Delightful Dubrovnik

I learned some really important things today.  First, God has been quite good to me and Cheryl.  Being able to take this trip and get a professional massage is just one example of it.  I have always been somewhat of a skeptic about getting a massage, but then am reminded of the tale that Bob Hope had one every day of his life and he lived past 100!  We each had a lovely one-hour massage this afternoon . . . not sure I'm this limber very darned often.

Our guide, Mota

Second, we learned more about the 90s Balkan War perpetrated by Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia in a power grab for the countries of this region, including Croatia.  Our guide today, Mota, was caught up in the war as a 24-year old.  He told us as we entered the old city of Dubrovnik how a lot of it was destroyed in 1991 during the Serbian-Croatian war.  Remember, these people are essentially the same and speak largely the same language.  

His legs shook and his voice was only a step from tears as he recounted how simple neighbors picked up arms to fight off the invaders, holding off a 1,000 man Serbian army at the fortress in Dubrovnik with 30 men.  It reminded me so much of the American Civil War and brother fighting brother.  More than a few of the guests had tears in their eyes including me, the old softie. Throughout our tour of the Old City, bullet and mortar holes and damage from tanks and other weapons was evident pretty much everywhere. So senseless.  Wouldn't it be nice if it were, as John and Yoko said, "War is Over"?

An aerial view of Dubrovnik

Still, a third thing I learned today is that eastern Europe and countries like Croatia and Montenegro are
simply beautiful and wonderful stops to build a cruise around.  In an earlier post, I speculated that these stops were merely easy ones to do on the way from Greece to Venice, but they stand up so well on their own - I am impressed.  They share one thing with the earlier stops in Greece - plenty of sunshine and a ton of great food.  And, like Greece, their history stands up well on its own and goes back to the same 500+ BC periods.   Not sure why I'm surprised by how really great the past couple days have been (and very likely tomorrow in Zadar, Croatia), but I am.  I can be wrong and admit it freely.

Apparently, much of Game of Thrones was filmed in Dubrovnik.  Although I've never watched a single episode of it (nor the Kardashians for anyone who wants to know), I can see how these medieval buildings and streets would fit right in with a show like that.  We took, under Mota's guidance, about a 90-minute walking tour of the city and it was crowded on a Sunday.  "Thrones" locations were featured, as was important government buildings, and massive and ancient Orthodox and Catholic churches.  His message was interwoven with tales from the 1991 war and it was clear that the inhabitants of Dubrovnik really loved each other,  

Like my feelings about Ukraine, I couldn't wait to find a t-shirt featuring the city and country to show my support for their real patriotism, not the fake kind profligated by you-know-who in America.  With about 30 minutes to spend on our own before returning to the ship on the Viking bus, Cheryl and I enjoyed a drink (she had an ice-cold tonic water and I had an Irish Coffee).  Yes, it was about 90 degrees in the sun but it seemed like a perfect capstone for a wonderful morning.

Enough of my ramblings for today.  It was a beautiful day in a magnificent city with the lovely Mrs. Mace, and I'm counting on tomorrow's visit to Zadar, Croatia to be the same.