest of it after we were finished. Together, we explored Diocletian’s Palace, listened to some traditional Croatian folk music, forged through the narrow alleyways of Split, enjoyed lunch in the main plaza, climbed up the hill overlooking the city, and visited a Game of Thrones museum that depicted several of the filming locations in the city. Though I could not persuade myself for another visit to Froggyland, it was an eventful afternoon.

One afternoon and one siesta later, I spent more time in the harbor among the lights on the water, before reuniting with Marta and some American friends from hostels for drinks. We spent a few hours chatting by the water before I went to crash a pub crawl I had heard about in the Hostelworld group chat. I ended up getting lost with a bunch of people I had just met—the hosts led us outside the old town along train tracks (not unlike a certain episode of Succession) to a club on the beach. I stayed until I got sick of the smoke and the drunk people, and called a taxi home to ready myself for future voyages.

The following morning I rushed over to the port to catch a ferry to the nearby island of Hvar. Known for its beaches, natural beauty, and nightlife, Hvar is a smaller, more touristed, more beachy version of Split. Approximately one hour of sailing later, we docked to (less than stellar) fanfare at the quaint Hvar port.

I spent the morning exploring cute shops and stalls and reading. I ventured up to the fort on the island to get a better view of everything below. I then went swimming with Claire, a friend I’d made (again thanks to Hostelworld), and we got an early dinner by the water while discussing identity, acceptance, and belonging. It was a very relaxing, beachy day.

On the way back, we stopped for ice cream and then I bid goodbye to Claire, before I went home to shower and prepare for the evening. I walked along the boardwalk and met some Argentinean girls who were headed in the same direction as me—to Hula Hula bar for sunset. Upon arrival, the place was already packed with young people dancing, drinking, and relaxing. I enjoyed some music and dancing while socializing with people I’d met in my hostel and with new faces. As the night wore on and the sunset faded, the party got a bit more crowded and raucous, up until the bar closed at 10pm.

On the way back, I made conversation with a dynamic Croatian duo—Nina and Nika. Halfway back to the old town, we were stopped outside a local bakery (Teo’s) by the sound of pop music, and the three of us started an impromptu dance party that eventually brought in half of the patrons wandering back from the bar. Lots of ABBA was heard. Fun dancing was had. Weird drunk people were met. When the party died down, we continued our trek back to old town while Nina went for a spontaneous swim in the water along the way. Eventually we arrived back at the main strip of bars around midnight.

I finished the night off bar hopping around Hvar. I neglected to go to the famous Carpe Diem island, mostly due to the high entrance fee and my distaste for electronic music. Instead, I sampled a silent disco (including with some traditional local music) at Seven, bouncy pop songs in Aloha bar, and some late-night gelato at Aroma (an artisanal gelato chain here in Croatia). My night ended in a conversation with some of the volunteers at my hostel about life on Hvar, and I’m glad (for my sanity and my liver) that I was only there temporarily.

The next morning, I caught a ferry back to Split, and then proceeded to prepare for my main afternoon activity: Split Boat Party. What a time. 100 or so young people. 5 hours of sailing. 3 swimming stops. 1 boat. I had an amazing time meeting new people, dancing to my favorite American music, cooling off in the beautiful water, and feeling the breeze in my face as I jumped off the top deck of our large boat. I can’t recommend this experience enough to anyone who visits Split.

After the party, I freshened up in my hostel and headed to dinner with some Australians I had met on the boat. Following some relaxed food and conversation, we explored the local club (Vanilla) for an hour or so before calling it a night and returning back home.

My final day in Split was supposed to end around 2:30pm, when my bus to Dubrovnik was scheduled to depart. I arrived at the bus station at 2:20 and checked the live status of my bus, as I didn’t see it docked in any of the stalls. I was confused to see the description say “arrived at 07:01”, which made me immediately double-check the date on my ticket (which was correct). It was then that I realized I had American’ed too hard—02:35 is an early morning departure, not an afternoon one. Fortunately, the Split - Dubrovnik route is quite common, and I was able to reserve another bus that left around 5. Though I didn’t get into Dubrovnik till late, I was only out $30 and didn’t even have to rebook hostels (just brave an awkward conversation with the man in the luggage storage facility). I ended up spending the day without any purpose wandering around the streets one more time, with nothing much to show for it. Oh well.

8/1 - 8/3 | Dubrovnik

My first day in Dubrovnik began the only way it could have — with a Game of Thrones walking tour of the city. From the port to the city walls to the “steps of shame”, I wandered all about the old town to find a good handful of filming locations from the series (along with my guide and our group). We ended the tour on Lokrum island, a short 15 minute ferry from the old town (and where Qarth was filmed). I spent an hour or so after the end of my tour wandering around this strange place, which contains abandoned fortresses, monasteries, a mini-Dead Sea, and a bunch of wild peacocks (brought there by the old ruler of the island as a gift for his wife).

Who acted it better?

I took an easy afternoon, then proceeded to walk the city walls around sunset with a group of people I met through Hostelworld. We admired the beauty of the old town from above, and I was really taken by Dubrovnik here. This city is much more well-preserved and more picturesque than Split. It feels like you’re walking through history, or a fairytale, or both, as you meander your way down the narrow ramparts and gaze out over the sea of orange roofs below. Not to mention, there are a fair few opportunities to envision yourself in Game of Thrones (scene recreation pictured).

My friends and I settled down for a drink at a restaurant on the south side of the wall, where we watched the classic caravel ships sail out to sea full of tourists and the sun stain the sky orange, pink, then red. When the bar finally closed (an hour after the wall actually closes, by the way, a great way to extend your experience), we made our way to the nearest exit only to be taken aback by the rising of a blood-red supermoon in the east (we actually thought it was the sun for a moment).

After our adventure on the walls, I took my group to Konoba Koloseum for dinner—a traditional hole-in-the-wall (literally, they have a window in a wall that serves to-go cocktails) restaurant located on the “steps of shame”. My sister has been a patron customer for the past 3 years running, so I had the pleasure of finally introducing myself to the owners Jurkov and Pedro, and their cat Johny the Boss. After a simple, affordable (by Dubrovnik standards) dinner, we explored the nightlife a little bit more (a couple of bars and the famous Club Revelin) before heading home.

My second day in Dubrovnik, I decided to learn about the actual history of the place. I went on a historical walking tour of the old town and made friends with a soft-spoken German girl in my group. After a lazy afternoon wandering around the town, we met up to watch the sunset from the hill overlooking the entire valley. We skipped the expensive funicular ride and instead hiked up the mountain, which was easier anticipated than done (the stations of the cross at every switchback provided an unexpected but apt religious commentary on our struggle).

All told, the trek took about an hour and we arrived just in time to watch the sky light up after catching our breath. It was almost funny to see Dubrovnik from so high up, because you get to see just how small the old town is (or just how large the surrounding city is, depending on your perspective). Regardless, the view was stunning and well-worth the effort. We made our way back down as dusk set in and only tripped a few times at the base of the trail after most of the sunlight had escaped beyond the horizon.

After a solo dinner at Konoba Koloseum, I ran into some people from my hostel in the street and followed them along with my hostel owner to a basketball court located inside the city walls. Apparently it closes at sunset, but Sasha (and other locals) have secret keys, and so let us in. We enjoyed a quiet beer together on the basketball court before turning in.

My third and final day in King’s Landing was also a slow one. I spent the morning messing around with pigeons, filming silly Game of Thrones videos, shopping around the farmer’s market, catching up on this blog, and reading. It was mostly relaxing and forgettable, but very necessary.

In the evening, I headed over to Buza Bar to watch sunset. While sipping a drink and staring out at the water, I was inspired by a cohort of young cliff-divers to run back to my hostel and change into my bathing suit. I did so and managed to make it back before the light had gone, and I proudly braved the 6m jump (I’ll try the 18m one next time) and made some new friends near the water. On the climb back up, I caught sight of some of my hostelmates relaxing on the rocks just adjacent to the bar. I joined them and we watched sunset from the cliffs before heading to Konoba Koloseum for one last meal. Jurkov and Pedro treated us to more food and free “antibiotics”, per usual, and a good time was had by all. Unfortunately, I had to leave my cash with the group and pull a Cinderella, as my bus to Albania left at 11pm. After a hurried taxi to the bus station and an awkward boarding situation in which I and my seatmate Emily almost didn’t get to board, I dozed off as we trod on safely to Albania.