Dubrovnik, Croatia

The Balkan Riviera - Part II

July 18, 2012

- American Authors

If I thought wading through the tourists in Kotor was a challenge then Dubrovnik, at least the old city, is much worse. It is filled with tourists of all sorts at all hours of the day and night. There are cruise ship passengers, Croatian tourists, newlyweds, backpackers, and lots of people with money. Money is what you need in Dubrovnik. Want to walk on the city walls, that costs $12. Want to take the cable car to the top of the mountain for views over the city, that costs $15. Want to visit the main museum in the old city, that costs $12. Even a city bus ride costs $2. Not exactly what I’m used to after all the places I’ve traveled through on this trip.

In its defense, Dubrovnik is a beautiful place. The blue waters of the sea, the walls of the old city, the trees on the sloping cliffs as they rise from the water, and the white houses with their orange tiled roofs combine to make a picturesque setting. All up and down this part of the coastline there are islands covered in trees with rocky shores. There are beaches here too but most of them aren’t sandy but are blanketed in medium sized stones. This doesn’t stop the locals and Croatian tourists from laying towels down on the rocks and soaking up the sunlight.

Amidst this picturesque tourist paradise there are plenty of reminders of the war with Serbia and Montenegro. A sign at the entrance to the old city shows every building that was hit during the shelling and while nearly everything has been rebuilt there are still a few damaged buildings scattered around the old city. On top of the hill overlooking the city behind the cable car station there is a detailed museum inside the ruins of an old fortress with exhibits on the war in Croatia. Videos show the old city being blasted by mortar rounds and the thick stone walls absorbing the punishment. After all those years the old city walls held true and the Croatians were able to repel the attacks and prevent the old city from being taken. But weaving through the tourists on the streets it seems like all that happened in another world a lifetime ago. Across the border in Bosnia Herzegovina that certainly isn’t the case.