Croatia: Take me to the sea

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
-John Muir

I have loved every moment of living in Budapest. It is a captivating city, and the past year has been filled with many life-changing experiences. Yet, there are days when this concrete jungle feels a little suffocating. Lately I have found myself missing nature. Of course I could remedy this longing by sitting in one of the parks, or by finding an empty bench by the river. Sadly, that never seems to do the trick. I’m still always looking for seclusion (an impossible quest when living in a big city); for a chance to get lost in my own mind while I stare at a beautiful landscape. I’ve recently realized that my problem isn’t so much that I’m missing wilderness. Rather, I am constantly craving a wide, open space. I am craving a vast horizon. I am missing the sea.

I know that this longing comes from my childhood spent by Lake Michigan. You’re right-it’s not a sea, but it’s close enough. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, Lake Michigan is anything but a normal lake. Its roaring waves and endless horizon line give it the allure of the sea, instead of a boring old inland lake. I used to spend hours by the shore, watching the sunset from the top of a great sand dune. All of my problems at the time would always seem so small and insignificant in comparison to the vast, open water before me. The calming rythym of the waves would put me into a sort of trance, and whole world would fall away to the sound of the water.

I know now that I need to be able to clear my head while sitting by the sea. I’m writing this because I did have the chance to do just that this summer. After a good year in a landlocked country, I was finally able to sit and stare at the sea. My amazing but utterly exhausting trip through Serbia and Bosnia ended with a relaxing week on the shores of Croatia. Everything I did revolved around the sea; from sitting on the beach, and jumping from cliffs, to kayaking through the open water. All you really need to know about Dubrovnik, Split, and the Island of Hvar, is that they were all absolutely beautiful. After a week on the Adriatic, I felt rejuvenated and worry-free.

Old Town Dubrovnik
The Pearl of the Adriatic
Countless Game of Thrones references
Land of stray cats and black clouds of sparrows