Croatia – Dubrovnik, Split, Ston, Cavtat, Trogir, Mostar Boznia

Croatia – 1991-1995

Croatia declared independence on the same day as Slovenia (25 June 1991). But while Slovenia’s withdrawal from the Yugoslav Federation was comparatively bloodless, Croatia’s was not to be. The sizeable ethnic Serb minority in Croatia openly rejected the authority of the newly proclaimed Croatian state citing the right to remain within Yugoslavia. With the help of the JNA and Serbia, Croatian Serbs rebelled, declaring nearly a third of Croatia’s territory under their control to be an independent Serb state. Croats and other non-Serbs were expelled from its territory in a violent campaign of ethnic cleansing. Heavy fighting in the second half of 1991 witnessed the shelling of the ancient city of Dubrovnik, and the siege and destruction of Vukovar by Serb forces.

Despite the UN-monitored ceasefire which came into force in early 1992, Croatian authorities were determined to assert authority over their territory, and used its resources to develop and equip its armed forces. In the summer of 1995, the Croatian military undertook two major offensives to regain all but a pocket of its territory known as Eastern Slavonia. In a major exodus, tens of thousands of Serbs fled the Croatian advance to Serb-held areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina and further to Serbia. The war in Croatia effectively ended in the fall of 1995. Croatia eventually re-asserted its authority over the entire territory, with Eastern Slavonia reverting to its rule in January 1998 following a peaceful transition under UN-administration. (Source: www.britannica.com)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

In 1420, when Dalmatia was sold to Venice, Dubrovnik remained a free city in all but name. For centuries the people of Dubrovnik were able to preserve their city-republic by skillful maneuvering between East and West. A strategic treaty with Turkey protracted Dubrovnik’s liberty and maintained the opportunity for a major trading role between the Ottoman Empire and Europe. In the 16th century Dubrovnik traded with India and the Americas (the republic was among the first to recognize the independence of the United States in the late 18th century), and the city contributed ships to Spain in 1588 for the Armada’s abortive invasion of England. (Source: www.britannica.com)

We arrive into Dubrovnik Old town, around 10:30pm, we meet our porter (who will help us with our bags) just outside the stone gate to Old Town. I can’t believe how beautiful everything looks, even at that hour. The old buildings are light up so beautifully that you can still see the glamour of the architecture. The stone floor shines as the lights and moonlight hits them. We see our friends at a nearby patio having drinks, we meet them real quick and head to our Airbnb to drop our bags, and come back out. It is Thursday night, and the town is mainly quiet, except for a few tourists who are on patios having a night cap (or several).

Our Airbnb, is right by the old city walls, we can see the moon most nights from our small outdoor terrace. We enjoyed the terrace most nights! Nice place to unwind and have a glass of wine. Small place, but very functional, sitting area, bedroom with space to hang clothes etc, small kitchen table and a nice sized bathroom.

Showing Night time views of Dubrovnik…

Next morning we head out to explore, first stop is Kings landing (GOT Fans, alert), just around the corner from our Airbnb is the water, and docks where Kings Landing is based off of.

After a nice morning walk, headed to breakfast. Views are incredible from this restaurant – views of Kings Landing (port).

Next ….continue walking to explore the old city.

We did see quite a few weddings while in Dubrovnik. Our other friends join us, so now we are a group of 6.

We head out walking to find the best places to get a drink with views. We find a nice little cove with a bar, quiet enough, not too busy.

Next stop, a bar basically built into the outside of the city walls…. Views are amazing. Place is packed, I can’t imagine what it would be like during peak season.

Dinner reservations at a Mediterranean place, we arrive there and the host says they are running a few minutes late and offered us a free round of drinks while we wait. We get seated within 10 minutes! Great Service!

A few pictures of the Jesuit Stairs (GOT Fans – Shame Shame)

Next day, time to climb the wall, the views are just breathtaking. GOT – the red roofs of the buildings shown in GOT and House of Dragons.

We have booked an afternoon wine tour, taking a tour into the Croatian countryside. Wines are nice, family owned! We enjoyed the whites quite a bit.

At the first winery, we change vehicles, old fashioned trolley train! We stop at a stone mill and clothing press/mill (Can’t remember)

Our last stop is a sunset wine tasting!

Here are some views taken from the drive back and forth.

Next day, we have a free day, we decide to take a ferry to Cavtat, small town located in a quiet cove. We have lunch and drinks there. Small Sleepy town.

After lunch and drinks there, we take a taxi to the top of Dubrovnik… talk about views, pictures do not do it justice.

Early morning tour to Bosnia/herzegovina- visit Mostar village and Kravika Falls. Bring your passports, this is a different country not part of the EU!

The village of Mostar was Ottman influenced. It reminded me of a tini tiny Istanbul (grand Bazaar). Beautiful bridge, where supposedly people of jump off it for money. We didn’t see anyone while we were there. Bosnia is deep with recent war history, just like Croatia. Everyone seems to be very passionate about their heritage, history and culture.

We shop a little, have some lunch and head to the waterfalls!

Small waterfall!! Not much going on there.

Next day we check out and head to Split, where we will spend 5 days. Our driver, Mickey is funny, he gives us information and history along the ride. He stops at a fruit stand for us to grab some fresh fruit.

We make a quick stop at a town called Ston. There is a massive wall (2^nd largest supposedly, next to Great wall of China). No one in our group wants to climb it. The area is also known for its Salt!

Split, Croatia

Although Split is renowned for its grandiose structures of Roman origin, it was in fact the Greeks that originally settled here. The city was no more than a humble settlement named Spálathos, strategically placed a short distance from Salona (modern day Solin), until Rome conquered the area following the Illyrian Wars during the 3rd century BC. After this the story of Split fell into a fog of obscurity for a number of centuries.

Tales of the city began to emerge again in historic scriptures around the end of the 3rd century AD, some 600 years later. It was then that the Roman Emperor Diocletian was seeking out the right spot to build a retirement palace near Salona. He settled on Spálathos and began to build the city’s most significant structure to date. Source (https://adventurescroatia.com/discover-the-history-of-split/)

Palace of Diocletian, ancient Roman palace built between 295 and 305 ce at Split (Spalato), Croatia, by the emperor Diocletian as his place of retirement (he renounced the imperial crown in 305 and then lived at Split until his death in 316). The palace constitutes the main part of a UNESCO World Heritage site that was designated in 1979. It is the largest and best-preserved example of Roman palatial architecture, representing a transitional style half Greek and half Byzantine. (Source: Palace of Diocletian | Roman Architecture, Split, Croatia | Britannica)

We arrive into Split around 5pm, we find our hotel (with some help from a local), 2 room hotel off a small alley in Split Old Town, right by the main square!

Split has a more local vibe to it, it’s not just tourists. You see local people enjoying food and drinks on the patios of the local restaurants and bars. Definitely a livelier place.

Lots of bars and restaurants to choose from, and of course, Split is also on the water. We have great weather again, so we head for the farthest patio to enjoy the views of Split from afar!.

Next stop a roof top bar to watch the sunset!

Next Morning:

Boat ride… full day 5 island and Blue cave tour today. We get to the meeting spot and discover that our boat is a TUBE (previously used by the Spanish Navy)… OMG it’s a 12 seater and it will be jumping all over the sea. The first 45 minutes or so, it was very windy, cold and choppy. We were literally bouncing on the water. BTW – life vests were at the front is some tiny bin…. We actually didn’t wear them. Our guide tells us that let him know if we get scared…I’m like seriously, what exactly will he do if someone is scared in the middle of the open sea??

Anyway, once we got used it, it wasn’t so bad. Ultimately, it was the best tour we did throughout the whole trip.

He gave us lots of time at the islands, so we didn’t feel rushed.

The Island of Vis was where Mama Mia 2 was filmed, so that was cool.

Some islands were very sparsely populated, and they were self-sufficient. Grew their own, fished, and made their own wines! We saw quite a few vineyards on these islands.

Of course, everything we saw was just stunning…. Enjoy the pictures…definitely worth a look.

Turned out, our hotel room was inside the Palace!

Free day in Split

Next morning – 5 hour tour of the Palace and Trogir. Wow the history of the palace was amazing, they recognize 3 major events for Split – When the Greeks first settled the area, when Roman Emperor Diocletian built his retirement home (Palace) – (BTW most Roman emperors were be-headed by rivals) – Diocletian was thinking ahead. It took 10 years to build the Palace, and he had it in his mind when he will retire to coincide with the Palace completion! The last event was when the Croatians moved into the Palace and just started building their own structures around the abandoned Palace. Very cool!. (Pictures above)

Some Pictures of Trogir… this was the one day we got rain most of the day!