Dubrovnik

My last destination in Croatia was the quintessential Croatian destination, the Pearl of the Adriatic - Dubrovnik.  It is the old town located on the rocky shore surrounded by formidable walls that attracts all the tourists, and there are LOTS of them.  Every day cruise ships land here offloading their passengers for a day of perusing the town.  I spent 3 days here so was able to sometimes avoid the major crowds by hitting some of the places in the early morning or evening.

The walls are something like 1.5 miles around and walking around the old town gives some great views.  It sits right on a cliff by the sea with a port in it.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site and houses some great architecture within the walls including one of the world's oldest pharmacies, cathedrals, and a rectory.One of my favorite features was the fountains in old stone statues and fixtures that constantly spewed fresh, cold, clear, drinking water.  The streets are a labyrinth of stairs, shops, and restaurants, with one main drag down the middle.  You would never have known that the Serbs attacked the Old Town and its walls directly with mortar shells and whatnot in the early 90s.  It has been repaired and the only give away is the slightly less worn, brighter stones, that are replaced replicas.

I was lucky enough to catch the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra playing in the open-air Rector's Palace.  It was a beautiful and intimate concert made all the more magestic by its venue.

The symphony set up in the Rector's Palace

Besides swimming in the Adriatic of the concrete pier (very refreshing in the heat!), I also took one morning to hike to the top of "Mount" Srd (more of a hill).  It offered some beautiful views of the city and at the top was Fort Imperial, built by Napolean's cronies in the 1800s.  It was put into use again in the 90s and as the Serbs held Dubrovnik in a seige, this remained one of the only Croat strongholds that they never lost, and were able to mount a defense from.  

Panorama of Dubrovnik from the hike up Mount Srd with Old Town and walls to the left