For my first couple of days here, I had yet to quite put my finger on the pulse of the nightlife in Hvar, Croatia.
Which really bothered me, because I pride myself on being able to quickly identify the hotspots and be there to bring you all the information so you don’t have to do like me: wander around until you find it. I do all of this for you.
Plus, here I was in one of the world’s most famous destinations for nightlife, the Ibiza of Croatia, the Mykonos of islands in this country.
Oh sure, I quickly found Kiva Bar, a series of three small bars in an alley in which people go in and out to get drinks but mainly mingle outside, went to Carpe Diem Beach Bar where there is a big-time bar scene under the stars in the summertime and the jetsetters and celebrities raise the prices in August and had a couple of afternoon drinks with a pair of lovely bartenders visiting from Long Island at the beautiful Hula-Hula bar.
But it wasn’t until I went to Lola Bar that I truly found my nightlife groove in Hvar. It was there – up the steps and to the right of the Kiva bars – that I really began to appreciate this place. I sat down on a barstool in the narrow street, started chatting with the bartender and the next thing I knew, shots started flying as if I were back in the Greek Islands. And as anyone who has ever been to the Greek Islands will tell, you, the national symbol of Greece is the shot glass.
The mood was right, the music was awesome – mainly classic 80s stuff, which was a welcome break from all the hip-hop and other music that dominates bars and clubs – and the setting ideal. After all, there I was, sitting on a barstool on a narrow street squeezed between ancient buildings made of stone, likely so old that they were there before America was even a twinkle in the pilgrams’ eyes.
So I “tossed out my anchor” to use a sailing term (Hvar is a big boating destination and is one stop on the annual floating party known as Croatia Yacht Week) and soaked in the atmosphere. And more shots! It was obvious that this had become my “go-to” bar in Hvar.
The only thing missing was a lovely young girl taking a seat next to me and being kind to me at the end of the evening. But as the Rolling Stones so famously continue to sing: “you can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you need.”
And I got what I needed in Hvar at Lola Bar.