Blue Sea, Fresh Oysters, and a Glass of Wine

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Dubrovnik Diaries – Different Moods

In the last post of this series, I’m putting together some of my favourite photos of Dubrovnik.

From the walls, the church tops, spires and bells, are so much more accessible than when standing below the church steps, neck craned and eyes squinting. I count the tiles, the bells and the pigeons. And then I count clouds.

St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, takes his job very seriously. He stands above the cathedral, along the wall, at the entrance, above the water, looking out at sea. There’ll be no slacking off on his part. None at all.

She sits along the walls, on an open patch close to the Maritime museum. The thousand tourists don’t distract her from the intricate patterns she was creating. When asked if this is all her handiwork, she says yes. And her mother’s. And her aunt’s. And her sister’s. Then she goes back to work.

Shop windows are my weakness. Ok, one of them. But look how colourful they are. And shiny. And full of things you can buy. Pretty things. New things. Did I mention shiny things? I’m not allowed to spend too much time in front of them.

From a  distance this is such a sweet picture. A group of senior citizens sitting on a bench along the water, exchanging stories. In my head, these are stories of the good old days and of youthful escapades. As I get closer, I hear the swear words, and catch the aggressive gesturing. I walk by really quick. The fight continues for a while.

Here’s the truth – the real reason we travel is for the food. The first thing we do is look up the best food stops around, and then we plan the rest of the day around our meals. Can there be any other way? I think not.

The pigeons are her friends. She runs in their midst, arms raised to her sides. She feeds them pieces of bread; pieces torn by her mother standing on the sidelines.

Dubrovnik Diaries – The Water

Outside the walls there’s a whole other world. Two actually. On one side is the city, the rest of the city, where regular people lead regular lives, go to work, go to school, fuel up their tanks, and clean their floors. On the other, is the sea, the Adriatic and everything it brings with it.

This is an anomaly in Croatia. The sea usually doesn’t play second fiddle to anything. The electric blue-green water, so clean that you can see the floor down below, past the fish and other sea creatures, takes it well though.

It entertains those who’ve had their share of the city within the walls without sulking. Sometimes it’s a giggling group with a hyperactive camera, at others the solo traveller with a paperback, or an exhausted local grabbing a bite (and some peace) on a bench.

It’s never too lonely though, not with the daily ferries, charters and fishing boats. When the people turn away, it entertains cats and spiders and sea creatures like crabs before they are caught and added to the pot. When it’s left alone, as it usually is at some point, it sings and hums, sometimes softly, at others it’s a roar.

Dubrovnik Diaries – During the War

The war is over, but it isn’t forgotten. Entering the old city from the Pile Gate, visitors pass the map detailing war damage. In the Franciscan monastery, exhibits share space with bullet holes and lodged shrapnel. The Sponza Palace has a war time photo exhibit, a memorial and a reminder of the brutalities of a war fought not too long ago.

 

A photo from the exhibit

Walking past photos of burning landmarks, the very landmarks I’ve spent the morning with, is eerie. I try to fight that dark, clamping heaviness as I walk past the soldier portraits. Some are just fresh faced boys of no more than nineteen. No one should have to be nineteen forever.