I must confess, although I'm Croat, I've never been to our most famous city.
This summer I decided to change that.
Our country, Croatia, has specific shape among countries. It looks like a letter V. It is a result of Ottoman conquering of Balkan peninsula during the medieval era. If there weren't for us Croats, Europe wouldn't be the same. We were the last resistance point before Ottomans can attack Vienna. And they never got past us!
Because of our history, although we are a small country, you have to travel a significant distance from continental to mediterranean region. (Bosnia which fills our V gap, has critical roads and it would take you even longer if you shortened trip through Bosnia)
Croatia map
I live in Croatian capital, Zagreb which is located in upper middle of the country.
As you can see, Dubrovnik is on the sheer south. Visiting Dubrovnik was on my bucket list and not even a 10 hour bus drive couldn't change my mind.
I felt embarrassed that every foreigner with whom I talked about my homeland, mentioned Dubrovnik and the only thing I could do was to nod and to say it is beautiful indeed.
It was time to change that.
I resided in Rijeka Dubrovačka which is a bay north of Dubrovnik (Rijeka means river).
Bay is denoted as significant landscape of Croatia, beautiful in its own way.
Dubrovnik is behind the hill on the left.
Bay also contains one of the world's shortest rivers, Ombla.
Its course is approximately 30 metres long before reaching a weir across which the Ombla discharges into the Adriatic Sea, leading to claims that the Ombla is the shortest river in the world. [Source]
Picture of me trying to catch the fish with traditional spear used for river hunting. Hilarity ensues.
Here you can see the end of the spear I was catching with and my sister checking out the environment.
My sister and I stayed in this little mediterranean house.
We also had a spring of fresh water 30 meters from our accommodation. Trust me, it's the best form of refreshment in hot summer days.
Here we are eating salad mix for dinner. It was important to eat light refreshing food as the temperatures will punish you for eating junk and feeling heavy.
Drniš prosciutto and Pag cheese. These aren't Dubrovnik's specialties but I had to include the picture because they tasted freaking amazing.
One of the sights you are not allowed to miss are the walls of Dubrovnik that run almost 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) around the city. The walls run from 4 to 6 metres (13–20 feet) thick on the landward side but are much thinner on the seaward side. The system of turrets and towers were intended to protect the vulnerable city.
We were lucky enough to see them from the sea side.
Domestic fishermen who drove us around Dubrovnik and island of Lopud, said that on occasions, waves are so big that they splash people inside the walls.
It was early in the morning and sun is shining directly into camera. I'm sorry I don't have a better picture.
We were 50 meters from the walls and most of the time I was in awe and forgot to take pictures.
We also asked the fisherman to stop the boat and took a dip here.
No waves. We call it bonaca.
The Old city of Dubrovnik is simply mesmerizing.
Orange roof tiles and clear blue sea shining on the July sun.
If you look to the Italy, this is what you see.
Outside of the walls. Couldn't resist the colors.
Old City is full of churches and monuments. This is the tower of woman's monastery of St. Claire.
One of the many gate portals. You could see some of them in the Game of Thrones.
When we already mentioned GoT, here is my sister on the Iron Throne.
Here is one greyscale picture. No colors but you can steel feel the warmth.
The street lamps tell us their story. It is also very romantic city. Plenty of couples walking down the Stradun.
The bay without the cruisers, only small fishing boats.
In the medieval era we would witness more of this.
And less of this.
Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress, often called "Dubrovnik's Gibraltar", is a fortress and theater outside the western wall of the city. Famous for its plays and importance in resisting Venetian rule, it overshadows the two entrances to the city, from the sea and by land.
A selfie with Dubrovnik.
Behind the scenes.
As I was there for 10 days, I couldn't miss that many training sessions and had to check out their workout places. I had to workout at night because of temperatures. Equipment rocks.
Different angle of the Dubrovnik's marine.
Maybe the most magnificent view I've seen was when we went on a trip to mountain Srđ.
We went there two times because we couldn't get enough of it.
Second time we wanted to catch the sunset.
I have only one regret and that is not having a better camera. The sights were astonishing.
I hope you felt a fraction of Mediterranean culture and climate in the air.
Now I can finally say that Dubrovnik is beautiful indeed!
I'll leave you with a picture of Dubrovnik at night. Have a nice travel!