As much as I love Hvar, what made the experience for me were the wonderful people I met in town and the stellar hostels I stayed at. The first hostel, called Helvetia Hostel, I would highly recommend in a heartbeat to any backpacker making their way through Hvar. The building is located right in the middle of the old town, family owned and operated, and has one of the greatest patios I've ever seen in my life! If I ever won the lottery, I would happily spend the entirety of my winnings on an old house like this here in Hvar without hesitation.
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favorite cities in the world
Since arriving in Croatia, I've actively pushed myself to not hold expectations for any upcoming cities. So far it hasn't been an issue, but I never want to arrive in a beautiful place and be disappointed that it isn't as gorgeous as the city I just came from. When I boarded my ferry from Bol to Hvar, I went through the motions of trying to remove my expectations and prepared myself mentally for Hvar. I figured by now I was well overdue for a disappointment since every single city I've visited so far is nothing short of extraordinary. Surely every city I visit in Croatia can’t be incredible, there must be a "dud" somewhere. Fortunately, this is not the case for Hvar. It is an absolutely beautiful gem of a city that completely blew me away - Croatia is still bowling a perfect game in my book.
I'm happy to report last night was my first completely issue-free camping experience - no rain, no wind, and no lightening! Unlike my last night outdoors, it was a perfectly quiet evening. The only thing I didn't account for was the lower temperatures thanks to the higher elevation, but I just layered up and everything was fine. I woke up naturally at 6:00 am the following morning and took the long way around to Bol by hiking up the nearby Mount St. Vid. Standing at 778 meters (~2,500 feet), the peak, Vidova Gora, is not only the highest peak on Brač, but also highest island point in the entire Adriatic. The trek was exhausting especially considering I spent over five hours hiking uphill the day before, but it was completely worth it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I must announce today that I have a new all-time favorite country and city in the world. For months Marseille held the crown as my favorite city of this trip so far, but Split now takes the #1 spot while Germany now ranks behind Croatia as my favorite country. I absolutely love everything about Split and I could easily spend weeks of my life in this great city without even a second thought. Unfortunately, since there are only so many days left of “summer” (even though it’s technically October) I have to leave this wonderful city so I can visit the much-hyped Croatian islands before winter sets in. I've seen only a fraction of this great country, but I can already tell you I will be back in my lifetime. It might not be next year, or the one after, but as long as I'm still alive, I'm coming back to Croatia