Old city of Dubrovnik was our last stop on our UNESCO's World Heritage tour of Croatia. Many call it the 'Pearl of the Adriatic', a name I heard only recently, but understood the reasons for it immediately upon arriving to the old city. In past, I visited Dubrovnik and its historical attractions several times, but it was this visit that really made me see with my eyes wide open the grand beauty of the old city. 

We arrived to our hotel at Lapad peninsula in the late Sunday afternoon. It was a day of traveling, resting and preparing for tomorrow's adventure in the old city. We explored Lapad by foot and even took a few brave steps through some darker alleys that followed the coast line and paid off as we were rewarded with an amazing view of the Lapad bay at night. 

View of the old city from the city walls.

Today we had an early start. However small Dubrovnik's old city may seem from the air, it is quite big for a one day of touristic sightseeing. Our first steps were towards the city walls which run almost 2 km/1.2 mi around the city itself. It may seem strange why it was so tiring to walk those almost 2 km, but the heat took its toll along with thirst, mass of tourists and all the ups and downs we had to take to explore all the turrets and towers that had a protective role in city’s past. It was breathtaking to climb to the highest point of the walls and experience the view of the entire old city beneath our feet. It was then that I could imagine it being alive and standing independent with no other settlements in sight, as it was in the past. It was also very intriguing to witness the skillful manner in which today’s citizens adjusted to the city’s layout and size - the old city has at least two playgrounds I was lucky to notice.  

The rest of the day was spent exploring museums, farmer’s market, historic attractions and other hidden treasures. Some even took a boat ride and a ride with cableway. Unfortunately they did not take any photographs, but at least they soaked in the entire experience without distractions. We arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon and relaxed our swollen joints in the sea. We had to prepare for watching the soccer game somehow. I believe I would have chosen that method anytime.

We said our goodbyes with the ‘Chicago group’ tonight as they will stay in Dubrovnik a day longer and we unfortunately have to leave early in the morning. Michael, Alice and Brittany from UCF are joining us for the trip back. Our next brief stop before home is Zadar.

This trip was short and tiring, but that did not make it any less exciting or fulfilling. It was a thrill traveling to astounding places with open-hearted, kind and curious fellow explorers, students and professors, with great sense of humor. This was a perspective changing journey which I am very grateful to be a part of and will reminisce often in my lifetime. My big gratitude goes to all the wonderful people who shaped this experience and made it unforgettable, to all organizing parties and faculty members who made it possible and took great care of us and to the universities and faculty involved in supporting the project the enabling it to happen.

This certainly is one of many more adventures to come, but is one with big significance and influence on my life.

Looking back at our first day on the road we noticed how tiring our schedule was. Therefore, we decided to implement a more relaxed atmosphere into our coming days of exploration and learning. Rest was the top priority on our to-do list after our arrival in Split. Without it we could not achieve our goal, so we started our second-day-activities at 10 am.

There is no need for guessing what Split is most known for. The cellars of Diocletian's Palace are also on UNESCO's World Heritage list and were a must-see for us. Reading and learning about them was interesting to some, but exploring them was a thrill for everyone. Even without all the historical facts, one's imagination can do a fair enough job of creating an image of the life and activities that were going on at the time when the Palace was used for its initial purpose - retirement place for the emperor. The ceilings are high, rooms mainly small and windows (if any) are very tiny. That is a description of a very dark place, both figuratively and literally. The big space for imagination was most exciting for all 'Game of Thrones' fans present there.

Group photo in the cellars

For me, the history was the fun and exciting part. Also, I must admit I wish the cellars had more written materials and explanations about the rooms and past activities, but the archeologists can still only guess what most of the rooms were used for. Not all the rooms are excavated, so my hopes are that all needed work will be done successfully.

Witnessing such a grand place with a purpose of a cellar really helps depicturing the harsh reality of a big gap between social classes of those days. A building of those dimensions was finished in ten years by unimaginable number of workers on a building site today, and was used by the emperor, one person and his ‘entourage’, for only eleven which raises many moral questions.

The rest of the day was reserved for exploring other hidden treasures of Split, among which were narrow alleys, farmers market, historical sites, art market and famous beach called ‘Bačvice’. Visit to the beach would not be worth it if we had not taken a swim and relaxed. Yelena and I took a phrase ‘sugar at the end’ quite literally at the end of the day. We stopped at one of the local sweet shops and ate one of the most incredible-tasting cakes. A great ending of an amazing day.

Sugar at the end

Plitvice Lakes National Park was our first milestone. Due to its significance, it was an ideal starting point for an UNESCO's World Heritage themed trip with our guests from University of Central Florida and DePaul University (USA).

Waterfall

We met at 7:00 am behind the dormitory in Varaždin, settled in our bus and started the engine in the next 20 minutes. The drive was long as it took 4 hours to arrive to Plitvice Lakes. For us, those 4 hours had one single purpose - gathering strength for the 5 hour long adventure ahead of us. It was a true adventure as I am sure that none of us is used to such long walks with no sitting breaks and no amount of sleep could have prepared us for the tiredness and aching feet. Adding that we are a very culturally mixed group paints this experience with even more challenging tones.

However, it may be that all the beauty and wonders of Plitvice Lakes have made all possible challenges and pain complaints disappear. The only things we witnessed were our tremendous awe toward natural treasure surrounding us, curiosity, broadening of knowledge, breaking cultural stereotypes and building new friendships. 

Plitvice Lakes Group Photo

Tired, but happy as we achieved our first milestone, we headed for Split where we will continue to explore UNESCO's World Heritage sites.