Zombies

Dubrovnik, Croatia

54 F, cloudy with some rain

Another grey day but nice temps and the rain held off until the Uber back to the boat. This was my second visit to Dubrovnik. I explored the old town on the first visit and today wanted to see more of the town.

I am a big fan of groups such as Viator or GetYourGuide for small group or even private tours instead of the cruise ship tours. I'm not a fan of sitting in a big bus with 40 of my closest strangers. Finding a tour on your own means it can be customized or even changed mid tour if you decide a stop in a wine shop is urgently needed (you know who I'm talking about).

I found a tour provided in this cool looking car which is an electric replica of whatever it is. The guide is a local resident and had plenty of history, personal and family stories to share. I understand that some part of The Game of Thrones was filmed in Dubrovnik. I've never seen it but in case someone has - Simon was one of the zombies. This ends my knowledge of the Game of Thrones.

Dubrovnik was founded in the 800s by Roman refugees. They found a gold mine for that time with the salt fields or pans that existed in this area. Salt was quite an important mineral and Dubrovnik became the site of many wars trying to occupy the old town. After Napoleon unsuccessfully tried to take Dubrovnik, the stone walls around the old town were built. It took over a hundred years to complete that task. Their history is filled with one unsuccessful invader after another.

Croatia was originally part of Yugoslavia that was broken into 5 countries upon Tito's death. After hundreds of years as one country, Serbia tried to invade Croatia in the 1990's and fired upon sections of the old town in the process. Simon's dad, fought in that war and credits NATO and the American equipment and ammunition sent to the country, that allowed Croatia to defend themselves. Croatia recently celebrated the 30 year mark of having no wars on their soil. 30 years is not a long time to be celebrating no war - imagine that.

We stopped at various points during the drive talking history, agriculture(potatos, olives), education and how politicians are corrupt everywhere. The last stop was the iconic view of Old Town that is probably on every marketing brochure for the town.

From the vantage point of the old town picture, there are Serbian bunkers decaying from the 1990's. This was the spot of the shelling of old town.

I made a final stop at the old town to wander the twisty walkways and reconfirm that there is a church every block or so.

Of all places - at the end of this walkway is a Hard Rock Cafe!

Tomorrow is the first day at sea. Perhaps I will introduce you to the ship? Then we are off to Catania, Sicily, Italy

Ciao!