D U B R O V N I K (& another reunion)

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Nakon naših okupljanja u Amsterdamu, Španjolskoj i Irskoj, došlo je vrijeme da se mi, Erasmusi iz Huelve, okupimo kod mene u Hrvatskoj. Tako su me odlučili posjetiti Emi, Tio i Yoyo.

Emily, moja bivša cimerica, je i dalje najdraža osoba koju sam upoznala u životu. Toliko je draga, darežljiva, iskrena i zabavna, a kroz što god prolaziš, dat će ti najveću potporu i uvijek biti tu za tebe. Iako ponekad kaže da živcira što ju smatraju dobricom, ona to jednostavno je i takvu ju cijenimo. Također, kao prava Irkinja, može potegnuti viski lakše nego većina, a usput trenira crossfit svaki dan i diže 100 kila na deadliftu bez problema.

Tio, Njemac. Nedavno smo prolazili kroz slične životne situacije što nas je još više povezalo, a i danas nakon tri godine ga smatram odličnim prijateljem. Njegov humor uključuje citiranje bazičnih citata i vrijeđanje nas troje. Npr. kad smo ležali na plaži odjednom bi samo rekao "Summer vibes", kad je stavio slušalice rekao je: "Music on, world off", kad smo čekali avion je rekao "Dubrovnik calling" ili pak kad smo bili u autu of aerodroma do Rijeke što je 20-minutna vožnja rekao je "The world is like a book, those who don't travel only see one page." Što se tiče vrijeđanja, kad netko od nas nešto kaže ponekad voli odgovoriti sa: "Could you just shut the fuck up", no to je sve dio njegovog šarma.

Yoyo, Francuz. Njega jednostavno nije previše briga i radi što god poželi. Ili, kako je on to sam za sebe objasnio, ne veže se za ništa, već samo živi život. Uvijek prilazi strancima i stvara nove prijatelje. Npr. naučio je reći "Imaš prelijepe oči" i "Puši k****", pa bi to rekao svim ljudima koje je upoznao. Generalno su ljudi u Hrvatskoj to prihvatili sa smiješkom, a  druge strane sam bila uvjerena da ako to kaže krivoj osobi može dobiti šaku u glavu. Srećom, nije. Yohann je vrlo hrabar, može živjeti u bilo kojem gradu, sam ili s ljudima i izvrstan je u svom poslu, a opet je u slobodno vrijeme najluđi, ostaje vani do 9 ujutro, može popiti više od ikoga i usput nasmijati sve oko sebe.

Nakon par dana zezanja po Rijeci, i leta od 50 minuta s neprocjenjivim pogledom na Hrvatsku obalu iz zraka, stigli smo u Dubrovnik. S obzirom da ga mnogi smatraju najljepšim gradom u Hrvatskoj, a i nitko od nas ga još nije posjetio, odlučili smo se za tu opciju.

Uzeli smo apartman u Lapadu - lokacija je bila top jer smo bili 10 minuta pješke udaljeni od plaže, a opet smo busom ili taksijem 15-ak minuta udaljeni od starog grada tj. centra. Prvu noć smo se zaputili u irski Belfast bar koji nam je bio blizu apartmana, što je morao biti baš ogromni kulturni šok za Emily.

Onda nam se pridružio jedan domaći iliti jedan od mojih razloga što sam se jako radovala ići u Dbk. Kasnije su se E, T i Y zaputili van u Revelin, najpoznatiji klub u gradu. Zapravo i jedini klub koji je opcija nakon nekog doba. Ne znam točno što su radili, ali su se vratili u 7 ujutro, pokazali mi ogromne račune od tamo i onda smo do nekih 9 ujutro sjedili na terasi i pričali o životu.

Day I.

Sljedeći dan su oni spavali, a razlog i ja smo odlučili ići u stari grad.

Tek kad sam došla na Pile gdje se nalazi ulaz u stari grad - Vrata od Pila, imala sam osjećaj da sam u Dubrovniku.

Stari grad je nešto posebno. Bila sam oduševljena s predivnom arhitekturom i količinom povijesti koju Dubrovnik ima, tako da dok mi je moj domaći pričao o tome kad je što izgrađeno, zašto iz jedne zgrade viri komad kamena na kojem ljudi pokušavaju stajati, "Moraš probat vodu iz ove fontane jer je najbolja" i sl., ja sam većinom šutila i upijala i bila hipnotizirana ljepotom grada. Da nije povremeno bilo dućana s Game of Thrones suvenirima, mislila bi da sam u skroz drugom vremenu.

Prošli smo staru ljekarnu koja je tu preko sedam stoljeća, par muzeja i uličica, a onda smo odlučili otići u akvarij pošto se ne sjećam kad sam zadnji put išla u akvarij. Bilo je lijepo vidjeti ribice, ali me dosta uzrujalo što velikoj kornjači nisu uredili akvarij s više od dva-tri kamena. Još uvijek je se prisjetim.

Došlo je vrijeme za ručak, pa su nam se E, T i Y pridružili i išli smo u slatki restorančić u jednoj od uskih ulica u centru, Lucin kantun. To je bilo to što sam čekala. Par boca finog vina, crni rižoto, riblja plata sa škampima, kozicama, brancinom i dagnjama, druženje i priča.

Kad smo se najeli, išli smo prošetati kroz kamene uličice grada i završili u Buza baru, jednom od kafića s epskim pogledom.

S obzirom da pogled u mom gradu uvijek uključuje neke otoke u daljini, oduševila sam se pogledom  gdje je samo horizont - i ništa drugo. Zalazilo je sunce i pili smo vino kad je Tio sjeo za stol za kojim je sjedio jedan mladi dečko Dimitri, koji je rekao da će samo popiti pivu pa odlazi. Mi kao mi smo ušli u priču s njim i saznali da je Dimitri njujorčanin s korijenima u Bjelorusiji koji je veliki fan GOT-a pa je odlučio doći ovdje sam na nekoliko dana.

Uvijek su me fascinirali ljudi koji sami otputuju na drugi kontinent. Mislim da je to hrabro i prekrasno i da je to najbolji način za upoznati samog sebe. Ispitali smo ga sve o situaciji tamo i o edukativnom sustavu Amerike, a mi smo njemu pričali o našoj kulturi i navikama. Na kraju je ostao s nama do kraja večeri. Jedini problem u tom kafiću je što nema WC-a, pa ako odete tamo, morate se snaći.

Day II.

Drugi dan smo domaći i ja proveli skupa, dok je ostatak išao na plažu. Prvo smo išli na palačinke i kavu u Dolce vitu.  Zatim smo išli negdje gdje sam već dugo htjela ići, na otok Lokrum. Do tamo se može doći za 10-ak minuta vožnje brodom, a ukrcaš se tamo preko puta:

Lokrum je poseban rezervat pun zelenja, okružen velikim stijenama, na kojem se čuju samo zrikavci. Prvo što me oduševilo je što po otoku šetaju paunovi s malim bebama paunima i skaču zečići (kad ih ne love nabrijana djeca turista).

Prošli smo kroz ovaj prolaz u muzej u kojem je priča o kletvi Benediktinaca.

Navodno su Benediktinci nakon svoje posljednje mise na otoku zapalili svijeće, okrenuli ih naopako te tri puta obišli otok govoreći: Neka je proklet svaki koji pribavi Lokrum za osobno uživanje. Prokletstvo se može skinuti samo ako se skupi sav vosak koji se te noći stvrdnuo na tlu. Nakon toga je neke kraljeve, careve i sl. koji su dolazili na otok snašlo puno zabavnih stvari poput uhićenja i samoubojstva, a danas na otoku nitko ne provodi noći osim čuvara.

Zatim smo prošetali do samostana, a onda naišli na tron iz GOT-a, što me malo razočaralo. Lokrum je sam po sebi fora jer ima zanimljivu povijest i donekle je netaknut, pa mi je vidjeti Iron Throne bilo baš tužno jer ubija tu neku autentičnost. Ali dobro, to je samo sitan dio Lokruma i samo moje mišljenje.

Puno tog se može raditi na Lokrumu, a nema nečeg što bi preporučila više od nečeg drugog. Možeš se popeti uzbrdo do utvrde Royal s koje se pruža pogled od 360 stupnjeva - lijep kao, sad je već to činjenica, svaki pogled u ovom gradu. Ako ti bude prevruće možeš se baciti u more, a ako se zaželiš hlada onda legneš ispod stabla maslina i slušaš zrikavce dok oko tebe kruže paunovi i zečići.

Kao da to nije bilo dovoljno iskustvo, vratili smo se u Lapad na Sunset beach gdje smo se vozili jet skijem okolo. Vrh. Nakon tog smo išli prošetati uz obalu i sjeli na koktel na terasu kod Cave bara More koji je super jer možeš piti koktel, bacit se u more koje je odmah ispod i vratit se koktelu, a ako se želiš malo ohladiti samo uđeš u Cave bar koji se nalazi, logično, u špilji. 

Onda smo išli leći na ležaljke gledati impresivan zalazak sunca, a kasnije se najesti meksičke hrane, što je u potpunosti zaokružilo poglavlje "Kako provesti savršen dan u Dubrovniku".

Već je stizala ponoć i vrijeme da i ja vidim Revelin, no prije toga, pregame u apartmanu. Eskalirali smo od laganog pričanja do tog da je Emily pokušala napraviti stoj i onda je viknula "Oh, Jesus!" s irskim naglaskom i vrlo intenzivno pala na pod, a mi smo se kao pravi prijatelji kolektivno upišali od smijeha.

Klub me oduševio jer se nalazi u staroj tvrđavi. Unutra su konfeti, plesačice na svili, plesačice oko stupa i neki ljudi koji svijetle na štulama. Plesali smo cijelu noć, upoznali hrpu ljudi iz različitih zemalja, a muzika je bila komercijalna, ali sasvim solidna. Kad se već počelo dizati sunce sjeli smo na taksi za doma, mrtvi umorni, ali vrlo, vrlo zadovoljni.

Day III.

Sutradan kad smo se uspjele probuditi Emily i ja smo išle na Srđ koji je isto bio na mojoj listi pogleda koje moram doživjeti. Inače se do tamo može doći žičarom, ali ona je dosta skuplja od Ubera koji vas za 80-ak kuna odvede do gore. Pogled sa Srđa se ne može opisati riječima. Dođeš, zašutiš i diviš se. 

Nakon tog smo otišle u kratku šetnju po gradu i shame shame shame stubama, a na putu natrag do dečki smo vidjele Božićni dućan, što je bilo dosta neočekivano.

Bilo je krajnje vrijeme da kupim nešto svojima doma, ali sam zapela gledajući ovo:

Navečer smo domaći i ja išli do grada na druženje. Jela sam vrlo fini rižoto s kozicama popraćen bocom roséa u restoranu Gajeta. Pitala sam ga što je gajeta, a on je rekao: "Vidiš ovaj brod (na logu) ispod imena restorana. E pa to." Sad mi je bilo malo bed jer sam realno to sam mogla i sama shvatiti, pa sam mu rekla da sam to već znala ali samo provjeravam ako je on znao. To nije upalilo.

Kasnije smo išli u kafić Kop koji se nalazi malo prije ulaza u stari grad, gdje je, tko bi rekao, predivan pogled - ovaj put na tvrđavu Lovrijenac.

Sve u svemu još jedan dan pun lijepih pogleda, finog pića i hrane, kupanja, druženja i sreće.

Jednom mi je rekao da kad dođem u Dbk da neću htjeti otići. Također je rekao da je u Dbk zrak drugačiji i bolji, kao i vrijeme i more. Zapravo, kad malo razmislim, uvijek kaže da je sve bolje. To je zvučalo dosta pristrano dolazeći od domaćeg pa sam ja rekla meh, ali zapravo nije daleko od istine. Ne znam da li je to jer sam bila na godišnjem, jer sam bila okružena dragim ljudima, jer je bilo savršeno vrijeme ili što, ali stvarno je jedan od najljepših i najposebnijih gradova koje sam vidjela u životu.

Već par dana nakon sam zagrlila i pozdravila moje drage goste na riječkom aerodromu. U ovih sedam dana po Rijeci, Zagrebu i Dubrovniku stvorili smo toliko novih uspomena, glupih internih šala, smijali se i družili kao da vrijeme nije prošlo.

Svaki put kad imamo okupljanje naše ekipe Erasmusa iz Huelve se inspiriram. Kad smo bili u Irskoj odlučila sam promijeniti posao i odseliti se u svoj stan kad se vratim doma. Prvi dio sam ostvarila mjesec dana nakon, a ovaj drugi ostvarujem u rujnu. Zapravo se najviše inspiriram ljudima koji su mi bliski, pa tako i ovaj put. To nije jer oni vode savršene živote, jer nitko nema takav život, ali su svi hrabri ići bilo gdje u svijetu, izboriti se za najbolje uvjete, ne podcjenjuju se i fokusiraju se na stvari koje ih usrećuju.

OK, možda kad ih vidite prvi put mislite da su turisti koji su samo došli piti i Shazamaju Oficira s ružom jer ne znaju za bolje, ali ja ih poznajem u svim situacijama, kao i oni mene. Dobrim, lošim, sramotnim, emocionalnim - i dalje putujemo, podržavamo se, radimo uspomene i planiramo sljedeće okupljanje.

I eto, više od tri godine kasnije, došli smo od zbunjenih studenata u Španjolskoj koji su se još tražili do samopouzdanih, zaposlenih ljudi. Jednako mladi, samo malo stariji.

Until next time 😊

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DUBROVNIK

After our reunions in Amsterdam, Spain, and Ireland it was time for my Erasmus friends from Huelva to come to Croatia -  Emi, Tio, and Yoyo.

Emily, my former roommate, is still the nicest person I have ever met. She is kind, giving, honest and hilarious. Whatever you are going through - she will always support you. Although sometimes she says it's annoying that people consider her to too nice, she simply is and that is what we appreciate. Also, as a real Irish, she can drink whiskey like most people can't. She also does Crossfit every day and lifts 100 kg on deadlift with no problem.

Tio, the German. Recently we went through similar situations in life which connected us even more and  I consider him to be one of my favorite friends. His humor includes quoting basic white girl captions and insulting the three of us. E.g. when we were laying on the beach he would say "Summer vibes", when he put on headphones he said "Music on, world off", when we waited for the airplane to Dubrovnik he said "Dubrovnik calling" and when we took a 20-minute drive from the airport to Rijeka he said  "The world is like a book, those who don't travel only see one page." As far as the insulting part, sometimes when one of us would say anything he would just reply with: "Could you just shut the fuck up" but that's all part of his charm.

Yoyo is unique. He doesn't care too much and he does whatever he wants. Or as he put it, he is detached from everything - he just lives his life. He always approaches foreigners and makes new friends. He has learned to say "Imaš prelijepe oči" (You have beautiful eyes)  and "Puši k*rac" (Suck my d*ck) so he would say that to everyone he met. In general the Croatians accepted it with a smile, but on the other hand, I was convinced that if he said it to the wrong person he would get beaten up. Luckily, he didn't. Yohann is very brave, he can live in any country, alone or with people and he is excellent at his job, while at the same time always the craziest one who stays out until 9 a.m, can outdrink anyone and make anyone smile.

We spent out first few days in Rijeka and the then we went to Zagreb where we  a flight to Dubrovnik was waiting for us. Since many people find it the most beautiful city in Croatia and none of us had been there we decided to go south. The flight is perfect because it lasts only 50 minutes and seeing Croatia from the air is just priceless.

When we landed we went directly to our apartment in Lapad. The location was good because we were 10 minutes away from the beach and 15 minutes away by taxi or bus from the old town. Since we arrived late we went straight to a bar, the Irish Belfast bar that is, which must have been a big cultural shock for Emily.

We were joined by my other reason why I was looking forward to coming to Dubrovnik. Later on, Emi, Tio and Yoyo went to Revelin, the most popular club in the city. Actually, it's the only club that is an option after a certain hour. I'm not exactly sure what they did there, all I know is they came back home at 7 am, showed me enormous bills from there and then we were all sitting on our terrace and talking about life until 9 am.

Day I.

The next day my squad was asleep, while my other reason I and decided to go to the old town.
When we arrived at Pile gate I finally had the feeling that I was in Dubrovnik.

The old town is something special. I was amazed by the gorgeous architecture and the amount of history that made this city what it is today. While my personal tour guide was telling me when something was built, why there is a stone peeking out of one building on which people are trying to stand, "You must try water from this fountain, it's the best" etc. I was silently taking it all in, mesmerized by the beauty of this city. If I didn't occasionally see a Game of Thrones merch shop, I would think I was in another era.

We went to see the old pharmacy which has been there for about seven centuries and a few museums when we decided to visit the aquarium since I don't recall the last time I visited one. It was nice and all, the only thing was I got upset to see the turtle's aquarium which wasn't decorated with anything else but a couple of stones. I still think of her sometimes. 

It was lunchtime so my squad joined us and we went to a cute restaurant in one of the narrow streets, Lucin kantun. This is what I've been waiting for: a few bottles of fine wine, black risotto, a fish plate with shrimps and mussels, surrounded by my dearest people.

After we were full, we took a walk through the streets of Dubrovnik and ended up in Buza Bar, a bar with an epic view.

Since the view in my city involves some islands in the distance, I was amazed with a view which consisted of nothing but the horizon. The sun was setting and we were drinking wine when Tio sat at some table where another young guy was sitting. His name was Dimitri and he said he will just finish his beer and leave. Since we like to meet new people, we started talking to him and found out he was a New Yorker born in Belarus who was here visiting Dubrovnik alone because he is a huge fan of GOT.

I've always been fascinated with people who travel to another continent alone. I think it's very brave and it's the best way to find out who you are. We asked him about the situation in America and their education system and told him all about our culture. In the end, he stayed with us for a few more hours. The only problem in this bar is that it doesn't have a toilet, so if you go there, figure something out.

Day II.

My dear tour guide and I decided to spend the next day together, while the squad decided to go to the beach. First, he took me for breakfast to Dolce vita, for some pancakes and coffee. Then we went somewhere where I wanted to go for quite some time now, the island Lokrum. You can get there in about 10 minutes with a boat and you can find the boats across from this place:

Lokrum is a nature reserve full of trees, surrounded by giant rocks. The only sound you can hear there are crickets. I was instanly amazed with the peacocks and bunnies casually walking around. That is if some crazy tourist's kids aren't chasing them away.

We walked through this passage to a small room where I found out about the curse.

According to the legend, after their final mass on the island the Benedictine monks walked around the island in a single-file procession. As a curse, they turned their lighted candles upside-down towards the earth, so that the flame touched the wax, which left a melted trail. They went around the island this way three times, chanting: "Whoever claims Lokrum for his own personal pleasure shall be damned!" The curse began to take effect, so some aristocrats and kings who spent time on the island were arrested or committed suicide at some point in their life. Today, no one can spend the night on Lokrum except for the guards.

We then walked to the monastery and later found the GOT Iron throne. I found that a little disappointing. Lokrum is nice because it has an interesting history and it's as natural as it can be, so seeing the throne kinda killed the authenticity for me. But, you gotta do what you gotta do for tourism. 

There are many things you can do on Lokrum and honestly I don't know which one I would reccommend more. You can walk uphill to the Fort Royal to check out the 360 view, which is, just like all the other views in Dbk, gorgeous. If you want to freshen up you can go to the rocks and jump in the sea. Or, if you want to catch some shade you can go lay under the olive trees, listen to crickets and hang out with peacocks and bunnies. 

As if that isn't experience enough, we went back to Lapad's Sunset beach and drove around with a jet ski. Then we sat on the terrace of Cave Bar More which is great because you can drink a cocktail, jump in the sea and go back to your cocktail. While you are there be sure to enter Cave Bar. I mean, it's in a cave. That's pretty damn cool.

We then went to see the most impressive sunset of all times and later on to eat some Mexican food, which was the perfect end to this "How to spend the perfect day in Dubrovnik" chapter.

It was almost midnight which meant it was time for me to see Revelin. But before that, pregame in the apartment. We escalated from a nice conversation to Emily trying to do a handstand. She yelled "Oh, JESUS!" in her Irish accent and then fell on the floor while the three of us, like real friends, just died from laughter.

I loved the club because it is located in an old fortress. Inside you can see a bunch of confetti falling, pole dancers and some people who were lit up walking around on stilts. Pretty cool. We danced all night and met a bunch of people from different countries. When the sun started to rise we took a taxi home, very  tired, but very, very happy.

Day III.

When we managed to wake up, Emi and I went to see Srđ. Another place on my must-see views. You can get there with a cable car, but it's a bit more expensive than an Uber that takes you there for around 80 kunas. This view cannot be described with words. You see it and you are just amazed. 

After Srđ we went for a short walk in the city and saw the shame shame shame stairs. On our way back to our squad we also saw a Christmas shop, which I thought was very random.

It was about time to buy something for my family back home but instead, I got caught up checking out these:

Later in the evening me and my tour guide went to the city together. I ate an amazing risotto with shrimps accompanied by a bottle of rose wine in restaurant Gajeta. I asked him what is gajeta and he said: "Do you see this boat (on the logo) under the name of the restaurant? That's it." Now I felt a bit stupid because I mean I could have figured this out alone, so I told him I already knew this but I just wanted to check if he knew it. That didn't work.

Our final stop was Kop Bar where there was a shocking surprise - another beautiful view. Here you can just chill, drink wine and think about how epic this place is. All in all it was another day full of views, great food and drinks, hanging out and pure happiness. 

He  once told me that when I come to Dubrovnik, I will not want to leave. He also said the air in Dbk is better as well as the sea and the weather. Actually when I think about it, he always says that everything is better there. That sounded pretty biased coming from a local, so I usually answered with "Meh", but I gotta admit he is right. I'm not sure if it's because I was on holidays, because I was surrounded with my favorite people or because the weather was perfect, but Dubrovnik is truly one of the most beautiful and unique cities I have ever seen.

A couple of days later I hugged my squad goodbye at the airport. In these seven days in Rijeka, Zagreb and Dubrovnik we created  many new memories, stupid jokes, laughed and hung out, as if no time had passed.

Every time I reunite with my Erasmus Huelva friends I get inspired. When we were in Ireland for New Years, I decided to change my job and move into my apartment when I come back home. The first part I did in the next month and the second part is coming true in September. I am always inspired by the people who are my closest friends, more than with randoms or celebrities. It's not because they lead perfect lives, no one does, it's because they are all brave enough to go anywhere in the world, to ask for what they want in life and go get it, they don't underestimate themselves and they focus on the things that make them happy.

Sure, when you see them the first time you might think they are just crazy tipsy tourists, but I know them in all of their editions as they know me. The good, the bad, embarrassing, emotional - we still meet, support each other, make memories and plan our next reunion.

More than three years after Erasmus, from confused students in Spain we've turned into confident people with careers. Equally young, just a little bit older.

Until next time 😊