We spent 10 days in a vacation rental above old town Dubrovnik. https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g295371-d2144698-Apartment_Laura-Dubrovnik_Dubrovnik_Neretva_County_Dalmatia.html. We could get use to this view. The apartment had a large, three sectioned, floor-to-ceiling window that could fully open, creating an opening that took up 3/4s of the wall. We had chairs in front of the opening, coffee mugs in the mornings, wine glasses at night, gazing out at Lokrum Island to the east or Old town to the west.
Dubrovnik looks like a small town now, but 500 years ago it had the 3rd largest Navy in the Mediterranean and was a powerful force. Dubrovnik was always very independent. In the Middle Ages, it had enough wealth ( primarily from the salt flats in Ston) to BUY its independence from whichever power in the region was the strongest…Byzantium, Venice, Hungary, the Ottomans and the Vatican. Our crazy kayak guide, Johnny (see Staying Active blog post), whispered to us that the Vatican still ‘owns’ this city. He said that in order to buy its independence after the war in the 90’s, they enlisted the assistance of the Vatican to get them recognized by the UN and eventually the EU in exchange for paying the Vatican 15% of their GNP each year. This is actually documented on the web some place but the $ is all funneled back in to Croatia in the form of Catholic focused government run schools, repairing and upkeep of churches and support of local clergy. When we asked other locals if this was true, none of them had ever heard this. Ah, the mysteries.
The traffic free old town has a ton of steps, back alleys, and outdoor cafes as well as pilgrims searching for scenes from Game of Thrones.
Dubrovnik was always a big tourist destination before the war in the 90’s and was the only coastal city where fighting occurred (it was already a UNESCO World Heritage Site before the war). No doubt the Serbs and Montenagrins wanted to teach Croatia a lesson. The city has been completely rebuilt but you can still see the effects of the war by the newer, bright orange roof tiles ( 90% were damaged) and shrapnel damage on buildings and the limestone and marble streets. I tried to get some comparison shots of war damage photos with pics we took on the streets.
This map shows the war damage. Triangles represent roof damage by a direct hit and dots represent direct hit on the pavement.
People still fill their water bottles and drink from Onofrio’s Big Fountain. In the Middle Ages, Dubrovnik had a sophisticated aqueduct system that brought water from the mountains, 7 miles away making the city self-sufficient.
The Dubrovnik Cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built from 1671 to 1713. The money to build the original basilica on this site was partially funded by the English king Richard the Lion Hearted as a votive for having survived a shipwreck near the island of Lokrum in 1192 on his return from the Third Crusade. You can see the shrapnel damage on the side of the church. At one time there was a swatch of Jesus’ swaddling clothes in this church but I didn’t see it. I did see a replica of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa.
The Dominican monastery has some interesting relics, old jewelry and manuscripts and what looks like a modern Black Madonna sculpture in one of the chapels.
Interested in going to one of Bill Gates’s favorite bars? Buca’s I and II are a couple of bars that cater to the sunset crowd. In the day, folks swim & dive off the cliffs.
One of the major attractions is to walk the city walls. Its a 1.2 mile walk on top of the 15th century walls up and down stairs and it is hot as hell but it gives you a perspective of city life. About 2k people still live within the walls but most folks rent their place to tourists for part of the year. In fact, most people that live in Dubrovnik rent their places for part of the year and according to many of the folks we spoke with, this is their largest source of income.
Croatia is not the best place for sandy beaches. This small one was near our AirBnb but most folks just lay their towels on a rock or hotels set up chairs on the rock.
We’ve had a ton of fresh seafood but Croatians do like their meat. They have a version of Moroccan Tangine but they call it ‘cooking under a bell’. This is a Bosnian dish called Cevapcici
If you need to get away from the throngs of tourists on cruise ships, 20 minutes south of Dubrovnik is the lovely village of Cavtat. They claim their small harbor is home to some of the most richest people in the world. Looked like a mini St. Tropez.
