Destino: Dubrovnik.

I was finally heading to Croatia, and I was filled with excitement. Por fin, estaba yendo a Croacia, y tenía mucha emoción.

However, what I didn’t know was I was embarking on one of the most disappointing holidays of my life. No obstante, lo que no sabía era que estaba embarcando en uno de los viajes más decepcionantes de la vida.

My first stop was the tourist trap Dubrovnik, population 42,615. The plane was a half hour late arriving, and I caught the bus to town without any difficulties. My hotel was at the top of a ton of stairs that I had fun climbing. I was grateful I had just brought my backpack and didn’t have to lug a suitcase around. La primera parada fue el destino turístico Dubrovnik, población 42,615. El vuelo llegó una media hora tarde, y cogí el autobús que iba al centro de la ciudad sin dificultades. Mi hotel estaba a la arriaba de muchas escaleras (300!). Estaba agradecido solo haber llevado mi mochila y no tenía que preocuparme de una maleta grande.

It took a while to get checked in, as despite my informing of the arrival time, the owner was nowhere to be found. When she arrived, she was very friendly though, and the terrace had amazing views. La dueña, aunque le había informado de mi hora de llegada, no estaba y tardó mucho tiempo para hacer el registro. Pero cuando por fin llegó, era muy amable. La terraza tenía vistas precisosas.

I dropped my stuff off and went exploring to find a tourist trap from hell. Dejé la mochila y mi portatil, y fui a explorar una ciudad completamente lleno de turistas.

The city is beautiful, especially the Old Town. However, there is very little to find of authentic Croatian culture as it all seemed to be catered toward tourists and Games of Thrones fan. I am not a fan of the show, and I had no idea it was filmed there. While walking through the streets, every time I passed a restaurant, they tried to get me to come in. La ciudad es preciosa, especialmente el Casco Viejo. Sin embargo, no tiene nada de la cultura croata auténtico que estaba esperando encontrar, como todo fue para ganar el dinero turístico y para grabar la atención de los fans de Juego de Tronos. No me gusta la serie, y no sabía que la rodaron allí. Cuando estaba caminando por la calle, cada vez que pasé un restuarante, los camareros querían que entrara yo.

I meandered the city, which felt like if Malagá was Italian, not Spanish. It was beautiful, but too touristy. Paseaba por la ciudad, y me daba la sensación de ser una versión italiana de Malagá. Bonita, pero demasiados turistas.

I went back to the hotel and overslept the next morning, but I still had time to explore the city walls. I stopped at a café along them (sometimes I’m okay with overpaying if it comes with amazing views, as it did). I had to catch the bus at 11:00 though as I had another destination that I would like a lot better…Volví al hotel, y dormí tarde la próxima mañana. Todavía tenía tiempo para explorar las murallas de la ciudad. Paré en un café en las murallas (a veces no me importa pagar demasiado si tiene vistas impresionantes). Tenía que coger el autobús a las 11 porque tenía otro destino que iba a gustarme más…

A continuación…

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2 thoughts on “Destino: Dubrovnik.

  1. On some level (probably an academic one), I find tourist traps intriguing. There’s something fascinating about the way that the image of a place is constructed, and marketed for public consumption. And it’s an evolving process. Given the region’s troubled history in the 1990s (and for much longer than that in some ways), I can understand why they’d want to reconstruct some marketable image for the city (and the country).

    My late colleague in the history department, Robert, visited Croatia in 2015 for a conference (or at least on the pretext of attending an academic conference), and I seem to recall that he was favourably impressed — probably with the aspects of the city that you appreciated (i.e., its historic walls, architectural charm, and presumably the natural setting).

    Cheers,

    Bruce

    Liked by 1 person

    • 2015 was around when the tourism boom began to really hit Croatia, or when I first started hearing more and more about it.

      I have yet to write about it, but Zagreb was actually my fave city of the three Croatian places I went to. I do acknowledge Spain has spoiled me for Mediterranean cities though.

      Like

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