Dubrovnik panorama 2015

The Old City of Dubrovnik with Game of Thrones merchandise everywhere. Did you know that they filmed the Game of Thrones series two, three and four in Croatia. I didn’t, maybe I’ve lived under a rock when it comes to TV series but know I know, you can buy the stuff from nearly every shop here.

The Walls of Dubrovnik and of Fort Lovrijenac were used for scenes in King’s Landing and the Red Keep, while the Rector’s Palace in Dubrovnik was used for scenes set in Qarth. Season one was part filmed in Mdina in Malta where we were just the other day.  MSC could almost market this as a Game of Thrones discovery cruise…

Day 405 – 11th April 2015. Cruise Day 21 – Dubrovnik in Croatia – sunny

Daily program for 11 April 2015 MSC Magnifica

With the early arrival anticipated in Dubrovnik I ordered room service for this mornings breakfast. Basic danish, flakes, tea and juice.

Room service breakfast MSC Magnifica 2015

From our cabin balcony we watched as we came in to the port in Croatia. It was actually my second time here, but before it was Yugoslavia.

One side of Dubrovnik 2015

We had a tour of the walled city of Dubrovnik as part of the cruise package, this was the fourth tour that we had taken on this cruise. Our coach was waiting for us and once all were ready we made the short drive to the famous Old City of Dubrovnik. Historic Dubrovnik Tour (DUB05) 3.5 hours

Port in Dubrovnik, coach to the old city

Dubrovnik and its famous walled city, has several entry gates, the most popular being the Pile Gate seen below. The buses all stop outside this gate and many tour operators can been found here.

An important note folks

If you are wanting to walk around the old city walls you don’t need a tour, but you do need to pay the entrance fee and it can only be paid in local currency or by credit card, don’t say I didn’t let you know.     We entered the city through the magnificent Pile Gate (Vrata od Pila) which once had a wooden drawbridge that was pulled up every night after curfew, today there is a fixed bridge over a dry moat. To the right of the main gate you can see a fort, this is part of the outer wall and called Bokar Fort. You can see from this map of Dubrovnik old city where all the places are

Pile Gate entrance to the Old City of Dubrovnik 2015

Bokar Fort to the right of the main Pile Gate entrance to the Old city

Once through the gate you are in an area between the outer walls and the city, and you must then descend some steps and pass through an arch entrance which leads to Stradun, the main street of Dubrovnik. Once on the main street Placa-Stradun, to the right is Big Onofrio’s fountain and the left is Church of St Saviour.

Down the stairs from Pile Gate and through to the main street Placa-Stradun, to the right is Big Onofrio’s fountain and the left is Church of St Saviour

Side alleys leading off of the Placa-Stradun

This is a map of Dubrovnik Old City

Map of Dubrovnik Old City 2015

Places to visit in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

Big Onofrio’s Fountain in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

Big Onofrio’s Fountain in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

The Church St Saviour

The Church St Saviour with bullet holes, to the left of the church are some city wall stairs

Our guided walk took us past the fountain and Church St Saviour with bullet holes marking the walls. You can begin a walk around the wall above from here if you wish, we continued on towards the Etnographic Museum Rupe for a look around at the displays (no photos allowed)… oops

walking through the Old City of Dubrovnik 2015

wonderful alley ways in Dubrovnik 2015

The Etnographic Museum Rupe

The Etnographic Museum Rupe in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

After a quick look around in the museum we moved on passed the steps leading up to the St Ignatius Church and instead into Gundulic’s Square where the Rectors Palace is.

St Ignatius Church

St Ignatius Church in the Old City of Dubrovnik 2015

Gundulic’s Square in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

Gundulic’s Square in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

The Rectors Palace in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

Our guided tour included a visit inside the Rectors Palace which was really quite special, again no photos of the old displays and a couple of people on patrol made it hard to get a photo. But you can see why the TV series Game of Thrones chose to film here as it lends itself to fantastic medieval scenes.

The Rectors Palace in Dubrovnik Old City 2015

The Rectors Palace in Dubrovnik 2015

The guide took us out on to the wall from the emergency exit of the Rectors Palace and along part of the wall to the Maritime museum. This is where the tour ended and it was a really good tour with an awesome guide, she was born and raised here and spoke with passion about here city.

With the end of the tour we were free to do as we pleased, some went back others like us paid the entrance fee to walk the old city walls of 100 Kuna each, a total of $36.68 AUD which can only be paid in local currency or credit card, they DO NOT accept Euro. That can be said about many of the local shops as well. We did get a coffee from a nice place in Gundulic’s Square just in front of the palace and could pay with Euro, any change is in Kuna though.

Old Port in Dubrovnik Croatia

We began our walk along the walls of the old city high above the old port of Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik Old Port 2015

City walls walk in Dubrovnik 2015

Old Port from city walls 2015

Old Port Dubrovnik, Croatia 2015

As you can see, the views are amazing and this place is very beautiful, no wonder it is UNESCO listed, let’s hope it can stay this way for many centuries to come. They don’t build city’s like this anymore that’s for sure and we did get carried away with our photos, but each angle captures just that little bit more…

Dubrovnik Old City panorama 2015

Views of the walls of the Old City of Dubrovnik

It took us over an hour to make the circuit of the city walls and that was at a steady pace. It was not crowded which was rather a surprise considering all the tourists here, I’m not complaining and really liked not having dodge too many people along the top of the wall.

Views to Fort Minceta, Old City in Dubrovnik 2015

Views over the houses of the Old City in Dubrovnik 2015

Rooftop views in Dubrovnik old city 2015

View down to the main entrance Pile Gate and over the bridge to the town where the busses stop Dubrovnik 2015

Main street called Placa-Stradun in Old City Dubrovnik, Croatia

This street is lined with shops, cafes etc all the way to the end where you can see Orlando’s Colomn.

Main street Placa-Stradun Old City Dubrovnik, Croatia 2015

Fort Lovrijenac seen from Fort Bokar in Dubrovnik Old city 2015

Fort Lovrijenac seen from Fort Bokar in Dubrovnik Old city 2015

Archway views of Dubrovnik 2015

Dubrovnik scenes 2015

Game of Thrones Old City Dubrovnik 2015

Spending the day in the old city of Dubrovnik in Croatia, which was formally Yugoslavia when I was last here, many years ago was fantastic. Croatia has so much to offer and we only touched the tip of it, literally as Dubrovnik is situated right at the bottom tip of Croatia on the map. We are certainly looking forward to exploring more in Croatia in the future.

Back on board Magnifica we went to the hair salon at the Aurea Spa for our appointments

Hair salon on MSC Magnifica 2015

This was actually very reasonably priced for a wash n cut on a cruise ship. I paid $16.10 and Moni $21.85 USD but that’s a bargain considering what Moni paid for her hair cut on the Celebrity Millenium in 2014.

We had a wonderful view as we sailed out of Croatia on our way overnight to Venice.

Departing the port of Dubrovnik

Cruising out of Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dinner tonight was

Dinner menu MSC Magnifica 2015

Appetisers

Timbale of smoked salmon – with aromatic herb cheese mousse and basil sauce (M)

Messina-style rice croquette – filled with meat sauce, peas and Mozzarella cheese (J)

Salad

Springtime salad – lettuce, green beans, eggs, potatoes and black olives (M)

Pasta and Risotto

Fusilli alla Norma – with fried aubergine, salted Ricotta cheese and tomato sauce (M)

Soups

Cream of cauliflower soup – with toasted pistachios (J)

Main Courses

Chicken chips and vegetables (M)

Pork escalopes in Marsala wine sauce – with mashed potatoes and buttered carrots (J)

Desserts

Raspberry mousse cake (J)

Picture sequence from top left to bottom right.

Dinner meals MSC Magnifica 2015

Dinner was pretty good tonight, and with Chris & Shirley we chatted about the wonderful time we had today.