We anchored in front of famous city walls of Dubrovnik in the early morning, and from our ship we admired the Pearl of the Adriatic Sea, as they call the old city of Dubrovnik. The day was beautiful, sun shining, small breeze coming from the sea, perfect conditions to explore Dubrovnik, a town of 500 that was one of the most powerful maritime republics of Europe.
Our tenders brought us to the old port where we were welcomed by one of 13 statues of St. Blaise, patron of Dubrovnik. We entered the town trough the gates of the Port and Stradun—the main street and heart of Dubrovnik appeared in front of us. The morning was calm, with locals opening their shops, and small cafes and restaurants preparing themselves for the day.
We started our walk on the main square in front of the church of St. Blaise where every year on February 3 the town of Dubrovnik celebrates the day of his patron by organizing a procession in his honor. We admired the palace Sponza, the only palace on the main street that survived the earthquake of 1667, built in the golden age of Dubrovnik Republic to be its customhouse. In front of the Rector Palace we heard about the famous diplomacy of the Dubrovnik Republic government, thanks to which this small republic survived 500 years.
In the Franciscan Monastery we visited the old pharmacy that exists at the same place, already for 700 years. The last part of the walking tour was a walk on the walls of Dubrovnik, constructed to protect the Republic of Dubrovnik from their enemies, today one of the main attractions of the town. Dubrovnik that morning was especially beautiful thanks to tons of floral installations that were decorating the main square because of a wedding ceremony that took place that day in Marin Držić Theatre. After the tour was finished some people went for lunch on board, some decided to stay for lunch in town.
An afternoon presentation on Croatia by local Dubrovnik guide Marijana Radovan was organized on the lido deck. Late afternoon we enjoyed a concert of Klapa Oštro singing traditional Dalmatian songs in the cloister of Dominican Monastery. Soon dinnertime came...life on board is sometimes not easy; it’s a hard decision whether to eat on board or in one of the inviting local restaurants.
George Bernard Shaw upon his visit to Dubrovnik said, "If you want to see Heaven on Earth go to Dubrovnik." We agreed about Heaven on Earth, but if the poet ever spent some time aboard Sea Cloud he would certainly recommend it as Heaven on Sea. Our ship sailed from Dubrovnik at midnight, leaving us full of impressions and excited about new adventures in which the legendary Sea Cloud will take us.
