Dubrovnik and Beyond

Once most visitors enter Dubrovnik through the Pile Gate for the first time, they immediately find themselves astounded and looking onto an unusually wide, white polished stone street. Considering the size of the other streets and alleys in Old Town Dubrovnik, this grand street looks like an afterthought. And in fact, it is. The street runs the length of the old town and distinctively connects one part of Dubrovnik with the other.  In its very early days, the town on the west side, the original Dubrovnik, was an island separated from the mainland as a defense mechanism. But as the ancient community grew, more space for the town was needed.  Ingenious Croats filled in the water between the island and the mainland with rocks and soil until the island was an island no longer. That space, a modern-day photographic icon of the city, is now the shining grand pedestrian walkway, “Stradun” or officially, “Placa.” Stradun runs from the foot of Dubrovnik’s famous Pile Gate with one of the city’s 30 statues of St. Blaise standing on its arch to the tall bell tower at the Ploce Gate that opens to the Old Town Port on the opposite end of the street. End to end, one cannot help but marvel at the broad street and the two gates and bell tower that bear over the town in a breathtaking fashion. 

Even though the city has encountered earthquake disasters like the greatest one in 1667, and devasting shelling from the civil war in the 1990’s the city conducted timely and careful reconstructions and renovations to make sure the city and its surrounding city wall and towers were expertly conserved. Although we have seen an impressive number of well-preserved medieval sites in our recent travels in which each town seems to claim the most well-preserved, this city, Dubrovnik, and its city wall is undoubtedly the world’s finest and most perfectly preserved medieval city in the world.   

That could be the compelling reason so many scenes from the Game of Thrones (GoT) were filmed here. Because GoT crews literally took up residence here in Dubrovnik during its filming, 2011 to 2018, all the extras were local Croats. They were paid 26 Euros for each 10-hour day . . . . not much pay but it was a glimpse into stardom. During our Game of Thrones tour to all the filming sites, it was interesting to hear about how locals perceived the actors. The actress who played Cerci was a friendly town sweetheart. Because she has 18 tattoos on arms and shoulders, a body double took her place in her filmed walk of shame . . . plus she was pregnant at that time. The boy-king, Jeoffrey Baratheon was so hated that following his stint with GoT, the young actor resigned from dramatic roles and relegated himself to independent theatre and BBC miniseries productions. The man who portrays evil and conniving Little Finger, they say simply plays himself. And the young lady who played Margarery Tyrell, was not a nice person at all. 

In its heyday, Dubrovnik rivaled Venice as a critical waterway trading port.  The construction of its tall, sometimes 20 feet thick, and quite long wall encompassed several centuries between the 1300’s and 1600’s and still surrounds the old town.  In some places it is 82 feet tall, and its towers still stand despite the devastating Dubrovnik’s 17^th century earthquake and bombing and shelling in the 1990’s Civil War. 

Great mountains surround the city. Srd, a low mountain part of the Dinaric Alps, sits just behind the city walls. A cable car runs up the mountain for a stunning view of the city and coastline below, but it also holds a great white cross that gleams at night along with Fort Imperial built by the French in 1810 during their short reign in Croatia. Looking at the land mass, the country appears arid, but Croatia is wealthy in clean water resources. The limestone ground base is like a sponge that holds water like natural cisterns. While some must gather rainwater in cisterns, some villages even in the highest mountainsides can use wells for clean, fresh water from the limestone below ground. 

Croatia is an expensive place to visit, and Dubrovnik is the most expensive. A single bus ride costs 2 Euros. Meals are costly too; lunches can easily run 50 Euros for two lite diners, and a glass of wine is usually priced at 10 Euros. These are not just tourist prices; locals get the same prices as visitors. Tourism accounts for 20% of the economy. Nearly everyone works in tourism or in substructures for everything else. Prices are driven by demand and in high season, Dubrovnik can receive 9,500 visitors in a single day from cruise ships alone, but 80% of Dubrovnik’s visitors fly in and stay for a week or so; most rent Airbnbs. In short, the town is crowded with people.  In the winter when the Bura winds come roaring down from the mountains at 80 to 135 mph, waves crash and cover walks and pavilions where summer tourists snap photos of the coast and Fort Lovrijenac. Beginning November 1, the tourists are gone. With only 42,000 people calling Dubrovnik home, it is a lonely place. There is little work. Those who can afford to travel do so. Others bide time until the next travel season.  

Note to our traveling friends, avoid visiting Dubrovnik in winter due to the rain and winds and avoid visiting in July and August when the weather is hot, hot, hot and the tourist crowds are unbearable. Also note, while every tourist city promotes a City Pass option that gives visitors several free or discounted entrances to popular sites and maybe some public transportation, they are usually not a wise buy. However, in Dubrovnik, it should be your first purchase. A one-day 35-Euro Dubrovnik City Pass gives a holder unlimited bus trips for the day normally 2 Euros each, free entry to the Fort normally 15 Euros, free entry to walk the City Wall normally 35 Euros, free ferry ticket and entry to Lokrum Island ordinarily 27 Euros and free entries to the several museums. The bad news is you must do this all-in-one day or select the 3-day City Pass for just 45 Euros – either way, it is far better than buying tickets a la carte.   In Dubrovnik, a City Pass is a wise buy. 

Is Dubrovnik gorgeous and worth a visit?  Indeed! Absolutely!  Of all the cities on earth, this is one that must be visited at least once.  It is stunning and simply knocks your eyes out!  But understand, Dubrovnik is small. The entire city, from far past the ferry marina on the north side and exclusive resort lined Bruna Kuk (translation: Grandma’s Knee) to the Old Town Marina on the south side, its best museums, its best tours and a leisurely 2-hour walk encircling the city atop its city wall can be done well in just three days easily. Add four or five more days to include a day at the beach, day trips to Lokrum (the park-like island just off Dubrovnik mainland), the nearby coastal of town Cavtat, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro. In the fashion an Irishman we met might have said, “Eight days would account for a proper Croatian holiday.” 

We visited all these lovely places. We were especially surprised and impressed with the beauty and charm of Zotor in Montenegro and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Plus, by visiting them, we are now able to check-off two more countries in this six-month trek. So far, we have visited Great Britain, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia (nearly every square inch), Montenegro and now, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). I am embarrassed to say the term “Bosnia and Herzegovina” is new to me. Of course, I’ve heard of Bosnia, but not familiar with the name Bosnia and Herzegovina. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, B&H is a very poor country, the poorest in all of Europe and in some villages, it is like going back in time about one hundred years. It is home to three ethnic groups, Bosnians, Serbs and Croatians divided again by three religions, Muslims 51%, Orthodox Christians 31%. and Catholic 15%. Jews and “other” are the other  3%. Could it be more diverse? Sure enough! The northern region of B&H is referred to as Bosnia, and the southern region is Herzegovina. Its capital, Sarajevo, is in Bosnia. The country has only 23 kilometers (about 14.29 mi) of bay-like coastline on the Adriatic. Surrounding hills and mountains cause the waters to be calm and slow-moving, just right for massive oyster and mussel farms. 

After WWII, Bosnia and Herzegovina were separate territories included in Yugoslavia. The 1990’s five-year civil war finally gave way to independence for Croatia in 1995. Then like dominoes, other former Yugoslavian countries gained their independence. But war between Bosnia and Herzegovina, neighbor against neighbor, lingered on. Shortly after the end of the Yugoslavian Civil War, the Dayton Peace Agreement was negotiated and signed in 1995 in the United States. In the highly criticized agreement, a new sovereign country, “Bosnia and Herzegovina” was created. While considered one new sovereign country, B&H each have their own constitution, school systems, and equal share of power. Clearly, while people in both entities live peacefully, they agree on nothing, and this dual form of government is crippling to development and progress. Also, because B&H is not a part of the European Union, their people cannot freely move about in search of jobs and opportunity for better lives. My! 

It is not all bad news. While Sarajevo is important, some villages have morphed into popular tourist destinations. One town we visited, Mostar in the Herzegovina region is a particularly attractive place for daytrips for Dubrovnik tourists and cruise ship passengers in the Dubrovnik port. The city offers a look into enchanting Islamic old town architecture created during the Ottoman era and especially gives visitors a chance to be charmed at the town’s rustic setting on the fast-flowing Neretva River The piece de resistance is the 16^th century bridge over it that connects not only one high bank to another, but also connects the old Muslim sector on one side of the river to the new Christian sector on the other bank. Heavily shelled in the 1990’s Civil War, the town was nearly demolished. Some restored buildings still bear shell marks and rocket damage while some stand as they were with only walls remaining. The bridge was virtually destroyed in that war. Today, the bridge, restored in 2002 using the original rocks that fell into the river during the bombing, is a focal point of the city. It is beautiful, a perfect subject for captivating photos and paintings. Moreover, visitors gather on the bridge and on the banks below to cheer and applaud as daredevils dive from the center of the bridge into the fast-moving, frigid and narrow river 230 feet below. 

Even without the divers, the town is an incredibly lovely place to visit, stroll through the myriad of shops, and have a delicious lunch at half the price of a meal in Dubrovnik. 

Emotionally speaking, the intrigue and beauty found in this part of the world is found in the people and their long history of living under the rule of another country, first the Romans, then the Ottomans, the Venetians, and the Austrians. Each empire left its mark on their culture. Not until after having undergone Communism for 40 years and a 5-year civil war did these countries become independent.  Imagine, finally since the beginning of time, in 1995, these people finally gained the right to govern themselves and have a name. 

While the mountainous landscape is breathtaking, physically speaking the real beauty of Dubrovnik, most of Croatia and now Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina is the craggy, clear-water Adriatic coastline.  While some Croatian islands have sandy beaches, mainland beaches are rocky or pebbly. But coastline stones are big enough and flat enough for a couple to own one for the day for sunning.  And oh, the sun is magnificent! Often tidal pools make nature-made pools for wading and swimming. The water is clean, pure and crystal clear . . . everywhere. At any point along the coastline or at a deep water marina, a glimpse into the water shows the sea’s floor, crystal clear.   

It is a wonderful, unimaginably beautiful place to visit. Stan and I enjoyed every moment and every person we met. And as I think back, this place brings to my mind thoughts of the natural, rocky and soaring coastlines of Spain, Italy, and Portugal coast but all that beauty is right here in one place. . . Croatia.