Hello family!!!! I LOVE DUBROVNIK!!!! Omg it is so spectacular here. The waters are SOOOOclear you can see to the bottom, and it's aqua blue. Even at night you can see to the bottom b/c we even saw small schools of fish, a big fish and child, and I'm pretty sure we also saw sea urchins. This was just tonight when we sat on the pier after sunset. Unfortunately the skies are hazy. Almost white b/c next door is Bosnia and they have lots of forest fires or as our cabbie said "they have problems." and by next door I mean Bosnia is just over the mountains which is right over there "my arm reaching out to the side."
Ok so I'll rewind about how we got here...
We woke up at ... 6am!!! In st goar germany this morning! We had to get to our train station to make a 2 separate train connections just to get to the airport to make our flight on time,1135 for Dubrovnik on germanwings. We gave ourselves plenty of time and I didn't even need all that time in the mornin to get ready since I had packed the night before and only needed to throw on my clothes. Urgh. So tired this morning. So everything was fine from getting our luggage out of the hotel to the train station in st goar as the platform was 100metres away and behind the hotel. We had to change in a town called Boppard and then change in Cologne and then buy a tix to take us to the airport called koln-Bonn flughaven or something like that. BEFORE. When we arrived at Boppard we realized the train for cologne was delayed 9 mins. When we got on it it soon started to slow down and stop!! Oh no! So at first we kept cool ad thought ok well we still have plenty of time... Time goes on... Lots of German announcements... We found someone, nun, who spoke English and she said there is a technical problem and they have to fix it ... Hopefully.. And then another announcement after saying we're going to Bonn, a town before cologne and not on the trip planner, and we all have to get off there to get to our destinations. Crap. Ok so by the time we get to Bonn we had 1.5 hrs before flight leaves. We look around the train schedules to see what we can do, if we can get to the airport faster than having to go thru cologne, but it didn't look so promising. So we ended up in the platform w/ everybody to go to cologne via train. Once we got to Cologne, BIG train station, we ran around looking for the tix machines and how to get to the airport. By theyime wegot to cologne it was after 10... We found an option that took 10 mins via train, but then we had to find out which platform it was so then we had to run back to find the train schedules. Side note: funny, the train schedules are printed on giant yellow pieces of paper and behind glass board so I guess each morning someone has to print and change... Seems old fashion for a modern city. Anyway, we had NINE mins to find out which platform to the airport was at and after getting some nice and helpful info from an old German guy, we found it. I find when I'm really under a time budget or stress to make something I somehow find the will to drag my suitcase up the stairs... BUT so much better and faster that farhan can carry it. He's so strong!!
So we made the train by 30 seconds b/c it just pulled up when we got up the stairs. Once on the train we must've looked super confused b/c another local who was walking by on the platform stopped and asked us what info we needed. We find that Germans either really love to stare at us or are super helpful and friendly... Haha
So once we FINALLY get to the airport we have to still find the right terminal... Omg stress b/c it's like after 1030 and flight leaves 1130... Ahhh running... Speed walking... We made it!!!! What a relief, weight off the shoulders...
And THEN.... The flight was DELAYED!!!!! Lol how funny. Delayed for about 15-20 mins. Oh the irony... All that rushing and sweating...
Hah on the plane, in front of us was a baby, behind us was a screaaaaaming baby and beside me was a very overweight, smelly man who needed an extension seat belt .... Luckily flight was only 2 hrs and the worse was the baby screaming behind us. It actually hurt my ears b/c the volume was so piercing.
So after all that amazing race style running around we finally made it to Dubrovnik!! When we got off the plane we walked down stairs to outside, and then we had passport control b/c Croatia is not part of the EU. Remember those mountains I talked about? They are right next to the airport. We had a prearranged pick up from the airport by the lady who's apartment we're renting from. That was easy b/c he had my name on a sign. The drive from the airport to the apartment was from top of a mountain down to a valley and the roads are narrow like the pacific coast highway, do you remember that? Water and cliff on one side, mountain on the other side. Despite the haze and white sky from the Bosnian fires, the view down to old town Dubrovnik, which is what everybody sees in photos and postcards, was amazing. Truely like a vista. Clear water, boats, yachts, small islands, orangey clay roofs of old buildings. Sort of like an Italian town on the coast, but larger. The old town is also surrounded by old fortress walls that use to keep out Invaders.
Once we arrived at our apartment the lady showed us all the necessities like bus stop, grocery, etc and then we were left to ourselves! The apartment is nice, lived in, but neat and tidy and clean. It has a balcony where we can eat our breakfast on. View of the street and beyond, but no water which is fine. Best part, this place has air conditioning!!! Both on the top and ground floor! We are so lucky b/c it's Sooo hot and muggy here. The smoke doesn't help, it traps the heat in too. So even at night it is warm. Once we sorted ourselves out we walked to the grocery store, got breakfast items, dropped it off at home and then we took a bus down to old town. Holy moly it is busy and it's near the end of tourist season too. Can't imagine what it's like in July... By the time we got to old town it was about 430ish so we walked around. The main street was of course very busy so we just meandered Ito the side streets which was very nice b/c they're narrow and it feels very... Cute. Like exploring something new. Also LOTS of places to eat in these small streets. Tables and chairs are set up outside on the street, almost no one eats inside or sometimes there isn't even any space for inside dining. We found a pizza place... Btw b/c this area is influenced by Italy, lots d pizza and Italian style restaurants. So when I say pizza, it's the true Italian style, in cut, thin crust and delicious. So we found this pizza place where I emailed you earlier w/ the photo of us. We had a glass of wine, also comparatively cheaper than Vancouver, and sparkling water or "with gas" as they say. Btw we LOVE sparkling water. So refreshing and also so common here. After we quickly ate we went to find the entrance to walk the fortress walls in time for the sun to set. The fortress walls are tall, stone and protected the city do the view up there is amazing. You see all into old town and beyond out to the Adriatic sea. It's a LOT of walking and sometimes very slippery too. Lots of stairs up and down, all on smooth Marbley stone. Not old ppl friendly at all. I had trouble w/ it too, but also b/c I could be out of shape haha. Oh also it was very hot still so even Farhan was sweating lots and he doesn't usually... You can imagine how soaked I was but that's ok... The view made up for it and I took several hundred photos haha btw Ive already taken 3000 photos so far on this trip... Click click click. So easy...
Anyway, it's the sunset walk so it's supposedly cooler than doing this during the day omg can you imagine how hot it would be up there during noon hour?!?
So after we walked the fortress walls, the sun had set, we saw it go down, very romantic... Also Lots of exercise... We walked around old town some more b/c we wanted to just sit in a small street, drink cheap wine, sparkling water and rest our feet. We hunted for the best deal b/c so many places overcharged and since we were comparing it to the pizza place we knew there had to be better prices. We ended up sitting outside this Italian restaurant. It was nice. We just sat, pol watched and watched the waiters from the diff restaurants all socialize w/ each other. You'd have one restaurant on one corner w/ tables and chairs out and then 2 feet away another restaurant. Reminds me of...brussels, but narrower streets. We ended up having wine, water and tiramisu. It also looked like we had beat the dinner crowd b/c it soon filled up w/ ppl, who looked like they've showered and redressed b/c earlier I noticed everybody wears their bikinis or swim trunks during the day... You never know when you'll jump off rocks and into the sea... WHICH WE SAW!!! During our walk around the fortress walls we saw "hidden" cafes that are built below into the walls and if you're lucky to find the way you can go sit on rocks w/ your drinks or go jump Into the water over and over again...no exaggeration. I have photos for proof. We want to find that cafe so we can sit and relax, their website has instructions so we might do that tomorrow.
After we sat around we went walking around some more, souvenir shops are everywhere and eventually we walked to the pier where small and big boats are docked and where we saw the small fish in the clear water, so clear even at night you can see to the bottom.
Ok night time. Tomorrow we go to the island of lokrum where there are beaches and peacocks. Yes,.. Peacocks apparently are there!
Oh ya also lots of cats here in Dubrovnik... Meow!
Love you all,
Helen
Sent from my iPhone
Ok so I'll rewind about how we got here...
We woke up at ... 6am!!! In st goar germany this morning! We had to get to our train station to make a 2 separate train connections just to get to the airport to make our flight on time,1135 for Dubrovnik on germanwings. We gave ourselves plenty of time and I didn't even need all that time in the mornin to get ready since I had packed the night before and only needed to throw on my clothes. Urgh. So tired this morning. So everything was fine from getting our luggage out of the hotel to the train station in st goar as the platform was 100metres away and behind the hotel. We had to change in a town called Boppard and then change in Cologne and then buy a tix to take us to the airport called koln-Bonn flughaven or something like that. BEFORE. When we arrived at Boppard we realized the train for cologne was delayed 9 mins. When we got on it it soon started to slow down and stop!! Oh no! So at first we kept cool ad thought ok well we still have plenty of time... Time goes on... Lots of German announcements... We found someone, nun, who spoke English and she said there is a technical problem and they have to fix it ... Hopefully.. And then another announcement after saying we're going to Bonn, a town before cologne and not on the trip planner, and we all have to get off there to get to our destinations. Crap. Ok so by the time we get to Bonn we had 1.5 hrs before flight leaves. We look around the train schedules to see what we can do, if we can get to the airport faster than having to go thru cologne, but it didn't look so promising. So we ended up in the platform w/ everybody to go to cologne via train. Once we got to Cologne, BIG train station, we ran around looking for the tix machines and how to get to the airport. By theyime wegot to cologne it was after 10... We found an option that took 10 mins via train, but then we had to find out which platform it was so then we had to run back to find the train schedules. Side note: funny, the train schedules are printed on giant yellow pieces of paper and behind glass board so I guess each morning someone has to print and change... Seems old fashion for a modern city. Anyway, we had NINE mins to find out which platform to the airport was at and after getting some nice and helpful info from an old German guy, we found it. I find when I'm really under a time budget or stress to make something I somehow find the will to drag my suitcase up the stairs... BUT so much better and faster that farhan can carry it. He's so strong!!
So we made the train by 30 seconds b/c it just pulled up when we got up the stairs. Once on the train we must've looked super confused b/c another local who was walking by on the platform stopped and asked us what info we needed. We find that Germans either really love to stare at us or are super helpful and friendly... Haha
So once we FINALLY get to the airport we have to still find the right terminal... Omg stress b/c it's like after 1030 and flight leaves 1130... Ahhh running... Speed walking... We made it!!!! What a relief, weight off the shoulders...
And THEN.... The flight was DELAYED!!!!! Lol how funny. Delayed for about 15-20 mins. Oh the irony... All that rushing and sweating...
Hah on the plane, in front of us was a baby, behind us was a screaaaaaming baby and beside me was a very overweight, smelly man who needed an extension seat belt .... Luckily flight was only 2 hrs and the worse was the baby screaming behind us. It actually hurt my ears b/c the volume was so piercing.
So after all that amazing race style running around we finally made it to Dubrovnik!! When we got off the plane we walked down stairs to outside, and then we had passport control b/c Croatia is not part of the EU. Remember those mountains I talked about? They are right next to the airport. We had a prearranged pick up from the airport by the lady who's apartment we're renting from. That was easy b/c he had my name on a sign. The drive from the airport to the apartment was from top of a mountain down to a valley and the roads are narrow like the pacific coast highway, do you remember that? Water and cliff on one side, mountain on the other side. Despite the haze and white sky from the Bosnian fires, the view down to old town Dubrovnik, which is what everybody sees in photos and postcards, was amazing. Truely like a vista. Clear water, boats, yachts, small islands, orangey clay roofs of old buildings. Sort of like an Italian town on the coast, but larger. The old town is also surrounded by old fortress walls that use to keep out Invaders.
Once we arrived at our apartment the lady showed us all the necessities like bus stop, grocery, etc and then we were left to ourselves! The apartment is nice, lived in, but neat and tidy and clean. It has a balcony where we can eat our breakfast on. View of the street and beyond, but no water which is fine. Best part, this place has air conditioning!!! Both on the top and ground floor! We are so lucky b/c it's Sooo hot and muggy here. The smoke doesn't help, it traps the heat in too. So even at night it is warm. Once we sorted ourselves out we walked to the grocery store, got breakfast items, dropped it off at home and then we took a bus down to old town. Holy moly it is busy and it's near the end of tourist season too. Can't imagine what it's like in July... By the time we got to old town it was about 430ish so we walked around. The main street was of course very busy so we just meandered Ito the side streets which was very nice b/c they're narrow and it feels very... Cute. Like exploring something new. Also LOTS of places to eat in these small streets. Tables and chairs are set up outside on the street, almost no one eats inside or sometimes there isn't even any space for inside dining. We found a pizza place... Btw b/c this area is influenced by Italy, lots d pizza and Italian style restaurants. So when I say pizza, it's the true Italian style, in cut, thin crust and delicious. So we found this pizza place where I emailed you earlier w/ the photo of us. We had a glass of wine, also comparatively cheaper than Vancouver, and sparkling water or "with gas" as they say. Btw we LOVE sparkling water. So refreshing and also so common here. After we quickly ate we went to find the entrance to walk the fortress walls in time for the sun to set. The fortress walls are tall, stone and protected the city do the view up there is amazing. You see all into old town and beyond out to the Adriatic sea. It's a LOT of walking and sometimes very slippery too. Lots of stairs up and down, all on smooth Marbley stone. Not old ppl friendly at all. I had trouble w/ it too, but also b/c I could be out of shape haha. Oh also it was very hot still so even Farhan was sweating lots and he doesn't usually... You can imagine how soaked I was but that's ok... The view made up for it and I took several hundred photos haha btw Ive already taken 3000 photos so far on this trip... Click click click. So easy...
Anyway, it's the sunset walk so it's supposedly cooler than doing this during the day omg can you imagine how hot it would be up there during noon hour?!?
So after we walked the fortress walls, the sun had set, we saw it go down, very romantic... Also Lots of exercise... We walked around old town some more b/c we wanted to just sit in a small street, drink cheap wine, sparkling water and rest our feet. We hunted for the best deal b/c so many places overcharged and since we were comparing it to the pizza place we knew there had to be better prices. We ended up sitting outside this Italian restaurant. It was nice. We just sat, pol watched and watched the waiters from the diff restaurants all socialize w/ each other. You'd have one restaurant on one corner w/ tables and chairs out and then 2 feet away another restaurant. Reminds me of...brussels, but narrower streets. We ended up having wine, water and tiramisu. It also looked like we had beat the dinner crowd b/c it soon filled up w/ ppl, who looked like they've showered and redressed b/c earlier I noticed everybody wears their bikinis or swim trunks during the day... You never know when you'll jump off rocks and into the sea... WHICH WE SAW!!! During our walk around the fortress walls we saw "hidden" cafes that are built below into the walls and if you're lucky to find the way you can go sit on rocks w/ your drinks or go jump Into the water over and over again...no exaggeration. I have photos for proof. We want to find that cafe so we can sit and relax, their website has instructions so we might do that tomorrow.
After we sat around we went walking around some more, souvenir shops are everywhere and eventually we walked to the pier where small and big boats are docked and where we saw the small fish in the clear water, so clear even at night you can see to the bottom.
Ok night time. Tomorrow we go to the island of lokrum where there are beaches and peacocks. Yes,.. Peacocks apparently are there!
Oh ya also lots of cats here in Dubrovnik... Meow!
Love you all,
Helen
Sent from my iPhone
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