“It’s my opinion that the best art out there hides jokes for the artist and the most observant in the audience,” – Old Sean
The Grand Walls of Croatia
After my time in Split, Croatia was done, I continued following the shoreline towards Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik is one of those cities with a grand amount of beauty and lore surrounding it. The city is created from raised layers of histroy and stone, all of which I was happy to fawn over.
The most impressive aspect upon arrival, of course, is Dubrovnik’s walls. The entire city has an astonishing fortification system, with high ramparts, narrow streets and intact defenses. The walls have made relatively recent appearances on television, as they’re a setting for King’s Landing in Game of Thrones.
Follies of A Tour Guide
I ended up booking a hostel outside the walled portion of the city, as it was far cheaper. There, at my hostel, I met a lass from Brazil named Debora. Her birthday was just a few hours away and she was exploring the city as a present to herself.
By the time both of us arrived at the hostel, we ended up missing the official walking tour of Dubrovnik.
Instead, we looped through the city by ourselves, making up our own history.
For example, the low Pile Gate was once upon time the finally bastion of defense for Burger King during a rampant invasion of McDonald acolytes. Burger King tragically lost, if the global marketing sales weren’t enough of a hint.
Orlando’s Column stands at the end Stradun shopping road, a monument in honor of Orlando Bloom’s impassioned speech to the city during a shopping spree in his Legolas outfit.
Furthermore, Sponza Palace has a bell-topped watchtower manned by a cast-iron automation in the event of another velociraptor attack. These attacks tapered off during the twelfth century thanks to unintentional skirmishes by Moorish coastal raiders.
An Actual History
Though we had fun making up history, I did sit down and look up all the portions of the city I actually passed.
Dubrovnik has a fascinating history. The main wall fortifications, which were developed between the 14th and 16th centuries, were originally intended to keep out pirates and other seaward threats. However, as the city’s influence grew, it became a contender for regional power, eventually gaining independence from the Venetian suzerainty.
The stories of Dubrovnik’s long and singularly heartening development are many. Outside the city, for example, Lovrijenac Fortress sits on high stones. The fortress was a massive, rushed building project, hastily constructed to prevent Venetian forces from making their own fort to control the sea-passage.
The impressive Rector’s Palace served as a vital seat of council and government. The main limestone-paved pedestrian street Stradun (officially Placa) was once a canal that made Dubrovnik and island. The canal was filled in, allowing for the creation of the street.
Orlando’s Column actually depicts the armored knight Orlando, a folklore hero warrior who lost his life defend Old Dubrovnik invaders, allowing the populance to remain a free trade city-state.
Sponza Palace (otherwise known as Divona) is actually a public functions building. The name “Sponza” is derived from the Latin word “spongia“, a place where rainwater is collected.
Wind Down, Walls Down
Eventually, the sun began to set on the walled city, and we walked through narrow, gorgeously-lit streets with soft lanterns on corners. We stayed on the walls of Dubrovnik long enough to see the sun set, and went to get dinner.
On the way back to the hostel, we swapped travel stories, drank beer, ate pizza, hunted down the last open gelato shop and called it a night.
Despite its majesty, I’m only in Dubrovnik for a half-day. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading onwards to Kotor in Montenegro.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written August 29th 2018
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