Cruising Around Croatia: Kimble Adriatic Cruise Part Four

By this point, we have visited Venice and then cruised through Italy, Montenegro, and Greece. Time is flying on this trip with Mom and Dad, but we still have one more country (and two cruise ports) left!

May 15: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Thursday, May 15, began with a lot of excitement for the whole group! Mom and Dad watched Game of Thrones in preparation for this cruise, and knowing we were visiting THE primary filming location for King's Landing had us all eager to port and get off the ship!

Viewpoint on Dubrovnik

We departed around noon and boarded our bus for the cruise excursion. Along the way to our first stop of the day, we paused at a stunning viewpoint overlooking the walled city! Bryan was already pointing out filming spots to Mom from this distance!

Cavtat

Before visiting Dubrovnik, we headed farther south towards Cavtat, pronounced Sah-v-tat. This small fishing village is known for its secluded beaches and the absence of crowds, in contrast to the larger city. As soon as we got off the bus, Mom spotted our first local artist in Croatia! I wasn't in love with the oil painting style, so I talked her out of purchasing...little did we know that would be the only artist we spotted in the entire country!

Caffe Bar Amor: Amor bar Cavtat

With Cavtat being such a small town, it didn't take long for us to explore the fishing village. We enjoyed a drink at a local bar, sitting outside on their covered patio while making friends with an older couple from Australia! Dad and Bryan enjoyed a local Croatian beer, while Mom had a limoncello spritz, and I had a lovely mojito. We had some off-and-on drizzle in the morning, but we're lucky it didn't last too long!

Kameni Mlin (Stone Mill) - Agrotourism Konavle

For lunch, we headed to a local agrotourism farm, where we were greeted with a rakija shot, the infamous licorice-flavored liquor renowned throughout the Balkans. It still tasted as bad as we remembered, but the farm was picturesque!

Everything we ate for lunch was grown on these grounds! The fields surrounding the Kaeni Mlin are used to produce local foods; they even sell the extras at a local fresh market. Mom's favorite part, though, may have been the cats!

As we toured the grounds, we reached the Peka Room. Croatia is known for its peka cooking style; meat is covered with a cast-iron bell-shaped dish, which is then covered in hot embers. The hot coals slowly cook the meat over several hours, leading to tender, juicy beef!

And boy was it delicious! Alongside new English-speaking friends from Australia and the US, we loved talking about travels and drinking the house wines! This lunch was probably Dad's favorite of the whole trip!

We left in a little bit of a food coma as we drove back to Dubrovnik to continue our day's adventure! As we made our way to the city, we were faced with Dubrovnik's famous outer walls.

Dubrovnik West Harbour

Before entering Dubrovnik's walled city, we headed to the West Harbour, more notably known as Blackwater Bay! For fellow GOT fans, here's one of many clips filmed in this harbor:

Much like the rest of the Adriatic waters, "Black Water Bay" was turquoise in color!

Pile Gate

As soon as we crossed over into the city's walls, we were faced with another famous Game of Thrones filming location!

You may remember Geoffrey's famous "Kill them All!" scream as he was attacked in King's Landing. Those scenes were all filmed right here inside the Pile Gate!

Školska knjiga Bookstore

Now you know Bryan and I had to get our hands on another Harry Potter book, so while our tour guide continued down the street, Bryan and I snuck a quick stop inside a local bookstore to snag a Croatian copy for our collection!

Church of St. Salvation: Crkva Svetog Spasa

It's not an old city if there isn't an old church- so don't worry, Dubrovnik had its fair share! The first church we spotted was the Church of Saint Salvation.

Plava Sabljarka D.o.o.

We also passed by the only Serbian Orthodox Church in Dubrovnik: Plava Sabljarka D.o.o. While the Serbian population is a small minority in Croatia, seeing this church goes to show Dubrovnik's openness to all populations within the city.

I bet you didn't know that Star Wars: The Last Jedi was also filmed in Dubrovnik!? That's right, HBO wasn't the only company spotting the unique filming beauty of the city: so did Lucasfilm!

Jesuit Stairs

Known to locals as the Jesuit Stairs because they lead to the Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius, these steps are famous to all Game of Thrones fans as the "Walk of Shame" stairs. (The real fans understand why I won't be linking a video of Cersei's scene here! You know this is a kid-friendly blog!)

A fun fact: the Jesuit Stairs were inspired by Rome's Spanish Steps! While much smaller, it's fun to see how Rome's architecture inspired architects across the Adriatic Sea!

Rector's Palace: Kulturno-povijesni muzej u Kneževu dvoru

The Rector's Palace is a governmental building that served the rulers of the area from the 14th to the 17th centuries. It used to hold a prison, an armory, and a watch house for the city. But...

Guess what?

It was also a filming location for Game of Thrones! We didn't have time to go inside and see the interior stairs that served as the Spice King's home, where Daenerys asked for ships to cross the Narrow Sea, but here's a quick clip:

Porat Dubrovnik

We ended our guided walking tour of the city in the Port of Dubrovnik! Before the city's popularity skyrocketed, cruise ships were able to port right outside this area, and tourists were tendered to shore right here! But now, the city has built larger ports outside the city to combat the crowds.

Peppino’s Gelato Factory

With our free time, we visited more bookstores, enjoyed some gelato, and roamed the stair-filled side streets of Dubrovnik!

Now I will admit, for as many TV shows and movies that were filmed in Dubrovnik, I was shocked at how small the city felt. With one main street leading from one end of the walled city to the other, it seemed quaint while still packed with tourists.

I will also admit: Dubrovnik is WAY overpriced! The city charges FORTY EUROS to walk along the city walls. And that's per person! Don't tell this Croatian town that you can do the same thing FOR FREE in Rothenburg ob der Tauber!

We also noticed that the typical souvenirs were priced higher than normal. While Dubrovnik shouldn't be missed, I would highly recommend people stay in the beautiful Montenegro and just ferry over to this famous city for the day. At least that would be my plan, but hey, maybe I'm just trying to get back to Montenegro!

Today was amazing, but I give a big portion of the credit to our amazing tour guide! She was hilarious and did great balancing a split tour of French and English speakers!

This city may be expensive, but those views are priceless. Just look at the sunset as we left Dubrovnik and made our way farther north!

When we got back to our rooms, we learned that our port call to Split, Croatia, had been cancelled due to bad weather and rough waters near the port. Lucky for us, they did change our port call to Zadar, Croatia instead!

As soon as we got this note, Bryan and I rushed to the top deck to try and notify our excursion in Split that we wouldn't be making it. Since we booked this excursion through the Shore Excursion Group, we were guaranteed reimbursement since the ship canceled the port call, but this still left us with nothing planned for Zadar!

Since we were still close to land, Bryan and I were able to plan a last-minute day trip around our new port! I found a free walking tour and a boat trip we could book in the morning if the weather improved. Whew! This cancellation really challenged my trip planning abilities!

May 16: Zadar, Croatia

But we weren't going to let a port call change deter us from an amazing final day! As soon as we could disembark, we were off the ship and booking a Bolt to Zadar's Old Town. Unlike Dubrovnik, Zadar's prices were much more reasonable- this Bolt ride only cost us $6.

Saint Donatus’ Church: Crkva sv. Donata

We made it to the center of town for our 11 am free walking tour. Our first stop was the Byzantine-style Catholic Church, Saint Donatus' Church. This unique cylindrical church was built in the 9th century with the remains of the original Roman forum.

That's right, Zadar's history goes back to the time of Roman rulers! If you look closely, you can see the columns from the original forum used as the foundation of the church!

The Greeting to the Sun: Pozdrav suncu

While we never got rained on, it was pretty cloudy during our walking tour! As we walked along the waterway, we passed the Sea Organ (more info later) and the Greeting to the Sun!

This monument was one of the most unique art features I have seen in a long time. At the center is a giant 72-foot glass circle representing the sun. In its "orbit" are eight smaller glass installations representing the eight planets. Our guide explained that once the sun goes down, this art piece lights up from the hundreds of tiny solar panels built within it!

Church of St. Lawrence: Crkva sv. Lovro

As our journey around the old town continued, we reached another church! But this one was quite different: this church was located inside a coffee shop. That's right, grab an espresso shot and enter the ancient church!

When the city tried to restore and preserve some of the older parts of the city, they realized that this small church didn't stand a chance against the natural elements. To protect its structure, they built a contemporary building around the old church, and a coffee shop took up residence at the entrance!

Saint Anastasia’s Cathedral: Katedrala sv. Stošije (Anastazije)

But Zadar doesn't just have one old church, it has many. Saint Anastasia’s Cathedral was probably the prettiest church from the exterior and is named after Saint Anastasia, a wealthy woman who refused to sleep with her husband. When he died, she donated all her money to the early Christian movement and died a martyr for the church.

The Church of St Chrysogonus: Crkva sv. Krševana

But hey, we aren't done yet, folks! There's still one other church in Zadar, and that's the Romanesque 12th-century church named after the city's patron saint, Saint Chrysogonus. Saint "Chris," as we called him throughout the tour, was a young knight who left his warrior ways and turned to Christ. He was later beheaded, and his body was thrown into the sea. Bam, another martyr in the Catholic faith.

The Five Wells Square: Trg pet bunara

As we headed towards the end of the Old Town district, we reached the Five Wells Square, where our guide explained that during Medieval times, although the city was surrounded by water, it struggled with the constant demand for drinkable water. As a way to combat the lack of fresh water, the city installed these five wells to collect rainwater! Now they remain as a reminder of ancient practices to help the city's citizens.

Krešimira Ćosića Bastion

We ended our walking tour at the Krešimira Ćosića Bastion Gate. Like much of the city, we spotted another lion carved into the wall, a visual reminder of the Venetian influence over the country.

Back during the Republic of Venice's rise to power, Zadar was under their control. Wanting to leave their fingerprint on their new territory, Venice carved its symbolic lion all over the city to remind the Croatians who ruled over them. If you look closely, you can spot a smaller carving of Saint Chrysogonus below the lion, a visual reminder that Venice was in charge, and the city itself was meant to be in the lion's shadow.

Restoran 4 Kantuna

With the sun finally peaking out, we found a sunny spot to enjoy lunch outside! At Restaurant Four Corners, we enjoyed pizza, salads, and house wine!

Bob Rock's -Waffles & Bubble Tea

Then it was time to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth with some gelato at Bob Rocks! It was good ice cream, but at €4 a scoop, we found this to be a little high-priced!

Sea Organ: Morske orgulje

With clear skies and a peak of sunshine, we headed back to the tip of the Old Town island to sit and enjoy the serene sounds of the Sea Organ. (Organ as in "musical instrument," not "internal body parts." I clarify, because I was quite worried when I saw this was a highlight of the city...)

Zadar's Sea Organ is a series of pipes along the concrete edge of the island, where ocean water pushes air into the pipes and makes different tones. This natural music was soothing and was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

It's not every day you get to hear the ocean's melody:

Brlog Cooperative Brewery, Taproom & Shop

Before heading back to the ship, Bryan led us to Brlog, a local brewery that advertised a cider on tap. When we arrived, we learned it was too early in their season for the cider, so we all shared a tasting flight of their craft beers. The beer was good, but it was a little disappointing not having that cider!

One $6 Bolt later, and we made it back to the ship in time to enjoy some sun on the upper deck! While Mom and I sunbathed, Dad explored the ship, and Bryan bundled up under our towels to prevent sunburn! Eventually, Dad and Bryan talked me into a game, so our sunchairs turned into a gaming table for the afternoon.

After showers and plenty of chill time, our cruise left Zadar right as the sun began to set! As we left port, we saw crowds of tourists at the Sea Organ waiting to see the sun dip below the horizon in the place known for having the "World's Prettiest Sunsets."

Not wanting to fight crowds in the main dining room, we headed to the upper buffet for dinner tonight! We then found our favorite quiet table in the casino to play cards until after midnight!

May 17: Returning Home

Like all good things, this cruise had to come to an end... Saturday morning meant we were up and ready to go with all our luggage at 8 am. We wanted to be off the ship as soon as possible, but Mom wasn't going to miss out on a few final drinks at the bar while we waited to disembark. (I admit, most drinks were espressos and cappuccinos this morning!)

Venice Marco Polo Airport: Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo

After more chaos with disembarking, we were shuttled over to Venice's Cruise terminal and then finally set free to order an Uber to the airport. Mom and Dad's flight left for the States at noon, so we got there with plenty of time to get them through security and on their way!

Bryan and I were supposed to fly out at 2 pm, but we got delayed...leaving us with less than 40 minutes to catch our connection in Amsterdam. After running through the Amsterdam Airport, Bryan and I made it just in time to catch our final flight to Sevilla! Whew!

While we were running around with our heads cut off, Mom and Dad were relaxing on their long flight back home!

Seville Airport: Aeropuerto de Sevilla

It was all worth it because Bryan and I's journey home was filled with another stunning sunset along the Spanish hillside. Zadar, Croatia, may be known for its sunsets, but I don't know if the judges who gave them the "World's Best" title ever saw a Southern Spain sunset!

This cruise led to great memories! Being with my Mom and Dad while they finally got to cruise the Mediterranean (ok, the Adriatic is close enough for this to count!) was a dream come true. From exploring another famous Italian city together, to long game nights in the casino, to making memories in the crystal clear waters of Montenegro, Croatia, and Greece, I can't think of anything that would make this cruise better.

Ok, just kidding. I'd do this cruise all over again on a different cruise line. Costa Cruises is a hard NO on my cruise list moving forward. But otherwise- take me back!

With love,

--Katie