It is springtime in Paris and with springtime comes one of the most beloved spring traditions of all; SPRING BREAK! As many are well aware, the French take their vacations seriously.  They have time off for Christmas, winter break (yes they are separate), the month of August, spring break and even Easter (again, separate). So naturally, in light of the French traditions of leisure and travel, Roby, Peter, Zach, Cassie, Kelly, Sam and I decided to embark on a spring break adventure of our own to the mysterious land that is Dubrovnik, Croatia.  After a few quick Google searches and 5 minutes on easyjet.com, it was decided that the Pearl of the Adriatic was to be our spring break destination 2011.  We set off on Sunday, April 10th to Charles de Gaulle to catch our flight from Paris to Zagreb and then Zagreb to Dubrovnik. We knew very little about where we were staying, just that it had a high rating on hostelworld.com and had an airport pick up for 8 Kuna (about 1 euro).  

We arrive at the airport (after literally the most scenic landing I have ever seen) all a twitter about the beach week that lay in store for us in Dubrovnik. We see Ivica (the proprietor of our hostel – pronounced eeveetza) waiting for us at the airport with Kelly’s name on a sign and pretty much instantly knew that this trip was going to be special.  He launched into a very in depth, factual exploration of what makes Dubrovnik’s history and culture unique, pointing out a lot of interesting things about the region, the cuisine of the area and its fascinating (and recent) war time interactions with it’s neighbors.  Nothing, however, could have prepared us for the amazing and continual generosity that we would be greeted with during our stay at the Dubrovnik Backpacker’s Club.  We arrived at the hostel (which was really a condo overlooking most of Dubrovnik, including the beautiful Franjo Tudman Bridge) and were met with an appetizer platter featuring cheeses, meats, fruit and cookies from the region, as well as homemade honey brandy and fresh home made fruit juices, all to accompany our check in process.  Ivica then told us that he wanted to take us on a tour of some of Dubrovnik’s war sites (which quite sadly occurred during our lifetime – 1991-1992), so after watching a film about the siege of Dubrovnik that was a fantastic complement to our week of history and culture, we set out to the fortress that Napoleon had initially built in about 1806.  This fortress not only offered a fascinating glimpse in Dubrovnik‘s rich and multifaceted history, it also offered some of the most breathtaking views of the Old City as well as the Dalmatian Coast at sunset.  We had a great time taking pictures, looking for shrapnel and tasting all of the wild herbs that Ivica kept finding everywhere and we stayed up there for about an hour basking in our excellent decision to visit this magnificent place.  We then drove down the mountain and to another promontory to watch the sunset over some distant island, again taking a good deal of photos.  After this amazing welcome and introduction to the city, we walked down the pedestrian promenade and went to dinner at a place called Pizzeria Scala where we had octopus pizza, tasted the local beer “Ozujsko” and a few other less exotic dishes.

The next morning we woke up and meandered upstairs for the breakfast that was provided by the hostel for 20 Kuna (2.50 €!) to be yet again, pleasantly surprised by what awaited us.  We were presented with DELICIOUS home made french toast, marmalade, honey and fruit juice, as well as coffee and cereal, all in the beautiful adriatic sun on the terrace of Ivica’s family’s apartment on the top floor of the building. This was truly one of the things I enjoyed most about my trip, as I really felt at home and like a welcomed guest. Ivica’s mother even learned the names of all of the guests and in true Slavic fashion; practically force fed us more french toast, coffee and juice.  After breakfast we decided to hit the beach, it was not incredibly hot and even a little windy, but that didn’t stop us (and it certainly didn’t keep anyone from getting sunburnt), but we all had a fabulous time, chatting, swimming and soaking up the sun. We spent pretty much the whole day at the Copacabana Beach basking in the sunlight and enjoying the gloriously cerulean water that was just a stone’s throw away (and yes, stone, the beach was all pebbles).  

The next day we woke up to our now habit forming breakfast at the hostel and to a stark change in the weather from the day before.  It was incredibly windy and eventually started to rain, but have no fear, the wine tour is here! We had signed up for a wine tour when we had first arrived, so it was very fortunate that this was the rainy cold day, as we would be spending most of our time inside. Much like the day before, Roby, Peter, Kelly, Zach and I all set out in the van, making our first stop at an oyster restaurant along the way.  Yet again, the oysters were delicious, but this time they were accompanied by many aphrodisiac jokes due to the signs that were posted everywhere that proclaimed, “Eat Oysters Love Longer.”  After this minor detour and our first 2 glasses of wine (was it 11:30 am too) we continued our drive out onto the Peljesac peninsula to our first stop at a wine and liqueur manufacturer who has been working for over 150 years. We drove along, past the Great Walls of Dubrovnik (for a long period, the second largest walls in the world after China) and arrived at a somewhat dreary looking vineyard where we descended into the musty basement to taste a variety of wines, likers, grappas and brandies.  We must have tasted 8 varieties including walnut liqueur, lemon liqueur, raspberry liqueur, honey brandy and several kinds of wine.  I even met the 85 year old man who started the business (I forget his Croatian name now). After some historical fact sharing we moved along to our next spot for lunch. We enjoyed our meal of various kinds of fish that came fresh out of the Adriatic nearby. After we were done with lunch we drove back along the coast and much to our pleasant surprise there had been a complete 180 in the weather, we were now basking in the beautiful afternoon Mediterranean sunlight and soaking up the beautiful scenery that was all around us. About an hour after we started our drive we reached a botanical garden and an old castle and took A LOT of pictures, especially of the water and the setting sun. It truly was the perfect ending to a day that started out rainy and gray. We arrived back at our hosteol and were again met with an amazing home cooked meal of Gulaš(goulash -basically stewed brisket) and ate until we were full to bursting. We relaxed in the hostel lounge, watched Despicable Me and went to bed. Again, a glorious day of culture and cuisine.

Unfortunately the next day was to be our last in our home away from home, Dubrovnik.  Very fortunately for us though, it proved to be spectacularly sunny and definitely one of the most picturesque of the whole trip!  After breakfast, Peter, Kelly, Cassie and I decided to walk the walls of the Old City of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Old City is a historical and cultural gem and it was literally one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. All of the orange terra cotta roof tiles juxtaposed with the turquoise blue waters were really a sight to behold and I took probably 200 pictures that day alone. We walked all the way around the walls and then had lunch at a place called Poklisar right on the water of the harbor. It was a great day and I am so glad that I got to see the Old City.  After our walk and lunch we returned to the hostel, said goodbye and headed for the airport to spend a night in a grungy, noisy hostel in Zagreb.  But we made the best of it and went out to a delicious Thai restaurant for dinner, then headed to a local bar for a couple hours before going to bed. Overall this spring break will live on in my memory as one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I highly recommend Dubrovnik for your next vacation destination.  It was truly amazing.

Stay tuned for my blog about Florence, Pisa and Cenque Terre over Easter weekend!