Walled city of Dubrovnik

  Dubrovnik, Croatia
Tuesday, May 23, 2006

After a late night of excitement witnessing Montenegro's independence vote I was up with the sparrows to head onwards to Croatia and another of my 'have-to-do's' on this journey of enlightenment - the walled city of Dubrovnik.


The 7.50am bus wound its way round the fjord of Kotor, which really impressed after the shadowy visit a couple of days previously. As I'm not a certifiably 'beachy' type of guy I think if I came this way again I would try and stay in one of the little villages on the fjord and few kilometres away from Kotor and still within day-trip distance of Budva and the beaches. Pretty spectacular scenery all around, all with the quaint little town feel you don't get in the bigger centres nearby.



Anyway, by 11am the mostly empty bus trundled over the last couple of hills and Dubrovnik hove into view like a sparkling jewel set amongst the deep greens and cerulean blues of the Dalmatian coast. After a short, sharp negotiation for a private room I found myself with expansive views (above right) of the newer part of town and its surrounding waterways. Too far from the centre it ended up being but with only one night here it would have to do. Pretty nice anyway.



Time to go exploring! Dubrovnik was founded around 1,300 years ago which is unusual along a coastline that was subjugated by the Romans in the 3rd century BC. Not long after the Venetians moved in and exerted their control and it wasn't until the 14th century that they got the boot, allowing Dubrovnik to trade with just about every country on the Mediterranean. Unfortunately in 1667 there was a major earthquake that, combined with new trade routes being opened to the east, saw Dubrovnik fall into a languid decline. Napoleon finished the job in 1806 when he took the reins.

The most recent tale of woe to befall Dubrovnik was its largely pointless bombardment by the Yugoslav army (primarily Serbs and Montenegrins) in 1991. That sort of surprised me actually - I must have tuned out at the time because all that emanated from the region then was horrific stories of bloodshed and 'ethnic cleansing' so I must have assumed it only affected the countryside, not large towns like Dubrovnik.



Anyway, the locals obviously got busy after that because the place is pretty shmick and span now. Radiant sun washes smooth, marbled pavements in waves of warm golden light while the tourist crowds mill and gawp in tight alleyways that lead off the central boulevard, commonly known as the Placa. The guidebook says to come here in June or September as high summer is a crowded, sweltering nightmare, but I reckon next month will be approaching that too so drop by in May if you can - it's can't get much better than this!



Many of the buildings here are very impressive, most dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. There's a prevalence of brooding, hooded statues gazing out over neighbouring (piazza) domains and all in all the effect is distinctly Italian. General pricing and listening to the accent of the locals' speech further confirms this intuition.



A major highlight of every visit to Dubrovnik is the city wall walk and it was stories and images of the massive medieval battlements that drew me to Dubrovnik in the first place. These were built over hundreds of years at the end of the Middle Ages and measure more than 2km in length and stand between 5m and 25m in height, depending on which part you are looking at. There are 16 defensive towers in total, plus two corner fortifications and a large fortress and if you want the best views of the city and Lokrum Island just over the way, it's to the Minceta Tower on the northern wall that you should head to.



You can do the walk in about an hour and gazing down into the northern alleyways or the backyards at the southern end of town reveals the minutiae of local life. Also interesting are the ruins clearly visible in the south western and south eastern corners of the town - although the tourist information centre had no potted history so I don't know whether they are the result of the 1991 attack or otherwise. Pretty nice property though if you could acquire it...



Inside the laneways and main buildings there are sights to see, but like Turkey, the government now targets higher value, short-stay package tourists so has jacked up the price of everything and rarely offers a student discount. Each attraction is at least $3 euro and a beer rings in at $4 so this is NOT a cheap destination for the average backpacker. I nipped into a couple of the monasteries but found the 'Memorial to the Defenders of Dubrovnik' in Sponza Palace the most interesting - this place must have been caned in the bombardment.



As usual it is the little things that are the most captivating though. Pits in stone walls where shrapnel from the shelling has left its mark, bizarre statues, greenery and flowers of potted plants in the minor laneways, lace curtains breezily floating out of shuttered windows, and smaller churches that can be found in back alleys. Despite restoration everything seems old, and even though it doesn't live up to the colossal walled city visited recently at Rhodes, to while away a couple of days here looking at the details is very pleasant indeed.



A couple of watered-down vinos in a cheap alleyway restaurant, then back to the apartment to gabble at the landlord in pidgin Croatian before catching some last sunset views. Tomorrow, Italy and new horizons. That's what travelling is all about.

See you there.

Next entry -> a Pringle pilgrimage to Monte Sant Angelo

Tip for travelling in the Balkans

Was going to do a Great Brands but this place is so westernised I didn't really note any local that would qualify.

So, I'd like to share a little tip that hopefully anyone travelling in this region will learn from.

Do not leave a country without getting rid of any local currency that you are holding! Spend it, lose money converting it back to Euros, but do not leave the country with it!

It's not that you will be arrested for it - it's just that it's absolutely worthless anywhere outside the country. You won't be able to exchange it anywhere so if you accidentally keep it you might as well burn it.

Because they hate each other so much no one even scavenges excess currency just over the border at drastically reduced and highly profitable rates (like anywhere else in the world). It's like the next country doesn't exist, so they have no idea what the currency is, let alone any willingness to trade or profit from it.

Hard currency only please... Next!