Dubrovnik, Croatia - Funky Cold Dalmatia
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2006
1
15
110
Trip End
Apr 01, 2008
Dubrovnik,
Croatia
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Another seven hour bus trip, however, brought me to Dubrovnik. Coincidentally, the Canadians and the Iranian/American girl I met going to Sarjevo were on the bus for part of the ride to Dubrovnik. They had overnighted in Mostar, Bosnia, which had also been ravished in the war, including the destruction of a very famous bridge. See http://www.greatestcities.com/1138pic/580/CP27580.jpg/Mostar_Bridge_Resurrected.JPG for it restored.
The trip took so long because there were three border crossings - Bosnia to Croatia, back to Bosnia, and back to Croatia. This is because Bosnia was given a port on the Adriatic after the war, which means that Croatia is not contiguous. Stupid, but that goes without saying with the Slavs and their nationalism. ANd, as I write, Montenegro has declared independence from Serbia because they want to get into the EU and feel that Serbia's problems are holding them back. Alert Rand McNally - new atlases are needed, which will no doubt soon be outdated almost immediately when the next sub-group of a sub-group of peoples declares their independence
Dubrovnik itself absolutely lived up to its billing as "the city of stone and light." Although it was shelled in the war by the Serbs, the Old City is an incredibly intact example of the Middle Ages (first being built in the 12th century)
Balkan Gorge
. It is entirely walled, and entirely stone (wooden buildings were banned in the 15th century), bisected by one main street, and then dozens of winding narrow alleys littered with cafes, restaurants, shops and bars. It sits on an amazing piece of coastline which can be seen in all directions by walking the city walls (about 1.5 hours around).I remet Jacob here - the guy from the Amsterdam houseboat. His job in Europe for Fox had just ended and he arranged to spend three days here (and Split) on his way home, and he had been recommended a hotel with was phenomenal - Villa Dubrovnik - on the water with a view of the Old City and a ferry back and forth (or it could be walked in about 15 minutes). It was more than I usually have been spending ($150 a night each), but I can thank my mother, who gave me hotel splurge money for Christmas (Yes, I am a half-Jewish agnostic/atheist whose family exchanges gifts for Christmas - I'm sure Dante has a special place for me).
In addition to wandering around and walking the walls, we went to a female war photographers exhibit. It covered not only the Balkan war(s), but also Iraq and Afganistan. Very moving, and a powerful reminder that man's inhumanity to man is almost always wrapped in ethnic, religious or nationalistic hatred that is inculcated in children from birth. So-called civilized countries have sublimated it into other rivalries (sports being the most obvious), but I don't see a real solution until reason, thought and evidence are celebrated as ideals over faith, belief without proof, and ignorance
Children's Choir
. And I don't see that happening before the ability of zealots to deliver their insanity outstrips our ability to educate them or prevent them from doing so (without adopting a police state). The upshot is that my trip through the Balkans only reaffirmed my belief in living for today for myself and what makes me happy - a hybrid of selfishness and hedonism which needs a name, but hedishism and hedishness sound stupid, because my nihilism outweighs my gnosticism.Otherwise, we just ate and drank. On Wednesday night (May 31), we had a pretty mediocre meal at a restaurant recommended in both a guide book and by my cab driver, although it was great to be able to eat fresh seafood for the first time in weeks(other than fish from the Black Sea which reminded me of the three-eyed fish from the Simpsons' episode) and went to a jazz bar and an Irish bar. We met a couple of cool Norweigian guys, and the same Cal water polo players I met in Sarajevo. On Thursday night, we tried a random restaurant based purely on the fact that I saw several people entering it, and it turned out great. They were a French tour group, who gave unintelligible toasts in between a guy playing cornet. The fired squids, fish, and shrimp were spectacular. We then went to another Irish bar where we met a cool newlywed couple, the same Norweigan guys, and some other bars that all kind of blend together. I have pictures of some people, but don't recall anything about them. C'est La Vie.
Next Stop: Split, Croatia.
