A trip of some 140km along the wonderful winding coast road takes us to a spacious campsite on the fringes of Dubrovnik. As we cross the border into Croatia and the EU, the country's increased wealth becomes immediately obvious: newer cars, better roads and finished buildings. (We'll have more to say about Croatia when we return later in the trip).
Pausing en route
Made it
We wash and brush up and take the bus into the old town to take in the atmosphere before our guided tour tomorrow morning. We end up staying quite late, eating at a harbour-front restaurant and taking a final drink in a bar in an atmospheric square. Dubrovnik is all that we hoped it would be and more - if only it wasn't full of those damn tourists. There is a cruise ship in town though.
........
The walking tour of the town is great and our guide is particularly good at putting the complex historical context together for us. It's not long since Serbia and Montenegro were shelling the city, after all; 1991, to be exact.
From the city wall
The main street as the hot sun goes down
..and in the hot sun from the city wall
We visit churches, museums and walk the city wall (a must) - all included in our tour, as we are provided with a one day inclusive tourist ticket. Being a tourist town, there are restaurants everywhere and we have two great meals. The local beer isn't bad either.
We catch the bus back (thanks Google Maps for showing us where to get off), leaving Dubrovnik with very positive feelings of both the town and it's people.
......
On our last day here, we can't resist a final trip into the old town. We use the cable car to visit the fort above the town that was instrumental in resisting the 1991 attacks by the Serbian forces and see an exhibition detailing the events of that time, including the severe bombardment of the old city of Dubrovnik; a fitting end to our time here. We also visit the Etnographic Museum which charts life in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Old Town from the fort
The moving start of the exhibition at the fort
Communications tower on the hilltop
Let's not forget that people live in this historic place..
So we leave Dubrovnik with some regret but looking forward to a complete change as we move into Bosnia tomorrow and head for our camp near Mostar.
Goodbye until then, then...
Pausing en route
Made it
We wash and brush up and take the bus into the old town to take in the atmosphere before our guided tour tomorrow morning. We end up staying quite late, eating at a harbour-front restaurant and taking a final drink in a bar in an atmospheric square. Dubrovnik is all that we hoped it would be and more - if only it wasn't full of those damn tourists. There is a cruise ship in town though.
........
The walking tour of the town is great and our guide is particularly good at putting the complex historical context together for us. It's not long since Serbia and Montenegro were shelling the city, after all; 1991, to be exact.
From the city wall
The main street as the hot sun goes down
..and in the hot sun from the city wall
We visit churches, museums and walk the city wall (a must) - all included in our tour, as we are provided with a one day inclusive tourist ticket. Being a tourist town, there are restaurants everywhere and we have two great meals. The local beer isn't bad either.
We catch the bus back (thanks Google Maps for showing us where to get off), leaving Dubrovnik with very positive feelings of both the town and it's people.
......
On our last day here, we can't resist a final trip into the old town. We use the cable car to visit the fort above the town that was instrumental in resisting the 1991 attacks by the Serbian forces and see an exhibition detailing the events of that time, including the severe bombardment of the old city of Dubrovnik; a fitting end to our time here. We also visit the Etnographic Museum which charts life in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Old Town from the fort
The moving start of the exhibition at the fort
Communications tower on the hilltop
Let's not forget that people live in this historic place..
So we leave Dubrovnik with some regret but looking forward to a complete change as we move into Bosnia tomorrow and head for our camp near Mostar.
Goodbye until then, then...
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