Walking the ancient walls of Dubrovnik
Trip Start
Jan 11, 2007
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75
95
Trip End
Jan 15, 2010
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Friday, June 12, 2009
The piazzas, narrow streets, and the city walls themselves were completely packed with people. It did make for good people-watching, and there were plenty of small shady cafes where you could enjoy a cold drink.
Climbing the entire circuit of the walls took us 1 1/2 hours, including lots of time for taking photos & just looking out over the city and the bay. The 82 foot high, 20 foot thick walls were built during medieval times, and they encircle the old city at the edge of the sea.
I watched a nun watering her flowers inside a quiet garden, and local women hanging their laundry to dry in the summer sun.
After walking the walls, we strolled through the old town, stopping at the Onofrio Fountain, constructed in 1438 as a bathing point for travelers before they entered the city. The goal was to prevent the spread of the plague.
A large map indicated the damage to city buildings and homes during the 1991-93 Serbian attacks, but that sign was the only evidence of the destruction.
As we sailed north towards Venice, I inadvertently saw a naked 75 year old German guy, driving his German-flagged speedboat and casually chatting with his 3 guests, who were clothed. I guess it's nice that the Germans don't have hang-ups about nudity, because we've seen old German guys completely naked in the park in central Berlin. But, I didn't need to see that...
