Amazing May part 5

 

Dubrovnik

I had never dreamed of going to Croatia but now I am a fan.  The little walled city we visited and the beautiful  Dalmatian coast we sailed along was beautiful.

       

After docking we rode a bus up to the walled city.  The sky was overcast.

   

The city is surrounded by a high wall, we entered the Pile gate, and walked into the city along the marble paved promenade that extended down to the clock tower.  Our umbrellas and ponchos came in handy.

The Onofrio fountain has brought fresh drinking water to the city for centuries.

Because of the rain, we ducked into a Franciscan Monastery, and its charming little court yard. In the old days it was a pharmacy.

The houses were tall and all cut from the same light colored stone.  Off to the side were little small alleys with shops and restaurants.

 

It was Sunday so we stopped at  St Blaise’s Church in time for Sunday morning Mass.  We stood in the back and enjoyed the singing.  The priests words we could not understand.

Some of the alley ways, had steep stairs that led up to other streets nearer the walls of the city.  It felt like we were walking up and down a waterfall  because the rain was coming down so hard.  We found a ledge under an over hang and ate our lunch.  The rain stopped so went on exploring.

  

We visited the little harbor,  a few more churches, and Monasteries and

lots of little shops.  I found a little piece of native handiwork for Madalyn Utz.  Her father  was from Croatia. 

The Manikin is dressed in the native costume.

Dave and Tony were tired and returned to the ship.   By this time the sun was out , Arlene and I decided to climb up to the wall and walk around the city. 

  

  

  

  

I am so glad We took this walk.  It was so very interesting.  The views were terrific.

Greek and Roman refugees originally settled Dubrovik in the 7th century.  They became a trading center,that lasted for about 700 years. They traded with Turkey and India in the East and with ports  in Africa, Europe and England in the west.  It was a city of sea=faring citizens, diplomats and merchants  and became a city  state , a maritime and Diplomatic power.  In 1667, a major earthquake and fire destroyed most of the city.  another earthquake in 1979 shook the area.   The resourceful people rebuilt and restored the city.   When Yugoslavia broke up, more trouble came.  In 1991-92 the Yugoslav army and Montenegrin militia attacked the city.  Although it suffered brutal assaults and was heavily damaged, Dubrovnik was restored again by the sheer determination of its people.

As we walked around the city  we could see places, where some of the destruction had not been fixed, others where bright new red tiles had been replaced on the  roofs .  The Question is why would they attack this city?  The only answer is that the little city is a treasure, they hit where it would hurt!

    

More wall and the castle at the city entrance.     The rain is back and we are near the end of the wall.

Here we are at the end of a wonderful day, all dressed up and ready for dinner.

We spent the next day at sea, relaxing as we sailed through the beautiful Greek Islands enjoying the beautiful blue waters of the Adriatic and Aegean seas.  The best part, it was sunny.  I even got a little sunburned.