Croatian Roots 2014: June11th Dubrovnik

Due to the time change, we left Seattle on the 9th and arrived in Dubrovnik in the evening of June 10th. So our first true day here was June 11th. We slept through a very hot night, as our host (we rented a room in a lady's house) forgot to show us where the remote for the air conditioner was. A few cold showers helped, but it was a sweaty and uncomfortable night. We got up around 8 am (11pm Seattle time) and headed into the old town after picking up a few things at the local market. We were immediately impressed at how nice everyone is to us tourists. There were older folks who gave us their seat on the bus and we watched another man give up his seat to a twenty-something man with a large backpack. A very welcoming and friendly Dubrovnik, which seems surprising since it is a heavily tourist town. Another example was at lunch when they lost our order in the kitchen and we ended up waiting a few extra minutes. They comped the meal without us even asking about it (we were so tired at that point, we didn't mind sitting for a bit longer). But in a heavy tourist environment where you are not worried about 'repeat customers', and we don't speak the language, I was impressed by how well they treated us.

Old town Dubrovnik was built between the 7th - 17th century and is a city surrounded by high rock walls. Entrance is even through a drawbridge. Everything in the city is made of white limestone (did you know the White House is made from similar rock from Croatia). The walls are up to 19 feet thick, are quite high and stretch over 6,000 feet - so more than a mile long around the city. Multiple times we marvelled at how much work that must have been to create something so large. I was reminded a few times of fortifying our walls from the scriptural sense - and just what that really means - how much work and dedication needs to go into continually strengthening and fortifying your walls.

We climbed a lot of steep stairs as we walked around to top of the wall, looking into the city and out into the ocean. So many incredible views. I think I could have stayed up on the wall all day. The city still has folks living inside of it, so there were people going about their business, doing laundry, cooking, etc. while a ton of tourists walked in their midst. Here's a few pics of the walls and our first views of Old Town Dubrovnik.

The alleys throughout the city are so fun to walk around. Little restaurants all over the place with tiny tables outside for seating. Tons of great architecture, churches, open air markets and other buildings in the city, all surrounded by some of the most beautiful water.

There were also a few fun surprises that we found inside the city.

Cats comfortable on the top of the walls.

Jen needs one of these for home - an upgraded 'doghouse'.

What Jen and I wanted to do halfway around the wall. White stone and sunshine make Seattleites very uncomfortable.

Notice that the second story apartment has a precarious entrance...

the Croatian beach.

Right inside the wall was a secondary school (we found out later ages 8-18). We could see and hear the kids in class from the wall. Wouldn't that be the coolest place to go to school? On the side of the school was this great garden area. We noticed under the gazebo, a fire was burning.

Moments later these two ladies came out and put a big dish of potatoes over the fire and covered it with a lid, similar to a dutch oven. It appeared they were making lunch for the school. Yes, I'm serious. SO cool.

Proof that folks still live within the city, even at the very top. Seemed almost like a zoo to have tourists walking around within feet of where a bunch of people were living - especially from the wall where we just watched them do their thing. Don't expect any privacy around here. Glad that it wasn't underwear day!