TRAVELLING WITH ADRIENNE

Finding Shadows of the Past in Dubrovnik

So much fascinating recent history

Dubrovnik — Pearl of the Adriatic — hardly what you’d call “off the beaten tourist track” — except if you visit it at the end of November. We wandered around the empty streets, alleys and lanes of the Old Town, taking photos of the beautiful old buildings. The museums were open, some shops were open, but the cafes and restaurants were mostly closed.

We had been on the bus from Tirana for over 9 hours so we wanted food. Finally found an open restaurant and ordered fish’n’chips. No, ma’am, but we have fried squid and French fries. Beggars can’t be choosers so that’s what we ate. It was a generous amount for a light lunch, but we didn’t complain and ate every last skerrick.

Our hunger satisfied, so we visited the Rector’s Palace which is closed on Mondays. At first glance, it reminded me of Venice and the Doge’s Palace. It held a lot of beautiful Venetian and Italian items. The Palace itself was built in the Gothic style, but it also has Renaissance and Baroque elements, harmoniously combining all three architectural styles to create a stunning building. Just look at the portico and staircase.

We toured every room of the Palace: an art gallery, the dungeons, the prison and a photographic exhibition of the war of 1991. I was intrigued. I had to find out. Was this the Balkan War I vaguely remembered? I thought that involved Sarajevo and Kosovo. I don’t recall Dubrovnik being mentioned.

The five Galleon Iron Chests were recovered from Spanish galleons. The locks were extremely intricate but also hidden by beautiful metalwork. Fascinating!

Coming out of the Old Town in the late afternoon, Erilyn decided to walk back to our apartment. I reluctantly agreed. It was all uphill. Opposite our lodging was a Bikers’ Caffe/Bar — a popular meeting spot for locals — they don’t get too many female tourists here. Erilyn ordered a coffee while I thought I deserved a G&T — Bombay Blue Sapphire please — just what I needed to walk the 114 steps down to our apartment.

Too tired to go out again, we ate roast chicken and potato (chips) for mains and nashi and dark chocolate for dessert. Erilyn bought the nashi in Ohrid and the dark chocolate and roast chicken chips at the station in Sofia.

Up early the next morning, we headed across the road to the bakery/supermarket and bought a selection of pastries to share for breakfast. We had been invited back to the Bikers’ Caffe/Bar to eat our breakfast if we ordered a coffee. Coffees were only €1.90 so we happily obliged. Better than walking down the 114 steps to eat in our dining room and then walking up again to go exploring again.

Straight to the Old Town passing the Cable Car Station which was closed for the winter, all downhill until we walked over the drawbridge and through those massive city walls. We discovered whole sections of streets we hadn’t seen the day before. I loved these streets. It was impossible to get lost!

We learned that the main street called Stradun or Placa used to be a channel before it was filled in to become a street. You can see it’s a waterway on some of the old maps.

During the summer months Stradun is always wall to wall tourists, but today we have the main thoroughfare to ourselves. Unbelievable but very appreciated by this crowd-averse traveller. The souvenir shops were mostly open hoping to sell a magnet or two during the winter months. We came across a beautiful Christmas shop where an unbreakable gold wreath broke my resolve not to buy anything. It will look beautiful on Keeley’s Christmas tree for many years to come. Everything in the shop is made out the back in the workshop but most of the handmade items are very fragile.

We must have spent more time wandering the streets than we thought. It was past 2.30. The walls close at 3.30. One of my hostel mates I had met in Timisoara had said ‘walking the walls was a must’ so I sent Erilyn off to run around the walls (two kilometres) and be off by 3.30pm when they close the gates. She was terrified she’d be locked up there all night. So she ran, but she stopped to take me some photos.

After wandering around the gift shop and the courtyard and looking to see if the Indian museum was open (the motorbike, not the people) — it wasn’t, I decided I’d wait in the Hard Rock Cafe.

I know I’ve seen them in other parts of the world but have never ventured inside. I ordered a Bahama Mama. It was simply too delicious so when Erilyn found me, she ordered one and I had another. They quite possibly were mocktails as I think the alcohol content was minimal. I found the reason I’d never had a drink in a Hard Rock Cafe — €26.95 — but you did get to keep the glass. Tourist trap! What if we didn’t want the glasses? The cocktail itself was €9.95.

We kept the glasses! There’s not a square inch left in my luggage but Erilyn managed to fit them into hers and packed them with socks. That’s what friends are for.

After that expense, we almost didn’t have dinner but decided we’d go to the Irish Pub and have a Guinness Pie and mash. Into the Pub we strolled sitting down in a smaller room at the rear with no smokers. No one came to serve us so Erilyn went to the bar to order. She came back quickly.

“Get up! They don’t serve food.”

“You’re joking? What Irish Pub in the whole world doesn’t serve food? That’s what makes them Irish Pubs!” I ranted, walking out the door. “I’ve been to Irish Pubs all over the world and have always had a meal!”

Please excuse the use of hyperbole here — I was hungry!

We almost gave up on a restaurant meal completely when we spotted a restaurant called Forty-Four. Actually 44. (Dining in Dubrovnik.)

Sadly, our time in Dubrovnik was too short and we had to pack to catch the bus to Split the following day. I miss my “slow travelling” days where I spent 4–10 days in each town.

I missed so much of Dubrovnik. I didn’t have time to walk the walls. I’ll share some of my photos and maybe you can identify some of the buildings I did see.

Come see Dubrovnik. Walk the walls. Stay longer. Explore the history. Skip the Hard Rock Cafe. Dine at 44. Meet some locals at the Bikers’ Caffe/Bar. I guarantee you’ll love it!