The Watchers on the Walls

Hello Hello Hello! This post is *so late* but it’s for good reason: SAS is positively zooming by and I simply haven’t wanted to take the time to sit and type things out while there’s adventuring to do. There’s only 9 days left on ship and three weeks left in the program in total (don’t mind me, just screaming internally). So! Enjoy this belated collection of tales from Croatia & hopefully I’ll have my Spain post up in more of a timely fashion…

With everyone wrapping up spring break, it seems a little mean to remind everyone that SAS is basically 10 spring breaks rolled into one…oh well ;)

For our last spring break, we spent five days in King’s Landing, aka Dubrovnik, Croatia. Spoiler Alert: I absolutely loved it.

Day 1: Introduction to Old Town

We got things started in Croatia with a trip to Old Town. I went with my roommate Annakate and some of our friends Lauren, Laney, & Taylor. First things first: brunch! That’s always one of the more exciting things about landing in a new port, since we’re all rather sick of ship food by this point. I was more than happy to have a hot chocolate and overlook the cobblestone streets of Old Town.

My friends are very much *Material Girls* so shopping was the next thing on the To-Do List. Isn’t it kind of interesting how prevalent luxury shopping is in a city that is known for its more ancient roots? I’m not sure how much designer sunglasses contributes to the Old Town economy, but from a cultural perspective, I was kind of disappointed to see so many places selling the same mass-produced stuff - I would much rather have seen some Croat boutiques or local stores than Prada or Gucci, you know?

I sort of got my wish later, though. Stopping at this Christmas Ornament shop. It’s a locally-owned business obviously catering towards tourists, but so cute inside. Almost all of their products are handmade too! We also stopped in a number of smaller boutiques selling clothes/purses/jewelry - I’ve found that talking to shopkeepers or attendants in stores like these is a great way to get to know more details about the port city. We finished up our afternoon out with some gelato and headed back to the ship for a siesta before dinner.

When it came time to head back out, we had added Kelsi (back from a field program!) to the roster, and headed across the street to the Bistro/bar; however, we had made the cardinal sin of forgetting to call ahead on a weekend night, and there was no way they could seat a party of six. Enter Angela, who turned the sidewalk into our private dining salon. While various tables and chairs were scrounged up for us, Angela asked us all these questions about life in the United States and life on the World Odyssey. Lauren, the friendliest among us, answered with questions about Angela herself.

While Angela was really friendly, we were all starving at the point, and had only split the one bottle of wine Angela offered us, so we said goodbye and headed to a still-open restaurant.

Obviously, the first day you get to Croatia, you go out for Mexican food. No judgement - the ship doesn’t do anything from that cuisine. The restaurant we found was a hidden local favorite, no tourists in site, and I absolutely devoured my food. Fresh veggies are a godsend nowadays. It was honestly such a fun night, with all of us letting loose a little bit and just being twenty-somethings out to eat. There kind be a kind of pressure to always go out and do memorable, once-in-a-lifetime things while in port, so it was refreshing to slow the pace down and just hang out for a night. An excellent start to our time in Dubrovnik :)

Day 2: Tripping through Time

I was on my own my Day 2, so I had the luxury of time on my side. To start my adventures in Dubrovnik, I went for a nice 2-mile walk to Old Town. This is honestly one of my favorite ways to explore a city, just walking long distances from Point A to Point B. You get to see the little things you may miss on buses or in taxis, like the love lock bridge or the mini courtyards. It reminds me of the ornaments that get hidden on the inner branches of Christmas trees, little baubles that you’d never see unless you got up close and personal. I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some lunch (an individual cottage cheese cup, a Sprite, and a candy bar. The epitome of fine dining) and sat a vista for a bit to enjoy an impromptu picnic - another one of my favorite things to do in country.

When I got to the Old Town gate, I really had no other destination in mind, so I resolved myself to wander around. Since it was a Sunday, a lot of places were closed and it made for good strolling around. While we had walked around a lot Day 1, this time I was able to go down the little winding alleys we had ignored. Eventually I made my way to the little outcropping of rocks and was just one with the ocean for a few moments. The sun wasn’t scheduled to set for a while, but it was rather peaceful, just the endless ocean and the orange glow echoing on the surface.

I kept walking the inside perimeter of the city, unintentionally following an American couple when they found a doorway in the wall and exclaimed “here it is!” Naturally, I was curious and followed the strangers through the doorway and into…Buza Bar!

I had heard about Buza Bar from other SASers and from social media - it’s a must-see place for tourists in Dubrovnik because of the ~gorgeous sunset views~ and cliff jumping. There were a ton of SASers there already in various stages of jumping off the rocks; since I was in jeans and a sweatshirt, that wasn’t on the cards for me, but I was more than happy to encourage some friends to make the leaps!

I think I got to Buza around 3 in the afternoon - I ended up staying until 6 ish. It was so fun to hang out with other SASers, watching the sunset and cheering for jumpers. We even saw Dean Dan on his private charter boat zoom by and waved! The music was vibing, the scenery was gorgeous, and the conversation was lively. It’s hard for me to put down in words, really, other than to say it was another one of those moments that I’ll look back on and remember fondly. A sunset at Buza Bar with classmates and new friends :)

Day 3: On the Edge of the Earth

Hands down, Day 3 was my favorite day in Dubrovnik. I started my day with some friends from class, Emma & Sam. We headed into Old Town to walk the walls. This is one of the major tourist attractions in Dubrovnik, giving visitors a chance to complete the loop of the city walls around Old Town. It promised gorgeous views and a cardio workout; it did not disappoint. It helped that we had bonkers beautiful weather, blue skies and sunny. The forecast had been calling for rain and clouds, so this was an unexpected bonus.

Okay, back to the walls. The first thing you need to know: they’re steep. Reaaaaaally steep. You’re out of breath before the end of the first staircase steep. The second thing you need to know: pack light. It’s a deceptively long loop and your shoulders will thank you later. I’d also recommend getting there earlier in the day - less traffic, which is key in the more narrow sections.

In case you couldn’t tell, I think the City Walls are an absolute must. I know when you’re traveling, picturesque spots can be a dime a dozen - all incredibly breathtaking, but occurring with a high frequency. Walking the walls is just different. With different visual perspective comes different interior perspective; when you stand atop the walls at the edge of the city, with sprawling red ceilings behind you and endless ocean in front of you, it can really feel like you’re on the edge of the world. Perhaps the people of yore felt that too.

After walking the wall, Sam, Emma & I grabbed a quick lunch from an Old Town bakery, eating our *delicious* pastries on a bench overlooking the personal vessel port. I had a burek motani sir-špinat, a spinach and cheese danish thing, and a štangica marina vanilija, more of a dessert pastry with raspberry and vanilla. Worth the cost of tuition alone. We took in the view of the small sailboats for a bit and then got up for the next adventure, which included another brief stop in the Christmas store. Couldn't pass up a chance to see Santa!

You know the age old question moms ask: if all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump off too?

Dear Reader, I am the friend that jumps off the cliff.

We made our way back to Buza Bar (the place from Day 2), and since I had a swimsuit this time around (in place of jeans and sweatshirt), I was game to jump.

I could write a whole blog post about cliff jumping alone. It’s such a rush, especially when you have so many other SASers there for the same reason. In some ways, I was more scared to scale the boulder I was going to jump off of - my fault for watching Free Solo a couple nights before - but I safely made my way to the top. Since I had spent so long at Buza the day before, I knew that the longer you spent on top of the rock convincing yourself to jump, the less likely you’d be to actually make the leap. When I got to the top, there were two other girls psyching themselves up (or out) who were all too happy to let me go first. I took a few deep breaths and the girls behind counted down from 3…2…1…Go!

And I jumped!

The water was cold (duh) but the adrenaline rush means you don’t really feel anything at all. I swam to the surface with a smile on my face. Though, I woke up the next day with sizable bruise on my forearm from slapping the water on my way down…

We hung out at Buza for another half hour or so, giving me time to dry off and climb the cliff again to retrieve my watch. In Classic Natalie Fashion, I didn’t want to rock climb back down the cliff, but obviously couldn’t jump again with my watch, so I ended up improvising a sideways rock path until the face of the cliff was a foot above the normal stairs. Not my most graceful moment, but I survived without so much as a scratch :)

Then, it was back to the ship for a quiet night of rest and relaxation.

Day 4: Fort

You know, I had really been enjoying the general Game of Thrones vibe the first three days, so I decided to kick it up a notch for Day 4. I was own my own to explore for the day, and I started at Fort Lovrijenac. For followers of GoT, Fort Lovrijenac was used as a filming location for the Red Keep, and you can find glimpses of it in several episodes listed here.

Unlike the day before, it was…interesting weather conditions, especially for exploration on the roofs of various forts. There were times the gusts of winds were so strong, I was almost expecting an unsuspecting tourist to be swept of the side of the cliff. On the bright side, windy conditions meant the fort was a little less crowded than normal, so better opportunities for pictures :)

I felt sufficiently windswept and headed past the city gates into proper Old Town once more, making my way to Rector Palace. Even though the weather wasn’t wonderful, there were still so many local boys out playing soccer in the middle of the city square. It was really heartwarming to see, especially knowing the more recent history of Old Town.

Rector Palace is a mix of a house museum and art museum, combining portraits with 19th century furniture, if that describes the vibe at all. I don’t think I would have visited it if entry hadn’t been free with my Dubrovnik Pass (purchased for entry to the City Walls, definitely worth the investment), but I ended up being really happy I came for one main reason: the War Photographs Exhibit.

For context: this semester, I’m taking World War II in Europe as one of my on-ship classes, and a common theme throughout the course is how war/social unrest/conflict impacts countries, extending beyond WWI and WWII. Combining that with my ~film major personality~, you can understand why something like that stood out to me. It’s a small exhibit tucked away in a corridor under the main stairs, just rows of black and white photographs capturing the aftermath of the Siege of Dubrovnik from 1991-1992. Photojournalism will always hold a special place in my heart - it’s one of those mediums that is the ultimate storyteller, you know? A second captured in time that tells the ultimate truth of the moment.

When I had wandered Rector’s Palace to my heart’s content, it was time for a quick lunch and then back to the ship. I meandered through some corridors in Old Town, finding a new bakery and having another burek on the steps of the fountain. How cool is my life?

Day 5: A Fond Goodbye

I guess Croatia was sad to see us go because gray skies arrived on our last day and we were a bit sprinkled on throughout the morning.

Lauren & I met up with Laney & Taylor in Old Town for lunch, finding a bougie pizza place hidden the cobblestone alleyways. As I said with the Mexican food, I understand the irony of going to Croatia for Italian food, but the last time I had pizza was literally months ago. And it was goooood pizza, with goat cheese and everything. Yummy :)

And of course, we couldn’t leave Dubrovnik without one last gelato stop - I had mojito sorbet this time - and I experienced this spectacular moment:

Taylor: [eating her ice cream cone] what would you guys do if I just kicked a pigeon right now?

All of Us: What/Please don’t/etc.

Taylor: *trips on a cobblestone and drops her entire cone on the ground*

Seconds later, an army of pigeons flocked to the scene of the crime and pecked the ice cream incessantly.

That, my friends, is karma.

We wrapped up our time in country with a quick stop at the grocery store to stock up on snacks and made our way back to the World Odyssey.

Final Thoughts

Dubrovnik. An unexpected favorite, really. I had been looking forward to Dubrovnik for a while but didn’t expect to have such a fantastic time.

Croatia wasn’t an independent country when my mom did SAS, what with Yugoslavia still being a thing, but she still visited Dubrovnik. Because of that, I was excited to explore the same city as her and recreate some pictures.

Below is a sliding image showing a scrapbook photo of my mother in Dubrovnik, Fall 1989 versus myself in Dubrovnik, Spring 2023:

Our two voyages have been incredibly different for a number of reasons, but there’s still an innate sense of connection. The paths we take are different but the journey inspires similar growth, if that makes sense.

As I mentioned in the intro, my time on SAS is rapidly dwindling and I’m not okay with it. Yes, I’ll still be in Europe for a while after disembarkation, but leaving the World Odyssey is going to be rough. SAS is a little society by nature, a system that functions and thrives in total isolation from the normal world. I don’t want to image leaving that yet.

We arrive in Morocco on April 1st, and trust me, there’s going to be some stories there. Look for a Spain post sometime in the next few days, but that’s all for now :)

1 Comment

alyce.penry

Mar 31, 2023

Oh my goodness, I am crying! Ok, first, I'm deep breathing because I cannot believe YOU JUMPED OFF A CLIFF IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY!!!! Kinda glad I didn't know that while it was happening. But the walk down memory lane was delightful, and that pic at the end just did me in. Love you so much, Natalie Grace! Embrace the last few weeks...I love you!