Croatia Day One ((Red Roofs))

When I woke up for breakfast this morning, I walked into the dining room in my sweats and sporting bed hair, and was about to scoop eggs onto my plate…and then I glanced outside. Red rooftops everywhere. I did a double-take, thinking I was back in the Czech Republic. Then I gasped and realized we were in Croatia! Isn’t it funny how some things take a while to sink in? This is the 3rd country we’ve traveled to so far, and it smacks me in the head every time. When the ship stops moving, I feel like I’m back home…it’s very odd.

So, I ate my breakfast out on the deck, gawking at the beautiful red roofs and breath-taking mountains. After Naples, Dubrovnik was so welcoming, so stunningly pretty. Everything was pretty, from the sparkling water to the vast mountains –I couldn’t get over the landscape.

At 1PM I had to meet outside for the SAS trip I signed up for. We were going to see the “city walls” and the “old city”. I had no idea what this meant, but it sounded interesting, so I signed myself up. We rode in a bus to this scenic overlook, and boy was it scenic. I guess the word I’m looking for is “majestic”. Boats sailed in the distance, and you could see many of Croatia’s islands in the distance. It was pretty sweet.

Then we toured the “old city” for a bit. The buildings were stone-like, very quaint. We walked up into the walls, basically this castle-like fortress, and saw how it encompassed the old city. There are castle-like structures all around Dubrovnik, and it was neat how we got to tour the outskirts of one.
Some history of Croatia? The country just gained their independence in 1991. I found this very interesting. I realize that America is a very young country, but wow. The rough war they had to endure was called the “Homeland War”. There were books about it in every gift shop I browsed in.
After walking around for a bit, I bought some gelato, and realized that although the dollar is a lot stronger than the Kuna (Croatian money!), everything is terribly expensive. I’m sure my bank account loves my spending habits.

That night, Michelle, Liz, and I went out to the Old City and found an Irish Pub to explore. As I ordered my Rum and Coke, a large group of people came bursting through the doors, hollering and banging a drum...everyone was sweating and laughing and dancing. One of the guys hung the Italian flag over a wooden pillar and the banging of the drum continued. It was hilarious. I had no idea what was going on, but the entire pub began chanting in Croatian and clapping their hands and jumping around. We deduced that a sports team (soccer?) must have won. It was a good night for all, indeed.

Cheers!
A.