May 22, 2021
I left town right after my last exam, but school is still going on, so the first thing I had to do was work. I graded make up labs for the mechatronics class I have been TAing for. The hostel WIFI is good, and the patio is very nice to work on. It was a bit chilly but shaded, which is good.
Next, I tried to get acquainted with the old town. It’s easy to navigate, but your phone can’t help you get to many places since everything is so close. If you walk straight out of Pile Gate and down the street, there are some beautiful science institutions and hotels to see.
Also right outside of Pile Gate is the fort. In my opinion this is the best place to take pictures in Dubrovnik, and you can get them for free. Definitely walk up the stairs to the fort even if you don’t care to see it. The fort itself is not exciting but you can get a better bird’s eye view of the old town from the top of the stairs. I would only go inside if you already bought a ticket for another attraction that includes it or if you love GoT. I think you can buy these tickets at the entrance to the town walls or at the tourist office outside of Pile Gate.
I stopped by the grocery store, Konzum, to see if I could get some breakfast and lunch supplies. There’s not that much stuff but it’s cheap, so it’s good for lunch. It might be better to go earlier in the day to get some pastries. You can also stop here to get the perfect sizes of shampoo and conditioner for cheap.
For dinner I stopped at Take Away burrito, ($9.50), which was pretty good. I returned to the hostel and ended up getting wine with Elena from Galicia and Max from Hamburg, both living in Mostar for the semester for school/internships. We talked a bit about Mostar, but I don’t think I’ll get to go unless they stop requiring COVID tests ASAP.
May 23, 2021
Today I stopped by some sites that I had read about online, including the Church of St. Ignatius, which has pretty steps (photo op). Then I cooked pasta and cheese in hostel, since not much is really open on Sundays (at least as of now).
Next, Anamarija took us to Hotel Belvedere, which was a luxurious hotel that was destroyed during the war. It’s a 25-minute walk from town, and we spent 2 hours here exploring the ruins and watching the sunset. The entire thing is open, and you can walk pretty much everywhere except the rooftop now. It says it’s fenced online but it’s not. A Russian developer bought it and is trying to restore it so things may change in the next couple years, although he has already been working on it for several years so maybe not. Anamarija also told us that sometimes DJs will go there and host raves, but this hasn’t been happening since COVID.
For dinner I went to Guloso, recommended by Anamarija. I got a smoked burger, which was pretty good, and they gave me a discount because they didn’t have fries like I wanted.
May 24, 2021
Again, today the plan was to check some sites off the list. I stopped at the market and bought some strawberries. On my way to tour the town walls, I stopped at the medieval pharmacy which is absolutely nothing special (but you can stop here anyway because it’s not out of the way). It costs $30 to tour the town walls and I couldn’t get a discount from already touring the fort (so you have to do them in reverse to get the discount). The views are nothing special compared to the ground or mountain. To me it wasn’t worth it, so I would say that if you are a long term traveler you can skip it, but if this is a special trip you could still do it since it is a very important part of Dubrovnik. (Edit: looking back…the photos are pretty stunning. You can be the judge though. The free shot I was talking about earlier is the thumbnail for this post, and a shot from the walls can be found below.)
It was super hot today so after touring the walls, I stopped at Peppino’s ice cream, which is the best in town according to Anamarija. You can find it under the clock tower. It lived up to my expectations and was not too expensive (~$5 for 2 scoops). There’s also a nice assortment of flavors.
My last goal of the day was to hike Mount Srd at sunset. It took 1.5 hours to get from old town to top. Getting to the trailhead is harder than the actual trail, in my opinion. If you go at sunset, be careful coming down, because I sprained ankle in dark. It’s mostly safe to go alone but bring a light and be careful. The trail is very well marked so you don’t have to worry about getting lost, but when I was coming down I was completely alone and it was a bit eerie.
The trail is unique because it has switchbacks where each turn is a Station of the Cross. They were put there to remind everyone of the journey those defending the town had to take when Dubrovnik was attacked during the war. All supplies for the fort came up this route during the attack via donkeys.
At the top you will find Fort Imperial. The entrance is 50 Kuna like the other fort, but there’s an actual museum in there and you get a post card for free so it’s a better deal. They also took my student ID, so I actually only paid 15 Kuna. The cable car is not worth it because it’s expensive and the hike is not difficult (and is meaningful). The restaurant at the top is expensive. The best views are around station X, not the top, in my opinion. Another tip is to bring a raincoat even if it isn’t going to rain, because storms can pop up pretty easily. For me it was cloudy during sunset, which was too bad.
After working up an appetite, I stopped at Pile Sandwich Bar before heading home. It was 19 Kuna for a salami sandwich and 13 Kuna for a hot dog. You can also add typical sandwich toppings (some cost extra). So far, this is probably the best deal in town, even comparing the grocery. I haven’t been trying to eat gourmet food in Dubrovnik, and it seems like some stuff has shut down due to COVID, so I haven’t been too impressed with the food here. Even the cheap food is expensive so I would suggest going to the grocery and Pile Sandwich Bar, and then splurging on a few nicer meals.
When I got back to the hostel, I found out Anamarija was celebrating her birthday tonight and she invited some of the people from the hostel to her party at the upper hostel building. We ate ice cream cake and drank beer and then some people went to the pier to listen to music, but I ended up going home because my foot was swelling up.
May 25, 2021
Like I said, I sprained ankle on the hike so I just rested today. My ankle was really swollen late last night after the party, but today it just feels stiff. I’m also a bit tired from jet lag so this is a good chance to rest. It seems like my ankle should be fine, and I really hope so because tomorrow I am planning to travel to Split, and I have to carry all of my stuff to the bus stop. I ended up just finishing food I had in hostel today because I didn’t want to carry it with me.
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