Eastern Europe (part6): Dubrovnik

                                As a treat to ourselves we have flown from Warsaw to Dubrovnik in the extreme south of Croatia. This is a beach getaway destination for north Europeans as it sits on the Adriatic Sea. It's crystal clear waters are still warm enough for swimming in late September and we are in the sea everyday. We reserved an apartment for 2 weeks in Lapad Bay which is about 4 km. outside of the old city of Dubrovnik. Most of the hotels and apartments are here because of the easy access to the beautiful bay. Lapad Bay has the largest public beach in Dubrovnik. The beach itself is covered in pebbles but a couple of steps into the water brings you to a clean sandy bottom. Many of the higher-end hotels that are tucked into small coves up and down the coast have their own private beaches.


                                  Dubrovnik is most famous for it's "old city" which dates to the 7th century and possibly earlier. The atmosphere within the walls of the old city is undeniable and the city justly deserves it's Unesco World Heritage distinction.






                               We are spending something like 5 hours a day lying around at the beach and loving it. Our apartment is 2 minutes from the beach and about the same from a grocery market. We find ourselves really enjoying some of the luxuries we were missing on our canoe trip like fresh food, soft bed, hot showers and plenty of leisure time.




                                There are many excursions which are available from Dubrovnik. Tour buses go everyday to Kotor in Montenegro or Mostar in Bosnia and return. We took a short ferry boat to Lokrum Island and walked the paths around the ruins of a Benedictine abbey which dates to the 11th century.










                   Cruise ships and international flights are stopping here daily until mid-November bringing tourists by the thousands. The city is amazingly easy to get around in despite these numbers and the hotels are spread out enough to avoid very much congestion at all. Inside the old city it can be crowded during the late morning to late afternoon but there is plenty of room in the early mornings and evenings. The city bus network is very profficient at moving people about quickly. Diana has given her approval to the local diet as well.

                                Well we've rounded all the bends and have arrived back in Warsaw one last time. The canoe and camping gear which we left in storage at the apartment/hotel were just as we left them. A few days of strolling around the city has been enjoyable but we are mostly just eager to get back home again. Tomorrow morning we will take a taxi to the airport and finish our eastern Europe adventure.
Our experience here has been far richer than we could have possibly imagined. The richness of the history and the ability to walk and even paddle through it is only part of it. Another part is seeing our cultural roots in unfiltered daily life.
                            Of course the success of our canoe trip was very satisfying. To plan an independent 850 km. paddle down numerous lakes, rivers and canals in a foriegn country and have it turn out so well could only happen through the kindness of the inhabitants. We offer our sincere thanks to the people of Poland who helped make it possible.
                             We feel very fortunate to have selected Poland for our canoeing adventure. We learned a bit about how the practices of the "old economy" of the Soviet era had contaminated the rivers of eastern Europe. The Polish are now taking pride in the improving health of the Vistula river which we are quite happy to support.