Heading for Dubrovnik, Croatia

         It was time to start our voyage but, we needed to take care of some maritime necessities before we started on our way.  We were called to our muster stations to hear the important information about surviving a ship emergency.  This was serious stuff because of all the ship problems Carnival was having lately with other ships. Our group met at the Liquid Lounge because we were the largest group.  We were told to leave our life vest in our room, but to remember to grab them if we heard the emergency signal. The ship announcer assured us that there would be enough life boats for everyone.  They started announcing each group and gave three numbers for the three life boats they would be using.  When our number was called at last, the speaker said we got one life boat!  We all cracked up in laughter because one hundred people could not fit in one boat!  Then we were all excused.  We all left scratching our heads and hoped our voyage would not have a disaster!

We left four other ships still in dock!

     We headed to our rooms and got ready to pull away from the dock and watch Venice pass by.

Out in the Lagoon

River Boat!

Mt. Mark's Square!

Biennial Festival among the trees

     That evening we ate in the main dining room.  We had open dining which meant that we could have dinner at whatever time we wanted. Sometimes we would have to wait for a table, but this way we were not rushed and ate at different tables in the dining room.  We met many interesting people throughout our cruise and made many friends.
     That evening we went up to our room and there... waiting for us on our bed was a little doggie made with room towels prepared for us by our steward.  We delighted in finding a menagerie of these towel animals every night.  It was such a treat!

John and his friend getting ready for FUN TIMES!

       The next day we cruised into Dubrovnik, Croatia located on the East side of the Adriatic Sea. In the 15th and 16th century this city state was known as a Maritime Republic together with Venice, Amalfi, Pisa and Genoa.   Ragusa, its name in the middle ages was known as the Pearl of the Adriatic.  Ragusa achieved a high level of development due to its diplomacy and wealth.  Like many great city states, it built a wall around the city to protect it from pirates and other invaders.  During the middle ages, it came under the protection of the Byzantine Empire.  After the Crusades it became part of Venice.  With the decline of Venice it established its independence until it was taken over by Napoleon forces. So much for the security of the wall!  Upon the downfall of France, it was taken over by the Austrian Hapsburg Empire. Later, it became part of Yugoslavia at which time the city was renamed Dubrovnik.  When Yugoslavia broke apart, it was besieged by Serb-Montenegrin forces.  The wall could not prevent the shelling that damaged most of the city in 1991.  After the war the damaged caused by the war was repaired.   Now Dubovnik has become a tourist destination.  It boast a large dock for cruise ships and an airport.  The Old Town and the Wall are the destinations for many visitors.
     We took a shuttle bus from the ship to the Old Town.  We planned to do our own tour of the city by first walking around the wall and then coming down to check out the city.  As we entered the city we looked down at the clear water of the Adriatic.

    We were thinking about taking a kayak trip because it was pretty hot. We thought perhaps we would be given a chance to jump into that beautiful water. But as it happened when we spoke to the kayakers later, they said that they had to wear the life vest and they did not get to go in for a swim.
 

Kayakers following the leader.

    Looking up we could see the wall that surrounded the city.  It was a sound fortifications with a draw bridge that would be hard to penetrate in the Medieval days.

John got in line and bought tickets to walk around the wall. The wall is 81 feet high and 1.5 miles around. We walked up some little narrow steps and have our tickets to a little old man who took his job very seriously.   We stepped onto a large walking area, and we joined the crowd to begin our trek.

Pile Gate with draw bridge.  Entrance to the walled city.

We could tell that the people of Dubrovnik did a fantastic job of preparing their town for tourists since the war in 1990.  Bombs were launched right over the wall and destroyed many of the buildings.  All the ones with new shiny tiles were replaced.  The ones with old tiles were not hit with bombs.  Amazingly several of those buildings were churches!
       John pointed out that those old tiles have been on those roofs for thousands of years, yet our home owners association has us repair our tiles in our development every ten years!!!

Shiny tiles on buildings hit with bombs.

This church was spared from the bomb attacks!

Some areas were not reconstructed because the inhabitants wanted to show us how badly the town has hit as a result of the war.

Ruins left as a reminder of the war.

We continued along the wall and noticed life going on as usual with laundry being hung and gardens being sown.

Laundry hung making good use of the sun.

Many homes had small gardens plots.

Basketball court behind a school.

The flag of free Croatia flies in the old wall.

We continued our walk noticing "look out" fortresses in strategic places on the wall.

Looking through one of the lookout towers!

Their mom said they didn't do their chores!

Cannons ready for action!

We continued our walk and it was getting pretty hot.  We looked over and saw a group of people jumping into the sea and swimming down below.  We asked some vendors who were selling drinks if it was possible to go down to the rocks to take a dip? 

Jumping off the rocks and swimming in the sea!

He gave us directions and soon found our way to a place where we could easily jump in.  Lucky of us we were wearing our bathing suits!

John getting ready to jump!

John having a lovely swim in the Adriatic!

I think I will dive in!

You can give me a 5 on my dive with such a big splash!

That was great and the water was soooo cool!

I got out and sat next to a lady that was doing crocheting.  She said her name was Radmilla.  She lived near by and on beautiful days like this she would come out and swim and sunbathe and do some crocheting.  She said that once she used to have a shop and sell her crochet doilies to tourists.  She also had other things in her shop.  She couldn't attend the shop all the time, and when she had young girls tend it, they would sit and talk to their friends and she would lose money.  So the Radmilla decided to close her shop and start a "Bed and Breakfast" at her home. She fixed up her home and set up with local advertisers.   She likes doing this as she loves to cook and meet new people.  The enterprise has become profitable.  Her husband was not too fond of it at first, but goes along with it as it makes money.
     We got dressed and followed the alley into the city to do some exploring.  I was curious about a Jewish synagogue that was advertised. It is Europe's second-oldest Sephardic synagogue.  We asked several people and followed the directions but still had trouble finding it.  Finally, we were lead to a little shop and we were told to walk in and to go the end.  We found a little stair case with a little sign indicating the synagogue.  I was expecting a big building with a dome and big meeting room like a church.  But soon I was reminded by the artifacts in the museum that Jewish people had to worship in back rooms.  Many Jews in Dubrovnik came from the Iberian Peninsula when the Spanish king expelled them in 1492.  They made their way to Venice and its trading states.  There they were usually isolated from other people and were made to wear bands or hats identifying them as Jewish. In many cases they proved themselves by their skills in music and were known and the music makers of Europe.  What would the Renaissance do without Mario Castelnuovo-Tadesco, Jacques Offenback, Felix Mendelssohn and Gustav Mahler?

Jewish musicians

Tabernacle

Ten Commandments

We left this lovely synagogue and went to find something to eat.  We came upon a square with a fountain next to a restaurant that had tables set for lunch under umbrellas.

The fountain with fresh water!

We sat down and ordered some beers.  While we waited I told John that I was going to visit the church in the square.  John stayed and watched the pigeons.

John watches the pigeons as I visit the church.

Lots of interesting people to watch!

So walked into the St Blaise church.  Saint Blaise was born in Armenia in the third century.  He was a physician and became a  Christian performing many miracles. He was arrested for being a Christian and beaten and beheaded by Agricola the governor of Lesser Armenia.  He is now the patron saint of Dubrovnik.

St. Blaise Church

St. Blaise

When I came back from the church, John was enjoying his beer.  I joined him and watched some interesting people all around us.  We finish our beer and walked through the main shops and did some window shopping.  We met a student from Germany and got our picture taken with her.
After catching the shuttle back to the ship, relaxed in our room until it was time to set sail.  Dubrovnik was a lovely stop, and we were glad that we had a chance to see this lovely city.

John watches Dubrovnik as we sail south on the Adriatic Sea