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Published: September 17th 2020
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All the way in the South of the Croatian Adriatic coastline lies a city often described as the "Pearl of the Adriatic" and certainly internationally the most know city of Croatia, Dubrovnik. It surpasses the international popularity of the capital Zagreb, certainly within the tourist community. In the recent decade Dubrovnik became the victim of its own success. A massive over tourism developed crowding the city with masses, arriving by cruise ships or charter flights. Especially in the old city it became impossible to walk the narrow streets, and finding space in cafes or restaurant became a logistical challenge, spoiling the enjoyment of visiting and the prices.
And then came Nui and Nenad and everything was different ! Dubrovnik was deserted. Hotel prices halved, restaurants offered 20 to 30% discount on food and beverage and flexibility in service was back on the agenda. Nenad and Nui could enjoy the old city literally for themselves, counting the other visitors on the fingers of their two hands. Dubrovnik was harder hit than other Croatian sea side resorts by Covid. It's two largest groups of visitors are made up by cruise ship passengers and charter flight guest, who arrive with Easy Jet and
other companies mainly from the UK. Both segments did not happen all season, as cruisers were shut down and UK went in lock down for months.
We met in Dubrovnik with Nenad's good old friend from the childhood days, Goran Nedeljko and his wife Emina. Goran nicknamed Gogo, has a dream life, all guys like to think; he is a professional skipper during summer on the Croatian Adriatic and a skiing instructor in the winter months in Flachau, a known Austrian ski resort. In the interim he runs his pub in his and Nenad's native town Cakovec, in the North East of Croatia. As we guys admire this life style, Gogo can give you several arguments why it is not always such a dream life......
What shall we say about Dubrovnik here, without running the risk to repeat things you all already know. Its distinctive old town, encircled with massive stone walls were completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace, now a history museum. Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun (or Placa) is the center piece of the old city, from where the
labyrinth of small alleys and passages spread out on both sides rising towards the city walls hiding the one or the other little square and gorgeous building.
The history of the city probably dates back to the 7th century, when the town known as Ragusa was founded by refugees from an ancient Greek colony called Epidaurum. It was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire for centuries and later under the sovereignty of the Republic of Venice. Between the 14th and 19th centuries, Dubrovnik ruled itself as a free state. The prosperity of the city was historically based on maritime trade. As the capital of the maritime Republic of Ragusa, it achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, as it became notable for its wealth and skilled diplomacy. They acted as middlemen in trade and political settlements between the ever warring empires of the Venice Republic and the Ottoman Empire, being handsomely rewarded for its services. As a Swiss it reminded Nenad on something..... At the same time, Dubrovnik became a cradle of Croatian literature. The saddest and most destructive period of its 1300 years history, Dubrovnik experienced during the Balkan war in
the 1990's. Dubrovnik was besieged by the Yugoslav People's Army (official name for the armed forces who were under full Serbian command) for seven months and suffered significant damage from shelling, although the city had absolutely no strategic military importance in this conflict. After undergoing repair and restoration works in the 1990's and early 2000's, courtesy of many international organisations providing the funds for it, it re-emerged as one of the Mediterranean's top tourist destinations, as well as a popular filming location, especially known for the HBO television series Game of Thrones. Needless to say that it is a UNESCO Wold Heritage Sight since 1979 !
A walk around the old city on its walls is a special experience demonstrating to the observer the impressive architectural skill of the past. If you observe precisely the rooftop tiles, you will see two different reds of the roof top tiles. The lighter colored material are found on he many newly renovated buildings, showing the dramatic extent of the damage of the shelling. But Dubrovnik is not only the old town. If you are curious, just ask locals where do they go out, because it is not the old city, and then
see the Dubrovnik of today. A city of 40'000 inhabitants who like to socialize by nature, has a few cool places to hang out, outside the tourists corners. Just beware the "Gospari" as the Dubrovnik people are being called, are intensely proud and independent thinking people, no wonder with this tradition.
The annual Dubrovnik Summer Festival is a 45-day-long cultural event with live plays, concerts, and games. It has been awarded a Gold International Trophy for Quality (2007) by the Editorial Office in collaboration with the Trade Leaders Club. Guess why it did not happen this year ????
We want to close with a quote of George Bernard Shaw, who visited the city in 1929 and said: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik".
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