Our flight to Croatia was easy and the view out the plane window spectacular. The colourful patchwork fields of France and the snow-covered Alps were stunning. We breezed through the airport and were collected by the sail representative for our drive into town. We were given lots of useful tips for our short time in the city, all of which proved useful. A bag drop-off, a bus ride back into town … and our adventurse began.
You can guess where we started. The walls of Dubrovnik are amazing. They stretch for roughly 2km and climb rocky outcrops, cross the harbour’s arsenal and are dotted with solid defence towers at strategic points. We were very surprised at how hilly, steep (in places) and stepped they were. Along the one-way anticlockwise path, there are stunning views of the red-roofed city, rocky mountains and beautiful coast. We took our time exploring the ramparts, forts and museums on our path, but did not stop at any of the bars that provide scenic breaks for walkers. A wander through the Old City came next, with no real plan to our perambulations. Visits to forts, museums, churches, supermarkets (to see what’s local), the harbour, swimming places, jewellery shops, art galleries and wandering up and down the narrow alleyways filled our day, as did taking photos of the numerous fearless cats that are everywhere. One cat owned the main street, sleeping undisturbed in the gutter as hordes of people passed by. Another was snoozing on the windowsill of a nearby shop.
Dubrovnik is gorgeous. The stone paved streets are so clean and polished smooth by the millions of tourists that visit each year. The buildings have a uniformity of material but an individuality of design. The old town is car-free – there is no way a car could fit down the side streets or climb the stairs for that matter – which allows for stress-free gawking. We took the cable car to the top of the hill to get a bird’s-eye view of the town, had a sunset dinner watching the sun set over the bay and strolled back to the hotel extremely content with our first day in the city.
Dubrovnik was hosting a running festival on the weekend we were there. We knew that the Sunday was going to be hectic as thousands of runners would be marshalling for the start. Fortunately the half-marathon and mini-run started at 9:30, so we got into town before that and enjoyed a sunnier, less-peopled revisit of the sites. The town began to fill with excited runners and tourists as we exited (against the in-coming flow) to explore the nearby St Lawrence Fort. It protects the northwestern approach to the town and provides a fantastic view of the town, walls, cliffs and the ocean setting of the Old City. We then strolled back to the hotel (all traffic had been stopped for the runners) and we enjoyed the festival atmosphere provided by street DJs.
A 2km walk (no other way to get there) along the new harbour’s edge was required to get Kraljica (Queen) Jelena which is to be our home for the next seven days. It is a beautiful yacht that will help take us to some islands and their wineries on our way to Split. Prior to our departure, we revisited the Old City (again!) for a short history walk and an introduction to Croatian wines, cheeses and cured meats. It was also a good ice-breaker to get to know some of travelling companions for the next week. Ending the evening with a quick soak in the onboard spa under the stars will become a routine for our cruise.
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