2012/13 Europe Adventure: Dubrovnik, Croatia

Happy, Sunny, Warm Day!!!

Public Art (All around Croatia apparently these eggs have been painted with various Croatian themes. This one outside the tourist office is the "four seasons."

It was the first day since I stared wearing my winter clothes nearly 5 months ago that I could walk around all day without any coat, jacket or even a sweater. People were actually out and about in shorts, fabulous!!!

So after breakfast I took the bus to the old town and walked around for a few hours.

Dubrovnik is a city on the Adriatic Sea coast of Croatia, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik (narrow, rocky landbridge connecting mainland Croatia to the important seaport.) In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The prosperity of the city of Dubrovnik has long been based on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages, as the Republic of Ragusa, also known as a Maritime Republic (together with Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, Venice and other Italian cities), it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the city achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries. The beginning of tourism in Dubrovnik is often associated with the construction of the late 19th-century luxury hotels in Croatia, such as Grand Hotel (1890) in Opatija and the Hotel Imperial (1897) in Dubrovnik. Although Dubrovnik was demilitarized in the 1970s to protect it from war, in 1991, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was besieged by Serb-Montenegrin forces for seven months and received significant shelling damage.

So from what you've read it has a rich history and a tragic one as well and I actually always imagined that if you were listed on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites that you could never be attacked by warring factions but clearly that is not the case considering the war in 1991. In different places throughout the walled city they have posters for an exhibit displaying photographs from that time period. They are strategically placed in parts of the city where you see the huge poster with a building on fire and then look up and see that the building you're standing in front of is that same structure. In one picture there was a man with a blanket covering his head and shoulders as he looked up to his second floor window that was ablaze and the caption read that this was an artist and he was watching as his apart, and I imagine all his works, burnt. The city, which seems like it couldn't never be hurt with the thick wall protection but they were bombed by air and by sea and they could only defend themselves so far.

Incredible that any of them survived but the city is pretty well in tact now. I'm sure much reconstruction took place to make it virtually perfect. The city is truly on of the cleanest I've ever been to and the people are very friendly and you will find a multitude of restaurants, cafes, shops, museums and spiritual establishments as wells as charming winding passages, steep winding staircases leading up to homes and business close to the top of the walls.

And there are lots of exits, even some very tiny ones, so easy to miss, that lead down to rocky areas where you can sit, sunbathe or take a dip in the blue Adriatic. There were a couple or large men in Speedo's in one alcove I found when wondering about and they were just enjoying all the sunshine. But even though they didn't have the most perfect physiques and probably should have been wearing something akin to boxer-short style bathing suits, I can't be too critical of them because they were being so kind to the kitties who were winding around their legs and generally playing happy kitty with them.

Bell Tower in the main square (next to Sponza Palace)

There are some cats about mostly near the marina's where they go right up to the patrons at the restaurants who of course feed them. I was walking along one marina area and a man was squatting down to take a picture of a medium sized open space near the bottom of the huge stone wall. I, being the curious person I am had to look and there in the space where the large missing stone was slept a sweet kitty. Someone had kindly made a little bed for the cats and there were tow small colored wool rugs underneath the sleeping kitty who opened his weary eyes briefly to see what all the commotion was and saw it was another tourist taking it's picture and went right back to napping. So cute!!!

Napping Kitty

Marina with the kitties napping hole (alcove circled in yellow next to bench)

There is so much to see in the walled city but here are a few things I saw of interest:

Bell Tower - "Numerous interesting features could be pointed out about all the other structures in the main square. In the dome at the top of the 31 metre high city bell tower stand the bronze soldiers named Maro and Baro, indicating the right time by striking a two-tonne bell, oeuvre of the skilful master Ivan Rabljanin. The original statues and old clock are exhibited in the Rector's Palace."

Not sure if he's Maro or Baro, I found this imagine online - No I didn't climb to the top of the tower

"The Sponza palace was built in a mixture of late Gothic and Renaissance styles following the plans of Paskoje Miličević who also built the famous sacristy of the Dominican monastery . In the construction of the Sponza Palace he used all of his ingenuity and inspiration making it his masterpiece worthy of the Dubrovnik experience. The building posses the so called "Dubrovnik manner", the way of building which propagates simplicity and harmony highly appealing to the eye. Especially the facade of the palace is highly appealing giving the impression of kind of a stone lacework. The Sponza Palace construction started in 1516 and as mentioned earlier was basically intended for a custom-house, a place where the goods brought by merchants from all over the world would be conveyed and custom fees collected."

Orlando Column

Now interestingly between the "Sponza Palace and the Church of St. Blaise (Vlaho) is a stone column with the figure of a medieval warrior in arms bearing a sword and shield, carved into the column. It was carved by domestic master Antun Dubrovcanin in 1418. The statue is a symbol of the freedom of Dubrovnik and the flag of the Republic always flies upon this column during ceremonies, while government proclamations and announcements were read to the people from the column's pedestal. The legend of how this column came to be is tied to the legend of the legendary hero Orlando (Rolando) who - according to the legend - helped to liberate Dubrovnik from the dangerous sieges of Arab pirates in the 8th century, and the citizens erected this column in his honour. Today, a ceremony before Orlando and the raising of the "Libertas" flag on the column marks the opening of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival every year." Now the column also has another interesting aspect. One the base, on the third step from the ground is a line that is carved into the stone. It is about a foot long and I heard a tour guide yesterday telling his guests that the length of the statues forearm (from his elbow to his wrist) is the exact length of the line and he demonstrated with his arm which must be identical in size to Orlando's because it matched perfectly. He said the reason this is the length it is and where it' placed is because when Sponza Palace was a customs house all those merchants trading from around the world needed, in order to prevent cheating, an indisputable measurement by which the amount of customs fees they had to be paid would be calculated. So matter what method of measurement each merchant's own country used everyone was subject to use this Dubrovnik measurement.

The Assumption Cathedral

Art work in The Assumption Cathedral

Beautiful door knocker on the Assumption Cathedral

"The Assumption Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is the seat of the Diocese of Dubrovnik. The cathedral was built on the site of several former cathedrals, including 6th, 10th and 11th century buildings, and their 12th century successor in the Romanesque style, which was largely destroyed in the earthquake of 1667. The Senate of Dubrovnik appealed to the architect Andrea Bufalini who sent a model for the new church. Several other Italian architects including Francesco Cortese (present from 1669 until his death in 1670), Paolo Andreotti (present 1671-1674), Pier Antonio Bazzi (present 1677-78), and Tommaso Maria Napoli of Palermo (present 1689 - 1700), all working with local and imported stonemasons,completed the Cathedral over the next three decades."

Rector's Palace

"The Rector's palace is a harmonious Gothic and Renaissance palace with certain Baroque additions. The palace owes its present shape to many additions and reconstructions throughout its turbulent history. From time to time it happened that the palace was destroyed or heavily damaged by either fires, gunpowder explosions or earthquakes which required a total or partial reconstruction or repair of the building. Each architect had it's own view of how the building should look so nowadays we can enjoy the unique mixture of styles blended perfectly across this monumental structure."

Door knocker on the Rector's Palace

Drinking Water fountain in the main square

There is just so much to see so tomorrow is another day and I'll enjoy more of it's beauty then. I took the number 6 bus to the other side of town to see that area and was on the bus with two young ladies from San Diego who are both medical residents and enjoying their two week vacation traveling Italy and Croatia. I couldn't believe when they said they were doctors one of them looked like she was 19 and she said her patients always say to her "are you sure your old enough to operate?"

I got a few pictures of the marina with the Dubrovnik Bridge in the background and the cruise port below it. There was only one cruise ship here today, a Costa cruise much smaller than yesterdays MSC one.