From Split we traveled 4-or-so hours south -- pausing briefly for a pit stop and snacks in Bosnia & Herzegovina -- to Dubrovnik, nestled near the southern tip of Croatia’s scenic coast. We had been looking forward to Dubrovnik and it certainly did not disappoint. It is a great Mediterranean city, home to 44,000 Croatians who seem to revel in its medieval history, maritime culture and typical blue skies. We spent three happy nights in Dubrovnik’s historic Old Town, a World Heritage site that was founded 1,300 years ago by refugees from Greece. More recently, the city was bombed heavily during The Croatian War in the early 1990s, but it has been rebuilt artfully and is one of the cooler cities we have visited thus far.
A particular highlight of our stay in Dubrovnik was walking around the city walls, a fortress-like protective veil built between the 13th and 16th centuries. The walls now enclose Old Town. There is even a draw-bridge-like entrance to Old Town, which is what we would call “medieval chic“. The impressive city walls, which we had to ourselves thanks to our off-season visit, are over 2 km around and up to 25 meters high. The walls include two round and 14 square towers, two corner fortresses and a huge, main fortress overlooking it all. As you’ll see in the photos, walking the walls offered beautiful views of the city and surrounding area.
Luckily for us, we were in town during the European Handball Championship Finals between scrappy Croatia and the heavily-favored French team. Handball is a peculiar game, kind of a mix between basketball and water polo. (Actually, it’s hard not to laugh at its awkwardness at first.) But this game was a very big deal for the 4.5 million Croats, who wanted to win badly, so we sauntered down to a smoky local pub to cheer on the good guys, who unfortunately lost. Also by chance, Dubrovnik’s premier festival happened while we were in town. The Festival of St. Blaise, which takes place annually on February 3rd, celebrates the city’s protector, also known as the saint of throat health. Croats from around the country traveled to partake in the celebration, which primarily involved historic costumes, lots of large flags, a large procession down Old Town’s main street and an outdoor mass said by important church clergy. No one goes to work on Feb 3rd so, as one might imagine, general merriment was underway after the morning mass. During the afternoon we slipped into St. Blaise’s Cathedral in the center of Old Town to have out throats blessed for good health among the locals. You know, when in Rome….
During our stay in Dubrovnik, we took a day to hop across the border to Montenegro, Croatia’s lesser-known neighbor to the south. More on that next.
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