What a high note – Dubrovnik

If you ever visit Croatia, the city of Dubrovnik is a must see. The Old Town is just stunning, and the other parts of the city we saw were also beautiful. We had the opportunity to experience it with dear friends from Ireland, Canice and Bronagh. They came for a quick weekend and were great sports dealing with a very choppy marina, a crazy high dock (and thus, a highly angled passerelle), high winds, and constant threat of heavy storms. Fortunately, the weather held during our waking hours and we enjoyed a meander around Dubrovnik’s Old Town, a lovely swim, an amazing walk atop it’s old city walls, and nice dinners out. 

If you ever get the chance to visit Dubrovnik, here is what we would recommend:

1. Walk the Walls – You have to pay to do this, but it is SO worth it. If you do nothing else in town, do this. It takes about 1-2 hours depending on how slowly you meander or how many photo stops you make. The aerial views of the town as well as the sea are amazing. The massive stone walls were completed in the 16th century, and they encompass an amazingly preserved city that is 8.2 square miles. Buildings range from Baroque to Renaissance to Gothic, and the architecture and design of the city are just so clever (as we learned). Again, just stunning. The Old Town itself was completed in the 13th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I wondered why this entire city is so well preserved compared to all the other Croatian cities we’ve seen. My guess is since Dubrovnik did not endure the same constant takeover from various empires as the rest of the country, it wasn’t constantly being torn down and repurposed. Dubrovnik was actually its own republic for around 700 years, falling only to Napoleon in 1806. Afterwards, it had a similar history to the rest of the country.

I loved the various wall windows:

Tip: We missed this one, but it’s better to purchase a Dubrovnik Card. It’s the same price as just a City Wall ticket, but includes entrance to many neat museums and some public transportation. 

2. Take a walking tour – Once again, Conor and I were able to join a free (tip-based) GuruWalk tour of the Old Town and it was great. Our guide was a lifelong local, had a great temperament, and told many interesting stories. You can certainly walk around the city on your own, but you’d miss out on understanding what you were seeing and learning various tales. We discovered etched graffiti from the late 1500s; learned about how an orphanage was part of town; learned so much about how different buildings and streets were designed and why; why and how all the cats arrived; why sailors wear gold earrings; why Napoleon was let into the city, and much more. 

Dubrovnik struck me as such a civilized city. It was neat to learn that a non-profit society keeps all the city cats fed and cared for; at noon everyday in a particular square the city provides corn for all the pigeons of the city; and the old orphanage was run in a considerate way – women in need of relinquishing a child (perhaps as an unwed mother), would ring a bell as they entered the street of the orphanage. This told everyone in the vicinity to turn their eyes so as not to see the identity of the woman. The children were then cared for by nuns and funds raised by the city. 

To answer your now burning questions…

– Cats abound in many European cities. They help keep down the rodent population. Apparently, they were brought to Dubrovnik by Viking ships. Every ship would have one to take care of mice and rats. If they lost their cat, they’d pick one up in their next port.

– According to our tour guide, sailors would wear gold earrings as a means to provide for their return home and burial should they perish at sea. Huh!

– And, the city of Dubrovnik simply opened the west gate to let Napoleon enter because the Russians were also attacking from the east. Lesser of two evils!

3. Take in a swim at one of the beautiful beaches – There are many cool swimming areas, so on a warm day, take a dip! We walked from our Marina Frapa to Mandrač Beach, which was about a 15-20 walk away. Beautiful stony beach on the north side of the city that gets deep quickly but is quite large. Great views of the bridge, Elafiti islands, and boats coming in and out of the port. 

4. Have a drink at a seaside bar – We followed funny signs and climbed through a hole in the town walls to discover a really cool spot – Buža Bar. It’s just outside the Old Town walls, perched on a cliff with its own swimming spot off the cliff. Pricey drinks, of course, but what a view. There are a few of these places along the southern wall.

5. Try aROMA gelato – It is all over Croatia, and we enjoyed it many times. Best 100% natural gelato in the country! (And one of the only places that would have peppermint chocolate chip.) 🙂

6. Keep your eye out for weddings – We saw at least three brides and two weddings in progress. Both were taking place at the beautiful St Ignatius church. We learned it’s tradition for the bride and groom and their respective families to meet at their respective homes for a couple of hours beforehand to celebrate. The bride then gets escorted to the church with much fan fare. We got to witness this when we were walking atop the city walls. So fun!

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We would definitely return to Dubrovnik as there is so much to do and see. Here’s what we’d do with more time:

Visit its interesting museums – From culture to history to maritime to modern art to photography to love stories to the third oldest running pharmacy in Europe – there is so much to see! There’s a hiking trail or cable cars that will take you up to see Fort Imperial, a museum of the Homeland War (1991-1995). There would also be an amazing view from the top of that mountain. We did happen to take in one tiny museum – the Old Synagogue and Jewish Museum. Established in the 14th century, this synagogue is supposedly the second oldest still operational one in Europe (behind only the one in Prague) and the oldest Sephardic synagogue in Europe. There are only three rabbis in the entire country and they are all based in the capital city of Zagreb. They will travel the country and hold services for the High Holidays and such. 

Visit the Botanical garden (Lokrum island) – The island is a beautiful nature preserve and is located just across from the Old Town. It’s about a 10 minute boat ride to get there. Our tour guide told us about it and how it has trees from all of earth’s continents and a lake you can swim under to get out to the sea. Sounds intriguing!

Visit the Elafiti islands – There are half a dozen small islands to the northwest of Dubrovnik that we passed on our way in to port. Had the weather been conducive, we would have taken Canice and Bronagh out for a day sail to enjoy these beautiful islands. Next time!

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Spot “Game of Thrones” locations – If you happen to be a fan of the show (we’ve never seen it), you’ll possibly recognize places around town used in various scenes. There are also plenty of Game of Thrones shops for souvenirs. While a lot of the show was shot in Dubrovnik, it was also shot in Split, other locations around Croatia, and Northern Ireland (we learned from Bronagh). Dubrovnik is an extremely popular location for film and TV shooting. In fact, we witnessed a filming taking place which was neat. (We think it was for a “Viking” TV show.) Apparently, the production company had to pay a pretty penny to shoot in September while it’s still tourist season.

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This was our last stop in Croatia for the year. Next stop is Porto Montenegro, our initial “home” port. If we have to be leaving Croatia, at least we are doing so on a very high note! 🙂