Hungary and Croatia 2019

DAY 17 and 18 - LEAVING VIS FOR SPLIT AND DUBROVNIK

To view a larger photo, left click on the image once or touch on a tablet. To return to the Blog click or touch off the image.

We were up early to get the ferry back to Split. This time we were on the Valun which had taken over the route from the Petar Hektorovic. We were then going to catch a bus to Dubrovnik which was due to leave in the early afternoon. All the other buses were running on time but ours was an hour late coming in from Zagreb. The bus cut inland to get on to the West-East motorway and then cut back to the coast. Croatia runs along the coast but there is a piece where Bosnia Herzegovina has a small section on the coast. The bus stopped here for a break and filled up with fuel, it must be cheaper than in Croatia.

The refueling stop in Bosnia Herzegovina

We took a taxi from the bus station to our apartment. This was well appointed and the owners lived in the same building and were very helpful.

The main attraction in Dubrovnik is the old town which is situated inside a very solid wall. We bought a three day pass that gave us entry to the wall, entry to a set of museums and free rides on the buses. We lived outside the old town but within walking distance.

Dubrovnik is a very busy place as everybody goes to the old city. This is particularly true if there are cruise ships in the port. There are only three gates where you can enter. The main one is the Pile Gate where the buses have their terminus.

The crowds at the Pile gate

The flight of steps onto the wall - there were a lot

The first set of walls was built in the 9th Century but were redeveloped in the 14th Century and the 15th Century. The walls are up to 25 metres high and up to 6 metres thick.

Once at the top you had to go in an anti-clockwise direction, a good idea when the wall is crowded, as it always seems to be.

At the top of the steps

A view across to the St. Ignatius of Loyola Church built between 1699 and 1727

Looking down to the entrance and the Onofrio Fountain

This circular fountain was built in 1438 as part of a water-supply system that involved bringing water from a spring 12km away. It is fed by an aqueduct built by Onofrio Giordano della Cava.


Looking over the wall to Fort Lawrence

Built upon a 37 meter high sheer rock overlooking the sea, Fort Lawrence is one of the most impressive locations in Dubrovnik. This detached fortress was of prime importance for the defence of the western part of Dubrovnik, both against attack from land and the sea. During its service the fortress was manned by 25 man garrison and a Commander of the fort. Its modern claim to fame is that it was the Red Keep in Game of Thrones.

Quite the fortification

Not a phone booth

The bells on the small church of St Sebastian which was built in 1466 at one of the three entrances to the town to protect it against plague

Always a crowd

A view of the harbour

Looking towards Lokrum Island looking over the red roofed houses all inside the wall

The multi-coloured tiles show how much damage the old city suffered in the 1960's war as many had to be replaced.

The most prominent part of the walls is the rounded Minčeta Tower where the walls are 6m thick, the better to protect Dubrovnik from attacks by land. The tower is the highest point of the walls which offers an unforgettable view on the old town. The tower's name derives from the name of the Mencetic family, who owned the ground upon which the tower was built. It featured as the House of the Undying in Qarth in the Game of Thrones.

The Dubrovnik Card included admission to the Walls. Not cheap but the amount of restoration that has been done and is being done is very impressive and very expensive. The two kilometres are in splendid condition.

We spent the rest of the day in the old City.

This is the wide main street running North to South from the Pile gate to the City Bell Tower in the background. The land on the right is essentially flat whereas the land to the left is sloped up to the wall. The streets, other than this one, are quite narrow and there are many steps to climb.

We visited a photographic exhibition, one part showing photographs taken at the time of the Iran-Iraq war. The other part was photographs taken at the time of the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was a very sombre, depresssing and thought provoking experience.

The Rector's Palace

The current Rector's palace stands on the site of previous palaces. After a fire of 1435 the government decided to build a new and more beautiful palace. The important job of rebuilding the palace was entrusted to Onofrio di Giordano della Cava of Naples, who you heard about earlier.

Today the Rector's palace is the home to the History Department of the museum of Dubrovnik.

Jack O Bells - Maro and Baro, bell ringers that used to ring the bells in the Clock Tower

An intricate locking system inside the lid of a chest

Baroque staircase up the the Museum with a monument erected in 1638 to Miho Pracat, the citizen of merit. This is the only monument that the Republic has ever erected to one of its citizens