Another professional conference, this time in Montenegro, was the chance to make the most of being in Europe and fly from Portugal to Dubrovnik, the nearest airport to the conference location. This conference and the trip to Dubrovnik had actually all been planned (and paid for!) in 2020 when the pandemic hit. Everything eventually got refunded, but I was glad to finally make the trip, albeit two years later than planned. I'd been to northern Croatia (Zagreb and Rab) in 1991 when it was still part of Yugoslavia, but I'd never been to the southern part of the country.
Dubrovnik really is an extraordinary city to visit, and was definitely the highlight of a five-week five-country trip that also encompassed Portugal and Montenegro. We made the choice - a no-brainer in my opinion - to stay in the walled city itself so we could soak up as much of the atmosphere as possible.
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| our view at breakfast every morning |
On arrival we wandered around the compact city to get our bearings, before heading to one of the two bars clinging to the outer walls for a sunset drink.
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| typical alleyway, our accommodation was down a similar alley |
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| cliff-side bar, Dubrovnik |
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| looking along the city's main street, Placa |
The next morning we walked along the city's defining feature, its city walls. We took plenty of time, stopping to admire the view and take plenty of photos, so it took us about two hours to walk the 2 kilometres. You have to walk them in an anti-clockwise direction.
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| view of Dubrovnik from the city walls |
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| view of Dubrovnik port from the city walls |
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| view looking west from the city walls |
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| view south from the city walls |
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| view looking north-west from the city walls |
After what we felt was a well-earned lunch, we visited the Rector's Palace cultural history museum. This Gothic-Renaissance palace was built in the late 15th century for the elected Rector who governed Dubrovnik. For the one month that he governed, the Rector was unable to leave the building without the Senate's permission. The museum also houses a moving exhibition about Dubrovnik under siege in 1991-1992 (when you walk around the city, several walls have a map pinpointing damage from bombardments during the siege).
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| Former bell jacks (nicknamed Maro and Baro) made of bronze, and cast around 1478. They struck the time for about 4 centuries |
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| 18th-century portrait, Rector's Palace |
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| Column capital showing Asclepius (Greek god of medicine) with Dubrovnik Cathedral dome in the background |
To end the day, we then took the cable car up to Srđ to get a fantastic view of the city from a steep elevation of about 400 metres.
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| looking down onto Dubrovnik old city from Srđ |
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| looking north from Srđ |
On our final full day, we chose to take a boat trip to visit three of the 14 Elafiti islands that lie just off the north-west coast of Dubrovnik. The three we visited are the only islands that are permanently inhabited.
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| Kolocep is the nearest island to Dubrovnik and has a population of 163 |
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| with an area of 16 sq. km, Sipan is the largest Elafiti island |
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| Lopud is car-free |
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| Sign at our guest house. We didn't have time to visit Lokrum, go the beach or go sea kayaking but we did most of the rest! |
After three days in Dubrovnik, we headed south along the coast to Herceg Novi in Montenegro.
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| Dubrovnik seen when heading to Montenegro |
We stayed in the hotel where my conference was taking place, located at Kumbor on the Bay of Kotor.
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| looking north from the hotel |
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| sunset, Bay of Kotor |
It was rather surprising to open your room curtains and realise a massive cruise ship was silently sailing past. They arrived in the morning and left at day's end.
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| cruise ship, Bay of Kotor |
The next day we went on a boat trip to one of Montenegro's most famous sites, Perast and Our Lady of the Rock.
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| on our way to Perast ... |
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| ... being chased by a cruise ship |
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| typical Montenegrin scenery |
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| St George's Island, which houses a monastery and can't be visited |
Our Lady of the Rock is actually an artificial islet created by locals adding rocks after finding an icon of the Madonna on the original rock in the sea in 1452. It houses a church built in 1630 which has a small museum whose most famous exhibit is a tapestry of the Madonna partly made embroidered the hair of its maker (we weren't allowed to photograph it).
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| Our Lady of the Rock |
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| the church on Our Lady of the Rock |
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| close-up of the church on Our Lady of the Rock |
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| inside our Lady of the Rock church |
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| inside our Lady of the Rock church |
Just across the water lies the attractive small town of Perast.
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| Perast |
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| Perast from the water |
I'll leave you with this (great) video from the conference, which has some great drone footage of the Bay of Kotor, and starts with a shot of Our Lady of the Rocks (you can see St George's Island just behind, and Perast to the left).
After four lovely days in Montenegro, it was time to head to Brighton for the third and final conference of my 2022 European tour!
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