I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be smarter or more sophisticated than I actually am. Until recently my only association with Croatia was Goran Visnjic who played hot doctor with a troubled past Luka Kovac on ER. Through his character I learned that there was a bad war and that bad things happened after the fall of the soviet empire. Seriously, woefully ignorant here. In the 90’s I was too preoccupied with our own involvement with the first Gulf War to be aware of global politics elsewhere. Plus there was all the flannel to consider and raves to discover!

Last year my aunt suggested a trip to Croatia as she’d heard it was an inexpensive Mediterranean destination with great beaches. That was the first time I’d considered visiting. So when Tyler told me his team would be having an off-site in Dubrovnik I jumped at the chance to tag along for the weekend.

Tyler was already in town so I flew in and met him at our hotel. All afternoon it stormed and thundered and deluged. We stayed cozy in our room reading and napping until  finally venturing our for a lovely sushi dinner at a restaurant nearby. We never eat Sushi in Zurich because its not very good here and costs almost as much as a mid-sized car. It’s always a treat eating out elsewhere because it feels like we’re getting away with something. “EVERYTHING IS SO CHEAP” we scream! Since the forecast was for good weather the next day, on our way out we booked a boat tour of three nearby islands for Saturday morning.

Tourism is Croatia’s #1 industry at the moment and you certainly get the vibe that the service industries (66% GDP) are working very hard to accommodate the incredibly large numbers of tourists that pass through Dubrovnik each year. The service staff (hotels, tour operators, servers etc) we spoke to were all super helpful, gracious and friendly. They also didn’t mind talking about the way things used to be. Our front desk guy at the hotel told us how lucky he was to be working for a Swedish company (turns out the hotel is run by a Swedish chain, which explains the brand new sauna we christened). He said many of the Croatian companies were still quite corrupt and were having a had time adjusting to the new free-market economy. Croatia has had tourists for decades but prior to independence in 1991, the majority of visitors were wealthy Russians. He told us things are improving and there are increasing opportunities but that the old folks will tell you it was better under communism. We got the impression that Croatia was still working out its national identity as it rushes towards full integration within the E.U. (it’s only been an official member since 2013 and their currency is the Kuna, not the Euro). This all to say that tourism is booming and the city of Dubrovnik is a bustle with tourists from all over Europe, Asia and North America. According to one cab driver, much of the recent boom is due to an increase in cruise ships docking in the marina (which was getting a complete rebuild on our visit). However, he thought the biggest reason for the influx was the popularity of Game of Thrones and Star Wars (episode VIII), both of which have filmed on location in Dubrovnik. I believe him! In the city center there a countless GOT and SW themed souvenir shops hawking everything from t-shirts to life-sized replicas of The Iron Throne. You can also choose from a plethora of GOT themed walking or boat tours to all the film locations.

The weather was indeed better on Saturday and our non-GOT themed boat tour left early the next morning. We chose a small outfit and shared a little boat with two other parties, a retired couple from Scotland and a mother and son from Israel. We had sun and a gentle breeze as we tootled around the bay visiting the Elafiti islands; Lopud, Sipan and Kolocep.

The first of the three islands, Lopud, had a great big old monastery that was closed for restoration and a wonderful sandy beach. No cars are allowed on the island so your choices are to walk or to rent a golf cart. He hiked to the beach and had a swim in the perfectly clear and bath-water warm Mediterranean sea. What a treat! The other two islands each had their own charm. Sipan was home to a charming fishing village of about 500 residents and was lush with citrus, olives and bougainvillea.

Kolocep was dominated by an upscale resort hotel (I tried to sneak in and use their bathroom to change into my swimsuit and was stymied by security. I changed in nearby bushes because I am class act, what?) and lively beach-front bar scene.

At each stop of our island tour we kept running into the same tourists on their own island tours confirming a brisk tourist trade with little operations making the same routes day after day. However, we caught the very tail end of the season. All reports are that after mid-October things drop off significantly. I’m sure it’s quite a different scene during the off-season. Our day on the high seas was capped with a lovely harborside meal of whole grilled fish for me and seafood pasta for Tyler where we enjoyed the company of the local cat population and a spectacular sunset.

The next morning we were awoken by driving rain and more thunder. Our plan was to go into the old town and walk around the city walls. Thankfully, after bit of a lie-in and late breakfast, the rain had died down to a steady drizzle and we decided we could walk the 4 miles from our Lapad Island hotel to the city center. Fun fact! There are no sidewalks on Lapad island! We played a fun game called “Will This Car Slow Down or Splash us With a Puddle?”. Well, we won that game and made it to our destination sprinkled not soaked. On our way we passed by this beast, used during the most recent war for independence.

A colorful reminder of how recent these events were!

As we neared the entrance to the old city the sun came out as did the hoards of slow walking zombiesque tourists. This made navigating the narrow wall that encircles the city challenging. There were lots of bottlenecks and people being dumb and doing ALL my least favorite pet peeves (stopping at the top or bottom or a staircase to look at your phone or tie a shoe or whatever, stopping abruptly to take selfies with your stupid stick or simply picking the absolute worst spot to stop and gape when there are 30 people behind you just trying to live their lives). I admit it, I got stabby. I had to check myself: What an amazing place to be! The old city is beyond majestic. I was reminded of the medinas of Morocco as well as the medieval hill towns of Italy. High up on the wall you can look down into the morass of the city below. Narrow, twisty alleyways, grand boulevards, plazas teeming with cafes and shops, ornate cathedrals, quiet gardens and rooftop terraces as far as the eye can see; all surrounded by an aquamarine sea dotted with lush green islands. Once I found my center I ceased to feel stabby and was able to go with the (OH SO SLOW) flow, taking it all in as it came (a short break for a beer and some shade from the hot sun didn’t hurt my mood either).

After walking the wall and poking around inside the city we decided to take the (Swiss built!) cable car to the top of the hill overlooking the city. Wow! What a treat. At the top we were treated not only to spectacular views of the city below but also of the mountains and foothills to the east. The hilltop is also home to Fort Imperial, a strategic fort constructed during the French occupation of the early 1800’s and used more recently in the 1991 Serbian invasion. With all the walls and forts everywhere you get a real sense for how besieged this city has been over the centuries. While I took a much needed rest, Tyler checked out the Homeland War museum located inside the fort. This prompted Tyler to do a good deal of research on the war so if you have questions you know who to ask (HINT: it’s not me).

After a long day of sightseeing, we returned to our hotel for a rest before heading out to a lovely final dinner at a trendy and delicious bistro not far from our hotel.

The next morning, as the clouds and rain came back with a vengeance, we headed to the tiny airport for our flight back to Zurich. We got there ridiculously early thinking we’d spend the time looking around at the shops and getting a bite to eat but there was not much too see. We were so surprised at how small it was considering the numbers of tourists that flock to Dubrovnik every summer. Another reminder that the country and economy are in transition. I was out of high school before Croatia declared independence! Our cab driver pointed out a new terminal that was under construction and I got the feeling that in 5 or 10 years time, Dubrovnik will be a much changed place. Maybe then you’ll be able to get a hot meal at the airport but for the time being, be content with a pre-made sandwich. And bring a book!

And that’s my Croatian weekend: Short and sweet! I got to swim in the Mediterranean sea, the locals we interacted with were gracious and welcoming, the weather was glorious when it was glorious, wet when it was wet and the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik was truly a world class attraction (and it is a UNESCO world heritage site). From the little of it I’ve seen, Croatia is a beautiful country working hard to become a major player in the European Union as it moves away from it’s recent and historic struggles for independence and its communist past. I would love to visit Croatia again and explore some of the less trodden towns and countrysides. Even from the short glimpse I’ve seen I can say without hesitation that its a beautiful country and I highly recommend visiting it!

Here is an album of my photos from the trip. I’m bummed that the in blog WordPress photo quality is so low. I took some amazing shots, you gotta believe me!