Q u o t e o f t h e d a y: "Great things never come from comfort zones" -- unknown
What's Happening
It's official. One month of Remote Year down, 11 to go, and I am already feeling anxious that time is going by too quickly. A month ago today I boarded a plane as a pre-mote (pre-remote year member), nervous and excited for what lies ahead. Today, I am sitting on my apartment balcony taking in the ocean view in one last time before I meet up with my Remote Year family and board a charter plane to Prague; city number two. It only took me one month to realize that dreams really do come true. No, I am not talking about becoming Daenerys Targaryen and the mother of fire breathing dragons. My dream was to see the world, become comfortable with the unknown, meet people I wouldn't have met otherwise and take on new cultures. Check, check and check. *Still searching for dragons*
So what really happened? To be completely honest, my favorite parts of the month in Croatia, were the weekend side trips I took. There is nothing wrong with living on a beautiful beach and living two minutes from your work space. But truth be told, it becomes easy to remain within the two-block radius of “comfort zone” with Remotes available to get Fast Food always – which is just that; food that comes out quick, but not necessarily fried, and usually has tartar sauce or corn included. Not ideal as you could imagine. Although we did make it into Old Town for some Croatian dinners and site seeing, I thought I’d give you the cliff notes of what I discovered along the coast that kept me smiling.
The Deets
The Lannister’s send their regards. I walked the castle walls of Dubrovnik, took an epic boat ride stopping at two tiny islands to watch one of the most beautiful sunsets and borrowed a restaurant owners jacket for the weekend. Yes. You heard correctly. People in Dubrovnik are the rare kind of nice (unlike the portrayed King’s Landing) and they trust that if they loan you something, you will return it. Don’t worry, Marco got his jacket back. Where one might think, the best send off from Dubrovnik was seeing the spot where Joffrey dies, quite the contrary. Partying within the castle walls in what felt like a medieval dining room large enough to host the entire Night’s Watch while dancing to techno music was the win.
Hold the door. Well that quickly became the theme of our weekend in Kotor, Montenegro. Why you ask? Because it rhymes, kind of. A small group of us traveled about 90 minutes south of Kings Landing to avoid the storm. Two peaceful days away left us with a breath-taking, uphill hike; and I mean that in both ways, to the Castle of San Giovani, a sunset that set mountains on fire and a ton of consumed Milka chocolate. If you haven’t tried it, I recommend it.
A day off and a Monday well spent. The Green Market, Bell Tower, Catacombs (the Dragons weren't there), Zadar and Plitvice Lakes all in 24 hours. What happens when you put 4 friends in a stick-shift car for a three-hour drive? You stop for ice cream at least once, someone falls asleep, someone works on a hot spot, you go the opposite direction of the sign that says your destination because you put too much trust in Google Maps, you come back down the mountain because you realize you are a dumb American for trusting Google Maps, you see hundreds of waterfalls that can’t possibly exist in a land without unicorns, stop to see a sea organ and watch the second most beautiful sunset while listening to the Cranberries’ Zombie because it all just feels right.
What to do when you realize your readers may have never seen an episode of Game of Thrones? Shame. Shame. Shame. At this point, I will apologize if I lost you and advise you to check out the HBO show I’ve referenced, especially if you plan on visiting Croatia where much of the series is filmed. Although the search for dragons has been put on hold, I am very excited for what awaits me in Prague. I’m ready to get back into a city and find a new monthly mission. Museums, beer and dancing will be my priorities.
So I’ll leave you with this; I do believe it’s sip o’clock!
