Cruising the Adriatic--Dubrovnik

The Adriatic is full of walled cities, since the Venetians and the Turks sailed up and down the sea, pillaging, for centuries.  Dubrovnik, Croatia, has one of the very finest walled cities.  A highlight of our cruise was walking along the top of the Dubrovnik city walls.  The walls are heavy, high, and thick, the better to ward off invaders.

 

We took an all-day shore excursion which began with a walking tour of the Old City and then traveled inland to a mill, farm, and folk entertainment.  We loved the quaint Old City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farmers' markets are as irresistible to me as they were to my photographer father.

Our guide said that some of the richest people in Dubrovnik are those who own land in the Old City.  They rent rooms to tourists for outrageous sums and then live in modern luxury outside the city walls.  Up the many steep steps are apartments for rent.

One of Dubrovnik's claims to fame is that Dubrovnik is where the man's tie, or "cravat" originated.  The shops sold dolls with red cravats and tourist information centers featured cravats in their displays.

 

Dave and I climbed the Dubrovnik wall and hiked the stone walkway along the top.  The views of red roofs, church domes, and the sea beyond were spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least one Dubrovnik resident grew lemons, which Dave and I spied from the town wall.

We drove high above the city, on our way to visit an ancient water mill.

In the 1400s, Dubrovnik became an important maritime nation with an increasing population.  It acquired Konavie, an area along the Lputa River with water mills used for industry.  The old mills and the lush area where they are located is now a tourist site, with villagers dressed in national costumes and demonstrations of how the streams were used for milling and how water wheels were used to grind corn and aid in making fabric.

 

 

 

 

We walked through the lush park to eating areas where costumed waiters served Croatian fruit liqueurs (apple cider for us) and local snacks--sugared nuts, dried apricots, and figs.

 

 

 

 

Lunch was a special treat.  The restaurant was in the basement of a farmhouse, with entertainers who sang "Oh, Susanna" and "When the Saints Come Marching In," as well as Croatian folksongs.  They sang a song about "Mariana."  Since that was our guide's name, she joined in.

 

 

We also visited the huge garden, with squash and, of course, lots of cabbages.

 

 

 

Our guide was an attractive, tall, and large-boned woman who talked about Croatia's Slavic heritage, as well as its Italian and Austrian occupiers.  "You can see, I am Slavic," she said.

As we drove back to Dubrovnik, we stopped for another spectacular view of the city.

Cruising the Adriatic--Split and Krka National Park

After all the churches, monuments, and museums we'd seen in Venice, Bologna, and Ravenna, we wanted a day in the out-of-doors.  For our port stay in Split, Croatia, we chose a shore excursion to Krka National Park.  We were refreshed by its lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, with the trees just starting to turn color.   We also visited the seaside town of Skradin, and then finished the day exploring Diocletian's Palace in Split.

The Split harbor was too shallow for the boat, so we rode to shore on "tenders."  The tenders were also the ship's lifeboats.  I had never before ridden around in a lifeboat, especially on rough seas like we had this morning at Split.  Dave and I rode on top, amidst the spray.

 

 

 

As Split came into view from the tender, it was picturesque, with palm trees and Diocletian's Palace across the street from the pier.  Diocletian, a Roman emperor, built the 300 A.D. palace for his retirement.  Its arches, pillars, and towers were incorporated, during the centuries after Roman times, into homes and shops, with a church steeple poking out of the center. 

 

We drove an hour inland to Krka National Park.  Other lovely national parks in the Balkans, to which we will have to return someday, include Lake Bled in Slovenia and Plitvice Lakes in Croatia.  The Balkans have not only gorgeous coastlines, but gorgeous lakes and waterfalls.  Our first view of Krka, as we drove down a mountainside, was of a large lake.

We spent an hour following a wooden boardwalk past springs, waterfalls, running brooks, and a placid lake.  The area reminded us of Cascade Springs, in Provo Canyon, Utah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a boat ride down the river to the quaint seaside town, Skradin.

 

 

 

We ate lunch at Zlatne Skoljke, entered through an alleyway.  Croatia was ruled by the Italians for centuries, and so we ate lots of pasta on our Croatian shore excursions.

 

During our free time in Skradin, we checked out the village church and the villagers going about their lives.  Bicycles and scooters were the typical transportation.

 

 

 

 

We had enough time, upon returning to Split, to visit Diocletian's Palace, with its walls and pillars incorporated into homes, hotels, and shops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One highlight of Diocletian's Palace was hearing an acapella men's choir singing inside a rock tower, with excellent acoustics. 

 

 

Another highlight was to watch a young couple take wedding photos among the ruins.

 

We joined the crowd waiting on the wharf at twilight for a ride back to the ship.