Accommodations: Brent
Natural Activity: David
Monument Activity: John
Cultural Activity: Jeanna
Sport Activity: Brendan
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October 21, 2010: Day 1 leaving Austria for Croatia by mode of vehicle
It was the morning of Tuesday, October 19, and we were up early, to be more exact 5:00 am, to drive our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia. The trip was 642 miles and it would take us about 11 hours, 10 minutes to complete. Hence why we all had to be up and ready to leave early so that we could make it to Dubrovnik at a reasonable time to check in and explore the city.
After screaming alarms woke the group up, we all showered, packed our bags, loaded the car, said our goodbyes to the desk clerk, and piled into the car. Since John has a phobia of “not being in control of situations” he volunteered to drive the first portion of the trip. We stopped at a quick fast food diner to grab some coffee, biscuits, and hashbrowns to eat, once everyone was full—David, Jeanna, Brent, and Brendan decided to catch some more sleep. I sat in the passenger seat to keep John company since it was still pitch black and cold outside, making the drive seem lonely if he was the only one up. I also helped him with directions, since the terrain and road signs were foreign to us. Took us a while to get onto a main highway, we got lost a few times, but managed to get to the highway as we headed to Croatia.
John drove the rest of the way through Austria and through Slovenia. As we were entering Croatia we decided to find some lunch, this distance marked about halfway through the trip. By this time everyone was stirring up and getting hungry. We were in the city of Zagreb, Croatia when we decided to search for a diner. We exited off the main highway, E70 & A13, and found a McDonald’s on the outskirts of Zagreb, Croatia. We thought we would stay safe in the cuisine choice since we would be in a car for another 5+ hours, no one needed to get sick!
After getting our food, stretching our legs, and loading up on more coffee we made a driver switch. I decided to drive, John called shotgun and everyone else was stuck in the back. We made our way back to the highway now on A1 heading towards Dubrovnik. The group was officially awake now, and we all argued over what we should listen to on the radio, however, we couldn’t understand what the radio hosts were saying. So we decided to listen to CD’s. Some of us read, observed the scenery, or chatted with each other. I drove almost the rest of the way before deciding to switch with Brendan. Brendan took over at Vrgorac and drove us into Dubrovnik. We arrived around 5:00 pm that same day at our hotel. We checked into our hotel, unloaded the car, and checked out our rooms. Once we checked in, we had to convert our EU currency to the Croatian Kuna. Then it was off to enjoy and explore Croatia!
According the vehicles numbers, the Range Rover gets about 15 mpg, its tank size is 23.3 gallons, so we would have to fill up about every 315-345 miles. Gas varies from country to country, but European gas prices are undoubtedly more expensive than US prices. European prices can range from 6.00-7.00 EU. We had to fill up about three times during the road trip.
Gas money: about 300 EU (Just for one-way trip to Croatia, not the whole week).
Transportation by Meghan Dees
October 20, 2010 Day 1 in Dubrovnik
October 20, 2010 Day 1 in Dubrovnik
Once we arrived in Dubrovnik, it was clear we all just wanted to lie down and rest, we were all exhausted. We checked into this beautiful resort called "The Importanne Resort" at 5 pm.
The rooms were very cozy, David and Meghan fell asleep immediately. Brendan fell asleep shortly after since he was the last one to drive on the trip from Austria. We decided to stay in 3 rooms with 2 beds. It was $210 which is 1064 Kuna. Not bad for three really nice rooms with amazing views. Jeanna noticed that there was a really nice pool when she looked out the window of her room. She then woke everyone up and made us accompany her to the pool. We were all thankful that she did though, it was a great pool. We all relaxed at the pool from 6 to 7.
It was now time for a very late dinner. We went to the restaurant that was a part of the resort and we all ordered the lobster. Seeing as everyone else in the restaurant seemed to have ordered it and the waiter recccomended it. The tab for the six meals was really cheap. It was 519 Kuna ($98).
After we ate we immediatly returned to our rooms and passed out for the night.
Accomodations by Brent Schwartz
The rooms were very cozy, David and Meghan fell asleep immediately. Brendan fell asleep shortly after since he was the last one to drive on the trip from Austria. We decided to stay in 3 rooms with 2 beds. It was $210 which is 1064 Kuna. Not bad for three really nice rooms with amazing views. Jeanna noticed that there was a really nice pool when she looked out the window of her room. She then woke everyone up and made us accompany her to the pool. We were all thankful that she did though, it was a great pool. We all relaxed at the pool from 6 to 7.
It was now time for a very late dinner. We went to the restaurant that was a part of the resort and we all ordered the lobster. Seeing as everyone else in the restaurant seemed to have ordered it and the waiter recccomended it. The tab for the six meals was really cheap. It was 519 Kuna ($98).
After we ate we immediatly returned to our rooms and passed out for the night.
Accomodations by Brent Schwartz
October 21, 2010: Day 2 in Dubrovnik
Driving into Dubrovnik it is impossible to miss all of the beautiful beaches in the city. Naturally, on our first day we were all ready to hit the beach and lay in the sand with a cold drink. Most of the beaches were crowded, and our desk clerk recommended that we go to Lokrum Island, right off the coast of Dubrovnik.
The clerk also warned us about the high prices for food and drinks on the island, so we decided to stop at the grocery store for food and beer. We went to Konzum, the local grocery chain and bought deli meat to make sandwiches, and a Styrofoam cooler to keep everything fresh. More importantly, we got plenty of beer and ice…this could be a good day. We decided to try Ožujsko beer, the most popular beer in Croatia. I mean it has to be popular for a reason, right? All together our grocery store trip cost us about 290 HTK, which is only about 55 USD.
After driving to the southern docks we realized that somebody had to drive. After arguing for a few minutes Jeanna was ready to hit the beach, and decided to take one for the team. We got on a ferry at about 11:00am, finally headed for Lokrum Island. The ferry costs 25 HTK per person for a round trip ticket. When we got there we were definitely not disappointed and quickly found a spot to lay our towels down and soak up some sun.
After a couple beers we decided to explore a little more and really see what the island had to offer. We ate lunch (to make more room for beer) and set off ready for an adventure. The island is full of hiking trails, and we quickly regretted lugging around the cooler.
First, we walked to the Benedictine monastery, established in 1023. We felt a little weird carrying a cooler full of beer into a monastery, so we left it outside and went in to have a look around. The curator told us that Napoleon’s forces ran out the monks during their occupation in the early 1900s. The locals believe that they left a curse on the island that haunts whoever owns the island. Ok, now we were really creeped out. Being drunk in a haunted monastery is not as fun as it sounds, so we quickly moved on.
Next, we stumbled upon a salt lake, located on the middle of the island, with an inlet leading to the ocean. It seemed like a scene straight out of a movie, and we decided to stay until our cooler got a little lighter. After a few more drinks we were feeling adventurous again, and we set out for Fort Royale, located on the highest point of the island. This is a little more of a strenuous hike, so we left the few beers remaining with some fellow tourists and hit the trail.
This hike was a little longer, but well worth it. From the fort walls we had an amazing view of the island and the city. We were just in time for the sunset and it was truly breathtaking. This was an experience that none of us were going to forget. We lost track of time and before we knew it, it was 7:00. We remembered that the last ferry departs at 8 and nobody wanted to spend the night on a haunted island. We booked it back to the dock and made it just in time.
Once we arrived on the mainland nobody was ready for this day to be over, but we decided to go back to the hotel for a hot shower. On the way to the car we saw a sign that read “Cold drinks with the most beautiful view.” We decided that this had to be a sign and the showers could wait. After literally walking through a hole in the city wall we found ourselves at Café Buza. It is built onto the cliffs facing Lokrum Island, and offers a short menu of deli sandwiches and local brews. We grabbed a quick dinner and decided a few more drinks never hurt anyone. A few quickly turned into a lot, and our night quickly went downhill from there.
John and David decided that they would give cliff-diving a try…probably not the best idea after a full day of drinking, but there was a ladder to get back up so what the hell? Apparently diving off cliffs in the dark is frowned upon, and after a short word with the manager, we learned that they only allowed diving in the daylight. We decided it was best to get everyone back to the hotel. It was probably just in time, since we had already spent 552 HTK, but we will definitely be back.
Overall, we had an amazing day at the beach, with a little history lesson thrown in. Jeanna is probably never going to volunteer to drive again, but we all went to bed happy. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has to offer.
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> Natural Activity/meals by David Hinkle
http://www.igougo.com/review-r1178043-Lokrum_Island_National_Park.html
http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/75824/Lokrum-Island-tour-2
http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g295371-d552668-r69982960-Cafe_Buza-Dubrovnik.html
<!--[endif]-->
October 22, 2010: Day 3 in Dubrovnik
This afternoon I planned for us to go on a trail ride by horseback. After spending the day doing whatever we did…we went back to the hotel and got ready for our excursion.
The lovely people at Kojan Koral, a horse stable and corral outside of Dubrovnik, picked us up from the hotel at 5:30 local time. We had the option of going on a morning trail ride or evening, and I thought it would be nice to see the sunset over the Adriatic from the trail. Also, the sun is almost unbearable here and the less I have to spend in the sun the better off my skin and I will be. We traveled by van to the southernmost region of Croatia known as Konavle.
I was expecting the trip out to be longer but it really only took about 45 minutes. The scenery on the way to Konavle was incredible. Well, once we passed the airport area anyway. We were constantly gaining elevation as we headed into the highlands outside Dubrovnik but we were never far from the coast.
Kojan Koral is located on a small farm in the countryside in a scrub pine forest. We were introduced to our horses and I halfway expected someone to back out. A couple of the horses were weary of us at first and Brent’s even kicked at him. After a few sugar cubes and apples the horses stopped acting like assholes and we were allowed to lead them around the corral with no trouble. Next it was time to hop on and get some practice riding before hitting the ol’ dusty trail!
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| He looks nice, but this horse has an attitude problem... |
After several complaints from David about the stupid riding helmets, I reminded him of Superman’s history of horseback riding and he shut up. After everyone was able to complete 2 circles within the corral, we all headed off for the trail. We were headed for the famed rocky seaside cliffs of Konavle and an excellent view of the Adriatic at sunset. We rode on through olive groves and past more pine forests and then suddenly, as if the trees just parted, we saw the sea. The ride was only about 45 minutes long and my butt was already sore, but the view was worth the pain and money.
The guide let us tie the horses up and take a break. John, being the resourceful drunk, pulled not one but two bottles of wine from his backpack. We offered a drink to the guide he accepted, and taught us the Croatian toast “Zivjeli!” which roughly means, “to life.” After snapping a few shots of the scenery, we headed back for the corral and then on to the hotel. We thanked our guide and driver 200 kuna for the ride, the guide, and the toast.
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| Can't see that in NC |
Before heading up to our room I asked the concierge to get us a table at Eden down the street. This is a restaurant that has been recommended by some of the people we have run into in the city, and again by our guide today. I figured it must be worth trying out and why not tonight. We all went up and changed and then headed down the street for some dinner. It was about 9pm by now and the city was really coming to life.
Eden is a small family restaurant that serves fresh seafood, pasta, and Croatian specialties. I asked the waiter, who was the son of the owner, to just hook us up with whatever was good and to bring us a few bottles of wine. The people in Croatia are unbelievably friendly and easy going. The guy was more than happy to prepare a family style meal for us and even joined in a few shots of Pelinkovac and a few glasses of his housemade wine. Some of the others were a little hesitant to try the Pelinkovac so I told them it tasted like Jager and they sucked it down. We ate a ton of mussels, smoked fish, fresh pasta and prawns. We left Eden, fat, happy, and extremely drunk. And being that it all only cost 700 kuna, Eden is a pretty apt name.
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| Like this + a lot more booze... |
BA
October 23, 2010: Day 4 in Dubrovnik
It was hard getting up this morning after all of the drinking and eating that took place last night. However, being that we only have a few days left, we can't waste anytime. Once we were all up and semi-aware of our surroundings, we got dressed, chugged some water, and headed out the door. Since we planned to visit cultural sites today, we knew there would be a lot of walking so we needed to find a place to fuel up on some coffee and light food. We argued over which site to see first, whether it should be the historic city walls or just experience all that old town has to offer. I had heard of a place called War Photo Limited which is a museum for war photos. Since Croatia has such a recent history of war during the separation from Yugoslavia, we thought that would be a sobering start to the day. And, the best part, there is a coffee bar right next to it. After a quick eight minute drive, we were parking outside of the exhibit. We ran into the coffee bar and got some assorted pastries (we didn't know what they were, but at that point, we didn't really care) and grabbed our coffee to go and headed next door. There was a small entrance fee, 70 kuna per person, but after a few minutes of looking around we, well most of us, felt it was worth it.
Since we were already in Old Town, we decided to just leave the car parked where it was and walk around. We walked past several bars and restaurants, as well as the Maritime Museum which I really wanted to go into, but everyone else started sighing about how they've had enough museum for one day. So, we continued walking and we passed several historic churches and a beautiful synagogue. There is no doubt that the scenery here in Old Town is one of a kind.
Once everyone started complaining about their feet hurting and being hungry again, we started walking back towards the car. I suddenly remembered some locals telling me about a bar that we could just not pass up. When I told the group our next stop, everyone was excited and glad that we could finally sit down, have a few drinks, and just enjoy mingling with the locals. It was somewhat hard to find Cafe Buza, being that it is literally right on the cliff, but once we did we knew we had found a hidden gem. There were seats out on the patio overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Since it was such a hard location to find, there were not many tourists out thankfully. We sat next to a lively table of locals, ordered a round of drinks and lost track of time.
JEL
October 25, 2010: Day 6 in Dubrovnik
BA
October 23, 2010: Day 4 in Dubrovnik
It was hard getting up this morning after all of the drinking and eating that took place last night. However, being that we only have a few days left, we can't waste anytime. Once we were all up and semi-aware of our surroundings, we got dressed, chugged some water, and headed out the door. Since we planned to visit cultural sites today, we knew there would be a lot of walking so we needed to find a place to fuel up on some coffee and light food. We argued over which site to see first, whether it should be the historic city walls or just experience all that old town has to offer. I had heard of a place called War Photo Limited which is a museum for war photos. Since Croatia has such a recent history of war during the separation from Yugoslavia, we thought that would be a sobering start to the day. And, the best part, there is a coffee bar right next to it. After a quick eight minute drive, we were parking outside of the exhibit. We ran into the coffee bar and got some assorted pastries (we didn't know what they were, but at that point, we didn't really care) and grabbed our coffee to go and headed next door. There was a small entrance fee, 70 kuna per person, but after a few minutes of looking around we, well most of us, felt it was worth it.
Since we were already in Old Town, we decided to just leave the car parked where it was and walk around. We walked past several bars and restaurants, as well as the Maritime Museum which I really wanted to go into, but everyone else started sighing about how they've had enough museum for one day. So, we continued walking and we passed several historic churches and a beautiful synagogue. There is no doubt that the scenery here in Old Town is one of a kind.
Once everyone started complaining about their feet hurting and being hungry again, we started walking back towards the car. I suddenly remembered some locals telling me about a bar that we could just not pass up. When I told the group our next stop, everyone was excited and glad that we could finally sit down, have a few drinks, and just enjoy mingling with the locals. It was somewhat hard to find Cafe Buza, being that it is literally right on the cliff, but once we did we knew we had found a hidden gem. There were seats out on the patio overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Since it was such a hard location to find, there were not many tourists out thankfully. We sat next to a lively table of locals, ordered a round of drinks and lost track of time.
JEL
October 24, 2010: Day 5 in Dubrovnik
Today we decided to check out some of the history in Dubrovnik by visiting the Sponza Palace. We had been going hard and needed to have a relaxing day. We started with coffee and pastries at a small restaurant near our resort for breakfast. Breakfast ran us a total of $29 for the group. We got back to the car and we were off. About 100 feet into driving, Meghan starts yelling at me that I'm not in my lane and then we hit something. We stopped, all got out, and went to investigate. I had been driving on the wrong part of the street and hit a statue of a man crawling out of a manhole! Appearently we had driven completely in the wrong direction.
We then drove to the location because it was very close. I personally wanted to see the palace because of the architecture and design of the structure. The palace was built by the city in 1516 and was a customs like office for the city.
The palace was also home to city official offices, the mint, the treasury, the armory, and the bank. The monument is a large and open structure that can accommodate many visitors at a time. As we made our way through the site, we saw the different rooms and what they were used for. We were not charged an entrance fee for the palace. There was a special event for the city going on an so everyone was allowed in.
We were able to see a ceremony in the palace where the city gave a "Key to the city" to a European actor that we had never heard of. Appearently the actor was a strong supporter of the city and gave money to many charitable organizations. We realized that the event was going to take a while as there were performers and it was a large produciton for the city.
Brendan Was annoyed that our visit was "ruined" by the ceremony. By this time, it was dark out and we had been touring for 3 hours and were tired and wanted to relax. It was then time for dinner. We asked around and found that there was a place that all the locals enjoyed called Konoba Ribar, so we anticipated that we would get good meals. We were not disappointed. Our tuna steak was the largest and finest we have ever eaten, the sea-bass was huge as was the beef steak. The waiter was very friendly and courteous. We would highly recommend the Ribar to those fortunate to visit the wonderful city of Dubrovnik. There were also many types of alcohols that we had never heard of, but we knew them all very well before the end of dinner. For the group of 6 to eat plus tip, we spent $114.
After dinner, we decided to go clubbing, now this is my scene. I knew there was one place that I had read about on the internet but it was very hard to find a local that could direct us to it. When I asked around at the restaurant, the bartender laughed at us and said we were crazy to want ot go there. We took that as a challenge. The club was called the Lazareti Club, and has had numerous world act dj's perform there, we had to go. The bartender gave us directions and we were off. We found the club and paid $60 for the group to get in. Once we were inside, we knew this was going to be a crazy party. I warned the group to stay together, but that lasted all of 5 minutes before we had broken up into smaller groups. The rest of the night include various events with pole dancers, glow sticks, fire breathers, and at one point Brendan was talking to a statue about how well Croatians know how to party. I think we each recall different events happening and there are holes in our stories due to confusion and alcohol, but we did manage a video of the dj before we called it a night.
After dinner, we decided to go clubbing, now this is my scene. I knew there was one place that I had read about on the internet but it was very hard to find a local that could direct us to it. When I asked around at the restaurant, the bartender laughed at us and said we were crazy to want ot go there. We took that as a challenge. The club was called the Lazareti Club, and has had numerous world act dj's perform there, we had to go. The bartender gave us directions and we were off. We found the club and paid $60 for the group to get in. Once we were inside, we knew this was going to be a crazy party. I warned the group to stay together, but that lasted all of 5 minutes before we had broken up into smaller groups. The rest of the night include various events with pole dancers, glow sticks, fire breathers, and at one point Brendan was talking to a statue about how well Croatians know how to party. I think we each recall different events happening and there are holes in our stories due to confusion and alcohol, but we did manage a video of the dj before we called it a night.
When we left the club, it was 5 AM and we knew it was sleep time.
Monument by John Olive
Monument by John Olive
October 25, 2010: Day 6 in Dubrovnik
This morning, we decided to spend some more time enjoying the Adriatic and went on a sea kayaking tour. I was able to find an outfitter in Old Town yesterday that would take us out to the Elaphite Islands and provide us with a guide and kayaks for only 355KN each. True we will get to see some quaint fishing villages and some really nice vistas, but the best part of this trip….our tour guide is Ivana Grzetic, 1998’s Miss Croatia. Brent would not stop drooling the whole time we were in the office booking the trip yesterday.
We stopped at one of the many market stands on the way to Old Town and grabbed some wine, cheese, bread and olives for a snack later in the day. We met Ivana and her other tour guide Marko at their office in Old Town and after going over how to properly wear a life jacket (safety first) we proceeded down to the docks to hop on their boat and head out to the islands.
We will be paddling around the islands of Lopud, Ruda, and Sipan. These islands are northwest of Dubrovnik and separated from the mainland by the Kolocepski Channel. After a short ride on a speed boat our first stop is Lopud Island. From here, we will paddle with Ivana and Marko will meet us on the otherside of Sipan in about 5 hours. Marko pulled us into the wake of the island and we unloaded the kayaks in the breakers and walked them up to the sandy beach. This is the off-season, but the water is still rather warm and being a beautifully sunny day, the cooler temperatures are not a problem.
We will be paddling around the islands of Lopud, Ruda, and Sipan. These islands are northwest of Dubrovnik and separated from the mainland by the Kolocepski Channel. After a short ride on a speed boat our first stop is Lopud Island. From here, we will paddle with Ivana and Marko will meet us on the otherside of Sipan in about 5 hours. Marko pulled us into the wake of the island and we unloaded the kayaks in the breakers and walked them up to the sandy beach. This is the off-season, but the water is still rather warm and being a beautifully sunny day, the cooler temperatures are not a problem.
Before we even head out for the day, Jeanna cracks open one of our bottles of wine and takes a swig then passes it around. Ivana joined us in a toast to good weather and low tides and we were off from there. Lopud is rather well developed and even has a huge resort located on it. You can see a lot of the small fishing piers along the beaches and we even saw an old Franciscan monastery on the southern end of the island.
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| Franciscan monastery on Lopud |
After Lopud, we start paddling for Ruda. Ruda is a tiny island between Lopud and Sipan and is completely uninhabited. We paddled around the island and saw the rocky beaches contrasted against the forested “highlands” of the island. This of course is a great time to pop open another bottle. God I love this place, drinking wine all day is a lot better than sipping on overly treated bottled water all day like we do at home.
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| A nice place to break for wine |
We now paddled on to Sipan, the largest of the Elaphite Islands and the last on our tour for the day. This island is inhabited by only 500 people and contains a multitude of olive groves, vineyards, and citrus plantations. There are also a few old castles further into the island that have been around since the 15th century. We met up with Marko at the docks and stored our kayaks on the boat. Ivana has family who owns one of the olive groves on the island and has invited us up for a tour. After helping Marko to secure everything, we all walk up through Porto Gippana and head further inland. It was nice to be able to stretch our legs for a change.
The olive grove was located about 3km outside of the town proper and it was a beautiful little walk. We were given the opportunity to eat olives untreated straight from the tree and Meghan almost threw up. They were very acidic and did not taste good at all. The olive oil was another story though. Frances, Ivana’s cousin, showed us where they press fresh olive oil. This was like liquid gold. He brought out a few bottles of wine and some bread and we broke out our cheese we had bought that morning and had a much better than expected lunch.
After our “snack” we walked back down to the docks and departed for Dubrovnik. We got back into town at about 3pm and after helping Marko store the boats and the life vests, we were pretty tired. John drove us back to the hotel and we all basically just crashed for a few hours. Now it is time for dinner and I just hope Brent has something good planned.
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| Not even close to being good! |
BA
Day 7 in Croatia:
With our vacation almost over in Dubrovnik we decided to attend Croatia’s wine tasting tours located on the Island of Korcula. This tour offers stunning drives along the coast and the chance to taste premium wine’s in a local cellar. The tour includes hotel pick-up service so that is how our morning began…
The shuttle service picked us up around 8:30 am. We proceeded to the Island of Korcula, the birthplace of Marco Polo. The trip was quite long; we stopped at the Bella Vista restaurant for lunch. The restaurant looked over the Prapratno cove with its amazing white sand beaches. The view was priceless!
After lunch we boarded the shuttle bus and made our way to Orebic. Here we boarded a ferry to take across to the Island of Korcula.
Once on the boat it gave a great view of the sea and the distant glimpses of the town. When we reached the island, we noticed all the homes, museums, and shops that were very gothic or medieval type homes. They all looked out over the Adriatic Sea, which was a stunning body of water. We were able to stop and sacred art galleries, museums, and local shops to purchase any items. Some of us did!
We were then directed back to the boat to make our way to the local wine cellar for the wine tasting. Here we were given a great guide of the cellar, a discussion on the different types of nectar, and we were able to taste premium wines. The wine tasting was a blast, and all agreed the Croatians knew how to make some good wine!
The last stop on our journey was at the town of Ston, which held historical ruins of the great wall that runs all around the city of Dubrovnik.
We boarded the boat, sailed back to the docks where we loaded our bus and we were driven back to our hotel. The tour was approximately 10 hours; we got back to our hotel around 6:30 pm just in time to grab a quick dinner. Once back at our hotel, we drove to a well known Italian restaurant called Atlantic Cucina Italiana, where we enjoyed a great Italian meal. The service and atmosphere was great along with the food and wine. The group enjoyed the trip, experience, the wine, and the food. It was a good time, but long day. All of us were looking forward to catching some sleep.
Activity and meals by Meghan Dees
