June 1, 2018
This was the second day in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The morning temperature was about 21°C, when we went for breakfast, there was sun but more cloud and a little wind. It was a bit misty looking out to the islands, about a three kilometer visibility before the distance got hazy. After breakfast we walked a few laps on Deck 11 and watched as the MSC Poesia cruise ship arrived, and were surprised later that it had left the port when we returned from our tour in the afternoon, since it was not quite 4 p.m.
Our seven hour tour started at 8:30 a.m., we chose a “small group” tour which had 24 members. Yesterday’s tour was 36 passengers on the same size bus. For the walking tour part of the tour the passengers were given audio sets, which makes it much easier to hear the guide as you do not need to crowd closely to hear the guide. To start the seven hour tour our guide asked everyone if they preferred grilled trout fillet or bell stewed veal for the lunch so that she could advise the restaurant.
The drive to the north gate of the Dubrovnik Old Town wall took less than 20 minutes. We were dropped off for a walking tour and free time. We were given a brief history and as we walked down the ramp to the inner gate, stopped at the maps of Old Town Dubrovnik. The main street, Stradun, over 1,800 years ago was a river, with the ruling Romans living on one side and the ruled Croats on the other side and they stayed separated until an earthquake severely damaged the Roman side and rubble fell into the river. The two communities decided to fill in the gap completely and it became the main street from the north gate to the Old Port and the community mingled. One of the maps near the North gate was a graphic of where all the missiles landed in December 6, 1991 when the Serbian army with its conscripted Montenegrins and the Yugoslavian army and warships bombarded the Old Town, which even then was a UNESCO World Heritage site. More than half a dozen homes were destroyed and many roofs and streets were damaged. There is a large poster on one of the bombed houses on the former Roman side of the town. Outside of the city the Dubrovnik airport was totally destroyed.
The population of Dubrovnik is 45,000. The last earthquake was in 1979. On average there is a significant earthquake in the region every 30 years, so Dubrovnik is overdue for a big earthquake. The Dubrovnik wall is about 2.2 kilometers around and has 24 watchtowers. It has been built and reconstructed several times, the last time was in the 17rth century. The patron saint of Dubrovnik is Saint Blaize. The fresh water system was brought to Dubrovnik by a Sicilian monk in the 15thcentury. The fort in the wall is 15thcentury and there was a moat around the wall until the Napoléon’s troops filled it in to build a road. Napoléon Bonaprte’s French troops captured Dubrovnik in 1806 while fighting the Russian allies in Montenegro. The Russians did not get into Dubrovnik but the city walls were badly damage. The oldest Jewish Synagogue in Europe is in Dubrovnik and is maintained by a congregation of 46. There are many Roman Catholic churches in the city and some monasteries. The oldest church was built in 1526, St. Blaize’s church dates to 1716 and the interior of St. Nicolas’s church is from the 12thcentury. St. Nicolas is the patron saint of sailors. The bell tower, by the port gate, has a sun clock and was built in the 15thcentury and repaired after several earthquakes. It has some of the same features as the sun clock in the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. The hour pointer has a sun at its end indicating the part of an hour and below it on the left is the Roman Numerals for the hour that flips down to change and on the right side is Arabic numbers the flip down every five minutes. The Customs House by the Old Port Gate was from 1568 and collected taxes and tariffs and housed the bank. Nearby is a statue where on its base is the Dubrovnik measure for a yard inscribed into the stone. Traders could compare what they had purchased to this measure to be sure that they had not been cheated.
We were shown into the Dominican Monastery Museum where there were oil paintings from the 15thand 16thcenturies as well as relics of saints in golden or silver engraved and carved containers donated by wealthy former leaders of the town. There are many school groups taking tours toady. Next, we walked to the Old Port which dates back to the 15thcentury, but when steam took over powering ships the port was moved to the larger Port of Gruž where our ship is docked. We re-entered through another arched gate to the courtyard in front of Dubrovačka Katedrala (Dubrovnik Cathedral) The painting Our Lady of the Port was destroyed during the 1701 earthquake. The restoration was created in silver and placed over the painting with a hole revealing the Virgin face and the face of Jesus, that had not been damaged. There are other examples of this silver cover in other parts of Croatia. The altar is beautiful, made of silver and the frames are gilded in gold. The organ is a 20thcentury Austrian organ. Across the street is the former seat of government in the 15thcentury. Here the laws were made and the courts were also in the building. We were given an hour of free time to explore the Old Town. The cost to walk the 2.2 km of the old Dubrovnik wall was 21 Euros ($34 Cdn) per person and you needed more time to walk and take photos. Steps 8,906 = 6.63 km
Richard the Lion Heart of England, returning from the crusades, was shipwrecked nearby and prayed to be rescued and if he lived he would built a church nearby. He survived and as Dubrovnik was building the Cathedral, so he made a major donation to the church project, unfortunately that church was destroyed in a 14thcentury earthquake. A few kilometers from Dubrovnik across the bay is an island where in the 18thcentury, when Dubrovnik was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the royal family would spend their summers in a palace on their exclusive island.
The bus left Dubrovnik to drive 30 kilometers up the north coast to Ljuta where we stopped for lunch at Konavoski Dvori restaurant, which is nestled beside a stream with small rapids where they raise trout. The choice was a main course of grilled trout fillets or veal served first with lentil soup then salad and red or white wine. Dessert was vanilla ice cream with a cherry sauce. The veal had been cooked over coals and under a bell for about 3 hours. Just beside the restaurant property was a 30 meter section of the ancient Roman aqueduct that supplied water to the area. When we returned to the bus there were dark grey clouds forming over the close mountains, but we never received rain. There are lots of tall Cypress trees growing in the forest. They used to be used for ship’s masts and still used as rafters for building roofs.
The final stop was the resort town of Cavtat, about half way back to Dubrovnik. It is a pretty seaside town. We saw a yacht arriving that reminded us of the million-dollar plus yachts we saw in Fort Lauderdale last fall. The group had about 45 minutes of free time after a brief orientation from our guide. We peaked into the small sailors’ chapel in the Our Lady of the Snow monastery. The monastery was founded in 1484 and the chapel was built during the 15thand 16thcenturies. We walked to the harbour entrance along a paved walkway for a distant view of Dubrovnik before returning to the main moorage to watch a 50 foot yacht arrive, as we enjoyed yet another gelato. Steps so far 13,240 or 9.85 km.
Rather than the scenic route, the bus took the highway the remaining 22 kilometers back to the ship at the Port of Gruž at the opposite side of Dubrovnik. When we got off the bus we noticed that the MSC Poesia cruise ship had already left and it was only 4 p.m.
We were not joined by Mike and Lynn this evening and were able to finish dinner in time to catch the final 30 minutes of the full cast show called “Land of Make Believe” which had colourful intricate costumes and recognizable tunes.
Final step count for the day 15,350 or 11.42 km. The walking tours sprinkled in between the long drives are making it easy to reach the daily goal. We are averaging two kilometers per day more steps than on the Ireland / Iceland cruise.
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