I had no idea what time of the day it was, but the grumbling from my stomach told me it was close to supper. Still, I couldn’t resist finding out what lies at the end of the corridor-wide alleys and around the corners. The steep steps looking up to the top of the narrow street was akin to discovering an unlocked door in an old castle waiting to be explored. Passing a few tourists and nods of acknowledgement, the lanes became more narrow as if the walls of the houses on both sides were closing in. Laundry hung out the windows, front doors were open and television programs were broadcasting in Slavic languages. This felt far from the main tourist drag even though it was only a two minute walk away. While blockbuster museums and monuments are reasons enough to travel; it’s moments like this that makes travel memories.
Croatia was ensnared into a bitter and complicated war in its recent history for independence from Yugoslavia, which included an eight month siege of Dubrovnik in 1991. During that time , the town went up in flames, surrounding mountainsides rigged with landmines - cutting off road access, food and water into town. When the war ended, Dubrovnik had the daunting task of recovery and rebuilding. In just a little over two decades later, the tourists are back in record breaking numbers, exceeding pre-war days. As you walk the back streets and on the top of the fortified walls surrounding the old town, some remnants of destruction remain – rooftop tiles that are brighter red brick color will tell you that these structures were recently rebuilt. Rooftops with lighter and faded tan colored tiles indicate that those structures escaped bombings.
While I missed the window of opportunity a decade ago to visit before Croatia got “rediscovered” again, I don’t mind it at all. Learning and understanding it’s recent history, then experiencing Croatia what it is today – makes it one of the greatest memories to take home. Croatia has come back to life.
View from one of the City Wall towers overlooking narrow streets of Dubrovnik 's Old Town and harbor.
City Walls (seen on the right) completely surrounds the old town. They are about 20 feet thick and you can walk around on top of the walls to see spectacular views from different angles. You can see sill see the few light colored roof tiles which gives indication that these buildings escaped the bombings while the brighter red roof tiles are more tell-tale signs that these buildings were rebuilt after 1995.
You can see just how thick and foreboding these walls are.
Croatia's beaches are mostly rocky - wear water shoes if you're going in for a swim! Otherwise, they provide great ambience for a beach picnic to enjoy some Croatian wine or local craft beer.
Eateries along the harbor are great for people watching and basking in the glowing light during sunset.
City Walls in the foreground behind the harbor and Mt. Srd (pronounced Surdj) in the background. The hillside has been officially cleared of land mines from the early 1990's.
View from top of Mt. Srd overlooking Dubrovnik and Lokrum island. The city walls can be seen completely surrounding the Old Town.
For a quick trip, take the cable car to the top of Mt. Srd or you can make the 45 minute hike. Elaphite Islands in the background, are easily accessible by ferry from Dubrovnik.
An idyllic moment at sunset. It wasn't always this peaceful; during the siege of Dubrovnik in the 1990's, this fortress was bombed and hasn't been repaired.
Streets in the Old Town are so narrow and steep that steps had to be cut. How many steps does it take to get from the bottom to top you ask? About 400. Puts the gym's stairmasters to shame.
Most restaurants have outdoor dining. With temperature warming up in Spring, nobody dines indoors.
St. Lawrence Fortress is often called Dubrovnik's Gibraltar.
Plitvice Lakes National Park is famous for it's flowing waterfalls creating terraced lakes. Wooden boardwalks and hiking trails allows you to view waterfalls up close.
Due to the park's geographic make up of soft limestone, wind, water, and vegetation slowly erodes and reshapes mountains. A waterfall may look different on any given day.
No swimming and boating allowed in Pilitice Lakes preserves the pristine crystal clear waters. Fallen trees in the water along the walking paths can be clearly seen below.
I call this the Plitvice Lakes Stairmaster. These lead up to a bat cave.
Croatia's capital city, Zagreb is underrated. With so many interesting museums, it's a wonder that there aren't more tourists. Check out the Museum of Broken Relationships; started by a couple who, well yes, broke up. Showcases some personal objects left over from former lovers, some really funny and some heartbreaking stories.
St. Mark's church's bright roof tiles shows the Croatian flag on the left, and the city flag of Zagreb on the right.
Zagreb Cathedral's gothic church. The right tower is under renovation. It's a common practice in Europe to place an image of the area under restoration rather than looking like a drape cloth, which takes away from the photo.
Naïve Art is unique to Croatia (1930's to 1960's). Paintings by untrained peasants show that art is not only a skill, but also comes from an innate talent. Many paintings in the Naïve Art museum are scenes of daily life. Winter scenes like this prevails because Winter is the time of the year that peasants, who were primarily farmers would have down time to create art.