Stop #7: Split, Hvar & Dubrovnik (Croatia) 

So much beauty, so little time...

Well I have to admit that Croatia was a bit of a shit show.  I was really looking forward to this country during our travels, but we seemed to have one too many hiccups.  Don’t get me wrong, I still loved visiting this country and (almost) all the experiences we had.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from all the places we planned to visit in Croatia – which included Split, Hvar (island), Korcula (island) and Dubrovnik – so it was all pretty much of a surprise. 

The hiccups began before we even arrived to Croatia.  First, we could not catch a flight directly from Venice to Croatia (even though they are super close to each other).  We had to catch a flight from Venice, Italy to Hamburg, Germany to Split, Croatia.  If you look at a map, you’ll understand why it was a very odd flight.  We didn’t have any choice so we were fine with it.  However, our first flight leaving from Venice was very delayed and we had a very short connection in Hamburg.  We were praying that we’d be able to make the connection, as well as our bags.  The entire flight from Venice to Hamburg was a nervous one, and sprinting to the next gate was even more hectic.  We had to cut lines, jam through security, and get to our gate… just 10 minutes late ☹  Even though the connecting flights were from the same airlines, they didn’t even wait for us!

So we stood in a long ass line for 4 hours… yes, 4 hours!... to talk to someone to book us another flight.  But by the time we got to the front of the line, it was already around 10:00pm.  They scheduled us a flight for 6:00am the next day and booked us a hotel room for the night.  But when we tried to do our 24 hour early check-in, it wouldn’t allow us to check in (further complications).  So we had to argue for another hour to get a flight!  But at the end of the hour, they said it was not possible.  I have to admit that I started crying at the front desk – just completely exhausted, stressed out and beyond upset.  We wasted nearly 5 hours fighting for a flight, all of which could have been avoided if the stupid plane waited for us.  Anyhow, we started getting in a taxi to go to our hotel (with no flight tickets), when the airline clerk came running after us.  “Come here! Come here!” he said in a thick accent.  He lead us to his desk and… yes!  He somehow got us that damn 6:00am flight.  Wonderful.  Now we just need to get to our hotel, eat dinner, wash up, re-pack up, and wake up at 3:00am so we could be back at the airport by 4:00am to catch our 6:00am flight.  Lovely.

The silver lining of it all was that they put us in one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever seen in my life!  The rooms must have cost at least $400 – 500 per night.  On top of that, they gave us about 50 Euros for dinner which we gladly spent on a fine meal plus wine.  Come to think of it, I kinda wish we were delayed two days just so we could spend another night there 😊  However, our luxurious life was short lived, as we had to get to bed to squeeze in just 3 hours of sleep.  We were definitely not the prettiest looking couple in the morning, but we did make it to our flight, and we made it to Split, Croatia.  The sad thing is that we lost a full day in Split, as well as our hotel for that night.  Waste of money and time, but to be honest, I knew we were going to miss at least 1 flight this trip!

In Split, we stayed in an AirBnB right next to the Old Town – the best place you could stay in this city.  We were very close to all the main attractions, which was basically the older buildings, churches and ruins.  Lorenzo was so incredibly exhausted from the travelling so while he took a nap, I went to explore the town on my own.  And I immediately fell in love with it!  I really can’t explain it but the ambiance, the style of the buildings, and the feeling in Croatia was different than anywhere I’ve felt before.  I walked briskly and curiously, as every twisted turn took me to a new interesting structure to see.  I enjoyed shopping a little bit, snacking on a protein shake kinda-thingy, and taking lots of pictures.  Since I can’t explain the place, you’ll just have to see my photo Gallery on this website 😊

When Lorenzo woke up, I was excited to show him around.  I showed him everything that I explored, and then we took a long hike up to the highest point (outside of town).  We had an excellent view of the city and ocean… so beautiful.  Then somehow, we found our way to this nice beach with incredibly clear blue water.  Throw in a bucket of beer and we were good!  That evening, we had a lovely dinner of lamb and salmon.  But unfortunately, that was the end of our Split Adventure since we had to pack up and catch a ferry the next day to our next destination – Hvar Island.

When I researched Croatia, I knew I wanted to go island hopping but I wasn’t quite sure which ones were the “best” to visit.  We had time for 2 islands.  So I picked Hvar and Korcula.  Hvar turned out to be a dream – somewhere I highly recommend my friends and family go to!  We arrived to the island quite early in the morning since we only had 1 full day there (the following day we were supposed to catch a ferry to Korcula Island).  So we quickly dumped our luggage at our hotel (fancy hotel I should say!), and rented a couple of mountain bikes.  First we went straight to the beach – again, another paradise beach with crystal clear blue water.  I really don’t know if anywhere else in the world has water as beautiful as Croatia (and Greece, as we later learned).  Anyhow, our time at the beach was very lovely, but we were eager to go on the rest of our mountain biking adventure – a challenging 2 hour ride up through the mountains, around archaeological sites, and by beautiful views. 

I must admit, the ride up was quite challenging.  We rode on pavement roads and dirt roads – some paths with ocean views and some through lots of greenery… it was all amazing and I enjoyed every minute of it!  That is, until we started our decent back to town.  I was feeling so happy about the whole ride that I rode quite fast going downhill.  I figured that if I was on a paved road on a mountain bike, the traction should be excellent and I didn’t have much to worry about.  But just about 5 minutes before our final destination, I took a turn too quickly, hit some gravel, and went flying off my bike.  All I can remember is, first my right forearm and elbow smashing onto concrete and grinding all the skin away… and with my fast momentum, my lower body came up and then I felt my entire right shoulder grind on the concrete (rocks and all), which grinded away all that skin too.  It felt completely slow-mo and I was just praying in my head that it would stop… but it didn’t.  I ended up with my legs twisted in my bike, which bashed up my knees and twisted my left ankle, leaving it extremely bruised.  I don’t know what I looked like when I finally stopped sliding, but from Lorenzo’s reaction, I’m sure it looked really bad.

Almost the perfect bike ride...

When everything stopped, I rolled onto my back in “dead bug” position.  My legs were up, knees bent, and my arms limp.  I seriously thought I broke my right elbow, both knees and maybe my left ankle too.  I couldn’t move, I felt paralyzed.  I just moaned and tried to catch my breath, while Lorenzo tried to calm me down.  I was on the road at a turn, which was very dangerous for the cars coming around the bend.  The first car drove by, looked at me, and left.  The 2nd car saw me, stopped, got out of the car, and asked a million questions in Croatian.  Lorenzo was trying to talk to them in English, but it was useless.  Then a 3rd car came around, stopped, and started talking to us in English.  So the 2nd car left, and I remained lying there, in dead bug position, not sure what was going on.  Then Lorenzo and the driver picked me up and walked me to the car.  I seriously thought I was going to faint and vomit at the same time.  Then when they laid me in the back seat, I started shaking and feeling like I was going to pass out.  I’ve never been in an accident before so I had no idea what the hell was going on with me.  (Later on I learned that I was in shock / extreme adrenaline).

I wasn’t quite sure what the two had discussed, but all I knew was that I was in some stranger’s car, without Lorenzo, driving to the hospital.  It was an uncomfortable feeling, but I didn’t care, as long as I was going to the hospital.  About 5 minutes later, we arrived at the emergency room and they took me in.  The driver left and the doctors fixed me up.  They cleaned my wounds (which hurt like hell), bandaged me up, and checked for any breaks or concussions.  Luckily, I had no breaks and no concussions.  Lorenzo came in shortly (he had already returned the bikes), and it wasn’t long til we left the hospital.  I was quite shocked that they didn’t charge me a dime!  If this was the US, I would have paid out of the butt for this kind of injury.  I have to say that, although the crash really really sucked, I am so beyond thankful that someone came to pick me up, that the hospital was close, that the doctor’s service was free, and that we were just a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  What a coincidence!  The only thing that did bum me out was that I would for sure have to be on bed rest for at least one full day.  This meant that we had to book another night at our hotel, and give up our visit (and hotel) in Korcula Island.  I was super sad about missing another day in Croatia, and missing that island, but again I felt very fortunate that I had a nice place to rest.

The next day in Hvar was spent in bed.  Lorenzo was such an amazing husband to stay with me all day and take care of me.  He ordered me food, he gave me medication, he changed my bandages, he kept me company, and he never ever complained.  Although this was a tragic event, it had brought Lorenzo and me closer and made me love him even more.  I’m such a lucky gal!  That evening, we took a short walk to the pharmacy, which was the highlight of my day.  I got see a little more of the town and get some fresh air.  But the pleasure was short lived, as we had to get back and pack up to leave the next day.  I bought a couple of ferry tickets online from Hvar to Dubrovnik… and off we went!

The next day, I felt a little better. My knees were scratched up and bruised, but I could walk ok (thank god!).  However, my right arm was pretty busted up and I couldn’t use it much at all.  So I had to learn to do everything with my left arm – for over a week!  Just imagine this for a minute, doing everything with your left arm.  I had to take a shower with only my left arm, wash my hair, and scrub my body; I had to get dressed with my left arm, brush my teeth, brush my hair, and wipe my butt, all with the “wrong” hand.  I couldn’t floss at all or shave my legs (eww), and I couldn’t do my make up ☹  When you’re all beat up and you look like you got ran through a garbage disposal, you still want to have your pride and look ok.  I even considered asking Lorenzo to do my makeup… but the thought of it made me laugh out loud.  I know he’d do it for me, but I just don’t think it’d come out right!  So I taught myself how to do my make up with just my left hand.  That’s powder, eye shadow, and worst of all, eye liner!  If you really want to empathize with me for a minute, PLEASE try putting on your liquid eye liner on with your left hand.  Just try it!  Then send me a picture of your face.

Anyhow, Dubronik was very nice!  Our lovely AirBnB was located right inside Old Town – again, the best place to stay.  All the beautiful structures, shops, restaurants and things to see were in very close walking distance.  The only crappy thing is that, to get to our apartment, we had to climb a lot of steep stairs… something that Lorenzo absolutely hated (since he had to carry both our heavy luggage). By the time we got to our place, we were both quite cranky.  And when someone is cranky, you really don’t feel like asking that person for help.  So tension built up and I ended up bawling in tears.  I was so beyond frustrated that we already lost a day in Split due to our missed flight, we lost our trip to Korcula Island due to my injury, and now I can’t do anything independently.  I hate depending on people and asking for help, it’s the way I’ve always been and it’s hard to change.  When Lorenzo asked what’s wrong I yelled out “I want to shower! I want to change! I want to swim in the ocean! I want to do fun stuff without these stupid bandages! And everything hurts!”.  I just hated to be in this situation during our World Trip… but you know what? I knew that at least one of us would get hurt during this trip, just like I knew that we’d miss a flight at least once, as well as miss a few nights in our pre-booked hotels.  I just didn’t realize it would happen all at once.

Once Lorenzo calmed me down after that episode, we had a nice walk around Dubrovnik.  A few of our friends spoke very highly of the town, and we were equally impressed!  After seeing what Old Town had to offer, we took (a very expensive) cable car ride up to a view point.  I never paid 50 Euros for a cable car ride for two people before, but I heard it’s something we had to see.  And the view was definitely fantastic!  We could see the vast ocean surrounding us, and the entire city below.  We could see the old city walls surrounding the Old Town, which was pretty cool.  We also went to the museum that described and displayed the war they recently had with Serbia.  It was really sad to see how much of the city was destroyed, and it really wasn’t that long ago.  We’ve been so privileged to not have experienced war up close, unlike our parents.  Especially with my Mom coming from Japan and my father coming from Germany… their war stories are incredibly heartbreaking.  It reminds me from time to time that I have to be extremely thankful for the times I live in, and for the life I live.  No matter what happens in my life, it really can’t be that bad… including a few bumps and bruises, and stairs.

Ended our trip to Croatia on a happy note and gorgeous view!

And that was the end of our travels throughout Croatia.  We lost a day in the beginning and in the middle, so our trip felt really short.  I am sad to have missed out on a lot of things, but I’m still thankful for all that I was able to see.  The next day we flew to Athens… and I have to say, Greece was awesome!!  Read about it in the next blog 😊

PHOTOS OF CROATIA