Dubrovnik, Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia Thursday, April 21, 2022
Kalese and John had been the first to tell us—last year—that Croatia
is beautiful.
We were excited to find this to be true, even though the predicted weather was for rain. Awake in time to run up three levels and go outside with Jerry’s camera, I found the deck sopping wet and a steady drizzle. No worries. I hid the camera lens in my coat and looked around as the darkness was trying to make way for day. You may see some of those photos as the ship closed in on Croatia. The shoreline was craggy with volcanic evidence and earthquake-proof concrete buildings nestled into valleys and claimed space on flat surfaces where possible. Instead of Byzantine domes and Islamic minarets, church steeples peppered the landscape. Already, we could begin to formulate a history and a religious preference….and we hadn’t yet landed.
Ran back inside,
stood in a short line for the coveted cappuccino/latte machine, and gingerly
carried a latte down the three levels to our room to get ready for breakfast
and layer on the clothing. Our tour was
to encompass some panoramic views, driving along the coastline, visiting some
historic sites, then having free time in the Old City of Dubrovnik; therefore,
lots of time in the wet elements. For
the first time, we took our ship umbrella along with fleeces underneath
raincoats.
We joined about 20 other fellow guests on the bus, dressed
similarly and ready for anything. Our
tall, slender tour guide was a school psychologist for the elementary schools
in the nearby villages which were first on our itinerary. “Kindergarten” here means ages 1-7 and is not
compulsory except for the final year which would be like our kindergarten. Elementary
school goes for the next eight years and then high school for four years. Over a
break, I asked if we could talk a bit about her job and she was willing, “What
issues do you typically encounter with your children?” She replied that there was a noticeable increase
of autism and other development disorders, that parents are reeling with these
results, that there are effects of the pandemic on their young lives, and of
course, the family issues and the effects of living in an age of political and
religious divisions that happen in each backyard.
Readers, it’s imperative that all of us are open to listening
to all generations as we continue to process these current times of our
lives!!! Not only in Croatia or Ukraine,
but also in the metropolitan and farming communities of America!
We drove out of Dubrovnik and along the coastline to the town of Cavtat. You will want to get your maps out for this one as Croatia doesn’t actually look like it contains Dubrovnik. We were supposedly within fifteen minutes of Bosnia Herzegovina, and also only about ten minutes from Montenegro. That was hard to believe until looking at a map and discovering Croatia’s southern section has a sliver of land running along the coast which is where we were with the other named countries just a little inland. Who draws these borders anyway? We took a short stop overlooking the old city of Dubrovnik and it is lovely even in cloud fog and rain. The road is right along the cliffs of the rugged coast. We were informed that 90% of the region’s income is from tourism. Dubrovnik holds 40,000 people. The other villages in the area hold two to three thousand each. We arrived in a rainy Cavtat which is a nice little village on what they call the Croation Riviera. The rainy weather dimmed the beauty of the town, but you could tell it would be a pretty place to relax on a holiday.
Both photos are of Cavtat
Our next
stop was in another village, Ljuta, where we visited a working mill. They had a couple ladies in traditional dress
serve up some local wine, meat and cheese.
Yum. The mills are located here because of water power. Running water all year long and a steep drop
gives plenty of power to run the two mills.
One of the mills uses the strangest system I have ever seen to beat
textiles into submission using two square wooden hammers that look like massive
meat tenderizers. Hopefully the pictures
will come out. Four hours of beating
softens the coarse materials. The
second mill was a standard flour mill operation using a round stone to grind
grains into flour. They can mill about
200 pounds an hour with the system. In
the olden days payment was 5% of the product that was milled.
Back to Dubrovnik and the old walled city. This place is spectacular. Perhaps that is why “Game of Thrones” found this an appropriate place to do some of its filming. Star Wars and other films have used it as well. It is one of the best preserved walled cities in the world. You feel transported back in time as you walk down the 300 yard long main street. The basic city plan dates from 1292. The massive round tower and fort were completed in 1464. The walls which stretch over a mile were completed in the 1500s. No motorized vehicles are allowed in the old city.
Except for the main street and one called the wide street the rest of
the town is a warren of narrow twisty streets and stairways. Lots
of shops and museums and other historical buildings. This should get on your list of places to try
and see at some point. One guy was trying
to sell tours for the next day. I asked
him if he was from Dubrovnik. He said
nobody working in the inner city was from Dubrovnik. “We just come here to make money and take it
home with us.” The weather cleared up
for the most part for our time in the old town making it a very enjoyable
afternoon ashore. The trip out of port
was done in daylight and showed off the rugged coast and the domiciles hugging
the steep rocky cliffs.
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