Ljubljana, Dubrovnik and WAIT WHEN IS THIS?
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy
-added July 24th 2017-
*Just an updated note that I am obviously not in Croatia anymore, throughout the madness of getting ready to fly back to Canada I didn't get a chance to finish this. However better late than never so here are the last few days of my vacation*
Ljubljana
I'm sorry I haven't posted the last couple of days (**or weeks**) , it's just been too hot for me to function. The last place I left you guys was I think when we headed out from Budapest to Ljubljana, Slovania. As most of my family and friends know, I don't function in heat. If it gets above 25 degrees in Vancouver I start to melt. Regardless I am currently sitting in my Dubrovnik Airbnb waiting until we can head over to the airport so I thought I might catch you all up to speed.
My first impression of Ljubljana was on the highway when a lightening bolt struck a power line and knocked out basically every traffic light in the city, successfully delaying our coach by around two hours.
While we waited out the monsoon in the relative safety of the bus we saw emergency crews flying up and down the highway attempting to control traffic and calm things down.
However, we eventually made it to our AirBnb safe and mostly sound.
Oh I should mention, the place we were staying was 4.5Km outside of the main city.
Being stubborn and not wanting to spend money to take the bus we ended up walking...
A lot.
Out of a gay coincidence it happened to be Ljubljana Pride the same weekend we were there and having sampled the nightlife in most of the other cities it would've been a shame not to experience Pride in Slovania. After google deep-diving we found Ljubljana's only official gay club which bore the very appropriately homo title "Club Tiffany."
Turns out, most of the clubs in the city are all centralized within this one district. They're scattered throughout this old ex-military bunker complex which gives even London's Heaven a run for the money when considering cool club architecture. However that's where the comparison ends because the scene in Ljubljana is very alternative and punk(?). Which isn't a problem for me because although I may come across all sassy gayboy I can basically go anywhere, make friends and have a good time. I was however a little worried for Jack because he's a bit more... vanilla when it comes to clubbing experiences. Anyway the drinks were cheap and the music was decent so we had a fun night out.
Having had our fill of the nightlife the next day was more of a sightseeing excursion than anything else. There are several things to go see in Ljubljana but the main one is the aptly named Ljubljana Castle which sits on a hill overlooking the city. The hike up to it is wicked especially when it's thirty-ish degrees out but worth it for the stunning panoramic views. If I remember correctly the entrance fee for the castle is 6-7 euro and 3 to add on the audio guide. Jack and I spent a solid two hours exploring the castle and it's grounds but inevitably had to make our way back to the Airbnb to get ready for our final leg. This final stretch of our trip had us coaching from Ljubljana all the way down the Croatian coast to Dubrovnik passing briefly through Bosnia and Herzegovina. This coach by the way was thirteen and a half hours...
As you can imagine it was a super enjoyable experience which I would love to do over again and if you can't read the sarcasm then let me assure you...
It wasn't at all fun.
Dubrovnik
My first impression of Dubrovnik was basically any time I had traveled to Southern California. That is to say it felt like basically any other beachfront resort town. Even most of the architecture felt super So-Cal-esc with the terra-cotta thatch roofed buildings and the warm, sleepy atmosphere. This is Europes number one tourist and beach holiday destination so obviously it's packed with people and the prices within the city are extortionist.
The other thing special about Dubrovnik is that the walled city is where HBO's Game of Thrones is filmed, specifically any scene involving Kings Landing.
It may come as a shock but I myself have never watched Game of Thrones all the way through (before I get to many rotten vegetables thrown my way I'm just going to say that I'm not the biggest fan of gore). Regardless the old city itself is gorgeous and is easy enough to get lost and burn several hours in.
Dubrovnik's Walled City
Besides the old city there aren't many other free things to see in Dubrovnik. If I were to go back there I would make sure I was able to afford a few of the walking tours because if you plan to see the city on your own there isn't much that's free. Also, because the temperature in June averages around 30 degrees Celsius Jack and I ended up swimming a lot. As we were staying outside the city it worked out that the quieter beach, the one mainly used by the locals, was closer to us than the tourist infested one. I'd say prime time to go would be around 1-2pm. It gets hottest around 1-3 so the water is refreshing and cool.
My trip around Europe was as amazing as it is rather indescribable. However, I've done my best to annotate as much of it as possible in the hopes that it inspires you to travel also. I'll make a final wrap-up post which'll include a scorecard of the cities and links to the AirBnB's we used (which were all exceptional!)
Until my next travels
G-