Dubrovnik and Zadar in Croatia - a beautiful ending to the Balkan tour

And that's it. 14 days have passed and tomorrow we will be flying back to Berlin. We spent the last few days in beautiful Croatia, certainly not a hidden gem anymore, but still worth a visit. The first stop was Dubrovnik and yes, you quickly fall in love with this city. We arrived in Dubrovnik from Kotor by bus at around 3:00 PM and checked into our apartment. The apartment was located just outside the old town and we decided to take the local bus to the old town. It only cost 2€ per ride and was very convenient. Luckily, we had unexpectedly booked an apartment with a kitchen, which turned out to be a real stroke of luck. After our first little excursion to the old town in the afternoon, we quickly realized that everything here is very expensive. Not only are the entrance fees quite high, but the prices for food, etc. are also more expensive than in Germany. Therefore, we decided to go shopping at a nearby supermarket and cook for ourselves. That afternoon, we strolled through the crowded but beautiful old town. In the early evening, we considered taking the cable car to the mountaintop of Srd, which overlooks Dubrovnik. The cost for a three-minute ride was 22€ per person. We weighed the pros and cons and then I had the idea to approach a local taxi driver, as there is also a road that leads up the mountain. In the end, we paid 40€ for both of us to drive up the mountain for an hour. The taxi driver made several stops and we had a beautiful view of Dubrovnik and the surrounding area from different positions. We were even able to see the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. After this excursion, we headed back and ended the day with a sunset at the local beach. The next morning, we decided to go to the old town very early in order to avoid the large tourist crowds from the cruise ships as much as possible, and our plan worked! We had already bought tickets for the over one kilometer long city walls the day before, so at 7:45 AM, we lined up in the already long queue. At exactly 8:00 AM, the gates opened and everyone in front of us headed for the ticket booth. On the other hand, we were the first ones on the wall :) This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Although the entrance ticket was as expected quite expensive, it was absolutely worth it. From the still very well-preserved city walls, we had breathtaking views of the old town. Just wow! Since we were the first ones on the wall and it follows a one-way route, we were mostly alone on the wall for a long time. After about 1 1/2 hours, we completed one full round and then walked through the old town. Here, we also did not encounter the crowds from the previous day, and I managed to take pictures of some sights without someone constantly walking into the frame. Since one of my favorite TV series, Game of Thrones, was filmed in Dubrovnik, there was plenty to discover. Afterward, we walked to a fortress outside the city walls and enjoyed the fantastic view once again. In the afternoon, we returned to our apartment and took a long walk along the coast on the Lapad Peninsula. We kept seeing the crystal-clear sea and occasional bays and beaches. Scenically, this is definitely a beautiful spot on earth. When we arrived back at the apartment, all sweaty, it didn't take long for us to grab our swimsuits again and jump into the cool blue water one last time. Afterward, we enjoyed the sunset, wet and in our bathing suits. We ended the evening with fried cevapcici, homemade tzatziki, bread, and beer. This morning, we took the bus to Zadar at 8:00 AM. We expected a long bus ride. Google Maps revealed that it takes about four hours by car for the approximately 300 kilometers. In the end, we arrived in Zadar after eight hours, very frustrated. The bus seemed to stop in every village and people would get on and off constantly, very annoying. On a short section before Split, people even had to stand in the aisle, as all seats were taken, and that in a coach bus. The only nice thing was the constant beautiful view of the coast and the sea. Well, whatever, we definitely didn't want to end our vacation on this negative note, so in the evening, we decided to visit the old town of Zadar after all. It wasn't a highlight, but it was nice to look at, so we strolled through the streets and later along the sea. Tomorrow morning, our flight back to Berlin will depart from here. For me, in early October, I will be going on another short trip to Moscow with my girlfriend for a football match before continuing to New Zealand on October 10th. I think that by October 10th, you should check my blog more frequently again. Until then, enjoy autumn :)