Dubrovnik, Croatia and Montenegro
Let the Games Begin!
We arrived to Dubrovnik from an early morning flight and checked into a hotel for just one evening. It was outside the old city just up the hill so we had a fantastic view of the castle walls and the sea.
For those of you who don't know a large portion of the Game of Thrones scenes were filmed in the old city. The popularity of Dubrovnik has risen because of the show and they seem to be cashing in with tours and souvenirs.
The next twelve nights we were lucky enough to stay in a wonderful Airbnb right in the old city. We were on the top floor of the 16th century building and our apartment was split into two levels. On the main floor was a nice kitchen and dining space, then up stairs was the the living room and bedroom. It was really nice to cook our own meals and adventure out and about during the day. Our days normally consisted of hiking to the top of the wall each morning, stopping by the farmers market for our daily food items and finding a historical location for the afternoon.
Dubrovnik has been by far the most expensive place on our trip thus far.
At our very first meal we were so hungry we stopped at the first place we saw. Big mistake. The main restaurant was upstairs, so we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into until we sat down. Not realizing it was a fine dining restaurant by the time we looked at the prices and ordered a drink it was too late to turn around. Good first lesson! Check the menu before you walk in. So far the dining options especially near the old city are pretty pricey knowing that this location attracts a lot if not all tourists.
We also found a day trip to Montenegro that took us to three towns all surrounding Kotor Bay. The town of Persat was our first stop and hardly more than a wide spot in the road, but the scenery looks similar to Lake Como. It is a small town right on the water best accessed by boat and had two small islets (small island) in the bay. One of the islets had a church named Our Lady of the Rocks, which was actually a man made piece of land built starting in the 15th century upon several ship wrecks and crushed limestone from the mountain sides. The other islet was natural and called Sveti Dorde it had a 12th century Benedictine Monastery.
The next town we visited was Kotor, and it was magnificent! It had all the history and charm like Dubrovnik, but much cheaper and less crowded. We wish that we spent a few days here and had broken up our two week stretch in Dubrovnik. Sadly, we were only there for two hours just enough time to walk about the town and Jesse hiked up a bit of the mountain following the fortification walls built to protect them from the Ottoman Empire.
Budva was our last stop for the day. A bit more developed and modern, this city is a major development area by Russia investors and favorite holiday hot spot for them. Here you see more of the big sky rises and a lot of Russian influence in the food and shopping. It did have fantastic sandy beaches which are not common anywhere on the Adriatic. As my anniversary gift Jesse bought me a beautiful wool jacket to cozy up when we get back to the Colorado winter. I didn't think that I would be purchasing a wool coat on the side of a beach, but when most tourists are from Russia you know they will need it.
Montenegro is on the bucket list to get back to and highly recommend!
Quick facts on Croatia:
We arrived to Dubrovnik from an early morning flight and checked into a hotel for just one evening. It was outside the old city just up the hill so we had a fantastic view of the castle walls and the sea.
For those of you who don't know a large portion of the Game of Thrones scenes were filmed in the old city. The popularity of Dubrovnik has risen because of the show and they seem to be cashing in with tours and souvenirs.
We purchased a 7 day pass for access to the castles, walls and museums. The city has been very well preserved and did not have the wear and tear or battle scars you might expect from such an old town. There is a lot of history to see and the views aren't bad either.
The next twelve nights we were lucky enough to stay in a wonderful Airbnb right in the old city. We were on the top floor of the 16th century building and our apartment was split into two levels. On the main floor was a nice kitchen and dining space, then up stairs was the the living room and bedroom. It was really nice to cook our own meals and adventure out and about during the day. Our days normally consisted of hiking to the top of the wall each morning, stopping by the farmers market for our daily food items and finding a historical location for the afternoon.
Dubrovnik has been by far the most expensive place on our trip thus far.
At our very first meal we were so hungry we stopped at the first place we saw. Big mistake. The main restaurant was upstairs, so we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into until we sat down. Not realizing it was a fine dining restaurant by the time we looked at the prices and ordered a drink it was too late to turn around. Good first lesson! Check the menu before you walk in. So far the dining options especially near the old city are pretty pricey knowing that this location attracts a lot if not all tourists.
We also found a day trip to Montenegro that took us to three towns all surrounding Kotor Bay. The town of Persat was our first stop and hardly more than a wide spot in the road, but the scenery looks similar to Lake Como. It is a small town right on the water best accessed by boat and had two small islets (small island) in the bay. One of the islets had a church named Our Lady of the Rocks, which was actually a man made piece of land built starting in the 15th century upon several ship wrecks and crushed limestone from the mountain sides. The other islet was natural and called Sveti Dorde it had a 12th century Benedictine Monastery.
The next town we visited was Kotor, and it was magnificent! It had all the history and charm like Dubrovnik, but much cheaper and less crowded. We wish that we spent a few days here and had broken up our two week stretch in Dubrovnik. Sadly, we were only there for two hours just enough time to walk about the town and Jesse hiked up a bit of the mountain following the fortification walls built to protect them from the Ottoman Empire.
Budva was our last stop for the day. A bit more developed and modern, this city is a major development area by Russia investors and favorite holiday hot spot for them. Here you see more of the big sky rises and a lot of Russian influence in the food and shopping. It did have fantastic sandy beaches which are not common anywhere on the Adriatic. As my anniversary gift Jesse bought me a beautiful wool jacket to cozy up when we get back to the Colorado winter. I didn't think that I would be purchasing a wool coat on the side of a beach, but when most tourists are from Russia you know they will need it.
Montenegro is on the bucket list to get back to and highly recommend!
Quick facts on Croatia:
- Although Croatia is a part of the European Union they do not follow the Euro, but the Kuna.
- Croatia has over 1000 islands
- Croatia's sales tax is 25%
- The Dalmatian dog is named after the region of Dalmatian a region in Croatia where there are lots of islands, ie lots of spots.
- Dubrovnik has been a hub for maritime trade for over 1500 years
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