Dubrovnik: Inside the Walls
After an easy check-in at our Airbnb, we headed out for a bite to eat. When you walk through the gates into the Old Town, there is a pedestrian walkway. On the left, there are narrow alleyways that run up steep hills. Our apartment is up one of these alleys but only one level up so not too bad. A few alleys down from us, we found the perfect restaurant! Castello Mediterranean Restaurant prides itself on a selection of gluten-free pizzas, pastas and risotto. .
What a great setting… it was fun to duck off the main pedestrian area into a little cafe. Sitting outside, perfect weather… an afternoon cocktail… life is good. My pizza was absolutely delicious! They were very accommodating with my tomato allergy. The base was cheese… it really made my day!
Stradun or Placa (which means long road or wide road) is the long limestone paved pedestrian street that runs through the Old Town. Lined with shops and restaurants, this is a well-traveled area. After lunch we walked to the end of this pedestrian road and turned up to our Airbnb to take a nap. Not wanting to waste time, we went out to explore in the evening.
Exiting our door and turning right, we immediately come upon a church. Church of St Nicholas dates back to the 12th century. Off the beaten path, it was not as well visited as the other churches inside the walls of Dubrovnik. We passed by this church as we left and returned to our accommodations. Turning left, we turned the corner to one of the many alleyways.
Lit up beautifully, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built between 1671 and 1713. Initially, it was a substitute for a Romanesque Basilica that had been destroyed in the earthquake of 1667. As recent as 1979, the structure again needed repairs from an earthquake.
As mentioned when Roxanne and I visited Dubrovnik May 3, the Jesuit Stairs are famous due to Game of Thrones. The “Walk of Shame” was filmed in this location for Season Five. It was a very busy day with several cruise ships in port when I visited with Roxanne. Now on a land vacation, we are able to see them lit up at night after the ships have left.
Unveiled on May 20, 1893, the Gundulic monument is symbolic of Dubrovnik’s political history. Both the Croats and the Serbs wanted to give their own “flavor” to the statue. Raised on the 300th anniversary of Gundulic’s birth. He was a prominent Croatian poet.
Marin Drzic was considered one of the finest Renaissance playwrights in Croatian history. From a large family of six sisters and five brothers, Marin was also a priest. Each year, the Marin Drzic Award has been handed out for dramatic work. On the right hand photo, notice the bright, shiny nose on the sculpture. To rub his nose is considered lucky… and so is sitting in his lap. It is common and popular but looked down upon by locals.
So I kind of cheated here… we decided not to buy tickets to this location. With many other sights to see, we really didn’t need to pay to enter anything. Not saying we didn’t buy tickets to anything. We were simply selective. No pictures were allowed of the Sponza Palace. The name is derived from the Latin word “spongia”, the spot where rainwater was collected. Built between 1516 and 1522, this was one of the few structures that survived the 1667 earthquake unscathed. Originally, the atrium was used as a trading center and meeting place. Currently, this building houses all the old documents… some dating back as far was the 1200’s.
In preparation for the spring travel season, I took note of one suggestion on Dubrovnik. While the main pedestrian areas are usually busy… and even one alleyway up from the main path is busy, it is usually fun to explore off the beaten path. That’s just what we did. Venturing up the steps, we explored through residential areas. An occasional cafe appeared. Definitely more local than the touristy options in the heart of Old Town. Seeing laundry, small gardens and outdoor gathering spaces gave us a little insight into what life must be like.
Reaching the top of the steps, we had the option to turn left or right. We chose left. Walking along, we noticed a hole in the rock wall. I guess we should not have been surprised to see the Adriatic Sea, but we were! Such a deep color of blue.
By now we were getting hungry. Seeing a cute balcony restaurant, we headed up to see the menu. It looked pretty good! So we grabbed a table with a nice view of the church. My meal (which I will spare you the photos) was a sea bass on sweet potatoes. Delicious! Barry had a pork dish that he loved. Our waiter was a wealth of information… he helped us plan out our visit to the walls. Walking the walls was at the top of our list of “to do” items!
Advising us that there are three gates to enter the Dubrovnik walls was a good help. Pile Gate is the one I knew of… the most well traveled. Our waiter said there were two more: the Ploce Gate and the one near the Maritime Museum by Fort St John. We chose the Ploce Gate after he pointed us in the right direction. See the boards placed to create ramps?
Passing by a very nondescript doorway in the wall, my curiosity got the best of me. Usually, I wouldn’t peek around the corner, but I wanted to see what it led to. Surprisingly, it was a bar build into the cliff. We stood at the top looking down at the bar for a few minutes. Taking in the views, we finally decided that we couldn’t miss out on such a unique spot! Buza Bar is perfectly named. Buza means hole and that is exactly what we passed through to discover this little hideaway! Because it was Sunday, the menu was limited. We enjoyed a cocktail, looking out over the water… people watching… this unexpected find was the highlight of our day!
Leaving Buza Bar, we headed down the path a bit more and found yet another arched doorway in the wall. Not as nice but equally stunning views, there was a second Buza Bar. Since we had already enjoyed an afternoon drink, we decided not to check out this location. Maybe another time… Next post will have the highlight of our trip!
