DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

August 7-10, 2015
Hotel: 
Guest House Tomasi. A great find! It is located within the old town walls and is about 50 steps up from Placa ulica. It was close to everything and the owner is friendly and helpful. 
Restaurants:
Taj Mahal - Amazing Bosnian food
Proto- I just had the oysters and they were delicious.
Bars:
Buza Bar and beach
D'Vino Wine Bar
Razonoda Wine Bar

Dubrovnik is considered the 'Pearl of the Adriatic' and is located on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Despite being severely damaged in the 1667 earthquake, the city has managed to maintain its Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. 

After WWI, Dubrovnik became part of Croatia which was park of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. After WWII it became Yugoslavia and, in 1991, the Yugoslav People's Army launched an attack against the city and unarmed citizens. Over the course of many months they ravaged, looted and destroyed the city. The shelling was televised for the world to see and after the attacks ended, it was left to recover. 

I flew in early Friday morning and headed out to explore. I had all day Friday and Sunday, as Saturday was going to be spent in Mostar, so I crammed in all that I could. It was an extremely hot weekend where everyone looked as if they just walked out of the water [sweaty!]. The city is gorgeous and it is a wonderful place to meander through the many small side streets. It is a little too touristy for my taste, but I think visiting during another month could remedy that. I have slowly learned that I just need to avoid anywhere where cruse ships dock, at least during peak cruise season. I had to wake up pretty early to get some photos without the crowds.

There are lots of stairs in the city so be prepared to climb up and down. It is great exercise and gives it some character. Some bars and restaurants put chair pads on the steps for extra seating for their patrons. The city is also home to some great wine bars and restaurants, but I also found it relaxing to grab a sandwich from the market and sit in the park near Lovrijenac.

Dubrovnik has managed to restore itself to the beautiful city that exists there today. The old city is a fantastic example of a late-medieval walled city, filled with architectural treasures. 

Outside the Gates, Pile Gate, Franciscan Monastery, St. Saviour Church + Onofrio's Fountains [below]

Bullet holes can still be found

Pile Gate

Pile Gate

Franciscan Monastery, St. Saviour
Church + Onofrio's Fountains

Franciscan Monastery, St. Saviour 
Church + Onofrio's Fountains

Onofrio's Fountains

Franciscan Monastery
Gothic-Renaissance

Franciscan Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

St. Saviour Church

Placa Ulica + the Surrounding Streets [below]
Placa [Stradun] is the main promenade as well as the main location for feasts and processions. It divides the city into the northern and southern halves and is a direct path between the eastern and western gates. The street was created at the end of the 11th century but took on its current look after the 1667 earthquake. Baroque stone houses with similar layouts line the street, with shops located on the ground floor. A square is found at both ends of the street, Luza on one end and Paskoja Milicevica on the other.

Placa

Placa

Placa

Placa

Placa at night

Placa at night

Luza Square [below]
This square was formerly used as a market place and is home to Roland's column, the Baroque church of St. Blasius, the Palace of the Major Council, the building of the Main Guard, the Little Onofrio's Fountain, the Bell Tower and house, and the Sponza Palace. 

The church of St. Blasius, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, was built in 1715 in the Baroque style on the site of an old Romanesque church. It was designed by a Venetian architect named Marino Gropelli.

Church Of Saint Blaius

Rector's Palace - Gothic-Renaissance

Orlando's [Roland's] Column

Small Onofrio's Fountain

Sponza Palace

Church Of Saint Blaius

Rector's Palace

Religious Buildings [below]

Dubrovnik Cathedral

Dubrovnik Cathedral

Crkva Navještenja Marijina

Church of St Ignatius

Sveti Jakov

The City Walls [below]
One of the most prominent aspects of Dubrovnik are the city walls. They run uninterrupted for 1940 meters encircling the city. It is one of the most beautiful and strongest fort systems in the Mediterranean and is composed of forts, bastions, casemates and towers. Visitors are allowed to walk along them and the views are amazing!

The Tower Minceta

Dominican Monastery

Franciscan Monastery

Placa [Stradun]

Big Onofrio's Fountain

The city walls

Old Port

Fort Bokar

Fortress Lovrijenac [Below]
Fortress Lovrijenac is set 37 meters high atop a rock overlooking the sea. It has been damaged and repaired many times throughout history and sits at an important location to protect from both land and sea threats. For safety reasons, the commander of the fort was changed every month because they wanted to protect against both foreign enemies and possible mutiny. Over the entrance is an inscription "Non Bene Pro Toto Libertas Venditur Auro" or "Freedom is not sold for all the gold in the world"

Climbing the steps to the fortress

My sunset dinner

My sunset dinner

My sunset dinner

Cable Car [Below]
The cable car is easy to find and worth the trip. The top of Srd Hill holds some of the best views over the city, as well as over the Adriatic and the islands. There is a small restaurant and lots of areas to take photos. To the opposite direction are mountains that are located in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Beach Day 
Banje Beach [Below]
I woke up early and decided to try out the more touristy beach, Banje Beach. It is a sandy beach with beautiful views of the city walls and islands. No question it is a beautiful beach, but it was only 8 am and already people were crowding the small area, kids were screaming and I could just foresee the crowd that was to come. After a quick dip in the water to cool off [that's right, 8am and it was already too hot!], I decided to stop being lazy and walk the extra 20 minutes to Sveti Jakov Beach.

Banje Beach

Banje Beach

Banje Beach

Banje Beach

Banje Beach

Sveti Jakov Beach [Below]
Sveti Jakov beach is located below the Sveti Jakov church. Walk past the church, take a right and walk down the some odd 160 steps and you are at a beautiful oasis, just remember that you will need to walk back up those steps later in the day. I arrived a little before 9 and was one of only a handful of people. The crowd didn't come until about 1:00 and even then there were empty lounge chairs. There are soft pebbles on the beach and larger soft rocks in the water. I had my water shoes so it was not an issue, but less prepared patrons awkwardly stumbled into the water. One should always travel with water shoes when visiting Croatia. There is a restaurant and bar on the beach. I hear that it is quite nice for dinner or drinks but I headed back before then so I cannot say.

Betina Cave Beach [Below]
I had read about it but saw that it was only accessible from the sea so I scratched it off my list. This is a view of it from Sveti Jakov beach. It is a pebble beach and is popular with kayakers. 

Sulic Beach [Below]
I just happened to see people kayaking and swimming in this hidden cove while waiting for the sunset from atop Fort Lovrijenac. It is tucked away but looks nice.

Buza Bar and Beach [Below]
It is one of the best spots to relax and can be found just outside of the city walls, terracing down to the water on the rocky cliff. The view is amazing, the light from the sunset is amazing, and the drinks are refreshing. It is known as the 'hole in the wall' because you need to literally look for a small, almost unmarked door when looking for it. After walking through the bar and down some additional steps, one can find large rocks to lay out on and plenty of people jumping into the water. It is a must-see when in the city.

Entrance to Buza Bar

Great for sunsets

Great for a hot day - large rocks to jump from

Ston Oysters
I am not much of a foodie but I read that when in Dubrovnik it is essential to try the famous Ston Oysters. Mali Ston's reputation is renowned and, according to Condè Nast Traveller, eating oysters there is 7th in the line of '50 Things to do in Europe before you die' list.

Mali Ston is a little seaside village that I have driven past twice while driving north of Dubrovnik. The oysters have been harvested in this bay since the Roman times and they use ancient techniques to raise the European Flat Oyster. They are farmed using vertical ropes with wood attached at the bottom, where the seeds are attached to the rope until it matures. The oysters are then pulled up from the waters and the mature oysters are removed. 

They are known to be some of the sweetest, briniest, most delicate shelled oysters and I enjoyed every last bit of them.

I didn't have time, but there are lots of great islands and areas outside of the old city that are worth exploration as well. Three days was just not enough.