Dubrovnik is a glorious walled city on the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea. It is known as the pearl of the Adriatic. We arrived on Tuesday, April 29th to visit the hilly Old City area of Dubrovnik with the red roofed buildings surrounded by Medieval walls making a stunning backdrop to the blue waters of the Adriatic Sea. We spent the day on our own exploring the area. The wall that surrounds the city is a huge square over a mile long and up to 20 feet thick in some places with 15 towers, 5 bastions, 2 corner towers and a fortress. It is strong enough to have survived an earthquake in 1667 and bombardment in 1991. We walked the entire perimeter going up and down stairs and exploring lookouts along the way. It gave us a great perspective of the City and a beautiful view of the water. After descending the wall we walked around the Old City within. We stopped in on beautiful churches and museums to admire the architecture and history. One museum we walked through had a memorial to the 300 freedom fighters from Dubrovnik that lost their lives in the fighting between the Croats and Serbs in the early 1990s. During that time, Dubrovnik was shelled heavily from an escarpment above the Old City. Damage to the red rooftops is still evident today and we saw the bullet holes when we walked the wall. Clearly, the pain of those losses is still fresh to the residents of Dubrovnik with plaques and memorials throughout the City. It was interesting to us to be in a fortress built in the Middle Ages in a country that declared its independence as recently as 1991 when it separated from the Yugoslav Federation.
We had a lunch of pizza and a local beer called Lasko at a café located in one of the quaint alleyways. We sat outside under a colorful umbrella enjoying lunch in the great atmosphere of the Old City. Later, when we finished exploring the area, we caught a shuttle bus back to the ship. Just as we were boarding the bus, the skies opened up with a downpour of rain -- wow, sometimes we can't believe our good luck with the weather!
When we left Dubrovnik, we sailed north along the Dalmatian Coast and arrived the next morning in Triluke Bay where we dropped anchor and Seabourn deployed the Marina deck out of the back of the ship so we could enjoy a day of watersports. Sadly, this was also our last day aboard ship since we would be arriving in Venice the next morning, the point of embarkation for us. We spent the morning packing our suitcases to be ready to depart our "home away from home" after 116 days. After completing our packing, we hopped into a kayak and enjoyed paddling around beautiful Triluke Bay. The bright sunshine, sparkling water, green island hillsides and crisp, cool sea breeze made us forget our sadness about our impending disembarkation.
We got the feeling that the Dalmatian Coast is an idyllic getaway from the crowds that we would love to explore again someday.
NEXT STOP (LAST STOP) - VENICE!
We had a lunch of pizza and a local beer called Lasko at a café located in one of the quaint alleyways. We sat outside under a colorful umbrella enjoying lunch in the great atmosphere of the Old City. Later, when we finished exploring the area, we caught a shuttle bus back to the ship. Just as we were boarding the bus, the skies opened up with a downpour of rain -- wow, sometimes we can't believe our good luck with the weather!
Entrance into the Old City of Dubrovnik
A view from atop the wall
Walking the wall
Defensive lookout atop the wall
View from atop the wall
View inside from atop the wall
Red rooftops of the Old City of Dubrovnik
Historical church in the Old City
Beautiful architecture of the Old City
Local beer (Lasko)
Beauty of the Dalmatian Coast
When we left Dubrovnik, we sailed north along the Dalmatian Coast and arrived the next morning in Triluke Bay where we dropped anchor and Seabourn deployed the Marina deck out of the back of the ship so we could enjoy a day of watersports. Sadly, this was also our last day aboard ship since we would be arriving in Venice the next morning, the point of embarkation for us. We spent the morning packing our suitcases to be ready to depart our "home away from home" after 116 days. After completing our packing, we hopped into a kayak and enjoyed paddling around beautiful Triluke Bay. The bright sunshine, sparkling water, green island hillsides and crisp, cool sea breeze made us forget our sadness about our impending disembarkation.
We got the feeling that the Dalmatian Coast is an idyllic getaway from the crowds that we would love to explore again someday.
Beautiful Triluke Bay, Croatia
Launching a kayak from the ship
A view from our kayak
NEXT STOP (LAST STOP) - VENICE!
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