Croatia and Montenegro

I have heard so much about Croatia, how beautiful it is, the crystal waters, the enchanting cobbled lanes, the small island towns that beckon so close to the mainland. I knew it was a place that I wanted to visit, but I also knew it was a very touristy place, with a big party culture and full of Australians. I knew ir would be expensive for me, and it would be difficult to find a couchsurfer which would mean I would have to pay for accommodation as well. Financially, culturally, and for interest value I could have just cut Croatia out of my itinerary and gone somewhere else, but I decided it was worth a trip so I figured out a way to make the most of it while also making it financially feasible for me. I took the train from Budapest to Zagreb and then the overnight train from Zagreb to Split. It was a long time to spend on a train, altogether it was more than 12 hours. I made it to Split at 6.30am. I got off the train, crossed the road to the port and boarded the ferry to Dubrovnik. The ferry would take 11 hours to get from Split to Dubrovnik, in the south of the country, passing through some of the coastal islands on the way. For me, it was the best of both worlds – I was travelling all down the coast through beautiful waters and see the islands without having to stop at them and spend a lot of money. After my long journey to get to Split and without having much sleep, I opted for a cabin to stay in during the ferry ride. I was in a 4 berth cabin, but no one else had booked it, so I had it all to myself! It was wonderful. I prepared some sandwiches and food, and I took time to do all the things I had not been able to do for a while. I cleaned out my backpack and repacked it, I painted my toenails and just generally had a very relaxing time! I spent time on deck, enjoying the sunshine and the views.

I finally made it to Dubrovnik. I got off the ferry and called my hostel who kindly had agreed to pick me up for free. I got back to the hostel, put down my things and made some dinner. Then I spent the evening chatting to the other travellers and planning my next day.

In the morning I connected up with an Australian traveller called Nina. She was very similar to me and we got along straight away. We decided to spend the day together. I was a little bit hesitant at first because my budget is so tight that it makes it difficult to travel with others – they simply do not understand just how little I have, and they often take for granted things like taking buses. Luckily, Nina understood me, and she was on a tight budget as well. It was the perfect match. We walked into town, stopping along the way to explore the cliffs and enjoy the beautiful views. I got a real shock when we got to the entrance of the old city walls – it was incredibly crowded. There were tourists everywhere, bustling and jostling to get wherever they wanted to go. I knew it was going to be touristy, but I had not expected it to be this bad, especially since it was not peak season!

We jostled ourselves into the town square and began to explore all the alley ways. It was gorgeous. Every lane you looked down would take your breath away. We followed along the city wall until we came across a little door leading to the rocks and cliff outside of the wall. We went out and discovered a bar that had been set up on the rocks, and you could jump into the water and swim right there. The water was a stunning shade of aquamarine and was very clear. Neither Nina not I had our swim suits, so we just reclined ourselves on the rocks and watched the other swimmers.

Even the smallest of the alleys were lined with shops. People would turn the front room of their house into an art gallery, or a cafe, or a restaurant. Everything was aimed at tourists and was very expensive (by my standards). To be able to afford food for lunch I had to leave the city walls and hunt around for a supermarket – when I couldn't even find a supermarket I settled on a (pricey) minimart. There were only restaurants within the city walls – not even one minimart.

Later that afternoon we walked the city walls. You paid and entrance fee, but it was really worth it. You could see over all the rooftops and out to sea. It was magical. While walking the walls we started staring at the huge mountain that overlooks Dubrovnik. A cable car goes all the way to the lookout at the top, but the cable car was expensive (US$15.80). We began plotting a route to walk up. We were determined to watch the sunset from the top of the mountain. So, after walking all morning and walking the entire perimeter of the city walls, we began to ascend the mountain. It took us two hours to make it to the top. It was hot and steep. My shirt was dripping with sweat, but we had made it, and we hadn't spent a penny!

The view was great. We took time to regain our breath and just looked out on the city and sea before us. We were in time for sunset, however, we realised that because of the steep gradient and uneven gravel of the path, it would be unsafe to climb down in the dark. We quickly collected our things and started back down the mountain. We saw the sunset as we descended, and we were both very pleased that we had left when we did – it would have been extremely difficult in the dark!

Tired but happy we walked the 40 minutes back to the hostel. The hostel was great, it felt like a home – in fact it was just a large apartment in a residential block – the family themselves shared one bedroom and slept in the lounge, the other bedrooms were used for the guests. Lord knows what the neighbours thought of all the guests coming and going all day and night. It was a nice experience for me, it was the first time on the trip that I had had to stay in a hostel, and it felt like couchsurfing.

The next day I had booked a day trip to Montenegro. Montenegro was also a part of Yugoslavia and gained its independence shortly after Croatia, so is still a young nation. I had wanted to visit but could not really spare much time there, so a day trip was perfect for me. I normally do not like to take organised tours, but even I have to admit that in certain circumstances they do make everything much easier. Our tour guide was fantastic – lively and interesting, he entertained us endlessly with stories of his life and history of the area. We arrived in the old town of Kotor in the midst of torrential rain. Everything was flooded, everything was wet. It was not ideal, but you just had to make the most of it. So I braced myself, and explored every inch of the town in my squelching, sopping wet shoes. Kotor was a beautiful old town, little lanes, old buildings, fairytale churches. In fact, one of the churches housed one of the Incorruptible Saints – a phenomenon where a saint would die but their body would be supernaturally preserved. Most of the body was covered, but you could see the hand and the skin was still preserved, despite it being hundreds of years old with no preservation techniques.

Our next stop was Budva, and luckily the rain stopped and the sun came out. Budva is a quaint little town on the seashore, lots of boats and restaurants.

As with the other old towns along the Dalmation coast that I had visited – Dubrovnik and Kotor; Budva was beautiful. Absolutely postcard perfect, but there is something lacking in them, and that is real life. Everything within the Old Town walls felt empty and artificial. You walk along gorgeous charming quaint lanes and alleys.... Lined with bland souvenir shops and boutiques selling sunglasses and jewelry. You pass rows upon rows of restaurants and perhaps one bakery and (if you are lucky) one mini-mart. After a while it feels devoid of life. There is no way of gaining a sense of how the village worked all those years ago, no butcher, no fruit and vegetable stall, no shoe cobbler. Just all these cell-like boutiques, empty of people except the bored shop assistant. I am not sure who their target audience is, or how successful they are selling magnets for €1 a piece, but wouldn't it be great if they used the stores in different ways, that added to the village atmosphere instead of devaluing it.

When I visit a place, I love to get a feel of how the people live there, a sense of the lifestyle, of the atmosphere. These places, although pretty, had nothing to teach me. Nothing to learn. Because there were no people living there! They would just come in to run their souvenir shops and then leave. I enjoyed my time in Dubrovnik, but I was pleased to leave.