13
Oct
2014
0

Dubrovnik: Cherish the Experience!

There is so much to see and do in Dubrovnik that three days are just not enough! We walked the walls, admired the Old Town from a hill top, sipped endless cups of coffee in cafes, enjoyed delicious food and searched for peace in the churches – everyone does this as they tick Dubrovnik off their bucketlist. But we did more than what a rushed up tourist would do – we made an attempt to feel the pulse of the town by ‘experiencing’ the place. Here are some experiences that will linger in our memories for years to come!

Cliff jumping at Buza Bar

Numerous travel posts talk about Buza Bar – don’t wander around the Old Town expecting to find signboards that point in the right direction. There are none! Ask a local shop owner, and he will guide you. However, you will want to plonk yourself on the rocks at Buza Bar only if you have seen how interesting it looks, which we did while we walked the walls of the Old Town.

Dubrovnik: Buza Bar

Dubrovnik: Buza Bar

The next afternoon, we packed our beach towels and headed off to Buza Bar. One beer and one glass of wine is all it took to make us flag Buza Bar the as the ‘coolest place to hang out in the Old Town’. Not to forget, the place gets cooler if you can jump into the sea at least once… maybe twice… maybe numerous times in a couple of hours! Considering the fact that I am scared of heights, cliff jumping, albeit from a tiny cliff, is an experience that I will remember for a long long time!

Watching a game of water polo ‘Wild League’

Never seen a game of water polo? Don’t know the rules? It does not matter! It does not take too much effort to be part of the world’s most famous amateur water polo competition – Dubrovnik’s Old Harbour is charged with enthusiasm and energy that will, perhaps, make you cheer for both teams!

Dubrovnik: Water Polo - Cheering for H2O

Dubrovnik: Water Polo – Cheering for H2O

Grab a bottle of water, juice, ice tea – whatever your ‘poison’ maybe and get a place at the harbour. The place is charged – like a cricket stadium in India or a football field in Brazil! By the time the game ended, Ankur and I had lost our voice – courtesy cheering for our team H2O.

Acoustics of the Rector’s Palace

I have always wanted to attend a concert in one of the ancient structures – missed an event in Greece and Italy is yet to happen. The Dubrovnik Summer Festival was the place to experience the acoustics and travel back in time by attending a piano recital the Rector’s Palace. For starters, the place makes you feel like royalty. Next, the acoustics are just magical; magical enough to snap us out of our jet lag. Never have we had such a fabulous experience, even in the best of auditoriums. We enjoyed every note that fell on our ear drums – glad to have attended the concert!

Dubrovnik: Rector's Palace

Dubrovnik: Rector’s Palace

Granny and Nana at the local market

Whats so special about a local farmers’ market that sells fruits, vegetables and other local produce? Nothing really, unless you get here by 7 am and spend a while talking to the old ladies who run the show. Give them a hand in setting up their shop – they might be generous enough to share a local recipe that will get you brownie points back home.

Dubrovnik: 'Granny' at the Farmers' Market

Dubrovnik: ‘Granny’ at the Farmers’ Market

While Ankur would be in dreamland, there were days that I managed to get up early and talked to ‘Granny’ in broken English – she reminded me of my Grandma – the broken English, the warmth in her words, her round chubby face and heartfelt smile; Can I ever forget a conversation that took me two decades back, to my childhood?

Its time you stop rushing like a tourist… and start experiencing like a traveller!

Many thanks to the Dubrovnik Tourism Board for facilitating our trip to this charming city.

You may also like

Our 100th Post!
Hvar: Road Trip
Flashback 2014: Part 2
Zadar: Rambling on….

13 Responses

    1. We landed in Dubrovnik from India and then took a bus to Split. It does go through Bosnia. At the border, the official comes and checks your passport. That's it! The bus also stops at a cafe in Bosnia and you can have a coffee there too.,.another country!
      There is no separate visa or travel document required and the process is easy.

  1. I’m dying to go here! I’ve heard nothing but good things. I’m really into that Buza Bar! I’ve never cliff jumped (done a lot of other insane things, but not that) so I’d be interested in trying. It looks super fun regardless of whether you jump or not! And I’m glad to hear the grannies are friendly! I wouldn’t try that in Italy LOL

  2. I love Dubrovnik, it’s such a beautiful city. I only had a couple of days so would love to go back. I didn’t know about the cliff jump and not sure I would want to do it, I tried at a small waterfall in indonesia and after about 45 mins I did finally manage it!!

  3. Dubrovnik looks amazing, another incredibly city I need to visit! The formality of those orange roofs against the gorgeous cliffs is just breathtaking. I love going to local markets when traveling too and this local market looks perfect 🙂

  4. This city is one of my favorites – hoping someday I would get to see its beauty. The architecture and the walls, and the unique culture, there are so many things to explore!

  5. Loving this post! I am all for ‘experience the pulse’ of a place. I would love to see the cliff jumping, although I am not sure if I would dare jump. Maybe I would need a beer and wine too before I could jump. The Water Polo match I reckon would be heaps of fun to watch too. Great post – pinning!

  6. I was in Croatia this summer but sadly didn’t see Dubrovnik! Your pictures look absolutely beautiful I’m so jealous. Looks like you had an amazing time, the cliff jumping looks incredible <3

Leave a Reply