Croatia—Nation #100 I have visited!!! 5-6-23

Dubrovnik, Croatia “Pearl of the Adriatic.

Situated on the southern Adriatic Sea coast, Dubrovnik is usually regarded as the most picturesque city on the Dalmatian coast and is referred to as the “Pearl of the Adriatic.

Words do not give justice to this dazzling place.

It really is a stunning city with an amazing Old Town, which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

This Croatian city exudes romantic charm and beautiful scenery with its shimmering marble streets, centuries-old buildings capped by bright orange roofs, and lovely beaches ensconced between awesome rocky ledges.

The Old Town and its many sights (including the well-preserved city walls along which you can walk) is one of the top attractions here. The Old Town is also famous for Stradun (also known as Placa), the main thoroughfare – one of the greatest pleasures for many visitors is to have a drink in one of the nearby cafes and watch the world go by. In turn, they are being watched by the city patron, St. Blaise – or Sveti Vlaho as the locals call him.

I took a walking tour along this famous street.

Our tour included: the Dominican Monastery with the finest collection of Renaissance paintings in Dubrovnik and its treasure of one of the finest collections of gold and silver in Europe. The cathedral is built over the remains once built in the 12th century, and destroyed in 1667 by a disastrous earthquake. 

Other buildings we visited included the Sponza Palace, notable for its columns courtyard with elaborate stone carvings, the Church of Saint Blaise and Onofiou's Fountain. 

After World War I, Dubrovnik became part of Croatia which was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This became Yugoslavia after World War II.

After Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the Yugoslav National Army laid siege to this town and lobbed mortars over the hill.

Dubrovnik was subjected to considerable shelling by the Serbs during the war in 1991/2, in a siege that lasted seven months. Shells struck 68% of the 824 buildings in the old town, leaving wholes and two out of three tile roofs. Nine historic places were completely gutted by fire. The Old Town suffered considered damage, but was quickly restored to its former beauty, with the help of an international brigade of specially trained stonemasons.

As you might know, some famous scenes and locations from HBO’s the Game of Thrones were filmed here. I even took a photo on the steps were Ceirse did her infamous walk of shame shame shame shame shame!

Dubrovnik tour notes:

1991 collapse of Yugoslavia. Balkan war.

Dubrovnik allows no more 10,000 cruise guests per day, at a time.

Traffic is always at a standstill. As a result, people walk or ride bicycles.

Croatia is the shape of a banana.

Croatia finally adopted the euro effective January 2023.

First country to outlaw slavery in the 1400s and first country to recognize the United States as a nation. 

(This is an interesting juxtaposition of concepts.)

Quarantine was invented in Croatia. They were the first to construct a building to quarantine people for 40 days before allowing them to re-enter the city.

800 people live inside Dubrovnik’s city walls.

600 people were killed Dubrovnik during the homeland war.

Bosnia-Herzegovina separates Croatia into two sections. That is why we went through several passport checkpoints. 

50% of the businesses have a name connected with “Liberty.”

For years, Croatia was Catholic surrounded by the Ottoman Empire.

Croatia has thousands of islands. 1246 according to our guide.

1806–Debrovnik republic ended with Napoleon’s conquest in the Franco Prussian war.

In the Homeland war: 20,000 killed in Croatia and 200,000 killed in Bosnia.

I find it interesting that he calls The Balkan War the “Homeland War.”

Rick Steve says, “It's impressive how people can weather tragedy, rebuild, and move on. In spite of the terrors of war just a couple of decades ago, life here is once again very good, and, from my perch here atop the city walls, filled with promise.”

I consider this to be my 100th nation visited even though I have been here once, 10 years ago. During that visit, instead of spending time in Dubrovnik, I took an all -day tour, passing through three different checkpoints, into Bosnia, to visit several villages and Mostar.

This time my visit to Croatia was a real visit!!

I look forward to spending time here again!! Walking the city walls is now on my bucket list!

I will proofread and edit when I return home.