Where do I start on the wonder that is Dubrovnik’s old town? After visiting a series of old walled towns and churches and centuries old architecture, I was a bit worried that Dubrovnik might not seem so special, especially given all the Game of Thrones hype and increased tourism due to that.
[Side note: I have not watched the GOT series – I read the first book in the nineties when it was first published, and decided I would wait til the author finished the whole series before I read any more. And here we are 30 years later still waiting. It was a thing for epic fantasy authors to start with a trilogy, get successful and then keep writing and never finish. Yes it annoys me, a lot.]
[Second side note: this post covers 3 days worth of stuff shoved into one post as it is all Dubrovnik]
Dubrovnik’s old town is epic. Most of the rest of the city is standard Croatian city – limestone buildings, terracotta roofs, great weather, blue ocean, backed by dramatic and harsh barren mountains. But the old town – woah! The photos do not capture the scale and immensity of the place. Another World Heritage site that is also a living city – full of tourists in the summer! It is another no-car city with narrow ‘roads’ that are pedestrian only, and only a few gates in to the city through the walls surrounding it. The old town has been claimed and ruled by a bunch of empires and regimes over the years (and sustained bad damage in the 90’s war). As per usual, there are lots of cats everywhere, mostly sleeping during the day. Like on the islands and in other towns, they are well looked after (and sterilised apparently) by local charity groups – and not phased by the bazzillion tourists.
Once, the city was exclusively Roman Catholic, but in the 1800s became more open and has a Jewish Synagogue, Serbian Orthodox Church and Islamic Centre. There are lots of churches and religious buildings – as well as the relics (gold-plated skull, arm and leg) of St Blaise – the patron saint of Dubrovnik (not the ones in the photo – they’re kept somewhere more secure). A walking tour gave a small taste, including a Franciscan monastery (photos below) which is Europe’s third oldest pharmacy (1317). It initially serviced the friars, but then extended to the city and beyond. There is still a working pharmacy on site, which our tour guide noted was one of the few open on a Sunday (church still wins so less is open).
I walked the walls surrounding the city – they are about 2km long but take at least an hour due to the many, many photo and ‘wow’ stops. This is 1000% worth the high cost (40€, which is used to fund restoration of Croatian monuments, and helps to manage the number of people on the wall). Photos don’t capture it – you’ll have to come see it for yourselves! At sunset there were a lot of kayaks and boats out on the ocean – plus a random pirate ship thing – full of wall to wall people.
Temperatures are 28oC ish daily, so it was a hot walk along the walls (even at 7pm). I was dripping with sweat and so after my walk I swam at the “beach” alongside/outside the city walls (i.e. rocks and a ladder/steps). Best swim ever, followed by sitting on the rocky jetty as the sky darkened and the lights all came on.
Also, I finished the cruise in Dubrovnik. We had one night in Dubrovnik in port and then offloaded for the crew to turn over the ship and welcome the new group of passengers and head back to Split. It was lots of hugs and farewells and exchanging of contact details. 7 nights on a ship was probably long enough for me – it’s a good way to see a lot in a short time and not have to be responsible for any planning or logistics (or cooking or cleaning), and to unpack once. But also – quite scheduled.
Now I’m in a studio apartment airbnb where I’ve been doing all my washing, grabbing things from the local supermarket and despite some grand plans – have read a book and it’s nice to not be scheduled and to just chill for a bit. In a bit of a recurring theme – I helped myself to a swim at the pool at the other’s hotel (despite not being a guest) and we also swam at the Coral Beach Club – which is sort of a public beach (coz they can’t not let you swim) but we climbed over rocks as it looked quieter with more shade options round their corner rather than the public space. So it turns out that they charge 60-120€ for day use of a (per) sun lounge and umbrella – we just sat on the rocky beach and swam in their nice bit of ocean! Food and drinks were additional to the cost (with wait staff who come to your chair)…..and there is a DJ from 1pm in the afternoon (who wants loud music for a day at the beach?? weird, but it seems to be a theme – and don’t get me started on people who bring their music and speaker to a hotel pool and force everyone to listen to their crap…says the person crashing ‘exclusive’ swimming locations LOL). It was a lovely place to swim!!
I’ve met up with Andy (birthday girl) and her sister, also Mel, and nephew, Riley, who are staying nearby (I’ll be with them for the next week). Mel secured a dinner booking six months ago on the panorama restaurant at the top of the hill above Dubrovnik old town – and I was lucky enough to tag along. It was an exciting ride up in the uber- switchbacks, single lane, unpaved in places – and cars going up and down. Local driver for the win (it’s a sport!). The food was delicious (and expensive!) on the top of a mountain, with amaaaaaazing views including sunset (that the photos don’t really do justice to…..you’ll all have to come see for yourselves!). Croatia is much more hilly/mountainous that I had imagined it would be.
