We made it. It is stunningly beautiful even as you fly into the tiny airport.

From the plane window as we fly in over the islands near Split (very close to where our cycling trip will happen). It really is stunning. And <Gulp!> a wee bit hilly. I am hoping our rides will be mostly limited to the low road that seems to circle most of the islands’ harbours and beaches.🤞

We approached the city from the south, driving along the edge of the coastline; the Adriatic Sea on one side and Bosnia Herzegovina running just along the other side of the mountains – a stone’s throw away.

I will start by saying that the actual travel was fine. The flight left only a few minutes late from Vancouver, and made up the delay on the journey. Our Munich connection to Dubrovnik was a snap. There was no need to go through customs and immigration in Germany and in the tiny Dubrovnik airport took about 10 minutes. This was a low bureaucracy journey.

I will say, we were a bit disappointed with Lufthansa (my heart is broken). The seats were ok, but it was a newer plane with a little less space – even in premium economy. The food was very poor – not what I expect from Lufthansa – so I nibbled at a few things but that was it. The entertainment system was not working so it was a loooooong 9 hours. We both slept a bit, but arrived in Munich a bit disgruntled and very tired. Although we had to walk to the far end of the airport to get our connection, it was easy, and we were actually in Dubrovnik about 1.5 hours later.

No cars are allowed in Old Town, so Ken walked out to meet us at the gate. Lucky thing! We would have never found the hotel without him. Apparently he and Cathy circled it for a half hour, dragging their suitcases, though it is actually about a 10 minute straight walk in when you actually know where you are going.

We are staying in a tiny apartment hotel that Ken found. It is tidy and cute with a very comfortable bed, that I can’t wait to climb into. We have had a nice shower, changed, and are preparing to go out and walk through the tiny old town with Ken and Cathy. I cannot wait (and I need to keep moving in order to stay awake!)

The Old Town of Dubrovnik is actually quite small. We wandered around a bit, found a lovely restaurant for dinner where we drank Croatian Prosecco and Syrah. I had the most amazing risotto with scallops and exactly the right amount of truffle. I am very mixed on truffle flavour on the norm, but this was a real treat. Rick had mackerel and black ravioli stuffed with prawn, also amazing. The wines were both impressive though small production means it is hard to get most of them outside of Croatia.

We wandered the streets after dinner – mostly looking for a small grocery store to pick up some breakfast things – but also to admire the town, the outdoor restaurants and the atmosphere.

Old Town was heavily featured in Game of Thrones as the Red Keep in King’s Landing. It’s not hard to see why. There was a massive earthquake in Dubrovnik in 1667, so most of the buildings here are actually baroque vs medieval. When I first walked into Old Town I noticed the street stones – they are worn so smooth and shiny by hundreds of years of feet that they look more like marble and are very slippery when wet.

Here are a few photos from our wanderings. Good night….