Day 16. Intoxicated by slow travel

With our car tucked up in a garage awaiting a new tyre, we spend the day as residents of the old city of Dubrovnik. We awake to the sound of the church bells that ring on the hour, the half hour and other random times. They are always a delight. Our little apartment includes a tiny stove and a small fridge so we have fresh milk, cereal (Muesli Cokolada), fresh bread from the Pakara (bakery), and English Breakfast teabags from home. As we are living in the old city we are in no rush and can have a leisurely breakfast enjoying the view.

Eventually we find ourselves outside in short sleeves in pre-spring sunshine. The one-hour walk around the walls of the old city takes us almost three. We meander, take photos, consider the history and marvel at the colour and beauty of the Adriatic coastline. We laugh (inwardly) at the beautifully dressed tour group that start with us but are obviously in a big hurry. By the time we are two thirds of the way around the wall, we notice that they are already returning from a boat trip to an island after they had completed their walk around the wall. Today we are intoxicated by slow travel. We delight in the ingenious methods that residents use to dry their clothes. We muse over the grapevines, citrus trees and veggie gardens, that are beginning to come to life after their winter slumber. We watch from above as local kids dart up and down narrow streets whose pavements have seen great empires rise and fall. We sit in the sun and enjoy an ice-cream – something we did not imagine doing in March in Europe.  It’s hard to imagine a more complete view of Dubrovnik’s history and beauty, but after lunch to discover another perspective.

A cable car takes us to the top of the mountain above the city, where we explore the remains of a fort build by Napoleon. The fort was more recently used by the Croatian Nationals in their war of independence from Yugoslavia. It includes a museum explaining the devastating destruction that was inflicted on much of Dubrovnik just 24 years ago. We well remember seeing the TV footage at the time, but it is so much more meaningful when we actually see the scars in the walls. The English translation of the exhibits is rather hard to follow, as indeed, is any reading of the conflict.

A perfect day ends with a home cooked meal of frozen peas, tinned corn, ill-defined sausages, a tin of tomatoes and half a packet of Barilla butterfly pasta, at the huge cost of 15 Kuna, a little less than $3 AUD.  No bus tourist ever had it so good!