Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Dubrovnik, Croatia--A pleasant surprise (by Tom)


I knew very little about Dubrovnik, Croatia before our visit there. I left wishing I had more time to explore the town. The town was an independent City State reliant upon shipping from ancient times until the 1600s or so.The City is located on the Adriatic Sea, with a mountain range just a mile or so from the Sea. At some point a cable car was built to provide a 5-minute ride from the City to the top of the range. The cable car was badly damaged during the civil wars of the 1990s, but has now been repaired to its original condition Our tour begin with a breathtaking ride on the cable car to the top of the mountain. There we had a wonderful view of the City below.To secure itself in ancient times, an 80-foot tall wall was built that still surrounds the City. That wall now defines the City. The entire distance of the wall is a few miles. After the cable car ride, while Hiller shopped below, Gabriel and I climbed to the wall and started our walk to incredible views of the Baroque city below. After touring the wall, we met up with Hiller, had lunch, and wandered the narrow car-free streets until it was time to return to the ship. We saw no visible signs of the damage caused in the war, which we understand was devastating in places. Only having the day to see the City, we headed back to the cruise ship with some sense of regret that we did not have more time to explore the little streets and shops of the town that, to my surprise, had so much to offer.

5 comments:

  1. It sounds so much FUN~~~~ Great blog entry and photo!:)

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  2. I have heard Croatia is an amazing place! Small, but really lovely.

    -Angela

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  3. Thanks for the reports of what you are seeing. Store up lots of memories for the future.That's what makes old age enjoyable. Dad

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  4. I'll be visiting this same place in about 3 weeks! I'll make sure to ride the cable car!

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  5. Melissa--we loved Dubrovnik. It's beautiful! Tom

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