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After months of planning and waiting, we had arrived in Croatia!
We had survived a long flight, processed through customs and immigration and found our way to the car rental agency.
Agent, “Yes, I have your reservation…an economy with manual transmission.”
Me (to the agent), “Yes…wait…what? Uh oh.”
Me (to my husband), “Oh honey, you do remember how to drive a stick, right?”
Luckily, we both know how to drive manual transmissions, but it had been many years since my husband had had any practice. In the end, we decided to keep the car, even after the agency offered up a larger, automatic (for more money, of course) because we were not sure of the parking lot size at our Airbnb. My husband would just have to take it easy…a difficult feat in a mountainous country!
Heading onto the coastal highway, we drove the twenty-two minutes towards the city, getting our first glimpses of Old Town Dubrovnik, sitting on the precipice of the city surrounded by the sparkling azure waters. It was absolutely breathtaking!
My Airbnb host, Antonia, had sent us detailed instructions on how to reach our rental when we reached the city. As my husband carefully shifted our Corsa Opal and followed my directions, we were awed by the walls of the Old City on our right. So awed…that we missed the road to our Airbnb! Back around we drove…and since most of the roads in this area were one-way, it was a long, long way around!
This time, I was ready. As we turned at the light, I spotted the road on the right that we were supposed to take. This road was quite narrow, with a wall on the left and parked cars next to a drop off on the right…and it angled sharply downward. As my husband shifted the transmission and gave it a little gas, I suddenly realized that we were passing the gates to our property. Stop!
He did, but since we were on a hill, with a wall to our left and cars parked to our right, it was difficult to put the car in reverse to backup…uphill…to turn into the yard. Oh brother! He made the decision to continue down the hill, so we could circle around again. Only…
The road narrowed. The wall on the left veered right and the car on the right was angled to the left. Wow, this was going to take some maneuvering to get past. Holding our breath, reaching out the windows and turning our rear-view mirrors inward and inching slowly forward, we made it past these two obstacles. And discovered…
The road narrowed to a path!
Yes…a path that only a motorcycle or a bicycle or a small child could proceed on. Getting out of the car, we looked for another option. There was no going forward…only back. This would require shifting the manual transmission and carefully passing between…while maintaining inches from…both the wall and the car and while giving the car enough gas to make it up the hill…backwards. I feel like I should insert the wide-eyed emoji here. We were at a loss and the only thing I thought that could get us out of this mess was to get a crane to pick up the car and drop in onto a nearby roadway…again…wide eyed emoji. Yeah…not really an option.
Sick to my stomach, I realized that we had just declined insurance coverage on our rental!
As people walked by, snickering…my husband suggested that we call the car rental company and tell them what happened, but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel…yet. I ran up the hill to the gates of our Airbnb, let myself in and knocked on the door. I don’t know what I expected them to do, but maybe they had a solution. SURELY this had happened to someone before, right?
Greeted by Antonia’s mother, I told her what happened. She said she didn’t know how to drive, but said, “let’s go take a look”. Down the hill, she eyed our predicament and shook her head in disbelief. She said, “Let’s ask the firemen! They are my neighbors and they are nice. They will help! Tell your husband to go inside that building and tell them what happened.”
As my husband walked toward us, I really did not want to give him her suggestion. After all, the car wasn’t on fire. But, what the heck! We had nothing to lose.
So off he went, disappearing into the firehouse. Later, he told me that after explaining what had happened, the fire chief just shook his head (we definitely know that this had happened before) and nodded toward two muscular twenty-somethings to go out and help. Probably bored and excited to have something to do, they bounded out of the building, telling my husband, “please don’t videotape us” while laughing. Can’t say that that statement made me feel all that good…
One fireman jumped into the car and the other proceeded to direct. My stomach was in knots and I thought that I was going to throw up my lunch as they inched forward and backward, trying to get the car into the correct position to make it past the wall and the car. Backward…forward…backward…forward…one directing, one driving. And then…my stomach lurching…the driver stepped on the gas and shot past the wall and the car and straight up the hill…inches to spare. Watching them, it almost seemed so effortless it was as if they had been probably driving a stick-shift since they were twelve…maybe eleven!
I ran up the hill, pointing to the gate where he pulled the car into the yard.
OMG…did that just really happen?
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! Thanking them profusely, we followed Antonia’s mom into the yard, shutting the gate behind us, lest the car was left in park and rolled back onto that dreaded hill!
“I need a drink”, said my husband shakily.
Antonia’s mom disappeared into the house and reappeared quickly with an unmarked bottle of wine and three glasses. Directing us onto the patio, she poured us each a glass and offered up a toast to the firemen! Now, being a beer-kind-of-girl, I am not much into the taste of red wine…but, this red wine was something else! I really needed its medicinal properties for my shot nerves!
Three glasses later and learning a lot about Antonia’s mom (and that she got this wine from somewhere in the hills), she finally shooed us to our room and told us to get changed and go out and enjoy the city.
Dressed and refreshed, we headed down that same hill that started our vacation on the wrong foot…this time on foot. I had heard that lots of steps were involved with Old Town Dubrovnik and we soon learned that those stories were true. The entrance nearest to our Airbnb, Vrata od Buze, which was opened in the city walls in 1907 and named after Croatia’s finest 18th century scientist, physicist, astronomer and poet, Ruder Boskovic, was narrow and we walked down approximately 80,038 steps to get to the main esplanade, Stradun…actually, my legs were saying that it was more like 90,000! As we walked along the limestone-paved pedestrian street, we gazed around in wonder, amazed that we were actually in Dubrovnik!
At one end of Stradun was the landmark clocktower rebuilt since the 15th century and the baroque Church of Saint Blaise, built in 1715 (with a statue of Saint Blaise salvaged from a fire) and on the other end, the Pile Gate, the 15th century main entrance to Dubrovnik’s Old Town.
We decided to take a walk around the city to familiarize ourselves with its layout starting with a glimpse of the Old Port and the many boats and ferries parked here. Passing the statue of Marin Drzic in front of the Rector’s Palace, we rubbed his nose for good luck. Marin Drzic was a famous writer, often dubbed Dubrovnik’s Shakespeare. From here, we continued on past the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Old Town Market, located in Gundulic Square, where I stared longingly at the giant figs that were being offered for sale. Next, we climbed the Jesuit stairs. Little did we know what a significant part this played in Game of Thrones as we stepped inside the Catholic Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Srkva sv. Ignacij), built in 1725, which is known for its Lourdes Grotto. Making our way near the outer walls, we circled back around to the Old Pile Gate.
Deciding that taking a walk around the top of the fortress walls would be the perfect thing to do since the sun wasn’t so high in the sky and it wasn’t as hot as it was earlier. Paying our admission, we climbed the steep stone stairs and began our journey around the city from a different perspective. With views of the Fort Lovrjenac and Tvrdava Bokar, Dubrovnik West Harbour, the Old Town and the beautiful sea, I would say that it was a great way to become acquainted with the city.
Finally, we had made our way all the way around the city’s walls and discovered that we were a bit thirsty. It was time to head to the Buza Bar on the southwest side of the Old Town. Grabbing a seat, we looked out over the azure waters and enjoyed a couple of beers, mesmerized by the cliff jumpers. Thinking that the waters must have felt refreshing in the heat of the day, we quickly changed our minds, hearing their shrieks when they hit the chilly waters of the Adriatic!
A little hungry, we took the advice of a friend and began seeking out a restaurant on the direct opposite side of Old Town. Lady Pi Pi. The name was a bit perplexing until we saw the fountain out front. I won’t describe it any more than to tell you to take a look at the picture. We were lucky to get one of the few tables in the establishment without a wait but, I would wait any day…it was some of the best seafood that we have ever had!
The best part, however, was that although we had to climb a billion stairs to get to Lady Pi Pi, we didn’t have to climb many more to get back to our Airbnb. After such a long day and the mental stresses that came with it, it was good not to have to walk very far to get home and to bed. A welcome berth for our weary bodies!
So far, we loved what we we had experienced. But…
Tomorrow was another day. So much more to see and experience!
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Old Town Market
- https://dubrovniktourguide.com/local-shops/old-town-market/
- Address: Gunduliceva poljana, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Hours: 0700-1700, Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday.
- Admission: free
Crkva sv. Ignacija
- http://isusovcidubrovnik.com
- Address: Poljana Rudera Boskovica 7, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Hours: 24 hours, daily
- Admission: free
Buza Bar
- Address: Kneza Hrvasha 11, Dubrovnik, HR 20000
- Hours: 0900-2400, daily
- Admission: free
Wall of Dubrovnik
- https://wallsofdubrovnik.com/info-ticket-prices-working-hours/
- Address: City Walls Entrance, adjacent to the inside of the Pile Gate.
- Hours: Summer, (April 1-June 30) 1000-1700, (July 1-July 31) 0800-1930, (August 1-August 31) 0800-1900, (September 1-September 14) 0800-1830, (September 14-September 30) 0800-1800, (October 1-October 31) 0800-1730. Winter, (November 1-March 31) 0900-1500. Closed Christmas Day, December 25.
- Admission: Adults, 200kn (approximately $29.00 US per person), Children and Young Adults (under 18), 50kn (approximately $7.25 US per person). Students (only with valid Croatia Student Card, International Student Card (ISIC) & European Youth Card): Approved Student Cards, 50kn (approximately $7.25 US per person). Dubrovnik-Neretva County citizens, free with ID directly at the entrance.
- Various tours available.
Airbnb-Mery Room 1