Dubrovnik, Croatia

Lord Byron proclaimed it “the pearl of the Adriatic.” George Bernard Shaw said it was “paradise on earth.” For me Dubrovnik is just one of the most charming cities in Europe. But it’s impossible to describe its greatness just in one phrase…

We started our day walking on the marble streets of Dubrovnik’s Old Town and admiring its baroque buildings. It’s always a pleasure to watch the town waking up, its inhabitants opening small cafes or starting their day in the city market. Looking at the wonderful buildings on the main square it’s hard to believe that Dubrovnik survived many earthquakes, the most disastrous one in 1667, and that during the last war (1991-95) the city was shelled from the first of October 1991 until the fall of 1992, with 68% of the city destroyed. Our guide Danijela pointed out the most interesting places, like the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady, which dates from the 18th century. We also saw the Rector’s Palace that is now the government seat, the Church of St. Blaise – the city’s patron saint, the Clock Tower, the Sponza Palace – the old mint and custom house of the Republic of Dubrovnik and the Orlando’s Column from the 15th century with a Dubrovnik cubit – the old unit of measurement used in the Republic time. After a stroll on Placa Street, among sober stone buildings, we came to the Franciscan Monastery with its pharmacy established in 1317. Today it is the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in Europe.

The next attraction was climbing up the City Walls which are almost 2 km long. The view of the city with red roof houses surrounded by the turquoise sea is just fantastic. We walked half of the wall – the southern part from Pile entrance to St. John’s fort making a lot of photo stops.

In the afternoon, we were back on board for another tasty lunch and some siesta time. The National Geographic Expert, Grace Fielder, gave a very interesting talk about the Serbo-Croatian language. We were very excited to go back to the city for the special Klapa performance in the early evening. Klapa is a harmony singing of usually male singers that traditionally sing a capella, but their songs can be also accompanied by a mandolin or similar instruments. We were the only people in the Dominican Monastery which made us feel very special and privileged. The whole wonderful hour we were sitting in the cloister under the blue sky, entirely immersed in the magic of music, listening to the songs about homeland, love, grapes and sea. It was like a gentle massage for our senses and souls.

The evening was beautiful so many of us decided to have dinner in one of many fish and seafood restaurants in the city or just to take a stroll during sunset. Another perfect day was slowly and lazily coming to an end…