Dubrovnik, Croatia was the perfect vacation destination for us. We love history, we love natural beauty and we prefer mild weather. We also don't want to rub elbows with too many other American tourists. Regina even found a small public beach on the Adriatic and swam there every day.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, like all of Croatia, has had a difficult history. It is believed to have been settled by Greek sailors before the birth of Christ, and later became part of the Byzantine Empire. After the Crusades it came under the sovereignty of Venice, the most powerful state in the region at the time.

Dubrovnik encountered hard economic times after being nearly leveled in the 1667 earthquake, and it was forced to sell a portion of its land to the Ottomans, land which would later become part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Then, in 1806, in order to gain protection from the Ottoman Turks, the city was surrendered to the French who promptly looted the treasury. And in 1815 after Napoleon's fall, the Kingdom was given to the Hapsburgs as a spoil of war.

After the First World War Croatia became a part of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and then Communist Yugoslavia after World War Two. It finally became independent again when Yugoslavia was broken up. Most recently Dubrovnik was badly damaged by shelling by the Serbians and Montenegrins in a 10-month siege in 1989 -1990 . It is now a UNESCO National Heritage site and deservedly enjoying a time of peace.

Click on any image for a better view.

The Dubrovnik City flag bears its ceremonial coat of arms.

Here we are at the top of the city walls - a long climb.

View of the fort from the city walls. It is impossible to take an ugly picture in Dubrovnik.

The old Arms house, bearing the Croatian coat of arms on its roof.

Buses disgorge yet another horde of day-trippers from the cruise ships in the morning. Note the guides holding up numbered signs. We like our way of doing things.

A side street in the old city. Plenty of shopping, although we were disillusioned to see that all of the merchandise in one shop - pretty, nautical-themed dishes and home decorations had been made in China. No thanks.

We pride ourselves on having a non-commercial Web site, but we HAVE to mention the Hilton Dubrovnik. At left is the view from our room. They upgraded us to the Executive Level, where treats from the chef, beer and wine were available in the Executive Lounge all day and there was an open bar in the evening. The middle picture shows Regina on the lounge balcony the day we arrived. The only thing that motivated her to leave was seeing the kayakers in the Adriatic below and knowing that was on the next day's schedule! At right is the view from the bathroom -- yes, even the bathroom had a view. Here is a link to her review of the hotel on TripAdvisor.com. Did we mention we redeemed Hilton points for it? We paid only for one restaurant meal and Internet access.

A remarkable carving of the Pieta from 1291; the rest of the church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1667.

The cloisters of a monastery in the old city; there's a five hundred year old pharmacy still operating within its wall.

A fresco in the monastery suffered badly, probably as a result of the 1667 earthquake.

Inside the cathedral - a madhouse of tour groups. The main attraction was a large room with reliquaries, including a gold and silver casque containing (we were told) the head of St. Blaise who is particularly venerated here but nobody seems to know quite why.

This is ice cream! They really know how to make it here.

The traditional "us drinking the local beer" picture.

Changing of the guard at the city gate.

This filigree design is traditional in Dubrovnik (at least that's what they tell the tourists). There were whole necklaces and bracelets full of them. Regina went for the minimalist version.

Detail of a column in the Rector's Palace. Each finely carved capital in the cloister had a unique design.

View of the fort from the Hilton Executive Lounge balcony.