We hit the city walls, the great fortification and even scored a student discount-- so instead of 100 "martens" we paid only 40. The local currency is called kuna (a marten, or big weasel) after the creatures originally living in long-gone woods. They look like something between weasel and ferret. We spent 3 hours on the top of the walls, checking out each sentry post, tower, fort and views of the sea, old town, and harbor. It was unbelievable experience!
Then we checked out the Marine museum with display of artifacts from shipwrecks, weapons, knives, dishes, pottery, exploded shells, maps, and helms tiller. The most amazing was a pile of old rusty knives wrapped in old German printed-paper. The old German was clearly legible and you could even see a small refrain of a song or hymn. It might have been a page from a German Bible. We also saw small clay jugs that were used as weapons in ancient naval engagements. The jars were filled with a chemical mixture called Greek Fire, which was similar to napalm. The containers were hurled at the enemy and burst upon the wooden crafts or cloth sails, catching the ships on fire.
Afterwards, we ate our picnic in the old port while looking at the crystal clear seawater with lots of fish. It was a hot day with a bright blue sky straight from the early morning. We got into a habit while in Dubrovnik to take a midday break like the Italians and Spanish do – we took our siestas. I usually fell asleep or watched the waves and rustle in the harbor.
After the break, we hit the Dominican monastery with awesome paintings with saints painted with the symbols of how they died. There was a guy with a knife chopped in his head, another with a stone stuck in his, on top of his head and other bizarre things, as well as antique jewelry belonging to rich burghers. The next stop was Sponza Palace, seat of a local archive. It is a magnificent Gothic palace with beautiful arcades displaying old documents from the Austria-Hungarian Empire and a display of war fighters from the siege of Dubrovnik in the early 1990s.
The former moats are now turned into lavish gardens with lovely places to rest. We climbed up to the highest part of the town near Minceta tower to see the twilight and then marched around some more. We ate grilled fish (it looked like a big gold fish). He also topped it off with a schnitzel, more local wine, and the crispy cheese pretzel-like brad (KRUH). Then, we sat in the old port and watched the historical replica of Dubrovnik’s KARAKA boat take off and cruise amazingly quickly out of the harbor. To our surprise at this late hour, a folk market appeared around the sculpture of Ronald on one of the squares.
The local products like olive oil, lemon liquor, walnut liquor, lavender sachets, embroidery, glass souvenirs and such were sold. I was tempted, but we would only agree with the lemon liquor that we tasted and liked. Before strolling home, we popped in the St. Blaise Church (the only one devoted to St. Blaise) to absorb the ambiance of candle lit holy place. It was unique. There is a gold sculpture of St. Blaise in the alter holding a 3D model of the town. According to it, the town was rebuilt after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1667. The locals honored St. Blaise even before then, when he was credited for helping them ward off a Venetian attack on the city in 948. Since then, the saint’s been sported by Dubrovnik on all its regalia, including its flag.