Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik was hot and crowded with zillions of tourists - but also stunning.  A walk around it's walls had us envisioning hundreds of years of history over red tiled roofs newly re-roofed after the 1991-92 shelling of the city by the Yugoslav military.  Although the city's history is long and touched by lots of invaders the modern history is chilling and vivid.  The new tiles tell the tale as do the remains of several demolished buildings.  The Croatians have done a exemplary job of restoration.  It is definitely thriving again as a tourist mecca!

We did a sail-by as we went to a nearby anchorage.  The walls were austere and the city seemed impregnable.

Difficult to get a perspective here but the hill/cliff behind the city rises very steeply and looks down on the roofs of the old city making it's population an easy target for snipers from the top.  Chilling!  I found it hard to get out of my head as we toured about.

We have been to many walled towns in the past few months but none is are so forbiddingly spectacular, at their highest 25 m and at their widest 12 m thick.  The highlight of our day trip was a stroll around the entire city atop the wall in just under 2 km through five fortresses and about 20 towers.  It took around 8 centuries to build beginning in the 8th.

The old city is built with the centre of the city in a valley and the edges rising steeply to the wall.  All streets and lanes are pedestrian - no cars.  The picturesque narrow lanes rise in series of staircases.

The acres of new tiles were only part of the rebuilding of the city.  Easy to see the extent of the damage when compared to the lovely old lichen covered tiles of yore.

The view from the highest point of the wall at a corner fortress shows a new sporting touch with the garden and cloister and herb garden of the monastery just behind.

The walk around the wall was one-way only which managed the masses quite well with only a few bottlenecks at tower stairs.

Herb garden for what is touted as the oldest pharmacy in the world and still operating today in the Franciscan Monastery.  Delightful green place in a garden of red roofs.

Although the fancy ornamental work on Onofrio's Great Fountain was lost in the Earthquake of 1667, the 15th century plumbing is still working and provided us with a hand wash after a melting ice cream.  The siege lasted from October 1991 to August 1992.  For three months there was no water except that provided by the fountain.

The 300 m main drag of the old town, the Stradum, is paved in marble and lined with shops.  The street was originally a marshy channel separating the Roman settlement of Ragusa from the Slavic settlement of Dubrovnik on the other.

The Game of Thrones was largely shot in Dubrovnik and there are tours completely dedicated to show-and-tell.  This was apparently one of the towers in the show.  Not being fans, it was completely lost on us.

Some of the bombed out buildings are still and most likely will remain in ruins.

Restoration is still going on or perhaps a stairway to heaven.

A telltale sign of daily life by people actually living in the old city.  

Venetian influence in The Sponza Palace, once cistern, custom's house and state mint.

A lovely day spent exploring the old city.  But that was enough.  We were looking forward to getting to the islands.