September 24, 2022

September 24, 2022

We spent the night in Dubrovnik, Croatia just outside the Old City. After breakfast we drove past it to a viewpoint above and to the southeast. The Dubrovnik area has few natural resources outside access to the sea. The locals made do and become skilled sea traders. Their arch-enemy Venice would have loved to wipe them off the map so they were forced to build an impregnable defense. This small city is completely surrounded by thick castle walls. When the sea trade died and the citizens moved elsewhere, these walls were left standing, leaving Dubrovnik a World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the world.

The small harbor to the south today is filled with pleasure boats. In the Middle Ages a mighty chain could be stretched across the opening to bar enemy ships. To prevent disease brought from abroad, visiting seamen were forced to isolate in a building just outside this harbor. Originally Dubrovnik required thirty days (Trentino in Italian). Later it was extended to forty days (or Quarantino).

We entered the Old City of Dubrovnik from the west through the Pile Gate where we met our local guide. We passed the large public water fountain and toured the Franciscan Monastery just inside the gate. This friary has a nice colonnaded cloister surrounded by a walkway with painted alcoves and floor crypts. It also contains the oldest still functioning pharmacy. The original room is on display. We also visited the museum. It has lots of medieval jewelry and some bizarre saintly religious relics.

We then walked the length of the Stradun (main street). The limestone pavement has been polished ultra-smooth by the millions of shoes that tread it daily. At the far end we toured the Rector's Palace. The Rector was head of the Dubrovnik government. The courtyard is dominated by a large stairway that was featured in the Game of Thrones. We first toured the second-floor state rooms. I like the several Sedan Chairs that the Rector was carried through the city on. The dungeon rooms were next. One contains an interesting collection of iron strong boxes. Of course, these would be vital tools of every trading merchant.

We parted company with our guide, and walked through the market, to the Jesuit St Ignatius Church. The steep stairs leading to it were also featured in the GOT as Cersei Lannister’s Walk of Shame. It is mobbed with people taking selfies. Because Dubrovnik is so well preserved, many movies and TV shows have been filmed here.

We went out the eastern Ploce Gate past the harbor and walked up stairways through a residential area. I was looking for that classic view of the entrance harbor. It seems the best views are probably atop private terraces.

We were losing energy so we followed the little lane that hugs the harbor-side southern wall until we find a hole (Buza in Croatian). Just outside the walls, atop the cliff rocks used by sunbathers, some enterprising local got the idea to set up tables and sell beer. This Buza Bar is just what we need. Aimee has a Cider while I have a couple beers. We regain some energy by hydrating next to this unbeatable view of the Dalmatian coast.

Refreshed, we buy the Dubrovnik Pass at the Tourist Center. This gives us access to the Wall Walk, several museums and a city bus pass to get back to our hotel. The one-mile Wall Walk is ridiculously expensive but a great way to see the city from all angles. It takes longer than it should because I have to stop and take photos often. By necessity all the buildings within the walls are tightly packed together. Surprisingly though we see two small soccer fields and a couple gardens.

Along the way we stop at the Maritime Museum inside the St Johns Bastion. In the Middle Ages, Dubrovnik was known as the Republic of Ragusa. This city-state got started in the salt trade which was vital for food preservation. Everyone needed it to survive the winter. Ragusans used the local Oak Trees to build ever larger trading vessels. Like Venice, they expanded into the silk and spice trade after the First Crusade because of the enormous profits available. Large sailing vessels were sometimes known as an Argosy, a distortion of the Ragusa name.

Finished with the Wall Walk we visited Fort Lovrjenac. This little castle sits atop a rock in the sea directly west of the Old City. We get a great view of Dubrovnik from it, but we have to make it quick because they are setting up for a wedding on the roof. Based on the American sounding names, Aimee and I think it has to be a destination wedding, so popular now with the younger generation.

We are hungry so we find a nice restaurant just off the harbor. While eating our salad and pizza, we notice a raucous replica Argosy sailing ship pull in. A wedding party disembarks and parades right past us. The bride does a little dance for us.

We finished our Dubrovnik day by taking the Cable Car to Mt Srd, the hill that sits a half mile above the city. The cliff top also has ruins of a French fort and contains a museum about the shelling of Dubrovnik by the Serbian Army during the Civil War.

We take the bus back to our hotel, arriving just in time to see the start of the sunset.