Dubrovnik: The Pearl of the Adriatic

Everyone says that Dubrovnik is the "must see" place in Croatia, and, based on my limited experience, I would agree with that.  But there is not any one thing in Dubrovnik that really bowled me over.  Instead, it is the total package.  An almost perfectly preserved city rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 1667.  Of course, there have been challenges to the city's perfect preservation, like the eight months the Serbs bombed it in 1991.  There is a map, just outside the Pile Gate entrance to the city, showing the number and location of the artillery strikes.

Many of the artillery rounds were fired from Napoleon's Fort, built high above city on Mount Srg.  But the Croat army, aided by citizen volunteers from Dubrovnik, managed to hold off the mighty JNA (the Yugoslav army) and finally drive the Serbs out.  Some say that this is where the Serbs lost the war.  It is certainly where they lost the public relations battle.

Napoleon's Fort

There is a touching memorial to the 200 Dubrovnik volunteers who lost their lives during the siege in the Sponza Palace, the former customs house.  The memorial includes photos of all those who died plus a slideshow showing the devastation caused by the bombing.  I had no idea that it was so extensive and it is remarkable that there are few signs of the destruction left.  In fact, the now repaired damage is most evident when you walk the city walls and see the number of roof tiles that have been replaced.

Sponza Palace  is one of the few buildings to survive the earthquake in 1667, so it gives you an idea of what the city might have looked like then.

Otherwise, because of the earthquake, the city has an architectural sameness, reflected by the Stradun, the main promenade and center of the cafe scene.

You can't visit Dubrovnik without becoming acquainted with St. Blaize, its patron saint.  He achieved that status by virtue of a dream that the Venetians were about to attack the city.  Of course, the dream came true and his warning saved the town.  So, he's everywhere you look, holding a model of the city in his left hand (that makes it easier for you to recognize him in case you're not so good with saint's faces).

A final note about the drive and parking.  The drive from Split to Dubrovnik is spectacular.  But during high season it could take far longer than the four hours it took us to go about 150 miles.  First, there is a 20 mile stretch of narrow road in poor condition (the only one on the trip) that winds up and down a mountain.  You are rewarded at the top with a spectacular view of the valley below where grape vines and fruit trees abound, but if there were heavy traffic, it could take hours.

The other potential glitch is the border.  Yes, believe it or not, you must cross the border into a tiny strip of Bosnia.  It can't be any more than 10 kilometers wide and we speculated that it must have been part of the 1995 peace deal because it gives Bosnia a coastline.  Tim promised to do the research.

When you arrive in Dubrovnik, you have to ditch the car.  There are no good parking options that don't cost a fortune.  We took ours to the airport and returned it 2 days early.  The flight back to Zagreb only took 50 minutes.

I suspect that given the number of tourists who visit Dubrovnik, it is impossible to take an original photograph there.  Here are the rest of my feeble attempts.

Dubrovnik