Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

Hotels Restaurants Cafés Nightlife Sightseeing Events Maps

DUBROVNIK Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

Wonderful workshops Explore your arty side through traditional crafts

Art comes to life

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contents

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Contents Arriving in Dubrovnik

6

Where the action is

Introducing Dubrovnik

7

What’s it all about?

Glossary

8

Don’t get caught with your trousers down

Culture & Events

9

Renaissance art to island reggae

Where to stay

16

Home sweet home

Restaurants

21

Enjoy the riches

Cafés

27

Where to watch the world go by

Nightlife

28

When you just gotta boogie

What to see

Mail & Phones

37

30

“I just called to say I luuuurve you…”

36

An explorer’s bible

Those sights explained

Sport

Various workshops take place to occupy idle hands through winter and spring – everything from making Christmas and Easter decorations and Carnival masks, to learning traditional crafts such as Konavle embroidery and making local delicacies. Photo by Marin Šperanda.

Getting around

Horseback riding

38

Shopping

43

Take a little piece of my heart

Business Directory

45

Banks and stuff

Lifestyle Directory

46

Important numbers

Dubrovnik Neretva County

47

Out and about around the city

Maps & Index Whether you come to Dubrovnik in winter or spring, there’s always something to enjoy, from the atmosphere of quiet streets or the spectacular backdrop to a New Year’s firework display to a drop of winter sun and the first spring foods. Photo by Eugen Miljan.

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County map Street index City map City centre map Index Country map

60 61 62 64 66 67 Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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foreWord Producing a guide to Dubrovnik in the off-season didn’t seem like such a good idea at the outset. Isn’t this the time of year when half of the hotels close down, the locals stay at home to recover their tourist-frazzled nerves, a cold wind whistles through a deserted Old Town and tumbleweeds roll down an empty Stradun?

Europe In Your Pocket

In fact we didn’t have as much trouble filling our pages as we thought. Winter in the southern Adriatic is chock-full of intriguing events, with centre stage occupied by the pageantry of St Blaise’s Day on February 3 and the preLenten carnival later that month. Both of these festivals are authentic folk affairs, celebrated by locals for at least the last one thousand years – they’re certainly very different from the tourist-oriented entertainments that take place in town over the summer.

It’s also frequently forgotten that Dubrovnik is a university city hosting a year-round population of hormonally-fuelled young humans – few of whom have much to worry about save for which café to lounge around in and where to begin the weekend campaign of partying. And with traditionally mild winter weather usually followed by the onset of an early spring, the city’s social life remains a vibrant, vivacious and largely outdoor affair whatever the time of year.

Cover story Konavle embroidery is known for its exceptional colourfulness, for the refined effect created by the silk threads and the perfectionism of its creators. It’s symbolic of the traditional handcrafts of the Dubrovnik region.

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Dubrovnik In Your Pocket Draškovićeva 66 Zagreb, Croatia tel. (+385-1) 481 30 27, 481 10 70 fax (+385-1) 492 39 24 zagreb@inyourpocket.com www.inyourpocket.com ISSN 1846-0852 ©Plava Ponistra d.o.o.

Printed by Radin repro & roto, Zagreb Cover Marin Šperanda

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

It has been another great year for In Your Pocket.

We now publish a record 57 guides and mini-guides across 22 European countries. We print more than four million In Your Pockets annually. This year we launched new guides in Maribor, Bled, Portoroz, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Brasov, Lviv and Odesa.

Next year you can expect to see Venice, Vienna and Glasgow - amongst others - Pocketed.

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Editorial Editor Višnja Arambašić Contributors Nataly Anderson, Jonathan Kawaguchi, Frank Jelinčić, Renata Kontrec, Paul Bergen, Tocher Mitchell, Jonathan Bousfield Assistant Editor Kristina Kovač Researcher Anita Piplović Layout & Design Ivana Novak, Gordan Karabogdan Photos Dubrovnik In Your Pocket team, Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board, Marko Ercegovic, Eugen Miljan, Marin Šperanda Sales & Circulation General Manager Višnja Arambašić Sales & Circulation Manager Kristijan Vukičević zagreb@inyourpocket.com Account Manager Mirna Cindrić

Copyright notice Text and photos copyright Dubrovnik In Your Pocket. Maps copyright cartographer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without written permission from the publisher and copyright owner. The brand name In Your Pocket is used under license from UAB In Your Pocket (Vokieciu 10-15, Vilnius, Lithuania tel. (+370-5) 212 29 76).

Editor’s note The editorial content of In Your Pocket guides is independent from paid-for advertising. Sponsored listings are clearly marked as such. We welcome all readers‘ comments and suggestions.

We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of going to press and assume no responsibility for changes and errors.

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arrivinG in dubrovnik Tourist information

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Dubrovnik-Neretva County Tourist Board I-3, Vukovarska 24, tel. (+385-

20) 32 49 99, info@visitdubrovnik.hr, www.visitdubrovnik.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Dubrovnik Tourist Board D-2, Sv. Dominika 7, tel. (+385-20) 32 38 87, info@tzdubrovnik.hr, www. tzdubrovnik.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00, Sat 09:00 13:00. Closed Sun. Grad 1 C-2, Široka1, tel. (+385-20) 32 35 87, ured. grad@tzdubrovnik.hr, www.tzdubrovnik.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat, Sun 09:00 - 14:00.

Grad 2 D-2, Sv.Dominika 7, tel. (+385-20) 31 20 11, info@tzdubrovnik.hr, www.tzdubrovnik.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Gruž I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 32, tel. (+38520) 41 79 83, ured.gruz@tzdubrovnik.hr, www. tzdubrovnik.hr. Q Open 08:00 - 19:00, Sat, Sun 09:00 - 14:00.

By boat There are two harbours in Dubrovnik - the centuries old harbour snug against the walls of the Old Town, or the commercial port at Gruž. The Jadrolinija ferry office and quay are at Gruž, a ten minute bus ride from the Old Town.

Many grumble it’s not the most attractive place in the world, but there are plenty of amenities for weary travellers.

Hotel Petka right behind the quayside has great food, good accommodation and you can take a bath or shower there.

There’s a fruit market, a large Konzum supermarket, and loads of small shops and travel agencies etc. The port looks onto the Lapad peninsula, where many of Dubrovnik’s hotels are located. Getting to town: hop on an orange bus number 1A, 1B or 8. A ticket for a single trip costs 8kn if you buy it from a news kiosk, 10kn if you buy it on board. Tickets must be cancelled in the machine next to the driver immediately on boarding.

By bus The city has a brand spanking new coach station close to the Gruž harbour. Sparkling clean, it’s a short walk from the ferry terminal at Gruž with all its amenities. Ticket office: open 05:30 - 21:00, tel. 060 30 50 70 for information. Changing money: head east for Gruž habour, where there are ATMs and exchange bureaux. Toilets: inside the terminal, cost 3kn.

Left luggage: the garderoba works 00:00 - 24:00, 5kn per hour, every next hour you pay 1,5kn. Public phones are on the platform. Shops and cafes: there is a news kiosk, plus a large Konzum supermarket next door (open 07:00 - 20:00).

Getting to town: buses to town stop right outside the station, take lines 1A or 1B. Tickets cost 10kn from the driver and 8kn if you buy it in kiosk or in a ticket office. Taxis wait by the platform, or call 0800 1441 or 970.

By car For the time being, there is no motorway to Dubrovnik.

Considering how narrow non-motorway roads are, you’re safest sticking with the motorway as far as Split. To approach Dubrovnik, you can either travel: Via Split: From Split, follow signs for Dubrovnik leading you inland. (In high season, avoid the coast road passing through Omiš, a terrible bottleneck).

Just south of Metković you pass through a corridor belonging

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

introducinG dubrovnik

to Bosnia and Herzegovina, so keep your passport or ID card handy. Via Bosnia and Herzegovina: You can enter BiH from the A3 (E70) heading east from Zagreb, or one of the roads heading south from Hungary. Of the possible routes, Bosanska Gradiška - Banja Luka - Jajce - Mostar is probably quickest, but you may wish to take a detour through the fair city of Sarajevo. When you get into Dubrovnik, a one way system leads east and west of the Old Town - try to have a map handy! Check out the Croatian Automobile Club website at www.hak.hr.

By plane Čilipi Airport is located 20km southeast of Dubrovnik. It’s small, clean and functional. There is a restaurant and café, plus information, exchange offices and ATMs, a post office and car hire facilities are all to be found in the arrivals hall. Parking costs 5kn per hour and 40kn per day. The pay machine for the car park is in the arrivals hall and accepts credit cards.

Getting to town: Scheduled flights are met by an Atlas bus which trundles into town (35kn one-way), dropping off at Pile Gate (main entrance to the Old Town) before proceeding to the ferry port and the bus station. Municipal buses no. 11 and 27 also connect the airport to the town centre (14kn), but only run a few times a day. A taxi ride into town will cost 200 - 250kn. Dubrovnik Airport, Čilipi, Konavle. Flight info tel. 77 33 33, www.airport-dubrovnik.hr.

By train Although Dubrovnik was once served by a scenic narrowgauge railway, avid train-spotters will be dismayed to learn that the track was pulled up long ago. Those who are determined to travel by rail can still catch a train to either Split (services from Zagreb), or Ploče (services from Zagreb, Sarajevo and Mostar) before continuing their journey by bus.

It’s easy to understand why the people of Dubrovnik are proud of their city – it just takes one look. It takes a little more effort, however, to understand how deeply this pride runs, and how many, how varied and how rich and justified are the reasons for this pride. And, thank goodness, it manifests itself in a way that is very easy to love: the people of Dubrovnik are known for their gallantry and hospitality. It’s not an empty or boastful pride.

Basic data Population: Croatia (April 2001): 4,437,460 Dubrovnik Neretva County: 122.870 Dubrovnik (April 2001): 30.436 Territory: Croatia’s land territory takes up 56,542km2.

It borders with Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and there is a sea-border with Italy.

Dalmatian coast: The coast is the main tourist attraction for good reason - the crystal clear waters are some of the most beautiful on the planet and were just named some of its most pure!

Dubrovnik Neretva County: Dubrovnik Neretva County measures 1.783km2, of which roughly half is sea.

Islands: An amazing 1.246 islands lie off the Dalmatian coast, 47 of them inhabited.

Climate: Mediterranean Local time: Croatia is part of the Central European Time Zone (GMT+1): when it is noon in Dubrovnik it is 12:00 in Berlin, 11:00 in London, 06:00 in New York, 14:00 in Moscow, and 21:00 in Sydney.

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Why does the city look the way it does? Why all those walls and bastions? It was first of all a refugee colony for the people of Epidaurum (today’s Cavtat), who fled from invading Avar and Slav tribes. At that time the land south of Stradun, as the main thoroughfare through the Old Town is popularly called, was an island, offering some protection from attack, but, of course, the walls began to rise giving those first fearful citizens their shelter.

That was in the 7th century. At that time, these lands were under the protection of Byzantium. Following the Crusades, Venice took over, and then the Croatian-Hungarian kingdom.

But in the 14th century, by the force of skilled diplomacy, the nobles of Dubrovnik bargained their freedom, and this became a city-state which flourished for four centuries, maintaining independence from feared invaders such as the Turks, and, indeed, cultivating profitable relations with them.

The skill of the people of Dubrovnik in trade and in many other areas led to this tiny city state, then known as the Republic of Ragusa, becoming such a powerful force in the Adriatic that

it seriously rivalled Venice’s dominance in the region. And during the heyday of the city’s development, art and culture flourished, leading to a love for harmony in one’s surroundings, a love of music, and a love of literature which much shaped the language of Croatian that we can hear today.

This love of beauty is visible with every step in the Old Town, this living museum and famous World Heritage site. It can be seen in the galleries, on the theatre stages, and in its annual culmination at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, this year held for the 60th time. It can also be heard – this is a city of music too, of classical music, but also taking care of the folk vernacular of the coast and hinterland.

Beauty is only skin deep, and this will to harmonise also manifested itself in a rather liberal political system which, for example, abolished slavery at a very early stage (1418). And alongside this respect for humanitarian concerns naturally came, the love of freedom. That’s why you’ll so often see the word “Libertas” emblazoned on everything from flags to the sides of buses.

It’s hard to believe that this miraculous freedom of the tiny Republic of Ragusa, and this economic and political might lasted all the way to the beginning of the 19th century when the Dubrovnik nobles were tricked by Napoleon to letting his armies into the city in 1806. So it’s no surprise that the sense of individuality and collective pride is still so strong. It results, happily for visitors, in a very unique, visible and well-preserved culture that’s a joy to uncover.

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Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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GLossary

cuLture & events patrol cars have been introduced on the motorways. The speed limit in urban areas is 50kph unless otherwise marked; 80kph on secondary roads and 130kph on highways. On the spot fines are payable for offences. If you are stopped for any reason, you will be expected to show your driving licence, car registration papers and insurance certificate, so make sure to always keep them with you.

Tipping

Customs All major items brought into the country (laptops, boats, sauna equipment) must be declared; to do so ensures you will be allowed to take them back when you leave. Keep your receipts (500kn minimum on one receipt) in order to qualify for a VAT refund at all border customs offices. To breeze through customs you can import up to 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of alcohol, plus 2 litres of wine, liqueur or champagne. There are no limits on export; however it does depend on the country you’re flying into from Croatia. Any Croatian art or cultural works must receive export approval before departure. It is issued by the conservatory department of the Ministry of Culture at C. Zuzorić 6 (C-3, Open 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Tel. 020 32 31 91). For further details www.carina.hr or call 01 610 23 25 / 01 610 24 61.

Electricity The electricity supply is 220V, 50hz, so visitors from the United States will need to use a transformer to run electrical appliances.

Health & Safety The Dalmatian coast is safe and secure, but a cautious eye should be kept on one’s belongings at all times, nevertheless. Policija (Police) are generally helpful in times of crisis; keep in mind that they also perform occasional checks of identity documents, so keep some identification on you at all times.

Money There are plenty of exchange offices around Dubrovnik, as well as an abundance of ATMs that operate twenty-four hours a day. Many restaurants, bars and cafés accept credit cards, but not all, so be sure to have a reasonable amount of cash on you. If you’re planning a trip to one of the islands in the area, you should definitely plan ahead and carry the amount of cash you think you’ll need for the trip, as finding places that let you put it on plastic could be a problem.

Toilets

Public toilets are few and far between - a far better option is to take the excuse to pop into a cafe for a drink and avail yourself of their facilites. There is a public toilet in the street Iza grada, just behind the city walls near the Pile gates. They’re Turkish style (squatty) but clean - and free.

Roads

If you’re under 24 years of age, the 0.0% alcohol rule applies to you. If you are, however, over that age, a limit of 0.5% applies to you, effective June 1, 2008. Once again, we’ll leave it to others to debate the pros and cons of this change, but given the mountainous terrain along the coast, this law will probably save lives. And the police are enforcing it. Speed kills more people on Croatian roads than alcohol does. Speed traps are common along the Adriatic highway and speed

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

Generally, Croatian people are not overly concerned about tipping, but seeing how you’re a visitor to the country and all, you can practice some small-time diplomacy and throw a bit of goodwill to your server. Croatian people typically round their bill up to the nearest whole number when they want to tip, but leaving 10% for the staff’s efforts seems like a classy thing for a visitor to do, doesn’t it?

Water Tap water is absolutely safe for drinking.

Take a hike!

In Dubrovnik, the first walk you have to take is around the city walls, but that’s for babies, only two kilometres.

After that, a favourite walk is around the Lapad peninsula, or to the top of one of its highest points, Velika or Mala Petka. Very much more demanding is a walk up Mount Srđ (412m) – a two hour climb, but with the prospect of the city laid out at your feet as your reward. Konavle has some good walking routes taking in villages, peaks, remains and coastal vistas: pop into the tourist office in Cavtat for a map.

Candlelight Concerts What could be a more pleasurable treat than a candlelit classical concert in the atmospheric surroundings of St Saviour’s Church? The church is right on Stradun, so you’re perfectly placed for a pre- or post-concert glass of mulled wine.

07/12/2009 Candlelight concert: The best of great composers Slobodan Begić (violin), Nena Čorak (piano), Tomislav Žerovnik (guitar). Concert starts at 21:00.

14/12/2009 Candlelight concert: The best of great composers Slobodan Begić (violin), Nena Čorak (piano), Tomislav Žerovnik (guitar). Concerts starts at 21:00.

30/12/2009 New Year’s concer t: Sorkočević Quartet Concert starts at 20:30.

31/03/2010 Lent concert: Joseph Haydn, “The last seven words of Jesus Christ” 05/04/2010 Easter concert: Sorkočević Quartet April 04 - July 10 and August 25 - October 31 Mondays Candlelight concert: Sorkočević Quartet Wednesdays Candlelight concert : Dubrovnik String Quartet Fridays Candlelight concert: The best of great composers Slobodan Begić (violin), Nena Čorak (piano), Tomislav Žerovnik (guitar)

Marin Šperanda

Climate Temperature, °C

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National holidays January 1 January 6 April 4 April 5 May 1 June 3 June 22 June 25 August 5 August 15 October 8 November 1 December 25 December 26

New Year’s Day Epiphany Easter Easter Monday International Workers' Day Corpus Christi Anti Fascist Resistance Day Statehood Day Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day Feast of the Assumption Independence Day All Saints’ Day Christmas Saint Stephen’s Day

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Marin Šperanda

Sorkočević Quartet

31/12/2009 New Year's Eve In Dubrovnik the big New Year’s Eve celebration takes place on Stradun, resplendent in Christmas lights and full of cheer. The Dubrovnik Brass Band and Majorettes will march past in honour of Old Father Time, relegating the crowds with Christmas carols. Later on, Milo Hrnić will take centre stage - a Dubrovnik-born national legend we can only describe as a Julio Iglesias style lovegod with trademark moustache. He’ll be accompanied by other big names from the city’s music scene, and whatever your thing, we guarantee you’ll be swept up by the revelry and enjoy a great night out.

Christmas joy!

The romantic atrium of the Sponza palace is the venue for the Christmas fair, the place to feel the spirit of the season as it’s been celebrated in Dubrovnik for generations. Local craftsmen display hand-made decorations, candles, toys, glassware, textiles and ceramics, while you’ll be unable to resist the scent of home-made Christmas cookies, mulled wine, sugared almonds, candied fruits and other local sweet specialities. Never mind, it’s all ripened under the Dubrovnik sun so we’re sure they’re a natural and healthy option too! You can also call into the Deša humanitarian organisation at Frana Supila 8 and take part in a workshop making marmalades and Christmas decorations.

01 - 31/12/2009 Christmas decorations workshop Vlaho slijepi haberdashery, Od polača 11

13/12/2009 - 03/01/2010 Christmas fair 10:00 17:00, Sponza Palace.

15 - 31/12/2009 Christmas delicacies workshops and Seville orange marmalade workshops Deša, Frana Supila 8 (Lazareti)

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Eugen Miljan

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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cuLture & events 28 - 31/01/2010 Dubrovnik 2010 Festa A Festa is a local celebration or feast, and in Dubrovnik at New Year it takes the form of a four day festival of music and is in honour of the city’s saint protector St Blaise. This charity event, now in its 9th year, features stars from the world of Croatian pop music as well as from other countries. Dubrovnik Sports Hall, Gospino polje

 Dubrovnik telephone code is +385-20

The Feast of St Blaise Falling on February 3, the Feast of St Blaise (Sveti Vlaho; see p.30) is arguably the most important date in the Dubrovnik calendar, bringing hordes of local people onto the streets and showcasing a good deal of folkloric tradition. In September 2009 the feast was included by UNESCO on the so-called “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list, which aims to nurture unique social rituals which have a long and authentic history. The cult of St Blaise has been central to Dubrovnik since the tenth century, and his feast day is known to have been celebrated every year without a break since at least 1190.

This year the whole of the first week in February will be devoted to Blaise-related events of one form or another.

However the core festivities commence on February 2, when doves are released in front of St Blaise’s Church by the Bishop of Dubrovnik. The next morning a commemorative mass is held, followed at around 11:30 by a solemn procession of priests and locals, many wearing

Get crafty!

D e š a i s a n o r ga n i s a t i o n dedicated to assisting improving the status of local women, founded during the hard years of the war. Among the group’s activities is reviving crafts such as weaving, embroidery and silk production which were used in making the colourful regional folk costumes. Nowadays, the group organises Patchwork Workshops, and upon request for groups of more than 10, workshops on weaving, embroidery and making sweet delicacies such as “arancini” (candied orange peel) and “broštulani mjenduli (sugared almonds). You might also be interested in a tiny shop, Vlaho slijepi haberdashery, which is dedicated to preserving practical dressmaking skills such as sewing buttons, mending and shortening, and which also organises year-round workshops including Christmas decorations in December and masks in January and February.

Dubrovnik Chamber Choir at Knežev dvor, Marin Šperanda

Looking for more? Just click! dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com Mr Linea loves Dubrovnik!

H a ve y o u e ve r heard of Mr Linea (La Linea, or, in Croatian, “Bajum Bajum”)? The Italian artist of this miraculous little cartoon figure, Osvaldo Cavandoli, created a little book of Dubrovnik motifs accompanied by light-hearted but informative texts in Croatian, Italian and English. Pick up a copy in the Artur gallery (see Shopping pages), it makes a perfect memento.

4 days of Carnival February 13 - 16/02/2010 As in most other Mediterranean countries, the carnival season occupies a hugely symbolic position in the Dubrovnik calendar, representing the last great party of the winter and acting as something of a season-opener for the coming spring.

The days leading up to Shrove Tuesday have been a time for dressing up and playing the fool ever since the medieval era, when the carnival period was the one time of year when the lower orders were allowed to make fun of their rulers without being locked up. In Croatia this satirical tradition still lives on, with many locals opting for carnival disguises which satirize personalities who were in the news over the course of the previous year.

This year’s Dubrovnik carnival spans four days, kicking off on the morning of February 13th on Luža Square with the Šporke makarule cooking competition - in which chefs from

Peace and harmony Dubrovnik’s stone streets and iconic palaces, churches and citadels form a stunning backdrop for contemplating good music. The following concerts laid on for the holiday season will allow you to enjoy the delights of the city with all your senses.

15/12/2009 Dubrovnik Rotary Club humanitarian concert: Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. Revelin fortress.

Concerts starts at 20:00.

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

23/12/2009 Christmas Gala Concert: Traditional Christmas songs and tunes Dubrovnik Tourist Board & Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. Revelin fortress 20/12/2009 Christmas Concert Dubrovnik Chamber Choir. St Ignatius’ Church. Concerts starts at 19:30.

24/12/2009 Christmas Eve Christmas Carols In Stradun Dubrovnik Brass Band March Past in Stradun Artur Gallery, Paper Mache carnival masks

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folk costume and waving large banners. The procession heads up Od Puča before returning to the church via the Stradun, watched by packed crowds of onlookers – many of whom come regularly from other parts of Croatia to be here on this day. Arm and leg reliquaries containing the bones of St Blaise are carried among the throng, allowing the faithful to touch them as they pass.

A fun-for-all-the-family party atmosphere takes over in the evening of the 3rd, when locals re-enact a nineteenthcentury open-air version of bingo known as the “tombula” in front of the Sponza Palace. As in cheesy British bingo halls, the caller attaches silly names to the numbers (number 77 is referred to as “ladies’ legs”), but in Dubrovnik - in a fantastic improvement on the game of bingo as it is played elsewhere - the losers are allowed to express their dissatisfaction by throwing rotten eggs and oranges at the caller.

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the city’s hotels compete in preparing the traditional dish of the title. Literally “dirty macaroni”, šporke makarule consists of locally-made pasta drenched in delicious beef-goulash sauce. It has long been a mainstay of every self-respecting Dubrovnik housewife’s culinary repertoire, even if it hardly ever appears on local restaurant menus.

Over the next three days a series of fancy-dress parades weave their way through the Old Town, and charity balls are held in Revelin Fortress. For most of the participants this is a thoroughly modern exercise in fancy dress, although recent years have seen the re-emergence of Artur Gallery, Paper Mache some of the more ritualistic carnival masks carnival characters of old – strange, shaggy-haired monsters such as the gapingmouthed Coroje and the long-necked Turica are unique to the Dubrovnik region.You can get more information on the Carnival from the Dubrovnik Tourist Association, www. tzdubrovnik.hr.

The Lastovo Poklad To experience carnival traditions at their most archaic then head for the island of Lastovo, where a puppet known as the Poklad is ritually humiliated and then burned in a symbolic farewell to the malevolent spirits of winter. The rites takes up the whole of Shrove Tuesday – the most spectacular part of the proceedings coming when the poklad descends from the heights above the village on a wire rope, the locals exploding fireworks as it passes. Lastovo is needless to say full of visitors at this time, and you’ll have to plan your visit well in advance if you want to secure accommodation. www.lastovo.hr.

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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cuLture & events

cuLture & events Vlaho Bukovac (1855 – 1922)

Exhibitions

Slaven Tolj, Lućijeve stolice, 2006., A selection from the collection of the Dubrovnik Art Gallery and new acquisitions from between 2006 and 2008 01 - 31/12/2009 A selection from the collection of the Dubrovnik Art Gallery and new acquisitions from between 2006 and 2008 Dubrovnik Art Gallery, Frana Supila 23 01 - 15/12/2009 Exhibition of small format oils by Dubrovnik painters Artur Gallery, Od Domina 2 01 - 31/12/2009 Exhibition of photographs of endemic Dubrovnik lizards taken by the Dart Society Ars Libertas gallery, Od pustijerne bb 01/12/2009 - 31/01/2010 Slaven Tolj Bukovac house, Cavtat 04 - 21/12/2009 Exhibition of plates painted with motifs from the Homeland War by Lukša Peko A Dubrovnik artist. Sebastian Gallery, Sv. Dominika 5 15 - 31/12/2009 Jelena Butigan - Jewellery. Artur Gallery, Od Domina 2 01/01 - 28/02/2010 A selection from the Dubrovnik Art Gallery collection Dubrovnik Art Gallery, Frana Supila 23 01 - 28/02/2010 Exhibition of masks during Carnival month Artur Gallery, Od Domina 2

Zlatan Dumanić, Bez naziva, 2002., A selection from the collection of the Dubrovnik Art Gallery and new acquisitions from between 2006 and 2008

04/01 - 28/02/2010 Exhibition of paintings by Josipa Škerlja An artist from Dubrovnik. Sebastian Gallery, Sv. Dominika 5 01/04 - 31/05/2010 Ivana Jelavić Bukovac house, Cavtat 16/05 - 30/06/2010 Matko Vekić - Paintings. Dubrovnik Art Gallery, Frana Supila 23

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Libertas film festival, In America

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

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The greatest painter that Dubrovnik (and arguably Croatia) has ever produced is unquestionably Vlaho Bukovac, the Cavtat inkeeper’s son who went on to become artistic hot property in Paris, London and Prague. Known both for his perceptive portraits and his grandiose history paintings, Bukovac was also subtly innovative, blending the kind of acutely-observed realism popular in the late nineteenthcentury with expressive techniques picked up from the French Impressionists and their followers.

Like many of his countrymen, the young Bukovac had a strong desire to escape the limited career opportunities of the Dalmatian coast and seek his fortune elsewhere. His uncle Frano had already emigrated to America, and asked young Vlaho to join him in New York in 1867. It’s at this point that Bukovac’s biography begins to resemble something out of a Charles Dickens novel. His uncle soon died and his aunt re-married almost immediately, leaving Bukovac in the hands of a wicked step-uncle who wanted him out of the house. Bukovac was packed off to a grim home for young delinquents, and only escaped when his talent for drawing attracted the attention of staff members – who quickly realized that he should never have been sent there in the first place.

Returning to Cavtat in 1871 Bukovac started training as a merchant seaman, a career that ended abruptly when he fell through a trap-door on board ship and suffered severe concussion. Convalescing at home, he set out painting the walls of his parents’ house with fanciful scenes of gardens and animals – these faithfully-restored murals can still be seen at the Bukovac House in Cavtat (see below). Bukovac’s wanderlust soon returned and in 1877 he set off with his brother to Peru, where he got a job painting the interiors of railway carriages. Moving on to San Francisco he worked in a café, painting portraits of middle-class gentlefolk in his spare time.

Returning home in 1877, Bukovac was taken up by local art enthusiasts who were willing to finance a period of study in Paris. He spent the next five years in the French capital, emerging with a solid reputation as an accomplished painter of society portraits and semi-nudes. His La Grande Iza, a portrayal of a fictional courtesan, was the sensation of the Paris Salon of 1882, and he was immediately taken up by Paris and London art dealers eager to promote him as a painter of mildly erotic boudoir scenes.

However it was as a portraitist that Bukovac was most in demand, spending several months as painter-in-residence at the homes of rich English industrialists near Leeds and Liverpool. Back in Croatia by the mid 1890s, Bukovac

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became a leading light in the Zagreb art scene, agitating for the construction of a national Art Pavilion (which still survives) and painting interiors for both the University Library and the National Theatre. However he was never on good terms with the other Croatian painters of the day, and the offer of a teaching post in Prague 1903 provided him with an escape route from the backstabbing world of Croatia’s cultural elite. Solidly appreciated by the Czechs, Bukovac remained in Prague until his death in 1922. The best place to get to grips with Bukovac’s work is the Bukovac House in Cavtat, which occupies the lovingly restored stone house in which the painter grew up. All aspects of his career are covered: the family portraits are par ticularly adorable and touching, whilst the melodramatic canvases inspired by Dante’s inferno reveal the wilder, romantic side of Bukovac’s everfertile imagination.

Bukova c H ouse (Ku ća Bukovac), Bukovčeva 5, Cavtat, tel. (+385 20) 47 86 46, www.kuca-bukovac.hr.

Open 09:00 - 13:00, 14:00 - 17:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00.

Admission 20kn. For more on Cavtat see p.52.

01/02 – 31/03/2010 Works by Vlaho Bukovac from the Glen Donation Te n w o r k s b y V l a h o Bukovac, one work by his daughter Jelica, a bust of the artist’s wife and a medallion with a portrait o f Bukovac himsel f by Oscar Niemann. Part of the estate of Sir Alexander and Lady Zorica Glen (the latter being the step-daughter of Bukovac’s son), the works have been returned Ago by Vlaho Bukovac from the to Bukovac’s home and Glen Donation m u s eu m from L on d on with the assistance of the International Trust for Croatian Monuments.

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cuLture & events Marin Držić (1508 – 1567) One o f Dubrovnik’s most cherished cultural icons is Marin Držić, the sixteenth-century play wright who was (as far as we know) the first person to write a major drama in the C roa tia n l a n gu a ge.

Despite writing in an archaic dialect that is difficult for modern audiences to follow, Držić is the one Croatian dramatist that local schoolchildren are forced to read at least once in their lives.

B o r n i n to a fa m i l y of merchants, Držić studied theology in Siena and it was h ere th a t h e ca m e into contact with early Renaissance theatre.

After failing to make much of a mark in any post-university career, however, Držić spent his mid-thirties working as secretary to Austrian diplomat Count Christoph von Rogendorf – exposure to the court life of Vienna and Constantinople providing Držić with plenty of useful plot ideas. Držić’s most productive period occurred during his forties, when he wrote a series of comedies and farces, and at least one tragedy (“Hecuba”), the text of which is now lost.

These plays were performed during the Dubrovnik carnival season or at the high-society social functions of the local nobility. Failing to achieve much in the way of either fame or fortune however, Držić returned to Italy in 1562. Previous experience of diplomatic intrigues under von Rogendorf probably left Držić with inflated ideas of his own conspiratorial abilities, and he hatched a plot to overthrow the Dubrovnik Republic with help from Italian princes. Ruler of Florence Cosimo de Medici failed to answer Držić’s letters on the subject, and the playwright ended a largely frustrated and unfulfilled life in Venice in 1567.

The cultural heritage of Dubrovnik played a crucial role in the Croatian national revival of the nineteenth century, when Renaissance literary gems were dusted off and hailed as landmarks of artistic achievement. It was seventeenthcentury poet Ivan Gundulić who initially profited most from this process of literary archeology, and it wasn’t until the 1930s that people seriously considered putting Drzic’s works back on the Croatian stage. Since then Držić has become an important symbol of Dubrovnik’s contribution to European culture, and his works usually enjoy a central role in the annual Dubrovnik Festival.

However Dubrovnik has always struggled to make Držić relevant to foreign visitors and there are no signs of anyone hitting on the magical formula any time soon. The Marin Držić House-Museum (see page 35) is a pretty amusing place to visit but for all the wrong reasons: despite the relative lack of any meaningful exhibits, visitors are given a headphone commentary on which hammy actors plod their way through a series of Držić-penned text, rendered here in awful English translation. All of which is a great shame when one considers that Držić is as important to his own language as Shakespeare and Moliere are to theirs.

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

cuLture & events Orlando

Tošo Dabac

O n e o f D u b rov n i k’s best-loved landmarks is Orlando’s Column, a pillar in the centre of busy Luža Square with a sword-brandishing knight standing to attention on its northern side. Erected in 1414, it has always served as an unofficial symbol of Dubrovnik’s freedomloving status – and it’s here that the Libertas banner is ritually unfurled to mark the opening of the Dubrovnik Festival every July.

Orlando is the Italian (and Dubrovnik dialect) name for Roland, a legendary eighth-century Frankish knight who died heroically defending a Pyrenean pass from an army of Saracens. The tale was popularized by the Chanson de Roland, an eleventh-centur y Norman-French poem that was spread across Europe by wandering troubadours. Preaching chivalrous values such as loyalty to one’s liege and a readiness to fight unto the last, the Chanson was hugely popular in courtly circles and was also useful as a propaganda tool, encouraging western knights to join the Crusades.

The original Roland was thought to have been a nephew of the great Frankish Emperor Charlemagne, and his cult was cultivated by rulers eager to associate themselves with imperial glamour. Roland’s popularity spread throughout German-speaking Europe during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, and it was here that statues of Roland began to catch on in a big way – no self-respecting city wanted to be left without one. Over 50 statues of the knight sprung up in various locations, with Dubrovnik being the southernmost city to sprout an example.

How and why Roland-mania arrived in Dubrovnik remains unclear. The city was well acquainted with the world of central Europe (indeed Charles IV’s son Sigismund of Luxemburg passed through here in 1396), so it’s no surprise that the knightly cult found expression here too.

Local chroniclers developed the appealing but wholly improbable theory that Roland himself once visited Dubrovnik, duelling with a Saracen pirate called Spuzente and saving the city in the process. Placing a statue of Roland in a prominent city square was a subtle way of reminding Dubrovnik’s Ottoman suzerains that the locals would always identify with Christian Europe rather than Constantinople.

The statue was knocked over by a storm in 1825, and lay forgotten in a storehouse until someone thought it wise to re-erect it in 1878. Since then the angelic-faced little knight has become the city’s most popular social focus, presiding over countless chance meetings and assignations.

This spring Dubrovnik’s premier exhibition space hosts a major retrospective devoted to Tošo Dabac (1907-1970), the photographer who did more than anyone else to define the image of Croatia during the Twenties and Thirties.

Dabac was an early convert to the glamour of Croatia’s burgeoning entertainment industry, dropping out of university to become MGM’s press officer for south-eastern Europe.

Photography was first a hobby, then an addiction, becoming a full-time career by the time Dabac was 25. He obsessively documented the street life of Zagreb, capturing the pathos of a city undergoing dramatic social change with his portrayals of market-bound peasants, street-urchins and unemployed drifters. However he also delivered a seductive dose of urban

chic, photographing fur-wrapped ladies-about-town and their trilby-hatted escorts in a way that made Zagreb look cool and sexy for the first time in its history. Dabac took photographs and portraits throughout the former Yugoslavia both before and after World War II, and the exhibition includes fascinating images of Dubrovnik and other Adriatic towns as well as the Zagreb pictures for which Dabac is famous. It’s both a visually engrossing and thematically varied display, and will come as a revelation to those who haven’t sampled the history of Croatian photography before.

03/04 – 16/05/2010 Scenes from the street Dubrovnik Art Gallery, Frana Supila 23

Tošo Dabac, Dubrovnik, oko 1950.

Tošo Dabac, Dubrovnik, oko 1950.

Tošo Dabac, Sakupljanje milodara II., 1939.

Easter Time If you chance to be in town at Easter, don’t miss the opportunity to sample the local foods of the season and see how the traditions so many of us share at this time are interpreted in Dubrovnik and its surroundings. Easter eggs here are handmade by chickens, and decorated by people with delicate motifs in beeswax, coloured with onion skin or pine (a process locally known as “penganje”). The result is an ornament to be given as a mark of love, friendship and devotion. On Palm Sunday people carry to church olive branches or intricately woven ornaments made from

palms leaves. You can see these and other products and decorations at the Easter Fair and the Easter workshops run by the Deša humanitarian women’s group.

27/03 - 05/04 Easter Fair 22 - 26/03/2010 Easter workshops – plaited palm leaves. Deša, Frana Supila 8, Lazareti 29/03 - 01/04/2010 Easter workshops – decorating eggs (penganje). Deša, Frana Supila 8, Lazareti

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Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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WHere to stay

WHere to stay Excelsior L-2, Frana Supila 12, tel. (+385-20) 35 33 53/

Symbol key P Air conditioning

A Credit cards accepted

O Casino

H Conference facilities

T Child friendly

U Facilities for the disabled

R Internet

L Guarded parking

F Fitness centre

G Non-smoking rooms

K Restaurant

D Sauna

C Swimming pool

6 Animal friendly

There’s a growing stable of luxury hotels in Dubrovnik, many of which boast spectacular shoreline locations and a wealth of creature comforts. Mid-range resort hotels are in plentiful supply, too, especially on the Lapad and Babin kuk peninsulas west of the Old Town. If you want to sleep in or near the Old Town itself, then family-run guesthouses, private apartments and cute hostels will be your best options.

Cream of the crop Bellevue I-3, Pera Ćingrije 7, tel. (+385-20) 33 00 00, fax (+385-20) 33 01 00, welcome@hotel-bellevue.hr, www.hotel-bellevue.hr. Renovated with more than 81 rooms that provide spectacular balcony views of the Adriatic, minimalist interior equipped with all the necessities. Indulge in local art works, a-la-carte restaurant Vapor, a private cinema, spa centre, indoor pool, a private beach and more. Only minutes from the town centre. Q Closed from November 29 - February 28. 91 rooms (72 doubles €115 - 275, 3 Romantic Room €140 - 220, 2 Romantic Delux €190 - 275, 10 Executive Suite €550 - 750, 3 Delux Suite €650 - 850, 1 Presidential Suite €2900). PTHAUFLGBKDC hhhhh Dubrovnik Palace F-3, Masarykov put 20, tel. (+385-20) 43 00 00, fax (+385-20) 43 01 00, info@ dubrovnikpalace.hr, www.dubrovnikpalace.hr. Hits the spot if you have contemporary tastes and take your surroundings seriously. A great pool and beach area, spa facilities and cool reception complete with arty waterfall and gallery. The soothing rooms are complete with Gharani Strok toiletries - this is Daddy Strok’s hotel, after all. Q Open from March. 308 rooms (22 singles €100 - 290, 249 doubles €105 - 670, 24 Junior suite €150 - 850, 7 Executive suite €600 - 900, 2 Deluxe suite €900 - 1300, 3 Ambassador suite €1000 - 1700, 1 Presidental suite €3500).

PTHARUFLEGBKDC hhhhh

(+385-20) 35 30 00, fax (+385-20) 35 32 95, info@hotelexcelsior.hr, www.excelsior.hr. Completely renovated, this luxurious landmark has 141 bedrooms and 17 suites with every amenity possible. Delightfully furnished with state of the art facilities. Set near the heart of the Old City with splendor terraced views,fine dining with Dalmatian and international cuisine, an indoor pool, wellness and beauty centre, private beach entry and more. Q159 rooms (3 singles €430, 139 doubles €540 - 685, 15 Junior Suite €1100, 2 Presidential Suite €3850). POTJHARUFLGBKDC hhhhh

Grand Villa Argentina L-2, Put Frana Supila 14, tel. (+385-20) 44 05 55, fax (+385-20) 47 57 93, reservations@gva.hr, www.gva.hr. Something of a Dubrovnik classic, the Argentina has been receiving highrollers ever since its 1920s heyday. Located ten minutes’ walk from the Ploče Gate, many of the hotel’s sea-facing rooms boast classic views of the town’s medieval fortifications.

Rooms in the main building are supremely comfortable, and there is more secluded apartment-style accommodation in the four villas in the terraced gardens.Q168 rooms (5 singles €80 - 245, 156 doubles €93 - 445, 7 Junior Suite €439 - 780).

PTHAFGBKDC hhhhh Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik K-3, Marijana Blažića 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 03 20, fax (+385-20) 32 02 20, sales.dubrovnik@hilton.com, www.dubrovnik.hilton. com. Refurbished and reopened in 2006 amidst a blaze of imperial glory, this grandmomma of a hotel, dating back to 1897, is near the Pile gate. Suites have fantastic views, and the terrace and piano bar are fine spots to unwind, as is the elegant indoor pool with natural sunlight. Q147 rooms (139 singles €121 - 198, 139 doubles €164 - 242, 139 triples €208 - 286, 7 suites €384 - 523, 1 Presidental Suite: €1056 - 1133).

PTJHA6UFLGBKDC hhhhh Importanne Resort F-2, Kardinala Stepinca 31, tel.

(+385-20) 44 01 00, fax (+385-20) 44 02 00, info@ importanneresort.com, www.importanneresort.com.

Experience Dubrovnik’s first resort and you will definitely be delighted. Choose from two hotels, Neptun (4 stars), Ariston (5 stars) with Importanne suites (5 stars) that are nestled along the sea, wellness facilities, sports and recreation, private car park, personalised services and a buffet restaurant that embraces the finest cuisine along with a noteworthy selction of wines. Dine on the terrace or walk along the seaside boardwalk. The natural surroundings are ideal and the resort is only a 10 minute drive from the Medieval City. Special offers are available online as well as state of the art facilties for corporate functions. Q236 rooms (206 doubles €73 - 227, 30 apartments €190 - 408).

PTHAUIFLGBKDCW

More F-2, Kardinala Stepinca 33, tel. (+385-20) 49

42 00, fax (+385-20) 49 42 40, sales@hotel-more.hr, www.hotel-more.hr. This cliff-hugging establishment on the quiet side of Lapad bay offers the facilities of a blockbuster hotel but with a significantly more intimate feel - here at least you are unlikely to be stampeded by hundreds of other holidaymakers whose faces the hotel staff can never quite remember. The décor is slightly more individualistic too, with mood-enhancing squiggly blue-green carpet motifs and bronzey-coloured bedspreads. All rooms come with a trouser-press, a comforting luxury to have by your bedside even if you only treat it as a toy rather than using it properly.

Q39 rooms (2 singles €105, 34 doubles €135 - 170, 1 Junior Suite €240, 1 Deluxe Suite €320, 1 Executive Suite €450).

PHAUFLGBKDC hhhhh Eugen Miljan

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

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Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik H/I-3, Liechtensteinov

put 3, tel. (+385-20) 20 00 00, fax (+385-20) 20 00 20, libertas@rixos.com, www.rixos.com. This grandiose cliff-side hotel, once a Dubrovnik trademark, was totally ruined during the 1991-95 war and stood derelict for ages before finally receiving the full makeover the place deserved.

With full-sized trees in the lobby and cool minimalist design throughout, it’s an impressive place. Rooms are decked out in subdued beiges and whites, many featuring glass walled bathrooms (so you can look seawards while showering).

The wellness centre covers pretty much everything from Turkish bath to chocolate massage and a Jacuzzi that can be filled with milk - if you’ve always dreamed of acting out your Anthony-and-Cleopatra fantasies then you’ll never have a better chance. The hotel’s impressively large congress halls are situated right next door to the 24hr casino is this a metaphor for the close relationship between corporate culture and the one-armed bandit? Q249 rooms (4 singles €84 - 177, 181 doubles €112 - 208, 14 suites €500 - 750, 2 Junior Suite €500 - 750, 1 Presidential Suite €2000 - 2200, 47 Executive Rooms €133 - 259).

POTHAUFLGBKDC hhhhh

The Pucić Palace C-3, Od Puča 1, tel. (+385-20)

32 62 22, fax (+385-20) 32 41 11, reservations@ thepucicpalace.com, www.thepucicpalace.com. A breathtaking hotel in a real live palace in the heart of the Old Town. So beautifully decked out in period style, it will awaken the blubbering romantic in the most hardened cynic. The staff knocked us off our feet with their friendly and helpful approach.

Q19 rooms (1 single €210 - 265, 14 doubles €327 - 515, 1 suite €825 - 940, 1 Junior Suite €607 - 665, 2 Twin Rooms €327 - 400). PTJAR6LEGBK hhhhh

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Upmarket Lapad H-2, Lapadska obala 37, tel. (+385-20) 45 55 55,

fax (+385-20) 45 55 51, sales@hotel-lapad.hr, www. hotel-lapad.hr. A grand old hotel that has recently received a thorough dose of refurbishment, with rooms kitted out with a fresh lick of paint and swanky new bathrooms. The main nineteenth-century building is the kind of place in which you can imagine Hercule Poirot tracking down high-society murderers, although the modern annexe tacked on to the back of the building is significantly less atmospheric. Located opposite Gruž harbour, it is conveniently close to Lapad beach.

Q Open from March. 163 rooms (10 singles €72 - 128, 147 doubles €96 - 190, 4 suites €204 - 340, 2 Junior Suite €174 - 302). PHAULGBKC hhhh

Mid-range Aquarius G/H-2, Mata Vodopića 8, tel. (+385-20) 45

61 11, fax (+385-20) 45 61 00, sales@hotel-aquarius. net, www.hotel-aquarius.net. Recently given a makeover, this three star hotel includes four apartments and a further twenty rooms that have been garlanded with all the necessities. Relax in the bar and choose from the diverse local and international cuisine. It is only 350 meters from the beach and a mere 3km from the historical city. Q Open from April. 24 rooms (16 singles €116 - 230, 16 doubles €108 - 158, 4 triples €162 - 237, 4 suites €140 - 188).

PALBK hhh

www.inyourpocket.com Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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WHere to stay

WHere to stay www.inyourpocket.com Petka I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 38, Gruž, tel. (+385-

20) 41 05 00/(+385-20) 41 05 03, fax (+385-20) 41 01 27, info@hotelpetka.hr, www.hotelpetka.hr. The joy of the location is not just the closeness to the ferry and bus terminals, but the aspect soaking up the best of the winter sun. Hotel Petka was fully renovated in 2007-2008, its rooms, restaurant and conference facilities are smart and good value.

Q104 rooms (8 singles €55 - 66, 92 doubles €35 - 42, 4 triples €35 - 42). PHARIFLGBK hhh

Stari grad B-2, Od Sigurate 4, tel. (+385-20) 32 22 44,

fax (+385-20) 32 12 56, info@hotelstarigrad.com, www. hotelstarigrad.com. This little antique treasure is hidden in a street just off Stradun in the Old Town. The eight rooms are small but perfectly formed, and breakfast on the roof terrace is one of the highlights of a sunny day. Q Closed from January 3 - 31. 8 rooms (4 singles 650 - 890kn, 4 doubles 920 - 1260kn). PJAGB hhh

Kompas G-2, Šetalište kralja Zvonimira 56, tel. (+38520) 35 20 00/(+385-20) 35 21 14, fax (+385-20) 43 58 77, sales@hotel-kompas.hr, www.hotel-kompas.hr.

This smallish hotel close to the centre of Lapad is delightfully appointed in a clean and tasteful style in keeping with its modern design. The indoor pool is excellent, and guests have unlimited free use of the gym, sauna and Jacuzzis. Q Closed from February 4 - March 5. 115 rooms (7 singles €40 - 60, 108 doubles €50 - 80). PTHAIFLEGBKDC hhh Lero I-3, Iva Vojnovića 14, tel. (+385-20) 34 13 33, fax (+385-20) 33 21 23, booking@hotel-lero.hr, www. hotel-lero.hr. This complex is perfectly located between the Old Town and Gruž Cove. It’s a five minute bus ride to the centre and the beach is a mere 150m walk. All 160 rooms include air-conditioning, SAT-TV, shower, and toilet facilities.

Breakfast and dinner packages are available as Tavern Nava and the Aperitif Bar are all in-house. Prices are per person.

Q160 rooms (160 singles €56 - 65, 160 doubles €36 - 44).

PHA6ILBK hhh

Vila Micika G/H-2, Mata Vodopića 10, tel. (+385-20) 43 73 32/(+385-20) 43 73 23, fax (+385-20) 43 71 62, info@vilamicika.hr, www.vilamicika.hr. Whether you’re travelling solo or in a large group, Vila Micika in Lapad can cater from two to twenty. It has both rooms and dorms that are clean and tidy. Rooms are equipped with air-con, TV, showers and toilets. Travellers have free internet access and it’s a measly 200m walk to the beach. Bars, restaurants and a shopping centre are all nearby. This is budget accommodation and its best! Q8 rooms (5 singles 150 - 170kn, 5 doubles 300 - 438kn, 2 triples 450 - 657kn). PTL hhh

Hostel Fresh Sheets B-4, Smokvina 15, tel. (+385-20) 32

20 40/(+385-) 091 799 20 86, 091 896 75 09, beds@ igotfresh.com, www.igotfresh.com. One of Dubrovnik’s best choices for budget accommodation in the Old Town, Fresh Sheets is run by a friendly well-travelled Canadian / Croatian couple. Funky, characterful dorms, free breakfast and a guesthouse atmosphere make this place a true jewel.

There’s a lively but not over-raucous bar and lounge, evening film screenings, a backpackers’ book exchange, and a list of suggested activities that includes the (highly-recommended) “walking Maxie the dog up Mout Srđ”. Q Open on request.

22 dorm beds, 15 - 25€ per person. AGW

Private accommodation Apartments Laptalo L-2, Petra Krešimira IV 13, tel./

fax (+385-20) 42 74 76, tel. (+385-) 098 70 11 70, kristo.laptalo@du.t-com.hr, www.dubrovnikapartmentslaptalo.com.hr. One HUGE bonus is garage parking very close to the city centre. Apart from that, the clean, comfortable rooms and the mammoth terrace with loungers overlooking the Old Town, the English and Italian speaking owner nurtures you like the delicate little flower you are. Q2 apartments (2 apartments €70). PJULNB hhhh

Apar tments Stradun B-2, Getaldićeva 3, tel.

Eugen Miljan

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

(+385-20) 43 68 46/(+385-) 091 244 22 01, info@ mediterranean-experience.hr, www.dubrovnikstradun. com. This house just off the Stradun contains three apartments, one on each floor. High quality, modern design blended with stone walls offers very spacious and light accommodation. Each apartment has a bedroom, a living room, kitchen and bathroom and sleeps three to four people.

The price reflects the high standard of the apartments. Q3 apartments (3 apartments €80 - 110). PA hhh

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Eugen Miljan

Apartments Toni G-1, Ivana Zajca 5, tel. (+385-) 091

529 47 41/(+385-) 098 85 05 78, dubravka.tolja@du.tcom.hr, www.apartmanitoni.com. If peaceful surroundings are important then these apartments definitely fit the bill. Only metres from the beach, several suites have been elegantly decorated with all the right modern multifunctional features.

A luxury interior and views of Gruž Cove are added bonuses.

Nearby are restaurants, a harbor and promenade. Only 10 minutes from the centre. Q5 apartments (1 apartment 280 - 1500kn, 4 Studio Apartments 280kn). P6INB hhh

Boris Vlahušić L-2, Koločepska 1, tel. (+385-20) 42 64

06/(+385-) 098 35 89 05, boris.vlahusic@du.t-com.hr, www.dubrovnikapartments.webs.com. This stone house is set amidst lush vegetation a little way uphill from the Banje beach. It’s clean and simple, if perhaps a little old-fashioned.

The owners are lovely, and Konoba Pjatanca downhill can supply meals for you to enjoy on the terrace. Q2 apartments (2 apartments €80). PT hhh

Božo Kortizija K-3, Od Tabakarije 27, tel. (+385-20)

42 60 85/(+385-) 095 875 62 43, bozo.kortizija@du.tcom.hr, www.accomodationkortizija.hr. A stone cottage in a quiet little huddle of houses around the harbour near the Pile gate. Spotlessly clean, modern rooms and an apartment to rent. The Kortizija family are the salt of the earth, and the location couldn’t be better. Simply superb. Q4 rooms (3 doubles €40, 1 apartment €70). P hhh

Islands Korčula Obala Franje Tuđmana 5, Korčula, tel. (+38520) 71 10 78/(+385-20) 72 64 80, fax (+385-20) 71 17 46, marketing@htp-korcula.hr, www.korcula-hotels. com. Choose this splendid villa in the centre of Korčula if you place historical romance above 21st century glamour - the hotel is rather dated inside, but it has a great terrace and an old-fashioned coffee house. Rooms are spacious and the sea view from the tall gothic windows is spectacular. Q20 rooms (13 doubles €50 - 80, 7 triples €50 - 80). ABK hhh

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Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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restaurants

WHere to stay

Out of town Croatia Frankopanska 10, Cavtat, tel. (+385-20) 47

55 55, fax (+385-20) 47 57 93, info@hoteli-croatia. hr, w w w.hoteli-croatia.hr. A shor t way east ou t of Cavtat town, the recently renovated Hotel Croatia offers modern, high standard accommodation. With a wellness facilities, a well regarded taverna, a nightclub and the lively little town of Cavtat nearby, you won’t run short of fun and frolics. Q Open from March. 487 rooms (480 singles €162 - 222, 480 doubles €76 - 117, 3 suites €280 - 370, 2 Junior suites €260 - 335, 2 Presidental siutes €405 - 680).

PHAFLEGBKDC hhhhh

The Dubrovnik Tram The citizens of Dubrovnik – and particularly Gruž, at that time a separate district – were delighted to get a new-fangled tramway in 1910, connecting Gruž with the city at Pile, and later also to Lapad. It replaced cumbersome carriages and omnibuses, and with its bright yellow colour was a symbol of great pride. However, the hilly terrain around the city proved to be its downfall: a tram descending the hill towards town lost control and crashed into the park at the Pile gates, sounding the death knell for the Dubrovnik tram. The last tram trip was accompanied by crowds of tearful citizens even sitting on the roof of the tram so as not to miss the occasion.

If you’re in Zagreb, you can see a yellow Dubrovnik tram in the brilliant Technical Museum.

Indijan Skvar, Orebić, tel. (+385-20) 71 45 55, fax (+385-20) 71 45 67, indijan@indijan.hr, www. hotelindijan.hr. This family hotel is perfectly positioned with beachfront views and picturesque mountains in its surroundings. Furbished rooms have all the amenities a 4 star hotel could ever offer. Friendly staff organise island tour packages to assist visitors. A family restaurant, terrace, swimming pool and SPA are just some of its other features.

Q Open from March 20. 19 rooms (3 singles 445 - 518kn, 10 doubles 664 - 883kn, 4 triples 591 - 810kn, 2 Junior Suite 883 - 1102kn). PAFLGKDC hhhh Ostrea Mali Ston b.b., tel. (+385-20) 75 45 55, fax

(+385-20) 75 45 75, ostrea.info@ostrea.hr, www. ostrea.hr. This small hotel is well placed for sampling the delights of the Pelješac peninsula, including the renowned seafood from the Mali Ston bay - it’s run by the family who own the Kapetanova kuća restaurant. Luxurious, traditional style accommodation plus a fleet of cars at your disposal. Q14 rooms (13 singles 400 - 470kn, 13 doubles 610 - 690kn, 1 Presidental suite 930kn). PA6ULBK hhh

Vila Koruna Pelješki put 1, Mali Ston, tel. (+385-20) 75

49 99/(+385-) 098 34 42 33, fax (+385-20) 75 46 42, vila-koruna@du.t-com.hr, www.vila-koruna.hr. Recently redecorated into a top quality restaurant and villa complex.

Six rooms and two suites have been furnished with state of the art features. The restaurant is known for its pristine oysters, local olives, cheese, hams and sensual wines. The surroundings are lush and neatly secluded. Friendly staff looks after every detail. Q 6 rooms (6 singles 500kn, 6 doubles 660kn). PTJHA6LEBK hhhh

www.inyourpocket.com Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Zlatno zrno I-3, Iva Vojnovića 63b, tel. (+385-20) 33

Symbol key P E T G O R

Air conditioning Live music Child friendly Non-smoking areas Casino Internet

A S U L 6 B

Credit cards accepted Take away Facilities for the disabled Guarded parking Animal friendly Outside seating

Dubrovnik has good restaurants, but also its share of bland and overpriced ones. We’ve tried to pick out the ones we feel are most worth visiting, be it for the cooking, the surroundings or value for money.

Most restaurants offer rather similar fare: a seafood based menu with a few meats from the grill. When the food is fresh and well prepared, however, simplicity is not a bad thing. If you need a change, it’s worth heading a little way inland, where you’ll find the cuisine more influenced by the continent, with meat dishes coming to the fore.

Bakeries Galeta C-2, Kunićeva 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 10 89.

Their sweet and savoury pastries are satisfyingly buttery and moreish. Try an apple (jabuka) or frankfurter (hrenovka) wrapped in puff pastry. QOpen 06:30 - 21:00.

Klas I-3, Pera Ćingrije 10, tel. (+385-20) 33 16 13.

This bakery offers everything you need to survive late night munchies. QOpen 06:00 - 24:00, Sat 00:00 - 24:00.

Rusica I-2, Andrije Hebranga 54, tel. (+385-20) 41 13 42. Crusty loaves to go with those fishes, plus pizza and “burek” filo pastry pies too. QOpen 06:00 - 23:00.

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11 20. A place where you can eat pizza, pancerotta, “burek”, but also delicious cakes all day and all night long! QOpen 00:00 - 24:00.

Croatian Dubravka A-2, Brsalje 1, tel. (+385-20) 42 63 19, nautika@du.t-com.hr, www.dubravka1836.hr. Enjoy your breakfast while the sun rises over the walls of Dubrovnik, or steak, seafood, sweets and shakes throughout the day. Dubravka shares the pretty, shady plaza Bršalje with Nautika (both restaurants have the same owners as Proto, Mimoza and Konavoski Dvori), and has a splendid view of the Lovrijenac, Minčeta and Bokar fortresses, and a peek of the deep blue beyond the walls. Q Open from March 15. Open 08:00 - 01:00. PTAUB

Festival of Oysters 20/03/2010 11:00 in front of St Blaise’s Church

Legend has it that the Austrian emperors centuries ago loved to devour oysters, which reputedly had magical powers. We are, of course, taking specifically about the oysters that came from the Mali Ston Bay, a part of the Dubrovnik region where the oysters are still nurtured in the cleanest and clearest sea in the world. Oysters are ripe and most tasty in March, when the Feast of Saint Joseph is celebrated. Gastronomy experts claim that oysters should be served fresh and sprinkled with lemon juice.

And that is exactly how you will be able to taste them, freshly opened and with the scent of the sea.

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restaurants Hilton Cooking School Why not brush up your cookery skills with a short course at th e Hil ton?

I talian master ch ef Gabriele Savini teaches 2-days courses which, in 2010 will include Fine Dining, Italian Cookery, Healthy Eating, Cookery School for Lovers and Finger Food. Students also learn abou t wine and ways of presenting food and decorating the table. In December, the theme is the Christmas menu. At 450kn per person per course, it seems like a great value way to pick up some tips and meet people. Info and reservations on (020) 32 03 91 or andjela.skaro@hilton.com.

restaurants Orhan K-3, Od Tabakarije 1, tel. (+385-20) 41 41 83/

(+385-) 091 725 51 09, dominik.kuzman@du.htnet.hr, www.restaurant-orhan.com. Definitely check out the tiny harbour at Pile - it’s like something out of a pirate movie set in an intimate huddle of houses beaneath sheer cliffs. Orhan’s terrace is, therefore, a great spot. Decent quality, classic Croatian cooking at reasonable prices. QOpen 11:00 24:00. Open from February. PJAGB

Taverna Nostromo I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 38, Hotel Petka, tel. (+385-20) 41 05 24/(+385-20) 41 05 25, info@petka.hr, www.croatia-vacation.com. The food here is the subject of much praise among Dubrovnik’s citizens, and the service is fantastic. The taverna has a casual feel while the restaurant upstairs is the essence of modern refinement. QOpen 08:00 - 22:00. (60 - 120kn).

PAGB

Zoe F-2, Kardinala Stepinca 31, tel. (+385-20) 44 04 84. Located on the rocky south-western tip of the Babin kuk peninsula (and a pleasant 15-minute walk from Lapad bay along the coastal path), Zoe is an excellent place at which to sample choice local food on a lovely sea-facing terrace. As well as grilled fish pure-and-simple there’s a healthy sprinkling of traditional country recipes, such as roast duck breast, or stewed frogfish with sage. Starters like breaded frogs’ legs or risotto with boletus mushrooms will probably suffice as a lunchtime main course. QOpen 10:00 - 24:00. ALB

International Cantina Mexicana Chihuahua E-1, Hvarska 6, tel.

(+385-20) 42 44 45/(+385-) 098 58 28 46. This rather pleasant Mexican sits eccentrically just uphill from the Ploče gates and serves up all the usuals: sizzling fajitas, burritos, tacos and chimichangas, plus ribs and wings, steaks and pasta. Try the piquant sausages and a black pancake to finish off with! QOpen 17:00 - 23:00. Closed from January 10 - February 28. (60 - 120kn). PNB

Komin G-2, Iva Dulčića 136, tel. (+385-20) 43 56 36,

info@restaurant-komin.com, www.restaurant-komin. com. The “fireplace”, adorned with ironwork and ancient weaponry, has as its centrepiece a real hearth where your meal is cooked before your very eyes - try meat or fish “ispod peke”. A good choice in the Babin kuk area. QOpen 12:00 23:00. (70 - 120kn). PALB Maestoso E-1, Hvarska bb, tel. (+385-20) 42 09 86/ (+385-) 098 24 31 71, www.restaurantmaestoso.hr.

Even though Maestoso sits plum just above the Ploče gate there are no pretensions here. They do what Dalmatian restaurants have done well for years, with a workmanlike approach to food and service that gives you a good value, local-style and highly enjoyable meal. Solid. QOpen 10:00 - 24:00. PAGB Mimoza J-3, Branitelja Dubrovnika 9, tel. (+385-20) 41 11 57, mimoza@esculap-teo.hr, www.esculap-teo. hr. In a courtyard across from the Hilton Imperial Hotel, 100 meters from the Pile Gate, Mimoza is big enough to handle your tour group and several others simultaneously, seemingly without a blink. There’s a dining room, but the terrace, shaded partly with a grape arbor, is a pleasant place to dine on meats and fish, pizzas and pasta and vegetarian dishes.

Delivery is available. QOpen 11:00 - 24:00. (80 - 120kn).

PTAEGB

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Domino Steak House B-3, Od Domina 6, tel. (+385-20) 32 31 03, domino@du.t-com.hr, w w w. steakhousedomino.com. A serious convention centre for carnivores, with steaks done in a multitude of styles. The outside seating in a sheltered courtyard just south of Stradun is especially lovely in hot weather. QOpen 11:00 - 23:00.

(80 - 130kn). PAGB

Taj Mahal C-3, Nikole Gučetića 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 32 21/(+385-) 099 323 22 12, kucaedo@du.t-com.hr. You guessed it, the Old Town’s only Bosnian restaurant, where you can enjoy good grilled meats including ćevapi - shish kebab.

Try one of the pite pies (we love the spinach one). Sweet tooths will love baklava, others will fall into a sugar-induced coma! QOpen 10:00 - 23:00. (40 - 115kn). AB

Konoba Lokanda Peskarija D-2, Na Ponti bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 47 50, www.mea-culpa.hr. Delightfully old-fashioned in a seafaring style, Lokanda, right on the old Ploče harbour, offers simple fish dishes at low prices. Don’t miss the fried small fish or the black squid ink risotto, and be prepared to wait for a table. QOpen 11:00 - 23:00. Closed January.

(55 - 70kn). PAB Pupo C-2, Miha Pracata 8, tel. (+385-) 099 216 54 54.

Compact and bijou, this konoba offers a limited menu of wellprepared home style fish dishes and steaks, fresh and good value for money. Apart from the Old Town location, the guitar in the corner helps add to the cosy, jolly atmosphere. Q Open 10:00 - 15:00, 18:00 - 23:00. Closed January. dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Light bites Buffet Škola C-2, Antuninska 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 10

96/(+385-) 098 909 40 18. A tiny spot just off Stradun where you can nibble some tasty local specialities such as pršut, marinated cheese and sardines at fast food prices.

Sandwiches are freshly made with home baked bread.

QOpen 09:00 - 22:00. (21 - 26kn). PNG Mrvica C-2, Kunićeva 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 15 21. The place for fast food - choose your sandwich and the ever-smiling ladies will warm it and fill it with the salads and dressings of your choice. Try the pickled red peppers - mmm… Quality, fresh and yummy. Take-away only. QOpen 08:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 08:00 - 01:00.

Niko C-3, Od puča 9. A place to grab a light snack on the hoof, ranging from sandwiches and pizza cuts to local speciality pies, muffins, quiches and more.... Q Open 07:30 - 20:00.

Mediterranean Renaissance C-2, Vara bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 47 99.

Light, Mediterranean meals with value-for-money lunch and dinner menus. The whole ceiling is hand decorated in floral motifs in shades of gold and red, while this rich style is complemented with photos of old Dubrovnik and the local saying Non bene pro toto libertas venditus auro (Freedom is not sold for even all the gold of the world). QOpen 12:00 23:00. (70 - 150). AB Sesame J-5, Dante Alighieria bb, tel. (+385-20) 41 29 10, misko.ercegovic@du.htnet.hr, www.sesame.hr. An Aladdin’s cave of antique treasures, contemporary music and an eclectic blend of local and Mediterranean recipes orchestrated by the fastidious owner. Succulent lamb in dill sauce, saltimbocca, beautifully seasoned vegetables and pancakes with orange and almonds - everything is sublime.

QOpen 08:00 - 22:00. (70 - 150kn). PAGB

Healthy scented fair 09 - 11/04/2010 Mediterranean fair of healthy food and medicinal herbs This is a great

chance to learn about traditional organic products from all over Croatia, to try out some healthy foods and learn about natural remedies. In this part of the world, even doctors are likely to tell you to buy a packet of camomile tea rather than immediately prescribing antibiotics.

Funnily enough, it works and it’s much better for you.

(Obviously, always consult your doctor first if you have pre-existing health problems or suspect a more serious ailment). Valamar Lacroma Resort, Iva Dulčića 34

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Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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restaurants

restaurants Pizza Baracuda B/C-3, Nikole Božidarevića 10, tel. (+385-

Spaghetteria Toni B-3, Nikole Božidarevića 14, tel.

(+385-20) 32 31 34. Their slogan is The best pasta in town! And who are we to argue? This cute trattoria, clean and simple, is indeed a good place to enjoy all kinds of pasta dishes prepared by the chef/owner and served by friendly staff. QOpen 10:00 - 22:00. Open 10:00 - 22:00. Closed December - January 31. PB

Out of town Bota Kroz polje 5, Mali Ston, tel. (+385-20) 75 44 82/

(+385-) 091 175 44 79, botamaliston@inet.hr, www. bota-sare.hr. Not as famous as Kapetanova kuća next door, but the shady terrace and old-fashioned stone interior present stiff competition to the rather more modern neighbours. If you’re squeamish about raw oysters, this is a good place to sample numerous dishes containing the cooked little critters. Excellent. QOpen 09:00 - 23:00. (70 - 400kn).

PALB Kapetanova kuća Mali Ston, Ston, tel. (+385-20) 75 42 64/(+385-20) 75 45 55, ostrea.info@ostrea.hr, www.ostrea.hr. Head chef Lidija Kralj is Croatian TV’s Delia Smith, and this restaurant has a countrywide reputation. It’s a crime not to try the fresh oysters from the Bay of Ston directly in front of the sheltered terrace. We were a little surprised by sharp pieces of prawn detritus in the robustly flavourful risotto and by the stale bread (it was Sunday). QOpen 09:00 - 24:00. (60 - 100kn). PALB Konavoski komin Velji dol, Jasenice, Cavtat, tel. (+385-20) 47 96 07, smilja.siljug@hotmail.com. Set in the lush rural region of Konavle, the stone terrace has a fantastic view. Everything is home grown and full of flavour: try juicy meats cooked under an iron bell heaped with embers or charcoal grilled fish, a garden salad and home made apple strudel. QOpen 12:00 - 24:00. (45 - 90kn). ALB Villa Neretva Krvavac 2, Metković, tel. (+385-20) 67 22 00, 67 22 01/(+385-) 098 36 17 00, info@ villa-neretva.com, www.villa-neretva.com. A family run hotel offering photo safaris in the Neretva delta and local freshwater delicacies such as eel and frog. If your courage doesn’t extend that far, you can choose from a solid range of traditional meat dishes including Dalmatian pašticada - beef in sauce with prunes and gnocci. QOpen 09:00 - 24:00.

(50 - 120kn). PALB Zure Lumbarda 239, Korčula, tel. (+385-20) 71 23 34/(+385-) 091 512 87 12, batistic.zure@du.t-com. hr, www.zure.hr. If you opt to enjoy the shallow, fine sand beaches at Lumbarda, don’t miss a meal at this rather special place. The owners catch, rear and grow everything that lands on your table. The food is excellent, and the pomegranate rakija a unique experience! QOpen 18:00 - 24:00. Closed January. (60 - 120kn). AB

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

20) 32 31 60/(+385-) 091 572 62 65. Claims to be the first pizzeria in town, serving hot pizza pie as big as your tummy! QOpen 08:00 - 23:30. Closed February. (25 - 80kn).

PNBS Mea Culpa B-3, Za Rokom 3, tel. (+385-20) 32 34 30, meaculpa@mea-culpa.hr, www.mea-culpa.hr. Serves up a somewhat pricey but reasonable pie - pizzas can be a bit iffy in Dubrovnik. This complex includes a pizzeria, a grill for ćevapčići (shish kebab, basically) and a lovely dark wood pub with a great stack of rock-based CDs on the bar.

QOpen 08:00 - 23:00. Closed January 6 - 31. (24 - 60kn).

PJABS Oliva D-3, Lučarica 5, tel. (+385-20) 32 45 94. In an alleyway behind the Stradun, Oliva seems slightly more authentic than some of the other pizzerias in town, as if a bit more thought has gone into the quality of the ingredients that go on top of the pie. Pizzas come in sizes of either small (i.e. just about sufficient for one person) or large - the larger ones being big enough to feed approximately one and a half hungry adults, presuming you can find half an adult to share with. Salads, lasagnes and takeaway service also available.

QOpen 10:00 - 23:00, Sun 11:00 - 23:00. Closed January 15 - February 28. (35 - 60kn). PAB

Seafood Kamenice C-3, Gundulićeva poljana 8, tel. (+385-20)

32 36 82. Kamenice has legions of fans around the world for its huge portions of tasty seafood and cheap, cheap prices.

It’s a simple place on the market square, near the statue of Mr Gundulić. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00. Closed January 15 February 15. (40 - 110kn). EBS Pergola H-2, Kralja Tomislava 1, tel. (+385-20) 43 68 48/(+385-) 098 24 37 61, pergola1862@net.hr.

This little restaurant is has been on this spot for years. It’s sweet and intimate with attentive staff, and is well known for exceptionally fresh fish, simply prepared to let the flavours come to the fore. On the pleasant terrace, food is prepared on a charcoal grill before your very eyes. QOpen 10:00 - 24:00.

(80 - 150kn). PALG Proto C-2, Široka 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 32 34, sales@ esculap-teo.hr, www.esculap-teo.hr. Nautika’s little brother is not only a little cheaper but also has a wonderful location just off Stradun. Superb food - mainly seafood, but meat dishes kick ass too - a supremely romantic ambience and friendly service make this a strong contender for top dining spot. QOpen 11:00 - 23:00. Closed January. (150 340kn). PAGB

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www.inyourpocket.com Vegetarian Nishta C-2, Prijeko 30, tel. (+385-) 098 186 74 40,

info@nishtarestaurant.com, www.nishtarestaurant. com. Jam packed amongst a street filled with restaurants is this small haven for non-meaty lovers. You’ll find vegetarian food from all over the world including Mexican, Indian and Chinese. Choose from falafel, curry, fondue, and spring-rolls.

A lot of thought has gone into the design of the toilets, so make sure you arrive with a full bladder otherwise you will miss out on the joke. Q Open 12:00 - 15:00, 18:00 - 22:00, Mon 18:00 - 22:00. Closed Sun. Closed from January 6 - February 15. ABS

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The First Lady of the Adriatic The joy of Mediterranean food is its simplicity, and you can’t get much simpler than the humble sardine. A staple diet of poor fishermen’s families for generations, sometimes looked down upon by those who think paying ten times more guarantees ten times more satisfaction, the sardine is beginning to take her rightful place as the queen of the sea.

They say there’s no better place to eat sardines than right on the fishing boat. Able seamen rinse them in seawater, dip them in flour, chuck them into a pan of boiling oil, drain and salt them and peel the juicy white flesh off the bone, throwing the remains to the gulls. Try this at home – use plenty of good quality, strong, extra virgin olive oil. Buy bags of fresh sardines outside the fish market for 10kn.

A rather more refined way to eat sardines is grilled in a special wire rack over charcoal (or threaded onto twigs if you’re nimble). Don’t get fussy with them – leave the first side to cook, turn once or twice only, and then coat them in olive oil and salt. Eat with your fingers with hunks of fresh bread, local tomatoes and red wine.

When the festa is in town, you’ll have the opportunity to try sardines at stands throughout the city. And in a good konoba (traditional fisherman’s restaurant), you can try any number of alternative ways to eat these little bundles of goodness: salted, marinated, or eaten cold in a paté or a salad.

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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cafÉs

restaurants

The Croatian cuisine Expectations of Croatian cuisine are usually based around the rich diversity of fresh fish, squid, lobster and shellfish supplied by the Adriatic Sea. Unsurprisingly, this maritime bounty forms the backbone of most restaurant menus.

However it would be a mistake to assume that this was all that local culinary culture had to offer. Croatia’s coastal regions have preserved a wealth of age-old regional specialities, many of which are coming back into fashion having for decades been looked down on as simple peasant food.

Home-made pasta with a goulash-type sauce is one Adriatic staple that is found in traditional konobe or inns all along the coast. Twizzles of home-made pasta called fuži are still common in Istria and the northern Adriatic, while the island of Krk has preserved the tradition of making šurlice, succulent macaroni-like twists made from flour-and-egg dough. These traditional pastas are usually served with some kind of lamb or beef stew, depending on which form of livestock prevails. Dubrovnik and the nearby islands are famous for šporki makaruni (literally “dirty macaroni”) a meaty goulash served with home-made macaroni and dusted with grated hard cheese.

Other peasant staples which you will encounter up and down the coast include bobići (bean stew with sweetcorn) and maneštra (a thick vegetable broth). In southern Dalmatia, zelena maneštra (“green pasta”) is made my boiling up the bones of a home-cured cured pork leg and adding potato and cabbage. Cabbage used to be a staple vegetable throughout the region, and still forms the key ingredient in arambaše - cabbage leaves stuffed with minced beef, pork and bacon which are a speciality of inland Dalmatia, especially around the town of Sinj.

Anyone touring the Adriatic coast by car is sure to pass roadside restaurants where whole lamb carcasses revolve slowly over open fires in the car park. The resulting spit-roast meat is delicious served with raw spring onion and potatoes. Lamb from the Adriatic islands and the

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

Dalmatian hinterland is considered to have a particularly delicate taste, thanks largely to the wide variety of aromatic herbs scoffed by the beasts while grazing. Lamb from Pag is particularly tasty, on account of the crystals of sea-salt deposited on the sage-covered hillsides that serve as pasture.

Another highly individual local way of preparing lamb is to cook the meat in a peka, a lidded vessel which is placed in an open fire and then covered with embers to ensure a long slow bake. On the Dalmatian islands the peka method is also used to bake octopus, as well as the larger fish such as zubatac (dentex) or grdobina (frogfish).

Each of the islands has preserved highly individual dishes which can’t always be found on the mainland. Gregada (a mixture of fish stewed in white wine) is prepared by almost all the restaurants in Hvar, but rarely crops up in places which are only a short ferry ride away. The island of Vis is well known for a unique savoury pie known as the pogača, which wraps a salty fish filling (usually anchovies or sardines) inside light flaky pastry. These pogača are sold in all the bakeries on the island, although there’s a crucial difference in recipe depending on whether you buy it in the town of Vis or the town of Komiža (the Komiža version comes with a tangy dash of tomato).

Several islands are known for their spectacular sweets, many of which can be bought in delicatessens throughout the region. The Kvarner island of Rab is famous for the Rapska torta, a baton-shaped cake made from marzipan and rolled in sweet pastry. The inhabitants of Korčula are notoriously sweet-toothed, with locally-made kroštule (deep-fried pastry twists) and cukarine (crescent-shaped biscuits flavoured with orange and lemon) making the ideal tea-time treat. Paprenjaci from Korčula and Hvar are biscuits made from a blend of honey and pepper, not dissimilar to gingerbread in taste. In Dubrovnik you should definitely try rožata, a syrup-topped custard similar to crème caramel.

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

In Croatia, as in Italy, café culture rules. Life is simply not worth living without a daily gossip over a macchiato.

This process seems to last at least five hours, leaving outsiders wondering who the hell does any work around here. So the cafés are always busy, and the coffee usually good. The standard espresso and cappuccino are available everywhere, while a latte here is called a “bijela kava” (white coffee).

Africa C-2, Vetranićeva 3, tel. (+385-) 098 85 49 54/ (+385-) 098 166 21 84. Among the many little cafés tucked in the side streets off Stradun, this is one of our favourites for the cool artwork and good music. It’s a place where locals catch up over a brew. QOpen 08:00 - 02:00. P Biker’s Cafe L-2, Petra Krešimira IV /39, tel. (+385-) 091 764 69 19, bobara-komerc@du.t-com.hr, www. bikers-caffe.com. Perched up in a neighbourhood just above Ploče, this place is worth seeking out to meet up with bike fans from around the world. The friendly staff will try their best to sort you out with a place to stay. QOpen 07:00 - 03:00. PNB Fashion Café H-2, Kralja Tomislava 7. In the heart of Lapad, this is a café dedicated to those who know their Bvlgari from their Balenciaga, with even the occasional fashion show going on. Sunglasses the size of dinner plates are mandatory.

QOpen 07:00 - 23:00. PBX Festival D-2, Placa bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 11 48, info@ caffefestival.com. This coffee house right on Stradun is the place where local bigwigs and intellectuals coagulate to chew the fat, literally and metaphorically. You can pick up a well-priced light lunch special here, and the terrace location couldn’t be better. QOpen 09:00 - 22:00. PAB Galerie C-2, Kunićeva 5, tel. (+385-20) 32 20 22. One of a plethora of little cafes stroke drinking holes in the side streets leading north from Stradun. This one is nice enough inside, has a couple of shady tables out, and plays the pop, rock and dance beloved of its youthful clientele. QOpen 08:00 - 24:00, Sat 08:00 - 02:00, Sun 09:00 - 24:00. B GradsKavana D-3, Pred dvorom 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 12 05 / press 2, sales@mea-culpa.hr, www.mea-culpa. hr. A kavana is a Austro-Hungarian style coffee house, and the wonderful thing about this one, apart from the fine architecture and location, is that it’s been given delightful modern touches and offers a selection of fantastic cakes.

Try the cake made with macaroni and walnuts. QOpen 08:00 - 24:00. PJAB

Eugen Miljan

Laura L-2, Frana Supila 1, tel. (+385-) 099 506 22 60,

brigita.mrkic@gmail.com. Easily overlooked, but shouldn’t be - the view over the walled city from the terrace just above the Ploče gate is phenomenal, and inside great music (commercial dance and local rock) plus fine local travarica (herb brandy) rule the roost. Turns into a night bar weekends during high season. QOpen 06:30 - 23:00, Fri 06:30 - 24:00, Sat 06:30 - 03:00. Closed from January 2 - 13. PB

Living Room I-2, Ante Starčevića 7, tel. (+385-20) 46 86 52/(+385-) 091 567 26 32, www.livingroom.com.hr.

A café/bar that is comfortable and relaxing, it’s great for that casual chat amongst friends in a setting that is neat, casual and well known for its fine coffee. QOpen 07:00 - 23:00.

Closed Sat, Sun. PBW

Porto Srebreno 10, Mlini. It’s a hop out of town in the village

of Srebreno (you can get there on the bus heading for Cavtat), but this big, modern space which serves as a chillout zone by day and a lively bar with dancing by night has proved to be very popular with local trendsters at weekends. QOpen 07:00 - 24:00. PGB

Talir C-2, Antuninska bb. A classy spot to sup your coffee amidst antique style furnishings and artwork. If that’s not enough to satisfy your aesthetic as well as caffeine cravings, you can pop into the gallery opposite afterwards. QOpen 08:00 - 23:00. PB

Cakes Dolce vita C-2, Nalješkovićeva 1a, tel. (+385-20) 32 16 66. This colourful little spot does great cakes, muffins and ice cream - among the best in town - just off Stradun. QOpen 09:00 - 23:00. PNB GradsKavana D-3, Pred Dvorom 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 12 02 / press 2, sales@mea-culpa.hr, www.meaculpa.hr. The excellent city coffee house, for many years a cult meeting place, has a superb collection of cakes.

We particularly like the macaroni cake with walnuts and the almond cake (kolač od mandule), and apple pita is excellent too. Melt in the mouth! QOpen 08:00 - 24:00.

PJAB

Marin Šperanda

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Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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niGHtLife

During the winter, nightlife in Dubrovnik is about getting together with friends in a cosy café, interspersed by the occasional concert or special event. At weekends, you can dance until the small hours in one of the city’s handful of nightclubs.

Bars Arsenal D-3, Pred Dvorom 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 10 65

/ press 1/(+385-) 098 983 08 31, sales@mea-culpa. hr, www.mea-culpa.hr. This huge space is a former repair workshop for wooden galleys. Plonk yourself at one of the pirate-sized wooden tables and chow down on great seafood (served by midnight), have a drink or three, take in a live band and indulge in a spot of shimmying on the dancefloor - in any order or combination. Spectacular. QOpen 10:30 - 23:00.

Closed January. PAB Buža D-4, Outside the city walls near St.Stephen’s tower, tel. (+385-20) 32 40 53/(+385-) 098 36 19 34.

What a place to sit - rocky terraces overlooking the open sea south of the Old Town. There’s no running water here so bottled drinks only - which are pretty pricey - but the laid back music and hedonistic mood make up for everything. QOpen according to weather conditions. B Capitano K-3, Između vrta 2, tel. (+385-) 098 36 64 70. This bar is usually empty before the witching hour, after which it transforms into a scene of drinking, dancing and shenanigans which go on ‘til the wee small hours. Commercial dance, occasional live bands and hormone-fuelled youth dressed to kill. QOpen Thu, Fri, Sat 20:00 - 04:00. PB Exit C-2, Boškovićeva 2. Bar on the first floor of a small building, just off the Stradun, not visible but audible from the outside. It has very good acoustics and friendly staff. Has one computer which is free to use. Altogether a good atmosphere to start the night out. QOpen 09:00 - 24:00.

SkyBar C-3, Marojice Kaboge 1, tel. (+385-) 091 220 20 94, bradley@du.t-com.hr. Administering a much-needed dose of urban eating and drinking culture to the Old Town, this newly opened café-cum-diner and lounge bar has settled quickly into its own niche. Expect to find both local beer and Erdinger on tap, a mind-boggling array of spirits, and an attractively-priced list of cocktails. Blending slate grey, soothing whites and mood-enhancing purples, the interior is smart and slinky without being overdone. If the delightfully dotty abstract mosaic on the back wall starts revolving in front of your eyes, though, it’s probably time you were in bed.

QOpen 09:00 - 02:00. PAB Troubadour Hard Jazz Cafe C-3, Bunićeva poljana 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 34 76. It’s hard to beat a cold evening spent here toe-tapping to mellow jazz (live acts too), with your super-size view onto the Cathedral. A near-perfect experience, so we’ll forgive the significantly above-average prices. QOpen 10:00 - 01:00. ENB

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

GettinG around

Casinos

Eugen Miljan

Golden Sun Casino H/I-3, Liechtensteinov put 3 (Hotel Rixos Libertas), tel. (+385-20) 63 85 88, marketing@ du.major.hr, www.major.hr. Subterranean gambling palace lodged beneath the lobby of the Rixos hotel, offering moneyshedding opportunities to suit all pockets - you can drift along the rows of slot machines, or settle apprehensively at the roulette and card tables. With the added attractions of cocktails and live lounge-bar music, it’s a not unpleasant place to while away an evening. Q Open 15:00 - 06:00 (bar and slot machines), 20:00 - 04:00 (gambling tables). EK

Clubs Fuego A-2, Brsalje 8, tel. (+385-20) 31 28 70, clubfuego@gmail.com, www.dubrovniknightclub.com.

A proper little club on Pile. As the name suggests, you’ll often find a Latin theme down here, but other nights mainstream rock, dance, the odd live band… QOpen Thu, Fri, Sat 23:00 - 06:00. PNB Lazareti L-2, Frana Supila 8, tel. (+385-20) 32 46 33, arl@du.htnet.hr, www.lazareti.com. These superb stone spaces in the former quarantine house are given over to happenings of an arty/underground nature, including quality DJs spinning electronica. The international multimedia festival includes independent, cutting-edge music, theatre, dance and more. QOpen 08:00 - 02:00.

Orlando J-3, Branitelja Dubrovnika 41, klub_umo@ yahoo.com, www.klub-orlando.com. A multi-talented organisation organising excellent live bands, DJ appearances, film screenings, workshops, exhibitions and much much more, leaning towards the alternative stream of culture. Check out our culture pages or the club’s website for what’s on.

Pubs Arch Pub C-4, Androvićeva 1, tel. (+385-) 098 30 69 90,

www.dubrovnikpub.com. As the name says, it is housed under the arch behind the Cathedral. One of the rare places playing music other than house and mainstream. This fact and the successful combination of stone and dark wood make you want to stay and just keep ordering those Irish beers they keep. QOpen 09:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 09:00 - 02:00.

Irish Pub Karaka C-2, Između polača 5, tel. (+385-) 098 50 03 22. A spit and sawdust style woodsy pub full of persons of Gaelic descent and loud rock music! Crowded, sweaty, drunken, not very Croatian - but fun. QOpen 10:00 - 24:00. PENB King Richard’s Pub I-3, Josipa Kosora bb, tel. (+38520) 33 37 33, viam1@du.t-com.hr. Somewhat incongruous - a classy, “traditional” style pub in a rather new residential building, but nice nonetheless, and has become a favoured night spot on Lapad. Upstairs is for drinking and scoffing; downstairs is for boogieing and karaoke. QOpen 08:00 23:00. Closed Sun. PAB

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WHat to see

WHat to see Dubrovnik justifiably invites hyperbole - every corner in the Old Town, in its entirey a UNESCO World Heritage site, has spellbinding charm and tells many a story. Although the city dates back to the 7th century, many buildings were devastated in a terrible earthquake in 1667, and were rebuilt resulting in the rather harmonious style you see today. The architects of Dubrovnik included the best of the Croatian masters, including Juraj Dalmatinac (also responsible for the cathedral at Šibenik and the entire town of Pag) in combination with masters from Venice, Dubrovnik’s main rival and trading partner. Architectural beauty is perhaps a cause of a deep immersion in the arts that manifests itself in galleries and festivals.

Essential Dubrovnik Dominican Monastery (Dominikanski samostan)

St Blaise How close St Blaise is to the people of Dubrovnik is shown by the number of times he appears in reliefs and sculptures in the city, and by the celebrations on his feast day, February 3, when a grand procession through town takes place, followed by great merriment. It is thought he was adopted as the city’s saint protector in 971 after appearing in a vision warning of an attack by the Venetians. St Blaise came from Armenia, he was a healer, and legend has it that sick animals came to him but would never disturb his prayers. He was persecuted as a Christian, and in prison still practised medicine, saving a child from choking on a fishbone. That’s why he is the patron saint of ailments of the throat, and on his feast day peoples’ throats are still blessed with two entwined candles. He was thrown in a lake, and stood on the water waiting for his persecutors to come out to him – they drowned. When he came back to dry land, his flesh was torn with wool combs and he was beheaded.

Did you know?

The English word “argosy”, meaning a fleet of ships, is derived from the name Ragusa.

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D-2, Sv. Dominika 4, tel. (+385-20) 32 14 23. The Dominican order was established in Dubrovnik in the 13th century, and with the building of their monastery a century later, they became an important part of the city’s defences - the monastery is at a strategic corner of the Old Town, vulnerable to attack from land and sea. Graceful stone steps lead up to the complex - notice that the balustrades have been filled in to prevent rogues from looking up devout ladies’ skirts! As befits the monastery’s strategic position, from the outside it is fairly austere, but inside hides a jewel of a gothic and renaissance cloister (1456-1469), with a thick carpet of grass in the centre. The interior of the monastery church is delightfully simple, with a sweeping wooden roof and some fine stone furniture. The Dominican monastery, like the Franciscan, holds an important library and collection of art including a painting of Dubrovnik before the great earthquake by local master Nikola Božidarević that has been invaluable to historians in reconstructing the look of the Old Town, as well as important works by Titian, Paolo Veneziano and Vlaho Bukovac of neighbouring Cavtat. Mass: 07:00 and 18:00, Sun 08:00, 09:00, 11:00 and 18:00. QOpen 09:00 - 17:00.

Admission 20kn.

Stradun, Placa B/C-2 When talking about finding your way around town, you’ll often hear people referring to “Stradun”, which you won’t see on any street signs. It’s the unofficial name for the main street Placa that joins the two main entrances to the Old Town at Ploče in the east and Pile in the west. The name comes from the Italian “strada”, meaning “street”. With its shining limestone flags and the uniform baroque buildings that line it, it is itself one of the best known sights of Dubrovnik. It’s the place people bump into and chat with friends on their daily business, and dress up for a stroll in the evening or at coffee time. Stradun marks the dividing line between the earliest settlement and the parts of the city that followed. This first settlement was on the land south of Stradun, and was then named Laus, Greek for “rock”, since it was originally an island. From the name Laus came Raus, Rausa and then Ragusa. Although Laus was probably inhabited by Illyrian peoples since the 4th century, it was colonised in the 7th century by Greco-Roman refugees from Cavtat fleeing Slav incursions. Later, Slavs settled the land across the narrow, marshy channel - this settlement was called Dubrava, from the Slav word for “oak tree”. The channel was filled in during the 12th century, thus creating Stradun, and the two towns integrated and began to build the city walls.

The City Walls, Bastions and Gates Pile & Ploče (Gradske zidine, tvrđave, gradska vrata Pile, Vrata od Ploča) www.citywallsdubrovnik.hr. Almost

two kilometres in length, Dubrovnik’s city walls are among the best preserved and most attractive on this planet, and a walk along them is an absolute must. The defences were built between the 8th and the 16th century. The fact that

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on the land side they are almost 6m thick in places shows their primary purpose as defence against attack from the mountainous hinterland - the Ottoman Empire, for example, lay just a few kilometres inland. The walls were strengthened by myriad towers and bastions, and were never breached the Republic of Dubrovnik only fell after Napoleon’s armies were invited in on condition that they would respect its independence. Two further fortresses, Revelin to the east and Lovrijenac, on a headland just west of the Old Town, provided additional strategic defence. Revelin is a venue for concerts during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, and has a cocktail bar, pizzeria and nightclub inside. Lovrijenac is one of the most atmospheric venues of the festival, with traditional performances of Hamlet taking place under the stars. Your ticket to the city walls includes entrance to Lovrijenac, and it’s well worth visiting. It was for some time used as a prison, and is surrounded by delightful parkland with some of the best views of the city, a great picnic spot.

The Minčeta fort, just north of the Pile gate, with its stylised battlements, is one of the symbols of the city, and St John’s fortress houses the Maritime Museum and Aquarium. Apart from the fortresses, each of which has its own story and character, the Pile and Ploče gates are also masterpieces.

From these gates, you now access the Old Town over stone bridges ending in drawbridges spanning the moat, now filled with park benches and orange trees. Above the gates you’ll see reliefs of St Blaise, protector of the city. QOpen 09:00 - 15:00. Admission 20 - 50kn. From January 01 admission 30 - 70kn.

The Franciscan Monastery of the Friars Minor and the Old Pharmacy (Franjevački samostan i stara apoteka Male braće) B-2, Placa 2, tel. (+385-20) 32

14 10, mala.braca@du.t-com.hr, www.malabraca.hr.

The Romanesque cloister of the Franciscan monastery is an absolute delight, decorated with the remnants of old frescoes, and with delicate pillars surrounding a garden where orange trees grow. The monastery is most famous for its pharmacy, among the oldest in Europe and the oldest one still working.

The monastery houses a museum where you can see original items from the pharmacy, plus an extensive library with precious incunabula, manuscripts, a large collection of musical notations and a treasury of artworks. Outside the Church of the Little Brothers on Stradun you’ll see a lovely relief of the Pieta, and, on a lighter note, a gargoyle below knee height.

The trick is to stand on it facing the wall - it’s the test of a real man! Mass: 07:00 and 19:00, Sun 07:00, 09:30, 11:00 and 19:00. QOpen 09:00 - 17:00. Admission 15 -30kn.

The Church of St Blaise (Crkva sv. Vlaha) D-3, Luža 3. Named after the saint protector of Dubrovnik, this is perhaps the church most beloved of the city’s people. Sitting four square on Stradun, its stained glass windows by local artist Ivo Dulčić (1971) lit up at night make a wonderful show.

A church has stood on this spot since 1368, but following a fire, the present church (1717) was built in Baroque style by Venetian architect Marino Gropelli, who was also sculptor of the statue of St Blaise standing above the entrance to the church, protectively holding a scale model of the Old Town in his hand. The church’s front steps are the setting for some of the most important events of the life of the city, including New Year’s Eve and the opening night of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, which always used to include a concert by legendary renaissance-pop group and Eurovision contestants The Troubadours. Mass in foreign languages can be arranged by appointment.

The Rector’s Palace (Knežev dvor) D-3, Pred Dvorom 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 14 97. One of the loveliest buildings in the city and the seat of the Rector, the figurehead of the Republic elected within the nobility, whose term lasted for just one month confining him to these quarters which he could only

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leave on official occasions and religious holidays. The building changed its appearance after two explosions of gunpowder stored here, and its current appearance is mainly thanks to the renaissance designs of Juraj Dalmatinac of Zadar and Michelozzo Mihelozzi of Florence in the 1460s. Alterations were added in baroque style in the 17th century following the earthquake, and since the original building by Onofrio della Cava, creator of the city aqueduct and fountains, was in gothic style, the result is a blend of styles which is timelessly romantic. The palace’s frontage has a delightful colonnade with choir style decorative stone benches. Inside, a beautiful courtyard is the venue for recitals and concerts. The palace is now a museum where you can view the richly appointed offices and quarters of the Rector, plus the arsenal, courtroom and prison cells. Artworks, costumes and domestic objects of the period are all on display. QOpen 09:00 - 18:00.

Admission 20 - 40kn.

The Siege of Dubrovnik 26 June 1991 Croatia declares its independence from Yugoslavia.

August 1991 A low-intensity conflict between Croats and Serbs quickly escalates into all-out war. Dubrovnik, with its largely Croatian population and minor strategic importance, is only lightly defended.

1 October 1991 Serbian military planners decide that an attack on Dubrovnik will weaken Croatian morale. The JNA (Yugoslav Peoples’ Army), supported by volunteers from Serbia, Eastern Herzegovina and Montenegro, begins it’s assault.

5 October 1991 The JNA captures the resort of Slano north of Dubrovnik, cutting the city off from the rest of Croatia. Over 50,000 civilians and refugees are trapped inside the city.

22 October 1991 The holiday resorts of Cavtat, Mlini and Kupari are overrun by the JNA. 23 October 1991 Dubrovnik’s Old Town suffers its first major artillery bombardment.

25 October 1991 The JNA and its allies take the high ground overlooking the city. Defenders fall back on Fort Imperial, the Napoleonic-era strongpoint at the summit of Mt Srd. 6 December 1991 Dubrovnik is subjected to the siege’s most intensive day of shelling. A major enemy assault on Fort Imperial is thrown back following stiff resistance.

January 1992 A UN-sponsored cease-fire comes into effect.

July 1992 A month-long operation led by Croatian General Janko Bobetko wins back control of the coastal highway, ending the land blockade of the city.

20 October 1992 Croatian troops liberate Cavtat.

August 1995 Hostilities come to an end after Croatian victories in central Croatia.

The aftermath According to current Croatian statistics, the attack on Dubrovnik cost the lives of 193 defenders and just over 100 civilians. In the territories occupied by enemy forces, hotels and private houses were systematically ransacked. In Dubrovnik’s Old Town, a total of 824 buildings (68% of the total) had taken a hit of one kind or another. Renovation and repair was a long and painstaking business, as the shell-scarred masonry and roof tiles of the Old Town could only be replaced with carefully-sourced equivalents.

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WHat to see Churches Dubrovnik’s citizens have often had cause to ask for help over the ages, and have never forgotten to say thank you.

That’s why they engaged in building so many churches.

Here are just a few of the main ones in the Old Town.

Church and Convent of Sigurata & Museum of Sigurata Convent (Samostan i muzej Sigurata)

B-2, Od Sigurate 13, tel. (+385-20) 32 14 67. To find this pink little baroque confection, you have to enter what looks like someone’s garden off an intimate side street. There was probably a church on this spot well before its first mention in the 12th century. Franciscan nuns established their convent here in the 13th century, and the adjoining museum contains household objects they used in order to support their order (e.g. needlework), as well as liturgical utensils and artworks, including two wax dolls of the baby Jesus (Bambino). At one time, every Dubrovnik household had such a doll, which was especially venerated at Christmas time. Q Open on request and by prior arrangement. Admission 5 - 10kn.

Church of St Saviour (Crkva sv. Spasa) B-2, Placa bb. The first church you’ll see on entering the Old City from the Pile gate is St Saviour’s, with its typical Dalmatian rosette window on the front. It was built between 1520 and 1520 by grateful citizens who were delivered from a terrible earthquake - it is said that even the city’s aristocratic ladies helped with carrying wood and stone. It’s often used as a venue for concerts and recitals.

Rozario Church and Confraternity (Crkva i bratovština Rozario) D-2, Zlatarska. Opposite the Dominican monastery is a further building which once formed part of the complex, and includes the diminutive Rosary church - nowadays used as an occasional gallery space.

The building dates back to 1594 and is built in mannerist and baroque styles.

Serbian Orthodox Church and Museum of Icons (Pravoslavna crkva i Muzej ikona) C-3, Od Puča 8,

tel. (+385- 020) 32 32 83. Dubrovnik’s Orthodox church was built from 1865-1877, and stands behind impressive wrought iron gates. It houses a number of icons, mainly Byzantine and Cretan, but those looking for a more extensive collection should head for the museum on the second floor of the building next door. Q Church Open 08:00 - 16:00.

Admission free. Museum Open 09:00 - 14:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Admission 5 - 10kn.

St Ignatius’ Church (Crkva sv. Ignacija) C-4, Poljana Ruđera Boškovića 6, tel. (+385-20) 32 35 00.

Part of a fine complex on an elevated square close to the southern edge of the Old Town, the wonderfully ornate Jesuit church of St Ignatius is approached via a romantic baroque staircase which is modelled on the Spanish Steps in Rome (1738). The church itself was built between 1667 and 1725 by architect Ignazzio Pozzo, and like most Jesuit churches of the period was modelled on the Gesù in Rome, the mother church of the Jesuits. Both the stairway and the square in front of the church are used as venues at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. Despite the somewhat run-down appearance of the adjoining college, an esteemed place of education, this is a particularly atmospheric spot in one of the oldest parts of the city. Q Open on request.

St Katherine’s Convent (Samostan sv. Katarine)

C-3, Strossmayerova 3. The graceful building which now houses the acclaimed Art School, in one of the oldest parts of town south of Stradun, is the former convent of St Katherine.

WHat to see St Nicholas’ Church (Crkva sv. Nikole) D-2, Zlatarska. This little church at the Ploče end of Prijeko was originally built in simple, pre-romanesque style typical for early Middle Ages Dalmatia; a late renaissance frontage was added in 1607. Inside, you can see stone ornaments in an interlocking style reminiscent of Celtic knotwork called “pleter”, which is typical of early Croatian churches, plus a fine painting of the Madonna dating back to the 13th century.

St Sebastian’s Church (Crkva sv. Sebastijana)

D-2, Sv. Dominika. This 15th century church was built by the Ploče gate, for a good reason: St Sebastian is the saint protector against plague. It lies under the protective wing of the Dominican monastery, in a pretty corner by the stone steps and balustrade.

The Cathedral (Katedrala) D-3, Kneza Damjana Jude 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 34 59 Treasury/(+385-20) 32 34 96. The elegant pale grey Cathedral at rosy sundown exemplifies the frequently quoted phrase “city of stone and light” (Jure Kaštelan). Its dome gracefully tops the skyline whichever way you look at it, and its baroque forms are one more chapter of the fairytale of the city streets. It was thought that the Cathedral, built between 1672 and 1713 by Italian architects Andrea Buffalini and Paolo Andreotti, was built on the site of an earlier 12th century Romanesque cathedral, destroyed in the great earthquake of 1667. However, following another earthquake in 1979, excavations showed that there had, in fact, been a Byzantine cathedral on this spot since the 7th or 8th centuries. The light and lofty interior is most famous for its collection of treasures, which includes reliquaries of St Blaise. The golden caskets containing the saint’s head and foot are thought to be the work of Byzantine masters of the 11th century. By the main altar is a painting of the Assumption by Titian which features a self-portrait of the artist. Mass: 07:30 and 18:00, Sun 07:30, 09:00, 10:00, 18:00 and 20:00. Q Open 08:00 - 12:00, 15:00 - 17:30, Sun 11:30 - 13:00, 15:00 - 17:00 and by prior arrangment.

Admission 10 - 15kn.

Landmarks Gundulić Square (Gundulićeva poljana) C/D-3.

This square is named after the long-haired chappie standing in the centre - one Ivan Gundulić, a Dubrovnik statesman and Baroque poet whose verse set the standard for literary Croatian which is still accepted today. The statue to him was erected in 1893. Gundulić’s poems were hymns to his home city and the struggles of the Slav nations against rival powers.

The square bordered by elegant shops, restaurants and homes is the Old Town’s fruit market in the mornings.

Onofrio’s Fountains - Great and Small (Velika i mala Onofrijeva fontana) B-2, D-3, Poljana Paska

Miličevića, Pred Dvorom. One of the first spectacular sights that greets you when you enter Stradun from the Pile Gate is the Great Onofrio Fountain, with its huge central dome and sixteen water taps all around. A ledge and steps around the water trough provide a perfect resting spot for tired sightseers. The fountain is the end point of the aqueduct that architects Onofrio dell Cava and Andriuzzi de Bulbilo built from a source near the river, almost 12km away, one of the first aqueducts to be built on the territories of today’s Croatia.

Completed in 1438, the fountain was once more ornate with a massive cupola, but was damaged in the great earthquake and never repaired. Onofrio’s small fountain is an elegant little masterpiece decorated with playful dolphins that stands near the tower at the other end of Stradun.

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WHat to see

WHat to see lot too, and the museum is not so big to keep you on foot for hours. Other rooms are used for temporary exhibitions which currently include photography by the Croatian Biospeliological Society of the cave life of the Dubrovnik region. QOpen 10:00 - 14:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Admission free.

Ethnographic Museum Rupe (Etnografski muzej Rupe) B-3, Od Rupa 3, tel. (+385-20) 32 30 13. “Rupe”

Did you know?

The Dominicans arrived in Dubrovnik in 1225 and started building today’s monastery and the Church of Saint Dominic in the eastern part of the city, next to the Vrata od Ploča, at the beginning of the 14th century.

Orlando’s Column (Orlandov stup) D-2, Pred Dvorom.

In front of the Church of St Blaise stands a column with a carving of Orlando (or Roland), nephew of Charlemagne and legend of minstrel ballads embodying freedom and nobility.

The column was raised in 1418, and from that date the flag of St Blaise flew here right until the end of the Republic.

Today you’ll see the white Libertas flag symbolising the city’s enduring spirit of independence. This spot was once the marketplace and to some extent still is the political ‘heart’ of the city: it was the place where citizens were once summoned to hear state decrees and to witness punishments. Orlando’s right forearm was used as the standard for the traditional Dubrovnik measure for trading fabric - a Ragusan cubit or lakat (elbow) - you can see the rather more convenient measure near the bottom of the sculpture

The City Belltower (Gradski zvonik, Luža zvonara)

D-3, Pred Dvorom. Look carefully at the bell in the tower that crowns the east end of Stradun, and you’ll notice the figures of two men, poised to strike with hammers. If your zoom isn’t up to the task of making them out clearly, you can see their two older brothers in the Sponza palace next door. Their green colour is a result of their copper composition rather than their roots on Mars. They are affectionately known as zelenci - ‘the green ones’ - or, individually, Maro and Baro, the descendents of the two original wooden figures. The bell is the only original part of the tower - an older tower dating back to 1444 was destroyed and rebuilt in 1928. The bell weighs two tonnes and was cast by a master craftsman famed far and wide for casting bells and cannons: Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin - or John the Baptist of Rab Island. The tower’s clock with its sunburst centrepoint is rather lovely in its simplicity.

The City Hall and Marin Držić Theatre (Vijećnica i kazalište Marina Držića) D-3, Pred Dvorom 1. South

of the clock tower on the eastern end of Stradun begins a remarkable chain of buildings. The first is the old Arsenal, with three (originally four) huge arches facing seawards. Here, galleons would be brought into dry dock for repair. (Now, it’s a place to bring hungry stomachs for refilling, and for lubricating throats). The city coffee house is a grand café with seating overlooking St Blaise’s Church. Next door are the chambers of the city council, followed by the Marin Držić Theatre. The buildings are fronted by steps and balustrades - it’s a fine sight to see the theatregoers and orchestra’s musicians gathered there on a warm evening.

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

The City Harbour (Gradska luka) D/E-2/3. Dubrovnik owes its very existence to shipping. There is evidence that the lands here were first colonised by Illyrian tribes in the 4th century, probably attracted by the security offered by the island which lay where the southern half of the Old Town now stands, and the natural lie of the land with Mount Srđ standing guard. It lay at a natural resting point on the maritime trade routes that existed even before the Roman Empire. After the Slavs settled here and began fortifying the city in the 13th century, owing to good diplomatic ties with powers such as Turkey and Venice, Dubrovnik began to establish a healthy shipping trade. Two harbours were built in rocky, protected coves: a main one near the Ploče gates and a smaller one on the Pile side. Through trade, Dubrovnik grew wealthy and rose to rival that other maritime city state, Venice. During the city’s golden age in the 16th century, the merchant navy numbered around 200 ships. Shipbuilding was a highly important industry, and the Dubrovnik Karaka, a beautiful galleon, was well known as being of exceptional quality as it was made of durable Lebanese Cedar. You can see a replica in Gruž harbour in the evenings. The sheltered harbour at Ploče has a wonderful atmosphere, and is now the spot for embarking on a boat tour, for buying local textiles from the ladies sewing in the shade, or for enjoying a good meal.

The Lazaret (Lazareti) L-5. Just past the Ploče gates is a row of adjoining stone buildings with gates guarding the courtyards. This was the Dubrovnik lazaret - quarantine houses for travellers in times of plague. Since these buildings were usually destroyed when the need for them passed, Dubrovnik’s lazaret is one of the last remaining in Europe.

The rather impressive stone buildings now house artists’ workshops and a humanitarian organisation, and are the venue for concerts and DJ parties.

Museums Bukovac House (Kuća Bukovac) Bukovčeva 5,

Cavtat, tel. (+385-20) 47 86 46, muzej@kuca-bukovac. hr, www.kuca-bukovac.hr. See works by Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922), one of the most famous modern Croatian painters, in the setting of his charming Cavtat home. Part of the house is devoted to exhibitions of works by young artists, offering an invigorating counterpoint. Q Open 09:00 - 13:00, 14:00 - 17:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00. Closed Mon. Admission 20kn.

DubrovnikNatural History Museum (Prirodoslovni muzej) C-4, Androvićeva 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 48 88.

Although newly opened, the collection dates back to 1872 when the Museo Patrio (Native Musem) was founded with a donation from the Chamber of Trade and Crafts and the private collection of pharmacist and ship-owner Antun Drobac.

The collection of 100 year-old taxidermy specimens may not appeal to everyone, but kids will probably love it and learn a

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is named after the pits which were hewn out of living rock in this granary, which was used for drying and storing imported grain for the city’s people. Built in 1590, this is a fascinating building in itself, and the exhibits showcase the economic, cultural and spiritual development of Dubrovnik. The folk costumes and textiles give the best flavour of the region where folk culture is still celebrated. QOpen 09:00 - 16:00.

Closed Tue. Admission 20-40kn.

Maritime Museum (Pomorski muzej) E-4, St. John’s fortress (Tvrđava sv. Ivana), tel. (+385-20) 32 39 04.

Considering how vital sailing and shipbuilding were to the growth of the Dubrovnik Republic, this is one of the city’s most important museums. The display of models of the fine galleons that were once built here is the stuff of fairytales they, along with blueprints from the archives, were used for building the replicas that you might glimpse in the Gruž harbour today. Along with the Aquarium, the Museum is housed in the massive St John’s fortress on the old harbour. QOpen 09:00 - 16:00. Closed Mon. Admission 20-40kn.

Modern History Museum (Muzej suvremene povijesti) B-2, Poljana Paska Miličevića 1, tel. (+385-

20) 32 48 56. The Museum’s work focuses on gathering documentation on contemporary history since World War Two, including memoirs and photography. From time to time you can see their exhibitions in The Rector’s Palace. The museum doesn’t have a permanent display but occasional exhibitions.

The Archeological Museum (Arheološki muzej)

D-4, Braće Andrijića 7, tel. (+385-20) 32 40 41, arheoloski.muzej@du.htnet.hr. The Archeological museum currently does not have a permanent residence, and some of its collections are still under preparation, but you can see objects dating back to prehistoric times excavated from the Old Town itself, including fragments of early Romanesque churches featuring the attractive plaitwork typical for Dalmatia. A prehistoric ceramic pot and female bust were found on the Pelješac peninsula. The museum doesn’t have a permanent display but occasional exhibitions.

Romance on Porporela One of the favourite romantic strolls of the people of Dubrovnik is along the breakwater which is given the feminine name Porporela, by St John’s fortress. With benches overlooking the old harbour and Lokrum island while the waves lap around, it’s easy to see why so many songs have been written about this place and why so many couples have fallen in love here…

Eugen Miljan

The Birthplace of Marin Držić (Dom Marina Držića)

B-3, Široka 7, tel. (+385-20) 32 32 42/(+385-20) 32 32 96. This picturesque gothic town house is the place where Marin Držić was born. Držić only became accepted as one of the greats of Croatian literature after his death, as he was a bit too much of a wild card. His many exploits included sending a series of letters to the Medici family in Florence, seeking their help in overthrowing the Dubrovnik government, convinced that it was run by elitist autocrats.

He is best loved for his satirical plays, and he is regarded as one of the greats of European renaissance literature. His birthplace has been transformed into an in situ exhibition of the playwright, whose comedies are regularly performed at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00.

Closed Mon. Admission 10 -20kn.

The Synagogue and Jewish Museum (Sinagoga i židovski muzej) D-2, Žudioska 5, tel. (+385-20) 32

10 28. The Synagogue (1352, the second oldest in Europe after Prague) and Jewish museum are set in a building which could be reached from within the surrounding houses in what was once the Jewish ghetto. A permanent Jewish community here was founded at the end of the 15th century following the exodus from Portugal and Spain. The community flourished and included respected doctors, merchants and state representatives. Jews in Dubrovnik enjoyed relative freedom, but there were some restrictions on their activities at certain points in history. The Synagogue is tiny and delightful, with heavy velvet drapes and a richly painted, midnight blue ceiling. The museum contains valuable menorahs and Torah scrolls, alongside information on the history of the Jewish community in Dubrovnik. QOpen 10:00 - 13:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Admission 15kn.

The Aquarium The Aquarium (Akvarij) E-3, Kneza Damjana Jude 12, tel. (+385-20) 32 39 78. Housed in the magnificent St John’s fortress (Sveti Ivan), the Aquarium gives you the chance to get to know the sea life of the Adriatic without having to eat it. Children will love it; animal rights activists may be less than impressed. QOpen 10:00 - 13:00.

Closed Mon. Open 10:00 - 13:00. Closed Mon, holidays.

Admission 10 - 30kn. dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

St. Mary Altar, Art restoration and conservation Depatment of Academy of fine arts Zagreb

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Dubrovnk is far from being just a walk-round museum of cultural treasures and churches. It also stands in the middle of a spectacularly unspoilt natural landscape, and is ideally suited to an active holiday.

The easiest way to stretch your legs is to embark on a mission to conquer Mount Srđ, the stark 412m-high summit that watches over Dubrovnik to the north.

Otherwise catch a ferry to an offshore island such as Lopud, Šipan or Mljet, where numerous walking trails forge through untouched Mediterranean landscapes.

Cycling is beginning to take off in the Konavle, the beautifully rustic coastal strip that runs southeast from Dubrovnik to the Montenegrin border. The Cavtat tourist office publishes a series of free mountain biking maps to the region, and guided bike tours can be booked at travel agents in both Dubrovnik and Cavtat.

With the chance to go scuba diving or sailing in coastal waters near Dubrovnik or Mljet, or try out free climbing or horseriding in the Konavle, there’s no shortage of variety.

If you fancy quad-bike safaris or paint-balling, check out what’s on offer at the Prevlaka Nature Park or the Kojan Koral (see listings below).

Marinas

Postal rates

ACI Marina Dubrovnik Rijeka dubrovačka Komolac b.b., tel. (+385-20) 45 50 20, m.dubrovnik@ aci-club.hr, www.aci-club.hr. 450 berths, 110 places on land. Two restaurants, souvenir shop, supermarket, mechanic, swimming pool, showers. QOpen 08:00 16:00. A ACI Marina Korčula tel. (+385-20) 71 16 61, m.korcula@aci-club.hr, w w w.aci-club.hr. 144 berths, 16 on land. Restaurant, hairdresser, mechanic, accommodation. Staff speak foreign languages. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. A Luka Porat - Gruž I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića, tel. (+385-20) 41 86 40, dpa.gruz@portdubrovnik.hr.

QOpen 07:00 - 21:00. A

Letters up to 50 gr

Climbing Prevlaka Nature Park Gruda 152, Konavle, tel. (+38520) 79 15 55, www.prevlaka.hr. This adventure park offers loads for active souls - choose between free climbing, paintball, biking or wandering the tunnels. If you’re hungry you can have a bite at their Konoba, and if you’re hot take a dip in the clean sea. Entry 15kn, for climbing and group activities you should call 098 26 14 66. QOpen 09:00 - 18:00.

098 60 69 29, info@kojankoral.hr, www.kojankoral. hr. Even a total beginner can enjoy a two hour ride in the Konavle countryside: helmets, insurance and moron-proof instructions are provided. QOpen 08:00 - 12:00 and by prior arrangment.

Mobile phones

Scuba diving Abyss - Diving & Water-sport center G/H-1, Iva

Dulčića 35 (Hotel Dubrovnik President), tel. (+385-) 098 76 56 85/(+385-) 098 24 43 49, diving@apnea.hr, www. dubrovnikdiving.com. QOpen by prior arrangement.

Diving club Dubrovnik H-2, Ivana Zajca 35, tel. (+38520) 43 57 37/(+385-) 098 42 79 63, rk@du-diver.hr, www.du-diver.hr. On Babin Kuk facing the Gruž harbour.

QOpen by prior arrangement.

Navis F-1, Copacabana beach, tel. (+385-) 099 350 27 73, navis@du.t-com.hr, www.navisdubrovnik.com.

Contact one of the numbers above to discuss your needs.

QOpen by prior arrangement. N

Tennis

27 - 30/12/2009 Open to club yachts and charter boats, this exhilarating event takes in the islands of the Dubrovnik – Koločep channel. The Regatta is the centrepiece of a whole week of parties, music, sights and gastronomic experiences, so seasoned sailors and landlubbers alike can join in the fun. Ahoy!

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

If all you need to do is send a postcard or a letter, you can buy stamps at pretty much any kiosk, just make sure they’re right value for what you are sending and where.

Once you put it on, drop your mail in any post box.These are the small yellow boxes attached to buildings around town.

Central Post Office I-2, Vukovarska 16, tel. (+38520) 36 20 68. QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 15:00.

Closed Sun. Lapad Miljenka Bratoša 21, tel. (+385-20) 41 26 74.

QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. Pile J-3, Branitelja Dubrovnika 2, tel. (+385-20) 41 12 65. QOpen 08:00 - 15:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Stari grad B-2, Široka 8, tel. (+385-20) 32 34 27.

QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun.

City Ex I-2, Vukovarska 34, tel. (+385-20) 31 18 00/ (+385-) 0800 303 333, dubrovnik@cityex.hr, www. cityex.hr. Q Open 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00.

Closed Sun. N DHL L-2, Frana Supila 12, Hotel Excelsior, tel. (+385-1) 665 11 11, www.dhl.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. A

Kojan koral Popovići, Kokoti 3, Gruda, tel. (+385-)

New Year‘s regatta

Post

Express mail

Horse riding

Eugen Miljan

Croatia 3.50kn Abroad 8.00kn Postcards (standard) Croatia 1.80 kn Abroad 3.50 kn

Dubrovnik tennis club H-2, Šetalište kralja Zvonimira

bb, tel. (+385-20) 43 73 55, teniskiklubdubrovnik@ gmail.com. You need to call for an appointment a day earlier.

50kn/hr during the day, after the lights are on you’ll pay 80kn.

QOpen 00:00 - 24:00.

Looking for more? Just click! dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Mobile phone use in Dubrovnik is typical to most everywhere in Europe: they appear to be permanent growths that have attached themselves to ears or cheeks. Unique however, are the numerous and exciting tonal renditions of show-tunes and 80s glam-rock that shatter the most tranquil of moments. It seems that churches and cinemas remain the only structures holy enough to warrant the tragic silent-mode designation in this central European location. The networks that exist are VIP (091), T-Mobile (098) and Tele 2 (095) and their SIM cards can be bought all over the place.

Buy pay-as-you-go cards in news kiosks, or top up at a cash machine. SIM Cards Purchase a Croatian SIM card from one of the following. They all have numerous selling points throughout the city if the below addresses aren’t convenient for you.

T-Centar I-2, Stračevićeva 47, tel. (+385-) 0800 1550, www.t-mobile.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun. Tele 2 Centar H/I-2, Nikole Tesle 2 (TC Minčeta), tel. (+385-20) 35 65 89, www.tele2.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. Vip Centar L-2, Frana Supila 5, tel. (+385-) 091 77 00, www.vipnet.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun.

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Public telephone You can purchase phone cards (telefonska kartica) at any kiosk - they come in 15 - 100 units and cost 15,30,50 and 100kn respectively. You can also buy pre-paid phone cards which give you substantial discounts when calling abroad.

Internet places Dubrovnik Internet Centre J-3, Branitelja Dubrovnika 7, tel. (+385-) 098 56 47 15. Just outside the Old Town on the Pile side, surf 5kn/12min and make use of their cheap international calls service. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00.

Closed Sun. Hugo B-2, Prijeko 13, tel. (+385-20) 32 20 69/(+385-) 091 211 11 96. Internet, playstation and PC games, burning photos, scanning and printing. Ring home for cheap too! (5kn/15min, half an hour 10kn and 20kn/1h.) QOpen 10:00 - 20:00.

Netcafe C-2, Prijeko 21, tel. (+385-20) 32 10 25, netcafe_dubrovnik@yahoo.com, www.netcafe.hr. A sweet and bright little café in the Old Town. 30kn/hr surfing, plus print, copy, scan, fax, burn, connect your laptop. QOpen 09:00 - 23:00. PNB Snoopy I-2, Bana Jelačića 33, tel. (+385-20) 31 22 74, ravosium@du.t-com.hr. QOpen 09:00 - 23:00, Sun

13:00 - 23:00. 30kn / hour.

Fun for the whole family dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com Making the call You’ve memorised the misleadingly simple code breakdown, and are ready to take the plunge (let’s hope you decided not to drop that tricky calculus course). Local Calls: Here’s the trick: dial the subscriber’s six- or sevendigit number, and place the receiver to your ear. National Calls: Dial the Croatian city code (020 if you’re calling Dubrovnik for instance) followed by the subscriber’s number. Calling Abroad: Dial 00 (the international access code), the appropriate country code, a city or area code if applicable and the subscriber’s number.

Calling Croatia from Abroad: Dial your international access code, 385 (Croatia’s country code), the city code (dropping the initial 0) and the subscriber’s number.

Calling a Mobile: Mobile numbers are 9 or 10-digits and begin with either 091, 092, 095, 098 or 099. Dial the subscriber’s number and wait for a human voice.

For an international call to a Croatian mobile, dail your international acess code, 385 (country code), drop the 0, and then dial the remaining digits.

City codes Zagreb Split Šibenik Zadar Rijeka

01 021 022 023 051

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GettinG around

Long distance coaches Since there’s no train station in Dubrovnik, the long distance coach has long been the best way to travel to cities in Croatia and abroad. There are frequent services to almost all Croatian destinations, while international lines mostly head for Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a handful of buses for cities in Italy and Montenegro. Coach travel is the quickest and cheapest choice for those on a budget, but if you’re heading for Zagreb, check prices with Croatia Airlines first. You may save yourself some money and a 14 hour journey!

Coach Station (Autobusni kolodvor) H-1, Obala pape Ivana Pavla II 44a, tel. (+385-) 060 30 50 70/ (+385-20) 31 32 75, www.libertasdubrovnik.hr. QOpen 05:30 - 21:00.

Eugen Miljan

Public transport The orange city buses are run by Libertas (hooray, freedom!). You’ll be amazed how efficient and clean they are. They connect the coach station and Gruž harbour with the Old Town and hotels on Lapad, and take you to Cavtat in the south of the county, and Pelješac in the north. See the company’s website (sorry, no English) or any number of placards or fliers in the city for a route map. Tickets for journeys within the city cost 8kn from news kiosks (10kn from the driver) and must be cancelled in the ticket-stamping machines immediately on boarding. Out-of-town routes cost a little bit more (the journey to Cavtat for example costs 12kn each way) and tickets are bought from the driver. www. libertasdubrovnik.hr

Taxi The easiest and simplest way to get a cab is to call 0800 1441 or 970 otherwise you’ll find them on the following ranks: Pile, Main Coach Station, Gruž Harbour, Ploče, Lapad. There are no night supplements, you’ll always pay an 25kn start, 8kn per kilometre, 2kn per baggage item and 80kn per hour for waiting.

Domestic bus schedule From Dubrovnik Dep. 18:00 11:00 15:30 19:00 09:00 15:15 19:00 17:15 11:00 15:30 19:00 15:30 08:00 17:00 08:00 12:30 15:30 18:00 08:00 15:30 06:00 08:00 17:00 07:00 10:00 18:00 19:00

Arr. 03:45 14:15 18:35 22:10 10:45 17:00 20:45 06:30 13:00 17:30 21:00 06:30 20:30 04:00 12:30 16:15 20:10 22:15 14:35 22:00 19:30 16:00 24:30 17:30 20:00 04:40 05:00

City KARLOVAC MAKARSKA MAKARSKA MAKARSKA METKOVIĆ METKOVIĆ METKOVIĆ OSIJEK PLOČE PLOČE PLOČE PULA RIJEKA RIJEKA SPLIT SPLIT SPLIT SPLIT ŠIBENIK ŠIBENIK VARAŽDIN ZADAR ZADAR ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB

To Dubrovnik Dep. 07:50 09:15 12:55 15:20 06:45 14:40 19:00 20:40 10:30 14:10 16:30 20:00 22:30 07:00 04:15 08:00 10:00 13:00 04:35 12:00 05:50 03:10 11:35 21:00 23:55 07:00 07:30

Arr. 18:00 12:45 16:25 18:30 08:15 16:20 20:30 10:30 12:45 16:20 18:30 10:50 10:50 19:30 08:30 12:00 14:30 17:30 10:30 18:30 20:30 10:50 19:30 06:45 09:15 18:00 20:30

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket is not responsable for schedule changes.

Train Amazing but true, the railway system does not serve Dubrovnik. Inter-railers may consider the Zagreb-Ploče train, travelling via Bosnia and Herzegovina and visiting towns such as Banja Luka, Mostar and Sarajevo. Normal people would probably prefer to avoid this 13-hour odyssey and travel to Split, then continue south by coach, especially since the Zagreb-Split fast train now takes less than six hours, or you can take the sleeper.

Drivers can rest up and escape tourist traffic by loading their car on a night train at 22:55 (178kn-288kn) travelling to Split and then continuing south. However, since the Zagreb-Split motorway has reduced journey times from to about 5 hours (traffic permitting), many people choose to drive or take the coach. A final touring option is the Ploče-Sarajevo-OsijekBudapest route, which takes the best part of 17 hours.

International bus schedule From Dubrovnik Dep. 15:00 10:30 15:30 17:15 08:00 15:15 15:15 17:00

Arr. 18:15 12:30 17:00 20:20 12:10 18:45 21:00 08:00

City BUDVA HERCEG NOVI HERCEG NOVI MEĐUGORJE MOSTAR MOSTAR SARAJEVO 5,7 TRIESTE 4,6

To Dubrovnik Dep. 14:15 09:30 15:40 06:10 06:50 10:15 10:00 17:30

Arr. 17:15 11:00 17:15 10:30 10:30 14:15 15:00 08:30

Days of the week (1=Monday).

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket is not responsable for schedule changes.

 Dubrovnik telephone code is +385-20 Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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GettinG around

Car rental

Airline offices

Adria rent G-3, Masarykov put 9, tel. (+385-20) 43

Croatia Airlines Zračna luka Dubrovnik, Čilipi, tel. (+385-20) 77 32 32, dbvto@croatiaairlines.hr. QOpen

70 66/(+385-) 098 34 49 64, adria.rent@du.t-com.hr, www.adriarent.hr. You can also rent a scooter. QOpen 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. A

Budget I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 24, tel. (+385-20) 41

89 98/(+385-) 099 201 46 38, dbd@budget.hr, www. budget.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 13:00.

Closed Sun. A

Dollar&Thrif ty Zračna luka Dubrovnik, Ćilipi, tel.

(+385-20) 77 35 88, apt.dubrovnik@subrosa.hr, www. subrosa.hr. QOpen 07:00 - 21:00. A

Gulliver I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 25, tel. (+385-20)

41 08 23/(+385-) 098 24 31 74, rentacar-ploce@ gulliver.hr, www.gulliver.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 15:00. A

Viator travel H-1, Svetog križa 3, tel. (+385-20)

08:00 - 20:00. A

Ferry G&V Line G-1, Moluntska 2, tel. (+385-20) 31 31 19,

- 20:00. Closed Sun.

Mediteranska plovidba Trg kralja Tomislava 2,

Korčula, tel. (+385-20) 71 11 56, info@medplov.hr, www.medplov.hr.

Harbormaster’s office

Rent A Smart tel. (+385-1) 487 61 72, info@eurotravel. hr, www.rentasmart.hr.

Port authority

Parking Central Dubrovnik can be a nightmare when it comes to parking, and it’s not uncommon to see visitors driving around in circles for hours in the hope of finding a free space. Your best bet is to head for the multistorey car park at Ilijina Glavica (Zagrebačka ulica bb, K-4), well-placed for people entering the city from the west. A bus shuttles passengers from the car park to the Old Town’s Pile Gate, although with Pile lying a mere ten minutes downhill on foot, you might not need it. Parking costs 5kn/hr for the first two hours or 60kn/day.

Text message parking Croatia was the first ever country to introduce payment by text message for street parking! It’s so simple. Look for the sign to see which zone you’re in. Send the registration number of your car as a text message (no spaces, no special characters) to the four digit number shown. Your payment is confirmed when you get a message back from them. Different zones have different max waiting times and prices.

Airport Dubrovnik Airport (Zračna luka Dubrovnik) Čilipi, Konavle, tel. (+385-20) 77 33 33/(+385-20) 77 32 22, www.airport-dubrovnik.hr. The advent of well priced tickets for domestic flights means that most people in Dubrovnik get around the country by plane. There are a limited number of tickets selling for rock bottom prices - a single to Zagreb can cost as little as 200kn, but you must reserve your ticket well in advance - or strike it lucky - to get these. International flights during the season are also becoming more affordable with the arrival of budget airlines such as Germanwings and Norwegian Air Shuttle. See the airline websites for reservations. Getting there: Catch a bus from the main coach station, tickets cost 35kn one way, or call a taxi (200 - 250kn). Check with your airline for the bus timetable. If you take your car there’s a long stay car park (40kn per day).

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

Road help 987

Jadrolinija I-2, Obala S. Radića 40, tel. (+385-20) 41 80 00, www.jadrolinija.hr. Q Open 08:00 - 16:30, 19:00

Harbormaster’s office (Lučka kapetanija) I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 37, tel. (+385-20) 41 89 88, www. mmtpr.hr. 24 hours Info: 41 89 89

80/(+385-) 099 219 55 15, uni-rent@du.t-com.hr, www. uni-rent.net. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00. A

www.inyourpocket.com

gv-line@gv-line.hr, www.gv-line.hr.

Hertz L-2, Frana Supila 9, tel. (+385-20) 42 50 00/ (+385-) 091 425 00 01, dubrovnik.dt@hertz.hr, www. hertz.hr. Also at the airport 08:00 - 20:00 every day, tel: 77 15 68, 091 / 425 11 11. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun. A

Uni rent Dubrovnik Airport, Čilipi, tel. (+385-20) 77 34

31 31 40, 31 31 44/(+385-) 091 486 84 33, mail@ dubrovnikviator.com, w w w.dubrovnikviator.com.

QOpen 08:00 - 15:00. Closed Sat, Sun. A

Dubrovnik Port Authority H-1, Obala Ivana Pavla II 1, tel. (+385-20) 31 33 33, padubrovnik@portdubrovnik. hr, www.portdubrovnik.hr.

Towed away If you were naughty and parked illegally, a big truck might come and tow your little broom-broom away! Oh no! If that happens, don’t be too sad, all is not lost. Visit the depot on Starčevićeva ulica (leads from Pile to Gruž). It’s open 24 hours. The bad news is you’ll have to pay a charge of 300kn for the trouble, plus a police fine of up to 800kn.

Let’s face it, it could be worse! The people there speak English and accept payment by credit card.

Travel Agencies Atlas A-2 / K-5, Sv. Đurđa 1, Pile, tel. (+385-20) 44 25

74, atlas.pile@atlas.hr, www.atlas-croatia.com. One of the biggies - all kinds of trips in store. Fancy trying a canoe or jeep safari? Step this way... QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. A

Dubrovnik Travel I-2/3, Obala Stjepana Radića 25, tel. (+385-20) 31 35 55, info@dubrovniktravel.hr, www. dubrovniktravel.hr. Excursions and cruises can be yours!

QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. A Elite I-2, Vukovarska 17, tel. (+385-20) 35 82 00, elite@ elite.hr, www.elite.hr. Everything from horseriding to sailing in a fabulous 16th century galleon. QOpen 08:00 - 15:00.

Closed Sat, Sun. A

Globtour C-2, Placa 17, tel. (+385-20) 32 33 12,

globtour1@globdu.hr, www.globtour.hr. Visit their website to explore a world of possibilities, including a stay in your very own lighthouse! QOpen 08:00 - 20:00. Closed Sun.

Gulliver travel I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 25, tel. (+385-20) 41 08 88, gulliver@gulliver.hr, www.gulliver. hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun. A Perla Adriatica I-2, Frana Supila 2, tel. (+385-20) 42

27 66/(+385-) 098 81 24 51, 098 37 79 54, perlaadriatica@du.htnet.hr. By the Ploče gates, a good place to try if you’re looking for private accommodation. Also excursions, rental of bikes, scooters and boats, plus exchange services. QOpen 09:00 - 20:00. N

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Eugen Miljan

Flight schedule From Dubrovnik Days 1234567 / / ------7 --3-5--2-4--------7 --3-------5--2-4--7

Dep. 06:40 / / 13:05 13:10 06:40 13:05 13:10 13:10 06:40

Arr. 10:30 / / 16:40 16:40 10:45 17:00 17:00 17:00 10:30

-2--5-------7 -2--5----4--------7 / -2--5----4----3--61---5-------7 -2------34-67 ------7 --3--612-45-1234567 --3--61---567 1234567 12-45-1234567 1-----------7 123-5612-45---3--6---4--------7 -234567 1-----------7 12--56--3----

07:30 16:10 07:30 15:05 16:10 / 07:30 15:05 16:05 06:40 13:05 06:40 06:40 13:05 13:10 16:15 06:40 16:05 15:15 06:40 16:15 06:40 07:55 13:05 13:10 16:15 19:50 20:55 20:55 06:40 07:55 13:05 13:10 13:10

11:35 22:15 09:35 17:10 18:15 / 15:30 20:40 20:45 09.35 15:50 10:50 10:00 19:50 19:50 19:50 10:35 17:10 16:45 09:10 18:35 07:35 08:50 14:00 14:05 17:10 20:45 21:50 21:50 10:55 10:55 18:20 18:20 18:15

City AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM BOLOGNA BOLOGNA BRUSSELS BRUSSELS BRUSSELS BRUSSELS COPENHAGEN COPENHAGEN DUSSELDORF DUSSELDORF FRANKFURT FRANKFURT FRANKFURT ISTANBUL LISBON LISBON LISBON LONDON (LGW) LONDON (LGW) LONDON (LHR) LONDON (LHR) MUNICH MUNICH MUNICH PARIS ROME VIENNA VIENNA VIENNA ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZAGREB ZURICH ZURICH ZURICH ZURICH ZURICH

To Dubrovnik Days 12-45---3--6------7

Dep. 11:20 11:20 11:20

Arr. 15:35 15:30 15:30

1------2-4----3---7 ----5--2-4--------7 -2--5----4---2--5----4--------7 -2-45---3-5-7 1234567 1234567 1---5-------7 --3--61---5-1-3--6-2--5----4--12-45---3--61---567 1-3--61234567 -2--5-1-----1-3--6------7 ---4----3--612-45-1234567 12-45---3--6------7 1234567 /

11:30 11:30 17:45 17:45 11:20 11:20 08:30 14:35 10:30 18:20 19:00 12:10 09:15 13:40 14:30 10:15 16:40 10:50 16:10 09:40 11:30 11:30 11:35 18:00 13:15 10:10 19:30 05:55 06:20 11:35 11:40 13:30 14:35 14:40 21:10 11:55 11:55 11.55 19:00 /

15:35 15:35 22:05 22:05 15:35 15:30 12:15 20:05 12:15 20:05 20:45 15:35 14:50 22:15 20:25 15:35 22:05 15:30 22:05 12:30 15:35 14:25 15:35 19:10 14:30 12:30 22:05 06:50 07:15 12:30 12:35 14:25 15:30 15:35 22:05 15:35 15:30 15:30 22:05 /

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket is not responsible for schedule changes 1 - Mon, 2 - Tue, 3 - Wed, 4 - Thu, 5 - Fri, 6 - Sat, 7 - Sun

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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sHoPPinG

GettinG around

Gas stations

Street smart Street Road Passage City centre

ulica cesta prolaz centar

Square Walk Way Station

Komolac, Ogarići 8, tel.45 34 66, Open 00:00 - 24:00.

Kupari, Kuparsko polje b.b., tel.48 67 22, 48 67 26, Open 00:00 - 24:00.

Ploče, Dalmatinska bb, tel.67 62 27, Open 00:00 24:00.

Ston, Zaton Doli bb, tel.75 35 96, Open 06:00 - 22:00.

Opuzen, Jadranska 6, tel.67 22 60, Open 00:00 24:00.

trg šetalište put stanica

www.inyourpocket.com Ferry schedule From Dubrovnik (coastal car ferry) Days -2---------6---4--7

From Orebić (passanger service) Days Dep. 1234567 12345-12345-12345-12345-12345-1234567

05:20* 07:20 09:30 11:30 14:15 15:30 19:00*

Arr. 08:00 21:30 12:15

City BARI BARI KORČULA

Days --3--------6-2---6-

Dep. 22:00 22:30 13:00

Arr. 07:00 07:00 16:15

To Orebić City KORČULA KORČULA KORČULA KORČULA KORČULA KORČULA KORČULA

Days

Dep.

1234567 12345-12345-12345-12345-12345-1234567

05:00* 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:50 15:05 18:30*

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket is not responsible for schedule changes 1 - Mon, 2 - Tue, 3 - Wed, 4 - Thu, 5 - Fri, 6 - Sat, 7 - Sun, * - connection with Split catamaran does not sail if it is canceled.

For a full schedule check www.jadrolinija.hr

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

Antiques Antiques Tezoro C-2, Između Polača 13, tel. (+385-

20) 32 35 23. Take home a little reminder of renaissance Dubrovnik - jewellery, paintings, artworks, silverware... Q Open 09:00 - 12:00, 16:00 - 19:00, Sat 09:00 - 13:00.

Closed Sun. A

Art galleries

To Dubrovnik Dep. 23:00 15:30 09:00

Bland souvenir shops are gradually taking over Dubrovnik’s main thoroughfares, and if you’re stupid enough to think that a ceramic mug bearing the word ‘Dubrovnik’ is going to look good in someone’s kitchen cupboard back home, then you certainly won’t have too much trouble finding one.

Those with both taste and the time to exercise it will find a huge range of traditional crafts, sold either by street sellers or in characterful stores the narrow alleys of the Old Town.

One of the most authentic local products is jewellery.

Jewellery was an integral part of local folk costume and also played an important part in local family ritual, with female children receiving earrings at baptism and at other important stages in their lives.

It was traditionally around Zlatarska ulica (Goldsmiths’ Street) that the main jewellery workshops were to be found, although these days they are more randomly scattered throughout the Old Town. What hasn’t changed is that the jewellery sold in the filigree shops has often been made on the premises by local artisans, using traditional folk designs as inspiration. Especially attractive are traditional earrings in gold or silver filigree, and large hoop- or drop-earrings adorned with baubles.

Konavle, the region southeast of Dubrovnik, produces a distinctive style of embroidery, rich in brightly coloured geometric shapes. Dazzling white blouses with intricately embroidered borders were once a standard form of female attire, and items like these can still be picked up on souvenir stalls. Konavle embroidery is also used to decorate more modern items such as tablecloths and handkerchiefs.

Dubrovnik’ souvenir shops also sell a great deal of quality products that are common to the whole of Croatia, especially food-and-drink items such as natural honey, olive oil and herb-flavoured rakijas. One of the best places to pick up these is the daily outdoor market on Gundulićeva poljana, although most delicatessens in town also carry a good selection.

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

There’s no shortage of wall space in this town, perfect for hanging that piece of art that you may merely gaze upon or consider purchasing for your home.

Artur B-3, Od Domina 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 36 13/ (+385-) 098 28 53 98. A fantastic selection of high quality local and Croatian art. They also have art work shops durring whole year so if you are interested you know what to do...

QOpen 10:00 - 23:00. A Romana atelier C-3, Marojice Kaboge bb, tel. (+385-) 091 584 49 46/(+385-) 091 501 33 18, info@romanamilutin.com, www.romana-milutin.com. Colourful abstract pieces featuring Dubrovnik motifs. QOpen 10:00 - 13:00.

Closed Sun. A Sebastian D-2, Sv. Dominika 5, tel. (+385-20) 32 14 90/(+385-) 091 505 51 16, galerija.sebastian@gmail. com. An important gallery exhibiting works by leading Dubrovnik and Croatian artists. QOpen 09:00 - 13:00.

Closed Sun. A

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Stradun B-2, Placa 15, tel. (+385-20) 32 37 78, cimic.

art.gallery@du.t-com.hr. On Stradun (oddly enough), close to the Pile gate, this gallery is the result of the owner’s passion for art. Exclusively local and Croatian painters along with exquisite Croatian designer jewellery. QOpen 10:00 20:00. Closed Sun. Talir B-2, Čubranovićeva 7, tel. (+385 -20) 32 32 93, info@talir-dubrovnik.hr, www.talir-dubrovnik.hr.

Exhibitions and works by famous and lesser known Croatian artists for sale. Also at Antuninska 5 where there’s a nice café next door. QOpen 09:30 - 20:00. Closed Sun. A Workshop Be Craft L-2, Put Petra Krešimira IV 31, tel. (+385-20) 31 26 46, du@becraft.eu, www.becraft. eu. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat, Sun.

English books & newspapers Algoritam C-2, Placa 8, tel. (+385-20) 32 20 44, www. algoritam.hr. Books, magazines, newspapers, maps in many languages. Q Open 09:00 - 20:30, Sat 10:00 - 16:00.

Closed Sun. A Tisak kiosk B-2, Placa bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 14 26.

Also offers lots of newspapers and magazines in different languages. QOpen 07:00 - 21:00.

Flower fair 18/04/2010 09:00 - 14:00 Pile Park Pick up a posy of flowers at cut prices and enjoy the sights and scents of the Pile Park filled with a multitude of colourful blooms and arrangements.

Souvenirs Baboon I-2, Dr. Vlatka Mačeka 30, tel. (+385-20) 33 17 50/(+385-) 098 85 72 79, anamilasevic@yahoo. com. Handmade jewellery, paper flowers and original gifts.

Q Open 09:00 - 12:00, 17:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 12:00.

Closed Sun. Kike H-2, Kralja Tomislava 7, tel. (+385-20) 32 32 90/ (+385-) 091 250 65 25, kristina.skvrce@gmail.com. A florist’s atelier selling arrangements of fresh and dried flowers.

QOpen 08:00 - 20:00. Closed Sun. A Medusa B/C-2, Prijeko 18, tel. (+385-20) 32 20 04/ (+385-) 098 175 17 41, info@medusa.hr, www.medusa. hr. Wide-ranging souvenir shop that stocks more than just the predictable tourist-trap nonsense that nobody actually wants.

Expect a solid choice of authentic Croatian gifts including olive oils, brandies, and sponges from the sponge-fishing island of Krapanj. QOpen 09:00 - 16:00. A Munčjela B-2, Od Puča 13, tel. (+385-20) 32 31 84. A place to pick up a piece of traditional Konavle embroidery.

QOpen 09:00 - 18:30. Closed Sun. February Open 09:30 14:00. Closed Sun. March Open 09:30 - 18:30. Closed from January 15 - February. N Ronchi D-3, Lučarica 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 36 99/ (+385-) 098 82 04 16, ronchi@dubrovnik-online.hr, www.dubrovnik-online.com/ronchi. Need to wear a hat but don’t want to look like a chump? This is your place - a milliners established in 1858, still making superbly stylish hats using traditional methods. Q Open 09:30 - 13:00, 18:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:30 - 13:00. Closed Sun. A Tilda D-2, Zlatarska 1, tel. (+385-20) 32 15 54. Original Konavle handicrafts: slippers, jewellery, greetings cards and more. QOpen 10:30 - 17:30. Closed from January 25 - February 15. A Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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business directory

sHoPPinG souvenir-wrapped delicatessen and porcelain. Q Open 08:00 - 20:00. December 6 - 20, January 3 - February 28 Open 08:00 - 16:00. A Kraš C-2, Zamanjina 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 10 49, www. kras.hr. The confectionary company Croatians have known and loved for years. Try Bajadera chocolate and hazelnut sweets, or a bag of Krašotice biscuits. QOpen 08:00 20:00, Sun 09:00 - 16:00. A Vinoteka Miličić C-2, Placa bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 17 77, www.dubrovnik-advance.com/vinoteka-milicic. Try their own wines from the Pelješac peninsula, or top quality fruit spirits, local candies and preserves. QOpen 09:00 16:00. A

Nautical supplies Lalizas Marina Na skali 4, Mokošica, ACI Marina, tel. (+385-20) 45 40 73, penul@penul.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. From February October 31 Open 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. A Top Marine I-2, Nikole Tesle 2, Minčeta department store, tel. (+385-20) 35 70 17, bozo.svetac@du.t-com. hr. Q Open 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. A

Designer Clothing Maria D-2, Sv. Dominika bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 13 30,

Accessories Art Go’Den G-2, Iva Dulčića34 (Valamar Lacroma

Resort), www.artgoden.com. A classy and sophisticated accessories brand. Your chance to take back home exquisite silk ties and scarves designed with Dubrovnik historical or marine motifs or even the same leather bag that we heard Roger Moore bought for his wife during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival! Also at Radisson Blue Resort&Spa. Q Open 09:00 - 12:00, 17:00 -20:00.

Croata D-3, Pred dvorom 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 35 26.

Ties and varied clothing of rich and varied materials come together to make you look the pro. Find the perfect gift while receiving a free history lesson on the invention of the tie.

QOpen 09:00 - 17:00, Sat 09:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun. A

Jewellery Giardin C-2, Miha Pracata 8, tel. (+385-20) 32 47 80, giardin.du@gmail.com. A terrifyingly large display of jewellery made with semi-precious stones, including pieces in traditional Dubrovnik style. A super old building and courtyard.

QOpen 09:00 - 16:00. Closed January. A

info@maria-dubrovnik.hr, www.maria-dubrovnik.hr. If you forgot to pack your fancy designer frocks, Stella McCartney shoes and Miu Miu handbag, then Maria is the place to stock up on replacements. Gorgeous and expensive in equal measure, it’s the kind of shop that makes you feel glamorous just looking through the window. QOpen 10:00 - 19:00.

Closed Sun. A Max Mara D-3, Gundulićeva poljana 1, tel. (+38520) 32 33 16, maxmara.du@masmoda.hr. Sharp lines, muted colours, plush fabrics tags is what you’ll see from the international clothier. Max Mara hits Dubrovnik! Can’t miss either way. QOpen 09:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 15:00.

Closed Sun. A Modni kantun D-2, Zlatarska 3. A little store in a street next to Sponza palace, packed with unusual accessories, clothes and jewellery. Most items are by famous Croatian fashion designers, so it’s a little pricey but definitely unique and stylish. QOpen 10:00 - 17:00.

XD Xenia Design G-4, Liechtensteinov put 3 (Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik Hotel), tel. (+385 - ) 091 442 11 17, xenia-design@ck.t-com.hr, www.xenia-design.hr.

Designer who make custom clothing suited to your size and personality. Also at Radisson Blue Resort and Croatia Hotel in Cavtat. QOpen 09:00 - 16:00 or 13:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun.

Delicatessen Dubrovačka kuća D-2, Sv.Dominika bb, tel. (+385-20) 32 20 92, ars.longa@du.t-com.hr, www.dubrovackakuca.com. A treasure trove of local culture ready to take home: from artworks to postcards, cosmetics, sweets, wines and spirits, all local or Croatian. QOpen 09:00 - 20:00. A Franja coffee & teahouse C-3, Od Puča 9, tel. (+38520) 32 48 16, franjahouse@franja.hr, www.franja.hr.

A Croatian coffee company, also selling all other kinds of

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Emergency number 112 Police Fire department Ambulance Coast guard

92 93 94 9155

Banks & Exchanges Erste&Steiermarkische Bank I-2, Vukovarska 26,

tel. (+385-) 062 37 46 85/(+385-) 0800 7890 free info, www.erstebank.hr. Q Open 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. Hypo-alpe-adria bank I-2, Vukovarska 15, tel. (+38520) 32 24 44, www.hypo-alpe-adria.hr. Also at I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 26a, tel. 43 19 00. Open 08:00 - 14:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. OTP banka I-2, Vukovarska 19, tel. (+385-) 062 20 12 90, www.otpbanka.hr. Also at Placa 16 - Stradun, tel.

062 20 13 17. QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00.

Closed Sun. Privredna banka I-2, Obala S.Radića 8, tel. (+385-20) 72 01 00, pbz365@pbz.hr, www.pbz.hr. QOpen 08:00 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. Raiffeisen bank I-2, Vukovarska 17, tel. (+385-20) 44 18 00, www.rba.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:30 12:30. Closed Sun. Volksbank I-2, Vukovarska 36, tel. (+385-20) 35 89 00, www.volksbank.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. Zagrebačka banka I-2, Vukovarska 7, tel. (+385-20) 35 84 20, www.zaba.hr. Also at Gundulićeva Poljana bb, tel.

32 25 51, Open 08:00 - 12:00, 15:00 - 18:00. Closed Sat, Sun. QOpen 08:00 - 18:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun.

Business Connections American College of Managemet and Technology

J/K-3, Don Frana Bulića 6, tel. (+385-20) 43 30 00, american.college@acmt.hr, www.acmt.hr.

Croatian Chamber of Economy - Dubrovnik County Chamber I-3, Pera Ćingrije 6, tel. (+385-20) 31 20 99, hgkdu@hgk.hr, www.hgk.hr. Q Open 08:00 - 16:00.

Closed Sat, Sun.

Consulates Belgium H-2/3, Antuna Barca 10, tel. (+385-20) 43 81 77, sabine@terranautika.hr. QOpen 09:00 - 12:00.

Closed Sat, Sun. Denmark H-2, Od sv. Mihajla 1, tel. (+385-20) 35 67 33/(+385-) 098 20 62 97, pmusladin@atlant.hr. QOpen 10:00 - 12:00. Closed Sat, Sun. Italy I-3, Leichtensteinov put 3 (Lbertas Rixos Hotel), tel. (+385-) 098 941 46 54, consolatoitaliano@net.hr.

Q Open by arrangement.

Spain K-2, Zagrebačka 2, tel. (+385-20) 42 65 28/ (+385-) 091 503 80 57. QOpen 17:00 - 20:00. Closed Sat, Sun. The Netherlands H-2, Od sv. Mihajla 1, tel. (+38520) 35 61 41, ajerkovic@atlant.hr. QOpen , Tue, Fri 10:00 - 12:00. dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

UK I-2, Vukovarska 22, tel. (+385-20) 32 45 97, honcons.dubrovnik@inet.hr. Q Open 10:00 - 13:00.

Closed Sat, Sun.

Real estate Alavija nekretnine I-2, Dr. Ante Starčevića 29, tel.

(+385-) 098 20 30 82, info@alavija-nekretnine.hr, www. alavija-nekretnine.hr. Q Working hours by appointment.

Dubrovnik Sun I-2, Vukovarska 17, tel. (+385-20) 35 86 60/(+385-) 098 906 61 81, info@dubrovniksun. com, www.dubrovniksun.com. QOpen 09:00 - 16:00.

Closed Sat, Sun. Pro Krečak I-2, Vukovarska 12, tel. (+385-20) 43 66 04/(+385-20) 43 66 11, pro-krecak@du.t-com.hr, www. nekretnine-prokrecak.com. QOpen 09:00 - 16:00, Sat 09:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. Zlatka I-2, Vukovarska 30, tel. (+385-20) 35 68 65/ (+385-) 091 454 00 04, zlatka@zlatka.hr, www.zlatka. hr. QOpen 08:00 - 16:00, Sat 08:00 - 14:00. Closed Sun.

Tax free heaven Save money when you buy souvenirs and other stuff to take back home. Look for the “Tax Free” label on shop windows, or ask at the counter. When you buy goods totalling 500kn or more, they’ll give you a form. Get it stamped when you leave the country, and you’re entitled to a tax refund – follow the instructions on the form.

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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Lifestyle directory

dubrovnik neretva county

Hospital

With such material, Korčula has a long tradition of tourism and is one of the more commercialised of Croatia’s Adriatic towns, so the town itself gets pretty busy during high season.

But this is a relatively large island, there are plenty of other places to explore and get away from it all. As with any island, the perfect way to explore is to rent a scooter or bicycle from any of the tourist agencies in town. Head towards the village of Lumbarda where you’ll find picturesque vineyards. You must try the Grk wine, only produced in the surrounding area, and said to have been brought from ancient Greece after the fall of Troy. Wander the stone streets of the old village and feel miles and centuries away from everything else.

Korčula Tourist Board Obala dr. Franje Tuđmana 4, www.visitkorcula.net, tzg–korcule@du.t-com.hr. Q Open 08:00 – 14:00, Sat 08:00 – 12:00. Closed Sun. The Town Museum Trg Svih Svetih tel. (+385-20) 71 13 06. Q Open 09:00 – 14:00 and by prior arrangement.

Admission 15kn.

General Hospital H-3, Roka Mišetica 2, tel. (+385-20)

431 777, uprava@bolnica-du.hr, www.bolnica-du.hr.

Pets Bobanović I-2, Dr. Ante Starčevića 33, tel. (+385-20)

35 73 45/(+385-) 098 24 39 38, goran.vet@du.t-com. hr. Veterinary clinic for small pets, emergency calls on 098 / 24 39 38. Q Open 08:30 -12:00 and 17:00 - 20:00, Sat 09:00-12:00. Closed Sun. A

Pharmacies Night shifts, Sun and holidays each week are covered by either Kod Zvonika pharmacy or Gruž pharmacy .

Gruž H-1, Obala pape Ivana Pavla II 9, tel. (+385-20) 41 89 90. Q Open 07:00 - 20:00, Sat 07:30 - 15:00.

Closed Sun. A Kod male braće B-2, Placa 30, tel. (+385-20) 32 14 11.

QOpen 07:00 - 19:30, Sat 07:30 - 15:00. Closed Sun. Kod zvonika C-2, Placa 2, tel. (+385-20) 32 11 33.

QOpen 07:00 - 20:00, Sat 07:30 - 15:00. Closed Sun. A Lapad G/H-2, M.Vodopića 31, tel. (+385-20) 43 67 78.

QOpen 07:00 - 20:00, Sat 07:30 - 15:00. Closed Sun. A

Police station Call the experts Ana’s Studio K-3, U Pilama 5, tel. (+385-20) 41 65

15, gigidbk@yahoo.com. Cosmetic treatments, nail art, hair cuts, body painting. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. N Beautyline K-3, Branitelja Dubrovnika 1, tel. (+38520) 42 30 81, kozmetickisalon.beautyline@gmail.com.

Beauty centre. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 14:00.

Closed Sun. A Foto Studio Placa C-2, Dropčeva 3, tel. (+385-20) 32 13 66, foto.studio.placa@du.t-com.hr. Photo studio QOpen 09:00 - 19:00, Sat 09:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. A Mišić C-3, Bunićeva poljana 5, tel. (+385-20) 32 37 55. Key cut. Q Open 08:00 - 13:00, 16:00 - 19:00, Sat 08:00 - 13:00. Closed Sun. VSP foto H/I-3, Leichtensteinov put 11, tel. (+38520) 33 23 00, vsp-video-dubrovnik@du.t-com.hr, www. vspvideo.hr. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 12:00.

Closed Sun. A Zrinka H-2, Kralja Tomislava 7, tel. (+385-20) 43 62 32, salon2@frizerzrinka.com, www.frizerzrinka.com. QOpen 08:00 - 20:00, Sat 08:00 - 16:00. Closed Sun. A

Coast guard I-2, Obala Stjepana Radića 22, tel. (+38520) 44 35 55. QOpen 00:00 - 24:00.

Police station I-2, Dr. Ante Starčevića 13, tel. (+385-

20) 44 37 77/(+385-20) 44 33 33, www.mup.hr.

QOpen 00:00 - 24:00.

Traffic police H-1, Andrije Hebranga 118, tel. (+385-20) 44 36 66/(+385-20) 44 40 44, www.mup.hr. QOpen

00:00 - 24:00.

Korčula Korčula, birthplace of the renowned traveler, Marco Polo, is a compact jewel of Venetian architecture surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Pelješac channel.

Korčula town, alongside Dubrovnik, is one of the Adriatic towns which hits the news from time to time with reports of rich, famous and notable types who buy up old town properties for heart-stopping sums. There is good reason for this – the tiny, almost circular old town occupying a rocky promontory is one of the most perfectly preserved and most romantic historic towns you’ll ever see with many opportunities for shutterbugs. It doesn’t take long to wander through the atmospheric streets, where you’ll come across gothic details and balconies that make you feel like you’ve entered a Slavic version of Romeo and Juliet. Pay attention to the hidden architectural delights, such as relief figures on The Cathedral of St. Mark and, as rumor has it, the interestingly sculpted menu of an old brothel near the main entrance.

Visit the town museum and the local galleries within the casual morning stroll.

All in all, it’s well worth a few days stay and a perfect place to recharge your batteries.

One of the other most prominent features of the island is its folk tradition which includes the Moreška, a dance with swords, which you can witness from time to time during the summer months, heralded by drumbeats as a parade of citizens in historical costume passes through prior to the performance.

Lastovo Lastovo is not furthest away from coast - that honour goes to Vis - but i t takes th e longest to get here, over four hours. Maybe that’s why the island culture is so different and well preser ved. Like Vis, Lastovo was a military base until 1989, so access to the island was restricted. Wi th n ot a grea t d eal to do, the island became depopulated. But Nature has been left pretty much undisturbed, so you could say it’s an untouched ecological paradise.

Many people sense in Lastovo a spirit unlike anything else, a sense of the breath of ages. Lastovo town sits uphill in a basin facing away from the sea to escape the attentions of pirates. Walking in the town’s streets, those with a sense for the antique and the eccentric will wonder at a culture so very detached from modern urban life.

Culture Centres L’Alliance Francaise J/K-3, Don Frana Bulića 4, tel. (+385 -20) 32 63 53/(+385-) 098 943 33 83, afd@caas. unizg.hr, www.afd.hr. QOpen , Mon, Wed 10:00 - 13:00.

Dry cleaners & Laundries Dea Wash & Dry I-3, Pera Čingrije 8, tel. (+385-20) 33 33 47/(+385-) 098 964 49 20. Q Open 09:00 - 13:00,

15:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 15:00. Closed Sun. Elegant I-1, Andrije Hebranga 106, tel. (+385-) 098 42 86 71/(+385-) 098 915 99 22. Dry cleaners. QOpen 07:00 - 19:00, Sat 07:00 - 12:00. Closed Sun. N

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

Winter 2009 - Spring 2010

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dubrovnik neretva county Lastovo is a town of chimneys. In times past, a sign of the wealth of a household was the size and ornateness o f o n e ’ s c h i m n e y, an d man y unu sual examples still stand.

Another vital aspect of Lastovo’s heritage is the “Poklad” - the tradi tional pre-Len t carnival celebrating the island’s deli verance from Catalan pirates.

A n e ff i g y o f t h e Ca talan messen ger takes centre stage, spectacularly released from a hilltop to slide on a rope to the town centre with firecrackers exploding at its feet. Humiliating indeed. At this time, as well as during summertime festivals, you can see the island’s folk costume, where the men wear scarlet and black with embroidered braces and hats decked with colourful flowers.

With so little (except carnivals) to disturb them, fish adore Lastovo, and you can be sure of an excellent meal here.

Lastovo has poor transport connections, few shops, and there is little accommodation with a few families offering private rooms. But if you’re ready and able to explore, and happy to adapt to the treacle-slow passage of time here, this could well be the start of an enduring love affair.

Mljet Sounds of Mljet

A breeze brushing through pine boughs ... the flapping of a sail out in the channel, heard from high on a seaside ridge ... the bray of a donkey. Silence.

Mljet gets a growing share of tourists, but as one of the more remote and less developed islands, with limited ferry service, it lacks the kind of mass tourism of much of the Dalmatian coast and some other more accessible islands. This isn’t the place to come for late night bars, concerts, discos. One might hope it never will be. A ferry connects the island with the Pelješac Peninsula.

Be prepared to fall in love with nature all over again, for this island has a stunning quality waiting for you to discover.

Croatia’s 8th largest island is approximately 3 km wide and 37 km long making it attractive to explore for a short or lengthier

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stop. It has an area of roughly 100 square km with 131 km of coastline and many little niches and coves to discover, so you’d be forgiven for wanting to stay. With five distinct forest tree varieties, abundant fauna and lush vegetation, it’s easy to see why Mljet is called the “Green Island.” Mljet offers a panorama of coastline, cliffs, reefs and numerous islets as well as the rich topography of the hills that rise steeply above the sea and plummet back into deep valleys sheltering ancient stone villages. The submarine world includes quite an array of fish and several types of corals. With fantastic weather, recreational sports, hiking and bicycle paths are only a fraction of the pleasures that you can enjoy here. The western end of Mljet has been protected as a National Park since 1960.

The ancient Greeks who settled here left the first record of the place, calling it Melissa or Melitta, (meaning, bee; honey) because of the many bees that made their home there. Greek settlers became familiar with this island whilst colonising nearby Vis (Issa), Hvar (Pharos) and Korčula (Korkiru).

The Illyrians settled the entire island in the 2nd Century BC, leaving graves and traces of military fortifications and settlements in seven places, on hills near water sources. The best preserved sites are located on Veliki Gradac hill above the Veliko Jezero, and the fort of Vodica near Babino Polje.

The Romans followed, their era lasting from the 2nd Century BC to the 7th century AD. After Octavian wiped out the Illyrians in 35 BC, the Romans built their own settlements on the western side of the island. Evidence of their domain is most notable in Polače, where they built a palace. Other Roman ruins are located in Pomena, Žara and Pinjevci.

The Croatian-Slavic nobility settled along the entire Adriatic coast around the end of the 8th and the start of the 9th Century. During this period of weakened Byzantine influence in the region, Croatians descended from the Neretva Valley and some settled on Mljet. The Romans, however, remained on the western end of the mountain for about another 300 years, until they were defeated in a battle on the mountain Bijeđ, between Blato and Polače. Evidence of this battle, including mass graves and remnants of bones, spears, swords and arrows, was discovered in 1938.

In 1151, Prince Desa of Zahumlje donated the entire island of Mljet to the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary of Pulsano from Apulia. Their arrival saw the construction of a church and grand monastery (1177-1198) on the islet in Veliko Jezero.

Ragusa (later called Dubrovnik), acquired the Pelješac Peninsula in 1333, leaving Mljet isolated for a time. This changed in 1410, however, when Ragusa, now independent of Venice, annexed Mljet. Ragusa held the island until the dissolution of the Republic under Napoleon in 1808.

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dubrovnik neretva county Tourist information Tourist Board Mljet tel. 74 60 25, fax 74 60 25,

tz-mljet@du.t-com.hr, www.mljet.hr. Sobra office (around the side of the café at the ferry pier).

Tourist Board Goveđari (office actually in Polače), tel. 74 41 86, fax 74 41 86. January - June 08:00 13:00. Closed Sat, Sun.

Getting There and Around

Transportation to the island is provided by Jadrolinija ferry from Pelješac. Mljet is only 8km away from the peninsula of Pelješac, 18km from Korčula and 30km from Dubrovnik. There are a number of harbour ports in Mljet. Polače is its largest and main port of call in the north. Other harbours include Okuklje, Luka Prožura, Sobra, Kozarica and Pomena which has daily connections to Dubrovnik (watch out for reefs and shallow water), and Lokve or Gonoturska port where you can throw anchor just before the entry canal toward the Big Lake.

What to See National Park Mljet (Nacionalni Park Mljet)

Pristanište 2, Goveđari, tel. 74 40 41, 74 40 58, npmljet@np-mljet.hr, turizam@np-mljet.hr, www.np-mljet. hr. Established in 1960, the park is Mljet’s top attraction. The park encompasses 54 square kilometres at the western end of the island, with an astonishing interior and coastline beauty.

Veliko Jezero and Malo Jezero (Big Lake and Small Lake), and the villages of Soline, Babine Kuće, Pomena, Polače and Goveđari all lie within park boundaries. Of interest, this park represents the first institutionalised attempt to protect the native eco-system in the Adriatic.

The lakes, 145-hectare Veliko Jezero and 24-hectare Malo Jezero, are the park’s dominant features. Thirty-meter-long channels link the two lakes and provide an outlet from Veliko Jezero to the sea. The current in the channels, swift enough to power mills during the Middle Ages, switches direction every six hours. On foot or by pedal you can enjoy a 9-kilometer path which circumnavigates the lakes, and other paths wind up and over the hills. It’s OK to swim or paddle in the lake, but scuba diving and motor boats are not permitted.

The usual national park rules apply: Don’t pick the flowers, steal the artifacts, fish without a special permit, nor litter, and most of all, don’t start fires. Mjet is one of the most verdant of Croatia’s islands because it wasn’t heavily logged or used for farming or herding. Nevertheless, a 1917 fire took out many of the deciduous forests.

Tickets to the park cost 40 - 90 kn and during the winter you should call prior coming for the ferry to St Mary Island to be organised in the middle of Veliko Jezero, where you will find the Benedictine monastery.

Benedictine Monastery on the islet of St Mary

(Samostan Sv Marija) This tiny island, in a lake on the island of Mljet, is at the island’s cultural and spiritual heart. For a time, the monastery was the island’s governmental center.

Benedictines, members of a monastic order who live in autonomous communities dedicated to work, prayer and peace, came to Mljet from Monte Gargano, Italy in the 12th Century to establish a monastery and build a Romanesque church dedicated to St Mary, which they completed in 1198.

In the process the Benedictines became the island’s feudal lords, but they are credited with developing literacy, culture and art. The Church of St Mary was repeatedly modified over the centuries, acquiring by the 13th Century decorative reliefs of saints and a typical Romanesque belltower. Renaissance features such as the Gundulić coat of arms over the church portal, defensive towers and walls, the two-storey structure of the monastery and Baroque side chapels were added during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1809, during the rule of Napoleon, the monastery was abandoned and the Austrian Forestry Office for Mljet used the buildings for offices until 1941. In 1960 it was renovated into a lovely hotel but given back to the bishopric in 1997, just under 800 years from the church’s inauguration.

The church has been reconsecrated, but other than a restaurant in the monastery cellars (during summer), the buildings are unoccupied. The island is small but offers a pleasant walk past two chapels. You can close your eyes for a moment and imagine the monks carefully pruning, weeding, and feeding in the gardens, which are now fairly overgrown.

Polače The village is named for the ruin of a significant Roman palace and fortifications – one tower is 20m high -built between the 2nd and the 5th centuries. Second in size to the Palace of Diocletian in Split, you can’t miss it: the road to Pomena slips right between its high walls. Archaeologists have also discovered two 5th Century basilicas west of the palace, baths, an arsenal and shipyards. The palace’s economy included salt production, olive oil, wine, honey, meat, cheese and fish. A paved route from the palace will take you up the hill. When you reach the road, bear right and continue straight to Mali Gradac, site of an Illyrian fort.

A posted turnoff on the way will take you to Montokuc, the highest peak in the park, which grants breathtaking views over the lakes and the Adriatic.

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Pomena Located on the western coast of Mljet in the National Park, about 200 m from Malo Jezero. This village, built after World War II, has only about 50 inhabitants living among charming thick alpine woodlands and working in agriculture, fishing and tourism. The bay of Pomena is perfect for small yachts, which can pull up to the pier and enjoy the hotel’s amenities.

Goveđari Settlement began here in the late 18th Century when two families of land workers and fishermen from Babino Polje were given permission to settle by the Benedictines to work as cattle-breeders (goveda means cattle in Croatian).

Located in the national park, 5km inland, this ethnologically interesting site is a great place to be surrounded by peace, serenity and lush vegetation.

Babine Kuće This picturesque little fishing village is located on the shores of the Veliko jezero just beneath Goveđari. It offers a splendid view of the islet of St Mary.

Babino Polje The central and largest inhabited area with around 350 people, Babino Polje is the administrative center of the island. Stretched along a ridge above a bypass road and a field (the name means “Grandma’s Field”), Babino Polje is surrounded with pine woods, groves of old, twisted olive trees and vineyards, and 514m Veliki Grad, the highest hill on the island. There are also a high per-capita number of churches: St Pancratius, St Andrew, St Michael, St George, St Blaise, St Salvation, St Paul, St Joseph and Our Lady of Mercy. The three oldest are the pre-Romanesque churches of St Andrew, St Michael and St Pancratius, which was built in the 11th Century.

You can reach the church, and neighbouring St Blaise, by way of an unmarked turnoff below the town. When you turn in, the road immediately forks; take the sharp right, which bends again to head straight into the valley. On the left among the olive trees you’ll pass the single-storey Renaissance manor

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The Church of St Martin and village graveyard are situated on a bluff overlooking the village on one side and the island road and Pelješac Channel on the other. A plaque on the 14th Century porch thanks Jolanda Vecchietta, a teacher who came to the island during the Italian occupation in World War II, taught in the local school and fell in love with the island.

After the war she returned to Italy but later paid for the 1998 renovations to the church. St Martin’s day is celebrated on November 11 with a mass in the church.

The newer Church of St Rocco is situated on another small hill above the village. Costumed celebrations of St Rocco (who was believed to have saved the village from the plague), take place on August 16 every year. Prožura was the birthplace of Pavao Gracić, a well known bishop of Ston from 1635 – 1652.

Maranovići The 18th Century Baroque house of the Peš

family is in the middle of the town. The 19th Century parish church of St Anton rests on the foundation of an older church and features Gothic architectural elements.

In nearby Korita, the ruined 14th Century Church of St Mary of the Hill mixes Gothic and Renaissance elements, St Mary demonstrates features typical of the island’s churches.

A roughly square plan with a deep porch extending to the front, and a picturesque belfry “na preslicu” (“on a distaff,” that is, the belfry has a split where the bell hangs, the way a distaff’s end is cleft to hold wool). Some of the manor houses have Renaissance-Baroque elements. The town has its own 17th Century defence tower with loopholes for firing. Korita is named for the stone troughs, common on the island, that are used to capture rainwater.

of the Ragusan governor of the island. Clustered around the village cemetery are St Pancratius, the 15th Century Gothic parish church of St Blaise, and the sotnica, a Renaissanceera government building in whose courtyard the governor sometimes issued judgments.

Odysseus’s Cave (Odisejeva Špilja) Technically that would be Calypso’s cave; Odysseus, shipwrecked on his way home from the Trojan War, only stayed with the nymph seven years, and most of the time he was pining for his wife and his home. After walking along a path lined with rock walls and wildflowers, which takes you out above a deep grotto and the crashing waves, you may wonder why he was in such a hurry to leave. You can pick your way down into the cave, come back another day by boat to squeeze into it through a 30m tunnel.

Local fishermen use the grotto as a harbour.

Prožura This medieval village was used by Ragusan nobles who – a bit like yourself – were looking for relaxing getaway.

Perched on a hill over a Blato (an intermittent lake) and the sea, Prožura has a 17th Century watch tower and three beautiful churches: the Church of the Holy Trinity, the Church of St Martin and the Church of St Rocco. The Church of the Holy Trinity has characteristics similar to those of Dubrovnik’s Gothic chapels, plus a remarkable 15th Century Romanesque bronze crucifix. The church most likely was built in 1477 by the Benedictines from Lokrum, who were bequeathed the estate in Prožura. The crucifix includes figured representations of St Blaise (the patron saint of Dubrovnik), St Martin (the patron saint of the poor) and St Nicholas (the patron saint of sailors and fishermen). Benedictines lived and worked in a small monastery near the church. It’s partly ruined now; along with the tower, it has been adapted for reuse as a stable and storage.

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dubrovnik neretva county Konavle The Konavle region stretches from Cavtat to the border with Montenegro. The village of Čilipi close to the airport is one of the cultural centres of Konavle, and on Sunday mornings (during summer) you can witness the traditional songs and dances of Konavle and performers dressed in colourful folk costume. Konavle consists of a fertile valley plus upland and coastal parts, all with stone villages that would reduce real estate agents to tears. In the central valley, you’ll find traditional rural restaurants where you can enjoy delicious home grown food - locally reared meat and trout, sometimes served by waiters and waitresses in traditional costume (see our “Where to eat” pages). If you come in spring, you can try dishes made with wild asparagus and see almond orchards in bloom.

The upland section borders with Herzegovina, for centuries the dividing line with the Ottoman Empire. Its highest point is the Snježnica (“snowy”) peak, 1234m high. The village cemetery at Brotnice has unusual gravestones (stećci) of the Bogomil sect, featuring vivid primitive carvings and lettering in the ancient language of Bosnia. There are well-marked hiking trails, and organised trips include a hearty meal as part of the deal.

The coastal part of Konavle is unusual for Croatia in that it is characterised by limestone cliffs. There are very few settlements, and the only people on the shores are locals looking for a little solitude. At the village of Močići there is a second century stone carving of the pagan god Mitreus, and scattered around are old houses with unusual conical chimneys. Molunat, the largest coastal settlement, is a quiet fishing village in a pretty cove.

The Elafiti islands Koločep, Lopud and Šipan These tiny islands - the first two car-free - are fantastic places to stay: you have all the sights of Dubrovnik on your doorstep but get to enjoy the peace and cleanliness of island life, and accommodation is inexpensive.

Koločep and Lopud are tiny - you can walk all around them quite comfortably. Their settlements (Koločep has two, Lopud just one) show in miniaturised form the architectural elegance of the Republic of Dubrovnik, as the city’s shipowners built their summer residences here. Thus you have fine stone villas, some of which are now super family-run hotels. Lopud is perhaps the prettiest of the Elafiti islands, and during the golden age of Dubrovnik there were thirty churches on less than 5km2 of island. (Many churches and palaces on all the islands now lie in ruins, but they’re still interesting to chance across on your wanders). Lopud village has a well-planted old park with stone balustrades and statuary framing the sea. Šipan is the largest of the Elafiti islands with two little ports, Suđurađ (“soojooraj”) and Šipanska luka, and a few tiny hamlets in the interior. A bus connects the ports, taking a trip through a fertile depression where the islanders successfully grow a variety of produce including grapes, olives, figs and carob. Both settlements boast fascinating old palaces and the ruins in the interior include the former palace of the Dubrovnik bishops.

Cavtat Ancient Epidaurum The approach to this little gem

of a Mediterranean town is one of the most breathtaking things about it, as the campaniles of its churches poke their way into view above a canopy of lush trees. But that’s not all - this was the ancient settlement of Epidaurum whose

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The Prevlaka peninsula is the southernmost point of Croatia and there’s now a Nature Park here, from which you have views over the Gulf of Kotor in Montenegro, with wild mountain ranges behind. Prevlaka was until recently a military zone, so don’t be surprised to come across barracks now used as a realistic venue for paintball games. Military enthusiasts will also be interested to see the islet which used to be an Italian prison in WWII. There is a strange Cyrillic-inscribed monument within the Park, apparently containing the bones of prisoners who died of hunger – no mention is made of this in the pamphlet. More cheerfully, there’s also a petting zoo, an excellent climbing wall, mountain bikes are for hire and you can feast on grilled meat and have a dip.

Agrotourism Konoba Vinica - Monković family Pridvorje,

Ljuta, tel. 79 12 44/ 098 34 54 59, monkovic@ konobavinica.com, www.konobavinica.com. Another excellent option in the Konavle region south of Cavtat.

If you ask nicely, the Monković family who run the place may show you their collection of folk costumes as you digest your home made prosciutto, cheese, roast meat, trout and garden salad. A drop of home made rakija would go down a treat too… QOpen 12:00 - 24:00. Closed Mon. Closed December 24 - January 31. (50 - 110kn).

PALB

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inhabitants populated Dubrovnik. A pleasant promenade fringes the rambling old streets, edged by cafés, a couple of good places to drink, a selection of good restaurants and a handful of rather lovely small hotels. The promenade leads to the pleasant town beach, a park and a cemetery with an imposing mausoleum by sculptor Ivan Meštrović as its centrepiece. A little way out of town are several large hotels which are good choices for families, with good shingle beaches and occasionally all-inclusive packages. But we certainly wouldn’t recommend imprisoning yourself in a modern hotel complex when you can indulge in the delights of a meal in a traditional konoba in the town, and the rural Konavle region, famous for its traditional style gastronomy and folklore is on your doorstep.

A highlight of a trip to Cavtat is the Bukovac house (Open 09:00 - 13:00, 14:00 - 17:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00. Admission 20kn), where one of the best-loved Croatian artists, Vlaho Bukovac (1855 - 1922) grew up. As a child, he painted murals on the interior walls of the lovely old villa, bringing them alive with colourful paintings featuring semi-naive animal themes. Although subsequent owners saw fit to paint over his works, they have been restored with some success, and the delightful exhibition space upstairs features paintings and sketches surrounded by original furniture from Bukovac’s day. Bukovac’s portraits are especially personal and full of emotion. An exhibition space on the ground floor is given over to the work of young artists, and the shows feature contemporary works, a refreshing contrast with the antique mood of the rest of the house. There’s an idyllic garden at the back, and the whole experience is a rather uplifting one.

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dubrovnik neretva county Fascinating facts Did you know...?

All of the streets in Korčula’s Old Town have steps – except one, which is called “The Street of Thoughts” as you can stroll along it without worrying about tripping over!

Korčula town abolished slavery in its Statute of 1214.

The first state in the world to abolish slavery was Sweden (1335).

The Republic of Dubrovnik was the first state to recognise the United States of America as a sovereign state.

Neretva

dubrovnik neretva county The finest vineyards in Croatia bask on Pelješac’s spectacular conical hills. This is the home of the indigenous Plavac Mali grape, and on certain south facing slopes near the village of Dingač the vines yield grapes of awesome quality. Dingač is an atom bomb of a wine: rich, dark and strong, and was the first Croatian wine to gain protected geographic origin (1961).

It’ll cost you about €10 a bottle, but to enjoy the Pelješac experience to the full, we recommend you try it. Postup is another Pelješac wine often called “Dingač’s baby brother”, while Plavac is softer, more affordable and very quaffable. On Pelješac you can find wonderful stone villages, untouched by modern times. Coastal hamlets are backed by steep slopes,

their shores fringed by pine. Pelješac is famous for pristine shingle beaches, and on the southern side a bracing wind makes this a favourite spot for windsurfers, especially at Viganj. Orebić is the largest resort, its architecture reflecting its links with the Republic of Dubrovnik, and has fantastic stretches of shingle to the east of town. A ferry connects Orebić with Korčula town.

The best thing about Pelješac is its unspoilt character. Take time to slowly discover and drink in its delights - a week will hardly be long enough.

Neretva river delta - Orange groves and water life

If you visit Dubrovnik in the spring, you may be surprised to see ripe oranges lying on the ground everywhere you walk.

Orange trees are so common that the fruit is often ignored, inducing a twinge of regret in visitors who have to part with good money for them back home. Obviously, the warm climate gives the people of the Dubrovnik region these southern fruits. But there is one more life-giver - the River Neretva.

It starts its life as a brazen young thing, rushing green and impetuous under the famous stone bridge at Mostar, upriver in Herzegovina. In Croatia, it spreads out open arms to meet the sea, creating a swampy region. Generations of backbreaking work mean that this area today is a fertile region sometimes called Croatia’s California. As you drive north to Metković, you can stop at roadside stalls and pick up sacks of mandarins, local honey and spirits. It is also sometimes called Croatia’s Venice, as the life of the people is closely tied up with boats, used for transporting pretty much everything around here.

The region has its own types of wooden boat; a smaller kind called a trupa, and a larger one called a lađa. Although these traditional boats largely died out, in recent years an annual race which attracts competing teams from around the world looks set to revive the picturesque tradition - the boats have a curiously flattish construction which is very attractive but definitely renders their navigation a challenge! More curious still is the water life of the valley. The traditional dishes of the area are often centred around two aquatic inhabitants, the frog and the eel. Both are made into a tomato casserole called brudet - you can try it in the popular restaurant at Villa Neretva at the town of Metković, where accommodation, tours by boat and photo safaris are also offered. The area is also rich in bird life, particularly storks and coots, the latter being traditional hunting game. Near the town of Ploče you can see the Baćina lakes from the main road - a spectacular chain of seven interconnecting freshwater lakes, plus one separate one. They are beautifully clean and have beaches suitable for swimming. It is hoped that the region will be proclaimed a nature park in the near future.

Pelješac Peninsula

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Oysters and wine The Pelješac peninsula is so tenuously connected wi th the mainland that i t has the unique character of an island. The first delight that awaits you is the gastronomic haven of Mali Ston. The narrow lagoon dividing Pelješac from the mainland is rich in premium quality oysters, and the village restaurants offer some of the best cuisine in the country. Nearby, the town of Ston is encircled by 14th century stone walls, 5.5km long and once including forty towers, which with the backdrop of the mountainous countryside look scarily like the Great Wall of China. These walls were built by the Republic of Dubrovnik due to valuable salt pans and the town’s strategic position, and Ston is often called “little Dubrovnik” as the streets have the same layout and the same names. The historic salt pans still produce salt for industrial purposes. If you’d like to have an active holiday with a difference, you can join in salt harvesting, board and victuals provided. Check out www.solanaston.hr. dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com

The Walls of Ston In an area known for its rugged natural beauty, few manmade sights are more magnificent than the grizzled fourteenth-century walls of Ston. For many years only a tiny stretch of this 5.5km-long line of fortifications was accessible to the public, but after a long period of renovation a significant circuit of wall was ceremonially opened to the public in October 2009. Visitors can now scramble around the ring of bastions that surrounds the town of Ston itself, enjoying fantastic views of the surrounding countryside.

From spring 2010 onwards tourists will also be able to explore a further 1km-long section of wall, which runs eastwards across sparsely forested, boulder-strewn hills towards the oyster-harvesting port of Mali Ston.

The walls date back to 1334, when the Republic of Dubrovnik gained Ston and the neighbouring Peljesac peninsula, and immediately set about securing it against potential Venetian or Ottoman attack. The area was well worth the investment: the salt pans of Ston went on to

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become a key source of Dubrovnik’s revenue, and helped to keep the republic’s fleet on the seas.

Spanning the isthmus that connects the Pelješac peninsula to the mainland, and consisting of 40 towers and 5 fortresses, the walls comprise one of the longest stretches of surviving fortifications in the whole of Europe.

Local sources reckon it to be the second longest stretch in the world after the Great Wall of China, although this eye-popping claim was probably intended as an attention-grabbing ruse by PR-conscious tourist officials. In the event, we feel obliged to report that a few idle seconds of web-surfing revealed that Kumbhalgarh in India boasts 36km of surviving wall – although we didn’t bother investigating any further. As there is no door preventing access to the walls, you can visit them at any time. Occasionally you might come across someone selling tickets, which cost 20 - 30kn, while kids under 18 go free.

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dubrovnik neretva county The folk tradition Th e p e o p l e o f D u b rov n i k a n d the surrounding regions proudly maintain their folk tradition, which you can still see at festivals, folklore p e r fo r m a n c e s, and processions on feast days; in museums and sometimes even on your waiter in rural restaurants.

Every region, and i n som e cases every settlement had its own style of folk attire, which often showed the social status of the wearer. So, for example, in Konavle, where the tradition is perhaps strongest to this day, unmarried girls wore red pillbox hats decorated with gold braid, while married women wore stiffly starched headscarves shaped like horns, to scare their menfolk into submission, we presume.

The costumes, mainly in white, red and black fabrics, were decorated with embroidery, particularly on decorative fabric breastplates with gold silk tassels on women, and waistcoats and cummerbunds on men. Silk was produced and coloured at home. On special occasions, people wore fine velvets and silks richly embroidered with gold thread, a style influenced by Dubrovnik’s excellent trading links with the nearby Ottoman Empire. Luxurious clothes indicated the wealth of the owner, but rich folk lent fine clothes to poorer neighbours to ensure a good celebration.

Jewellery has for centuries been a way for women in particular to invest their wealth. Dubrovnik at its zenith, had many goldsmiths and silversmiths who, in addition to adorning the city’s churches and palaces also made jewellery, an integral part of folk costume. You can still buy traditional earrings in gold or silver filigree, large hoops or drop earrings adorned with baubles. If you’d like to take home an original Dubrovnik souvenir, you can also find tiny backstreet workshops where women produce tablecloths, bags, purses, pictures, slippers and more embellished with traditional embroidery.

On your travels around the region, you can meet many more facets of folk culture. If you’re on Korčula island, you may meet a procession of drummers in medieval costume on their way to a performance of the traditional Moreška sword dance (performed across the region in high summer). And if you’re lucky enough to be on distant Lastovo in the two days before Ash Wednesday, you’ll see the Poklad festival, eagerly awaited every year by the islanders, and a riot of fun, celebrating the salvation of the island from attack by Catalan pirates in 1483.

The men dress in scarlet traditional costumes with embroidered sashes and hats decked with more flowers than Ladies Day at Ascot – a truly unique experience!

Trsteno Balm for the soul If you’re on the edge of your nerves and

even a stay in Dubrovnik brings no respite to your soul, it’s time to go green, get back to nature and indulge in a spot of tree hugging at Trsteno. It’s not only the terminally overworked who will be delighted by this historic arboretum – of course, for gardeners and plant lovers it’s unmissable. The centrepiece is a summer villa first built by Dubrovnik nobleman Ivan Marinov Gučetić in 1494. Rather than investing his wealth into a sprawling and luxurious home, he built a more modest abode and surrounded it with gardens in which his spirit could soar.

More than one hundred years later, his descendant Nikola Vitov Gučetić composed humanist philosophical texts here.

Trsteno was thus created by a man with a vision and aided by local sea captains who came home from their travels bearing gifts of exotic specimens. Over the centuries, many people have invested their energy and soul into these gardens. A sense of gratitude to nature and water permeates – don’t miss the baroque fountain at the foot of the stone aqueduct.

East of the villa lie a grape and olive press, once shared by the local community. A little path leads from the villa to the sea where a pavilion overlooking the water offers a view of the true meaning of this place – botanical splendour on the lush, island-strewn Mediterranean. In this part of the garden, you can also see the oldest tree in the arboretum – a palm almost 500 years old looking remarkably healthy. The arboretum includes the original 15th century garden laid out in renaissance style, with a geometric pattern of paths, a chapel, the fountain and aqueduct. There is also a newer garden (early 20th century) featuring formal and modern sections, with features typical of the southern Adriatic, plus a historic olive grove and natural woodland. Trsteno suffered quite badly both from shelling and from a forest fire which broke out in 2000, but Mother Nature has taken over and it’s clearly business as usual. A walk amid the beautiful, tall trees offers welcome dappled shade and the chance to enjoy the harmony of man and nature.

The village of Trsteno is a modest little settlement with a fine church, St Vitus, and two huge 500 year old Asiatic plane trees. By the waterside just east of the gardens is a remarkable but dilapidated fort, and a tiny harbour where a stream cascades down rocks into the sea. Magical.

dubrovnik neretva county Olive oil straight from the tree. The results are collected in a box called a Takalać, which the pickers later sift through to sort out the fruit from the twigs and leaves.

After the harvest comes the pressing part. Literally. Back in the day, the olives would be pressed on a stone wheel turned either by hand or maybe beast of burden. The olives would be set on a mat and put under the wheel, squeezing them to a pulp as all the juicy goodness ran out of them. Today, most olives are no longer pressed by stone wheel, they’re drained using hydraulic presses.

The rest of the process is really no different from the old school days. The first press yields the extra virgin oil, that is the oil of the highest quality, which must be made from green olives that are not too ripe. Subsequent pressing of the pulp will get you more olive oil, but the quality isn’t quite the same as the first.

Olives have played a small but integral part in world history, yet nobody ever really notices this. Think about it, winners at the first Olympics were given an olive wreath to wear on their heads, we extend an olive branch as a sign of peace, and even Popeye’s lanky girlfriend was named Olive Oil. The signs are clear, if olives are good enough for athletic glory, peace, and a belligerent sailor, they’re good enough for all of us.

By now we’ve all heard that olive oil is an integral part of the “Mediterranean diet” which medicine has associated with sensible portions and slower, more enjoyable eating. Studies have shown that those who partake in the “Mediterranean diet” to have a remarkable variety of health benefits. It’s even suggested that olive oil decreases the rate of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, it helps lower dangerous blood cholesterol and is rich in vitamins and antioxidants. How about that? A combination of olive oil and a diet rich in vegetables and fish is healthy, delicious, and satisfying!

This text has been created to acquaint the public with the olive growing tradition - it is not a scientific or expert text.

The Adriatic coast has a centuries old tradition of olive harvesting and processing to reap the benefits of olive oil.

From the northern coast to Dubrovnik and all the islands included, olive trees dot the landscape throughout the Croatian Adriatic. Olive oil today is still as important a part of the diet in Dalmatia as it always was. And in spite of some minor technological advances the process is more or less the same.

Olives are picked from the end of October to the end of the Christmas period, and there are a few of methods of doing so. Some pickers hack away at branches, collecting the whole thing and plucking olives off one by one later.

Other growers use a rake to bring down the olives, or a more painstaking route is to pick individual goodies

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Some homes on the coast still use a stone basin to hold the oil, but usually it’s placed in bottles (glass is the best for the oil) and stored for the coming winter and summer. Once bottled, the oil has a lifespan of about 2 years. A lot of locals in Dalmatia sell their oil to tourists, and it’s good stuff. The oil should have a greenish tint and s tron g a ro m a. A liter usually costs about 15 Euro, but haggling can’t hurt.

Get there and buy some home made oil, all of you!

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dubrovnik neretva county

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Župa dubrovačka The road south from Dubrovnik snakes alongside a broad bay dotted with some of the loveliest beaches to be found on the Mediterranean.Their white pebbles are probably the reason why the village of Srebreno was given its name, which means “Silver”. The water here is that perfect aquamarine colour so beloved of the holiday brochures. The town of Mlini is named after the water mills that you can still see here, driven by streams that race down the mountainside and emerge right on the beach, bringing the sea to a temperature that could be named “refreshing” or “freezing” depending on the hardiness of the swimmer in question.

These resorts are not “fashionable”, one of the reasons being that this part of the coast was occupied by the Yugoslav army during the early 90s. The village of Kupari is all but devastated, as it was a military base. Clearly a dismal situation for the local people, with a once thriving industry lying dormant and some fine old buildings on the waterfront empty and pockmarked by bullets, but renovation is presently going on and things will get better. Župa Dubrovačka Tourist Board Šetalište dr. Franje Tuđmana 7, Srebreno, Mlini, tel. (+385- 20) 48 62 54, www.dubrovnik-riviera.he, tz-zupa-dubrovacka@du.tcom.hr. Q Open 08:00 -15:00. Closed Sat, Sun.

A (not very) shaggy dog tale wars, where it was taken to the heart of that nation of dog lovers. By the late 18th century, the Dalmatian was being selectively bred in England, and standardised a hundred years later. It’s partly thanks to this care and to cooperation with Croatian specialists that in 1999, Croatia became the official home of the Dalmatian and the country responsible for the selection and breeding of the pedigree.

So, despite the cute cartoon, don’t be surprised if your Dalmatian, normally friendly and loyal, occasionally shows a bit of a temperament. All those years of hunting and shooting must after all leave their mark. But don’t worry – his bark’s probably worse than his bite.

Looking for more? Just click! dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com Dalmatia - the sunny coast in the south of Croatia? 101 Dalmatians - a pack of spotty hounds immortalised by Disney? Is there a connection? Indeed there is...

Linđo The folk tradition is very much connected with music and dance. During the Dubrovnik Summer Festival you will surely have the chance to see Linđo, Dubrovnik’s foremost folk troupe, going strong since 1964. The region’s folk music is centred around a one-stringed instrument called a Ljerica. Legend has it that one Niko Lale was an especially talented player even though one of his fingers was broken. One day, he had enough of working in the fields and screamed “No more farming for me!” – oddly, in perfect English. From then on he was a full time party animal and became known as Linđo.

Eugen Miljan

In 1994, the World Canine Federation recognised the breed as native to Croatia. Throughout the centuries, writings from travelling dog lovers from all over Europe mention their encounters with the elegant spotty dogs of Dalmatia. Some specialists think that the breed’s ancestors may have come from Ancient Egypt, where they were guard dogs of the Pharaohs. Others think that the breed originates from the Mediterranean region. One thing’s for sure – in the Mediterranean landscape where scrub stands out almost black against the white chalk hillsides, the Dalmatian’s black (or chocolate brown) and white spots help conceal it from enemies. Dalmatians have been bred in Croatia ever since the 14th century.

You would hardly guess from their loveable appearance that the Dalmatians’ past is connected with the blood sports of war and hunting. They worked as carriage dogs, able to run alongside the horses for hours, loyally protecting their masters from ambush. Their strength and speed made them excellent gun dogs and hunting dogs.

Grace, strength and stamina led to their adoption by the nobility as personal guard dogs, but they also travelled the world with Roma families and circuses, attracting attention with their looks. That’s how, experts believe, the breed became popular worldwide, and probably how it eventually found its place in the United States fire services as a carriage dog and mascot.

In the frontier zones in Croatia, they were much used in the army, and sometimes taken away by foreign armies in the aftermath of battle. This is probably how the breed crossed the Channel to England during the Napoleonic

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street reGister A. Barca H-2,3 A. Bošković J-2,3 A. Hallera I-2 A. Hebranga H-1/I-2/J-2 A. Kazali H-2 A. Mihanovića J-2 A. Šenoe H-2 A.G. Matoša I-2 A.T. Mimare K-2 Androvićeva C-4 Ante Starčevića I-2 Antuninska C-2 Aquarium E-3 Arhiv D-2 Asimon E-1 B. Bušića L-2 Bernarda Shawa K-2 Babin Kuk G-2 Bandureva D-4 Banjska I-3 Batahovina G-1 Batala H-2/I-2 Biokovska G-2 Bokar A-3 Bokeljska G-1 Boninovo J-3 Bosanka L-2 Boškovićeva C-2 Božatska I-2 Braće Andrijića D-4 Branitelja Dubrovnika J-3 Brdasta J-2 Brgatska L-2

Brsalje Brsečinska Bunićeva poljana Buža Cavtatska Celestina Medovića Crijevićeva Cvijete Zuzorić Čubranovićeva Ćilipska Ćira Carića D. Pulića Dalmatinska Dante Alighieria Dinka Ranjine Dolska Dr. A. Šercera Dr. V. Mačeka Dračasta Dropčeva Državna cesta Dubravkina Dunavska Džamija Đorđićeva Đura Baljevića Đura Basaričeka E. Kumičića F. Kolumbića F. Prešerna F. Supila Ferićeva Flore Jakšić

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A-2 I-2 C-3 D-1 K-2 B-2 C-4 C-3 B-2 I-2 G-2 A-1 H-2 J-3 C-3 H-1 H-2 I-2 K-2 C-2 D-8 G-2 G-2,3 C-3 B-2 D-4 I-1 H-2 H-2 I-2 L-2 B-3 G-2

G. Rajčevića Garište Getaldićeva Gorica Sv. Vlaha Gornji kono Gradac Gradićeva Grbava Grebenska Grudska Gruška obala Gundulićeva poljana Hanibala Lucića Hladnica Hliđina Hodiljska Hvarska I. Matijaševića I. Račića I. Vojnovića Ilije Sarake Imotska Ispod Minčete Ispod mira Ispod Petke Istarska Ive Dulčića Ivana Zajca Ivanska Iza Grada Između ribnjaka Između tri crkve Između vrta

I-2,3 B-2 B-2 H-3/I-3 I,J,K-2 J-3 D-4 C-4 H-2 K-2 H-1 C/D-3 C-1 H-3 B-3 I-2 E-1 J-2 L-2 H-2/I-3 D-4 I-1 B-1 D-4 G-2 J-3 G-2 G,H-1 G-3 B-1, K-2 H-2 J-2 K-3

Između polača Izvijačica J. Berse J. Pupačića Jakljanska Janjinska Josipa Kosora Kantafig Kardinala Stepinca Kaznačićeva Kliševska Kneza Domagoja Kneza Branimira Kneza Damjana Jude Kneza Hrvaša Knežev dvor Koločepska Komajska Komolačka Konavoska Korčulanska Koritska Kotorska Kovačka Kralja Tomislava Kunićeva Kunska L. Matačića L. Rogovskog Lapad Lapadska obala Lazareti Lazarina

61 C-2 A-1 H-2 H-2 H-1 H-2 I-3 G-1 F-2 C-3 G-2 H-2 I-2 E-3 C-4 D-3 L-2 H-2 G-1 L-2 I-3 H-1 I-3 D-2 H-2 C-2 I-1 H-1 G,H-2 G-3 H-2 L-2 L-2

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street reGister Liechtensteinov put Lokrum Lokrumska Lopudska Lovrijenac Lovrina Lučarica Luka Dubrovnik Luke Sorkočevića Ljubuška M. Blažića M. Budaka M. Dizdara M. Gjaje M. Gupca M. Hamzića M. Jarnovića M. Mrnarevića M. Vodopića Mala Petka Mandaljenska Marina Držića Marka Marojice Marojice Kaboge Masarykov put Metohijska

H,I-3 L-3 K-2 H-1 K-3 L-2 D-3 H-1 G-2 H-1 K-3 K-2 I-1 J-2 K-2 I-2 G-2 I-2 G,H-2 G-3 G-3 D-3 H-2 C-3 F, G-3 I-1

Dubrovnik In Your Pocket

Miha Pracata Minčeta Mljetska Mokoška Moluntska Montovjerna Mosorska Most Dubrovnik Mrtvo zvono N. Ljubičića N. Nodila Na Andriji Na Mihajlu Na Ponti Nalješkovićeva Napice Neumska Nikole Božidarevića Nikole Gučetića Nikole Tesle Nuncijata Obala S. Radića Obodska Obuljenska Od Batale Od borova

C-2 B/C-1 H,I-1 I-1 G-1 I-2 G-2 G-1 B-4 I-2 J-2 B-3 H-2 D-2 C-2 L-2 H-1 B,C-3 C-3 H,I-2 H-1 I-2 K-2 J-2 H-2 H-2

street reGister Od čempresa Od Danača Od Domina Od gaja Od Gale Od Greba Žudioskih Od Gradca Od Hladnice Od Kaštela Od Kolorine Od Margarite Od maslinate Od Montovjerne Od Nuncijate Od polača Od puča Od pustijerne Od Rupa Od Sigurate Od Srđa Od Sv. Mihajla Od škara Od šorte Od Tabakarije Oraška P. Budmani

J-2 J-3 B-3 I-1,2/J-2 I,J-2 K-2 J-3 H-3 B-4 K-3 C-4 L-2 I-2 H-1 C-2 C,B-3 D-4 B-3 B-2 K-2 H-2 I-1 B-3 K-3 G-2 K-2

P. Čingrije I-3 P. Krešimira IV L-2 P. Preradovića H-2 Padre Perice I-1 Palmotićeva C-2 Paska Baburice H-2 Pećarica C-3 Peline C-1 Pelješka K-2 Pera Bakića J-2 Petilovrijenci C-2 Petra Svačića G-2 Pile J,K-3 Pionirska H-1 Placa C,D-2 Placa – Stradun C-2 Platska J-3 Ploče L-2 Plovani skalini C-1 Pobijana D-4 Pobreška H-1 Poljana Mrtvo zvono B-4 Poljana Marina Držića D-3 Poljana Paska Miličevića B-2 Poljana Ruđera Boškovića C-4 Pomoraca H-1

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Pomorski muzej Porat Porporela Posat Postranjska Pred Dvorom Prelazna Pridvorska Prijeko Primorska Privežna Puljizeva Put od Bosanke Restićeva Revelin Riječka Ribarnica Roka Mišetića S.S. Kranjčevića Savska Sinjska Slanska Solinska Solitudo Sponza Srebrenska

E-4 E-3 E-3,4 E-2 I-2 D-3 B-3 J-2 B-2,3/C-2 G-2 J-2 B-3 L-2 D-4 E-1 G-1 D-2 H-3 I-2 G-3 I-2 G-2 I-2 G-1 D-2 J-2

Srednji kono Stayeva Stonska Strossmayerova Stulina Stradun Sunčana Sustjepanska Sv. Barbara Sv. Đurđa Sv. Ivan Sv. Jakov Sv. Križa Sv. Lucija Sv. Luka Sv. Petar Sv. Spasitelj Sv. Stjepan Sv. Šimuna Sv. Vid Sv. Vlaha Sv. Marije Sv.Dominika Sv. Josipa Sv.Nikole

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K-2 E-4 G-2 C-3 D-4 B-2 L-2 I-2 C-1 A-2/K-3 E-3 D-1 H-1 C-1 E-2 B-4 E-4 D-4 B-4 C-1 D-3 B-3 D-2 B-3 H-1

Šetalište kralja Zvonimira G,H-2 Šetalište Nike i Meda Pucića F-2 Šibenska G-2 Šipanska H-1 Šipčine I-2 Široka C-2 Tivatska J-2 Tmušasta C-3 Topolska I-2 Trg oružja E-2 Trnovička I-2 Trpanjska G-1 Trstenska G-2 U pilama K-3 Udarnička I-2 Uvala Gruž H-1 Uvala Sumartin F-3 Uz Giman H-2 Uz Glavicu H-2 Uz Jezuite C-3,4 Uz mline K-2 Uz posat B-1 Uz tabor K-2 Vladimira Nazora J-2 Vatroslava Lisinskog G-2

Velebitska Velika Petka Vetranićeva Vicina Viška Vlaha Paljetka Vukovarska Za kapelicom Za Kamenom Za Rokom Za rupama Zadarska Zagrebačka Zamanjina Zatonska Zlatarićeva Zlatarska Zrinsko-Frankopanska Zvijezdićeva Željezničarska Žudioska Žuljanska Župska

63 G-2 G-3 C-2 K-2 I-2 H-1 I-2 K-2 E-4 B-3 B-3 G-2 J,K-2 C-2 G-2 B-2 D-2 K-2,3 B-3,4 H-1 D-2 I-2 L-2

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Index Alavija nekretnine 45 American College of Managemet and Technology 45 Ana’s Studio 46 Apartments Laptalo 18 Apartments Stradun 18 Apartments Toni 19 Aquarius 17 Baracuda 24 Beautyline 46 Belgium 45 Bellevue 16 Bobanović 46 Boris Vlahušić 19 Bota 24 Božo Kortizija 19 Buffet Škola 23 Bukovac House 34 Cantina Mexicana Chihuahua

22 Church and Convent of Sigurata & Museum of Sigurata Convent

32 Church of St Saviour 32 Coast guard 46 Croatia 20 Croatian Chamber of Economy Dubrovnik County Chamber 45 Dea Wash & Dry 46 Denmark 45 Dominican Monastery 30 Domino Steak House 22 Dubravka 21 Dubrovnik Palace 16 Dubrovnik Sun 45 DubrovnikNatural History Museum 34

Elegant 46 Erste&Steiermarkische Bank

45 Ethnographic Museum Rupe 35 Excelsior 16 Foto Studio Placa 46 Fresh Sheets 18 Galeta 21 General Hospital 46 Grand Villa Argentina 16 Gruž 46 Gundulić Square 32 Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik 16 Hypo-alpe-adria bank 45 Importanne Resort 16 Indijan 20 Italy 45 Kamenice 24 Kapetanova kuća 24 Klas 21 Kod male braće 46 Kod zvonika 46 Komin 22 Kompas 18 Konavoski komin 24 Korčula 19 L’Alliance Francaise 46 Lapad 17 Lapad 46 Lero 18 Lokanda Peskarija 22 Maestoso 22 Maritime Museum 35 Mea Culpa 24 Mimoza 22 Mišić 46 Modern History Museum 35

More 16 Mrvica 23 Niko 23 Nishta 25 Oliva 24 Onofrio’s Fountains - Great and Small 32 Orhan 22 Orlando’s Column 34 Ostrea 20 OTP banka 45 Pergola 24 Petka 18 Police station 46 Privredna banka 45 Pro Krečak 45 Proto 24 Pupo 22 Raiffeisen bank 45 Renaissance 23 Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik 17 Rozario Church and Confraternity 32 Rusica 21 Serbian Orthodox Church and Museum of Icons 32 Sesame 23 Spaghetteria Toni 24 Spain 45 St Ignatius’ Church 32 St Katherine’s Convent 32 St Nicholas’ Church 32 St Sebastian’s Church 32 Stari grad 18 Stradun, Placa 30 Taj Mahal 22 Taverna Nostromo 22

The Aquarium 35 The Archeological Museum 35 The Birthplace of Marin Držić

35 The Cathedral 32 The Church of St Blaise 31 The City Belltower 34 The City Hall and Marin Držić Theatre 34 The City Harbour 34 The City Walls, Bastions and Gates Pile & Ploče 30 The Franciscan Monastery of the Friars Minor and the Old Pharmacy 31 The Lazaret 34 The Netherlands 45 The Pucić Palace 17 The Rector’s Palace 31 The Synagogue and Jewish Museum 35 Traffic police 46 UK 45 Vila Koruna 20 Vila Micika 18 Villa Neretva 24 Volksbank 45 VSP foto 46 Zagrebačka banka 45 Zlatka 45 Zlatno zrno 21 Zoe 22 Zure 24

Eugen Miljan

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