We got in to Dubrovnik around 6PM last night, after a 6AM start, which was even shakier than usual because I’d managed to food poison myself somehow, and had been up several times at night to make a mess. There are direct flights to Dubrovnik from Copenhagen, but somehow we found that we were routed through Frankfurt, and even though we notionally had an hour and a half for the transit, we would only have been waitting at the gate for a few minutes, if the flight had been on time, so large and unruly is Frankfurt. Still, we got here, and so did our luggage, which was great. We went into the old town for dinner at a restaurant that had good reviews, and indeed it was excelent. Not much sight-seeing, just back to the apartment and bed for me.
This morning started fairly slowly, which in retrospect was probably a mistake: by the time we’d reached the old town waterfront, it was baking hot and humid, and all we could think about was finding a spot for a cool drink. That became lunch at a seafood place by the bay, which was really only OK. Good spot for watching the passing parade and the boat tours coming and going though. We decided fairly quickly after lunch that it was too hot for sightseeing, so we would go back to the apartment for a siesta and (hopefully) cool down, and venture out again in the late afternoon. Reasonable plan, as the walk from the apartment was only about ten minutes. Back up was a bit slower and hotter, of course.
The tourist guides had suggested a bar accessible through a hole in the outer wall, which we though might be a good spot to watch the sunset. Turns out that everyone had read that suggestion, and had also arrived. No chance for a table or place to sit. Hardly place to stand. Stood on the stairs for a few minutes watching some foolish young people jump off the cliffs into the water below. Apparently there is a stairway up from the water to that spot, for the purpose. Made our way back out of the bar, and round past the front of St Ignatius church (Sveti Ignacije), where there were people in frocks taking photos of themselves: must have been a wedding about to start. After wandering back to the square, I decided to google for somwhere decent to eat, and happily found that one of the places that we’d just walked past, in front of the steps of the church, had a good rating. They also had a table for us. So we had some pleasant evening drinks, not in the glare of a sunset, but in the cool shade of tall stone walls, under the evening sky, and a lovely meal accompanied by singing, dancing, flag waving and flare-igniting as the wedding party eventually came out onto the steps in front of us, after their service.
Dubrovnik has a lot of the feel of Venice about it (certainly the crouds are reminiscent), but also the hills and stairs that we’ve encountered in other French and Italian walled cities and towns. Very picturesque. Supposed to cool down with rain, on Monday. That’ll be nice.
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