Lord Byron said Dubrovnik was “The Pearl of the Adriatic” and George Bernard Shaw said, “Those seeking paradise on earth should seek it in Dubrovnik”. That’s pretty high praise, but we’re finding it to be well deserved. Initially settled by the Romans, Dubrovnik has been sought after by many Republics. Today it’s sought after by tourists, arriving from every corner of the globe. Dubrovnik is a beautiful medieval town in perfect condition, but it didn’t get that way without a little help over the years. In 1667 a devastating earthquake, that killed over half of its residents, flattened the city. And more recently in 1991, the Yugoslav Army laid siege to the city during the Homeland War, destroying 2/3’s of the historic “Old Town”. Today it’s hard to find any evidence of those events and the tourists have come back in droves. Most of the tourists seem to arrive by cruise ships. We're getting good at guessing how many are in the harbor just by how crowded the streets are. Evenings usually quiet down though, as everyone heads back out to sea.
We stopped in the tourist information center for some tips. When we turned around, the kids were hard at work.
Roland was a popular and legendary soldier in medieval times, and you can find his bust in cities all over Europe. He is known to represent freedom and his statue in Dubrovnik’s main square, erected in 1419, became a rallying point for the city’s freedom fighters.
The Cathedral holds some unique treasures, including a piece of the swaddling clothes worn by baby Jesus.
This shot is looking back in towards town off of our porch. While most overhead photos of the city make it look flat, it’s deceivingly hilly. The wide “Stradun”, or Main Street, runs the length of the city, and it’s straight up hill on either side. The Stradun was originally a canal making Dubrovnik an island, but in the 11th century it was filled in to enlarge the city. Our apartment is perched within the walls, but up the hill on the sea side. It’s set perfectly to allow views over the city on one side and the sea on the other.
This is one of the alleyways leading off the Stradun.
Pomegranate trees are everywhere.
Onofrio’s Fountain was built in the 15th century and supplied the city with water via a seven mile aqueduct from the mountains. Today it's still a great spot to fill up your water bottle (and listen to some music as this guy is always playing his fiddle).
Mt. Srd stands high behind the city and was the main Croatian defense point during the Homeland War.
This little guy likes to visit the kids. He drops by every now and then, usually through an open door. Here he is standing on the kids homework.
I couldn't help throwing in a couple more sunset photos. These are off of our porch looking out across the wall at Fort Lovrijenac.
Lord Byron said Dubrovnik was “The Pearl of the Adriatic” and George Bernard Shaw said, “Those seeking paradise on earth should seek it in Dubrovnik”. That’s pretty high praise, but we’re finding it to be well deserved. Initially settled by the Romans, Dubrovnik has been sought after by many Republics. Today it’s sought after by tourists, arriving from every corner of the globe. Dubrovnik is a beautiful medieval town in perfect condition, but it didn’t get that way without a little help over the years. In 1667 a devastating earthquake, that killed over half of its residents, flattened the city. And more recently in 1991, the Yugoslav Army laid siege to the city during the Homeland War, destroying 2/3’s of the historic “Old Town”. Today it’s hard to find any evidence of those events and the tourists have come back in droves. Most of the tourists seem to arrive by cruise ships. We're getting good at guessing how many are in the harbor just by how crowded the streets are. Evenings usually quiet down though, as everyone heads back out to sea.
We stopped in the tourist information center for some tips. When we turned around, the kids were hard at work.
Roland was a popular and legendary soldier in medieval times, and you can find his bust in cities all over Europe. He is known to represent freedom and his statue in Dubrovnik’s main square, erected in 1419, became a rallying point for the city’s freedom fighters.
The Cathedral holds some unique treasures, including a piece of the swaddling clothes worn by baby Jesus.
This shot is looking back in towards town off of our porch. While most overhead photos of the city make it look flat, it’s deceivingly hilly. The wide “Stradun”, or Main Street, runs the length of the city, and it’s straight up hill on either side. The Stradun was originally a canal making Dubrovnik an island, but in the 11th century it was filled in to enlarge the city. Our apartment is perched within the walls, but up the hill on the sea side. It’s set perfectly to allow views over the city on one side and the sea on the other.
This is one of the alleyways leading off the Stradun.
Pomegranate trees are everywhere.
Onofrio’s Fountain was built in the 15th century and supplied the city with water via a seven mile aqueduct from the mountains. Today it's still a great spot to fill up your water bottle (and listen to some music as this guy is always playing his fiddle).
Mt. Srd stands high behind the city and was the main Croatian defense point during the Homeland War. 
This little guy likes to visit the kids. He drops by every now and then, usually through an open door. Here he is standing on the kids homework.
I couldn't help throwing in a couple more sunset photos. These are off of our porch looking out across the wall at Fort Lovrijenac.
