Dubrovnik, Croatia

Now this is beauty in a city! The walled in old town and the myriad Adriatic beaches were quite a treat. When I arrived on the bus, where I met 4 Aussie dudes, they talked me into staying where they were staying: Silvas Boarding House in Lapad. The best beach in Croatia was not far away, despite the fact that the old town was a 10-minute bus ride away.

The 2.5-hour busride here from Kotor was amazing running alongside the deepest fjord in Southern Europe and overlooking the jagged adriatic coast filled with islands and jetties. Once arriving in Dubrovnik the bus was swarmed with little old ladies saying, "Maybe Room, Maybe Room?" trying to sell you a place to sleep for the night. They were so overwhelming I just avoided them completely and followed the four Aussie guys. After we finally checked in it was getting dark. We headed towards the old town to grab dinner and see what this ancient walled in city had to offer. Dubrovnik doesn't have much to offer for eating so we settled for a pizzeria just outside the old city walls (cheaper). For 52 Kune (7euros) I had a large pizza to myself. After taking some nice nightshots of the old town we decided to find a bar and I decided to meet some new people. Lonely Planet suggested all the best bars were near the youth hostel so we headed in that direction. After ordering a bottle of Croatian red wine for 5euros (which I wasn't charged for in the end) I moved my table to one with some more lively people. I have to admit the Aussie boys were the lamest Aussies I have ever met and when I moved tables and asked them to follow they declined. So I sat with two American girls, a French kid and another "cool" Aussie; they were all staying at the Youth Hostel, which I concluded I should have done also. After hanging out until around 2am I had to catch a bus back to sleep.

Waking up early I grabbed breakfast with the Aussies and left on my own to walk the top of Dubrovnik's city walls. Now this was the best part of my visit. Ocean Vistas on one side and the red-rooved ancient buildings on the other side, my photographs can only explain how enthralling it was to be here. And the weather was out of this world for October. After the 1.5-hour walk around the city's perimeter I made my way back to the boarding house in order to depart for my next destination. I paid the 100 kune ($16) and made my way to the bus station to go to Split were I did not plan on staying but decided to play it by ear on the way there regarding where my day's journey would end.