A travel day, by any other name, is still a travel day...

I had seen everything I really wanted to see in Dubrovnik already, and so I took my time in the morning. I showered and packed all my stuff. And then went out to get out money to last me the next few days. It was sort of hard to figure out, but I estimated. I picked up some truffle oil for a friend and grabbed a croissant. Back in my room, I sat and enjoyed the sounds of people outside, the church bells ringing the hour and the sun shining through the windows. I worked some more on the blog, which is a lot of work by the way so I hope you're enjoying it! The night before I had done a bunch and I left the Blogger app for too long and all my new information wasn't saved, heartbreaking. After eating my breakfast of yogurt and a croissant, and my morning tea, I decided to go out and see a museum I had read about on Trip Advisor. I also rechecked the airport bus times, and decided to take the earlier one. I'd have longer to wait but at least I'd be at the airport on time. I was able to leave my bag in the room, which was great, so I headed off to the Gornji Ugao Tower. I had been warned that it was hidden inside a basketball court, so I climbed the stairs....all the stairs, and found the "playground".

 

Across was a door so I entered it. I didn't know much about what I'd find inside but had read it was really interesting. I had also read that the man in charge of the foundry, gave tours. He was just starting one to a French family and said I could join in. A foundry is a place where metal is melted and turned into things, like canon balls, keys, horseshoes, rattles, or that's what they found. Nobody knew it existed as after an earthquake which damaged the old city, the foundry was used to dump the rubble. Piles and piles of "garbage" was put there and eventually, grass grew and it became an area for kids to play. At some point, for some reason, they dug up the playground and underneath found the ruins of the foundry. They found the moulds, casting sand, pools for water, drains, and the outlines of walls. After they decided to make it into a museum, they built the playground (basketball court) back on top of the museum. 

Right now, it's not a busy place because it's hard to find and quite unknown. However, they are building a door to the outside of the city walls so the guide was saying that it will be much busier. His job wasn't actually to be a guide but to sell tickets. He does the tours because he said otherwise nothing will make sense. This guy definitely doesn't make enough money. HIs obvious love for the history of Dubrovnik, the foundry and for meeting and guiding people is uplifting. It was a neat hidden gem.

Since I had decided to take the earlier bus, it was almost time to go. I picked up my backpack and headed up the many stairs to the cable car entrance. This is where the airport bus picked up. I hadn't had lunch so I went to the bakery but all they had were rolls or sweets so I got a sesame roll. As I was eating the bun, dry, I looked over and saw a fast food restaurant. Of course I'd see it second! I walked over and bought myself a Greek salad. It was tiny but so good! Fresh veggies and feta cheese, and tons of olives! I'm glad I had the roll though, just to add to the meal. As I was sitting waiting, a man beside me started chatting with me. He sounded French but it turns out he was Italian. His name was Phillipo and we had a really interesting discussion about the war in Croatia, as well as in Cambodia as he lived there just before the war began. His flight left shortly after mine and since we had arrived more than 2 hours before, we sat in the cafe and continued our talk. We spoke of our grandparents and their experiences during both World wars and he recommended I look up a girl named Sophia Scholl. Her and her brother distributed anti nazi flyers and such in Munich. They were arrested and beheaded; he said their story was fascinating. He spoke a bit about his father, who sounded fascinating. He was a scientist that specialized in growing rice (or something like that) and worked for the UN, so that's why they lived in Cambodia. About  6 months before the Khmer Rouge entered Cambodia, his father sent him and his mother back to Europe. His father ended up getting out the day before. He figures that one of the friends his father had who was higher up in the military, tipped him off. Because he worked for the UN he had, at his disposal, a convoy of vehicles. He filled them with as many people as he could, made fake marriage licenses for them and Thai women so they could get across the Thai border. I asked if his father had been recognized for what he had done and he said he had. It would be interesting to do some research and find out. He also spoke about how he had been so focused on his career that he had let everything else go. He said he had a brother who died when he was 20 and his parents are both dead, and now at 50, he is all alone. He said he had loved his life but it's important to have family. He talked about having lots of friends but I wonder if maybe he was referring to having a wife and kids. 

Enough time had passed that he could check in to his flight so we parted ways. What an interesting conversation, which only ever happens when you are traveling! I went to my own gate, and was grateful that I had gotten some food as there was absolutely nothing at all. The airport must be new as there was still tons of construction and stuff. But there wasn't a store or restaurant or anything. The only thing there was a vending machine with drinks. I wasted my time...blogging...and before I knew it it was time to board. Our flight was slightly delayed but finally we were on our way. 

I flew Coratia Air and they are obviously like any other discount airline. In order to get food or a drink you have to pay. But they mostly just have chips, chocolate, and booze. I had brought some nuts so had a few of those and before I knew it, we were landing. We landed at the new airport and because I only had carry on, I walked out and caught the bus to the bus station. Once at the bus station I got a tram to the main square Ban Josip Jelačić and followed the directions to my room. I climbed the stairs to the top floor (I think there were 5 stories) and met the woman who gave me the keys.

She was so warm and friendly and gave me some ideas for dinner. One of her suggestions was the restaurant right downstairs. Since it was after 7 and I had eaten at noon, I was starving. I sat outside, under an umbrella and ordered the pulled pork with fried potatoes. It was so amazing! 

I decided to wander around a bit before going back to the room. I just love the vibe in Zagreb! The exciting thing was that there was a market set up in the square! I love markets in Europe! It was similar to a Christmas market only not just for Christmas! Sadly they were closing up by the time I got there so I couldn't wait for the morning!

 I stopped by the grocery store and got myself a lemon Radler and my favourite Croatian desert which is a layer cake with pastry and vanilla cream. YUM! I took it back to the room to do my blog and also to relax. Even though travel days mean more sitting and waiting around than usual, I do find them exhausting. The room was very small but it had everything I needed. I had the tv on for noise and before I knew it I was drifting off. TIme for bed, my last sleep in Croatia!