gijasue's blog

Actually, this is the travel story that I wrote for one of the military recreation and travel magazines. I guess getting paid for it made it worth writing. I’ll add photos in the next few days.

The term “travel hot spot” might not spring to mind when you think of Croatia, but the city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia has become just that. Set against a coastline of beautifully stark mountains and quaint fishing villages, Dubrovnik is the jewel in the Croatian crown.

Originally named Ragusa, this city was the chief rival to Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries. The thick walls and heavy fortifications of the Old Town stand as a reminder of how important this port was as a gateway to the southern Adriatic. Today it still stands as a gateway through which the discerning traveler can get a glimpse of, as the Croatian tourism promotion puts it, the Mediterranean as it once was.

That glimpse begins the moment you walk through one of the walled Old Town’s gates. The Old Town is strictly pedestrian – no cars and very few bicycles. Most houses line narrow alleyways of stairs leading up from the main street called Stradun. The building styles and materials of everything you see are the same as centuries ago. Even the doorways have the unique “na koljeno” shape. The combined door and counter helped shopkeepers handing goods over the window sill while keeping the door closed.

The fountains for washing yourself before you enter the town still work and the Franciscan monastery continues to run a pharmacy dating from the 14th century (where you can buy their own brand of scented hand cream or children’s honey flavored cough drops shaped like a sugar cubes). Old is mixed with the new so fluidly you can get money from an ATM so you can sip cappuccinos while watching the fishermen bring their boats into the port just like they did centuries ago.

The Old Town is small, so it won’t take long to see the major sites within the walls, but the walls themselves are considered to be one of the most interesting and best parts of Dubrovnik. At two or three places along the wall, you can buy a ticket to walk on the top of the wall itself (keep your ticket handy to show that you paid at these different booths). This complex structure, one of the most beautiful and strongest fortifications in the Europe, gives visitors an expansive view of the surrounding area as well as the red rooftops of the town’s buildings. For those who like art, history and religious relics, there are tours of the monasteries and churches in town as well as the Rector’s and Sponza palaces. Enterprising visitors can find a tour guide to take them to most of these places and explain their significance.
It’s easy to find good places to eat after sightseeing, but as in most tourist locations you pay a premium to eat in the Old Town. Sometimes it’s better to eat outside the walled city. Those interested in a traditional seafood meal should visit the seafood restaurant next to the harbor outside the old town gate to the right of the Rector’s Palace. Inside this quaint restaurant you can eat some of the best simple seafood dishes served in traditional pots, and prices are downright cheap.

There are many other things to do outside of the city walls. Southeast of the Old Town is a tourist zone called Ploce, which features hotels and beaches. To the west is Lapad, with its sports facilities, hotels, beaches and walking trails. To the northwest is the Gruz port and Gruz.

Some of the most visited places are the beautiful islands that can be seen from almost anywhere along the Croatian coastline. The one closest to Dubrovnik is called Lokrum where you can walk through a ruined fort or overgrown botanical gardens that have lush tropical plants, swim in the small lake or just enjoy the beauty of it all.

There are many ways to get to Dubrovnik. Croatia is a popular destination for German tourists, so getting a flight straight to Dubrovnik from Germany isn’t a problem. Check out this site
http://www.croatiatraveller.com/southern_dalmatia/Dubrovnik/GettingtoDubrovnik.htm for more information. This site also has information on getting there by bus or ferry. Unfortunately, there is no direct train connection to Dubrovnik, but if you’re willing to take a bus or ferry for a few hours from another city, you should be able to get there most of the way by train. My family and I took a ferry from Italy to Split and I thought it was a very nice way to see some of the Croatian coastline while driving the rest of the way to Dubrovnik.