The Homeland War

This morning our group was divided into two vans, because the road we would be taking would be too narrow and too winding for a bus. Our destination was the Homeland War Museum, which occupies a Napoleonic fortress atop Mount Srd, overlooking the old city. (Don't ask how to pronounce Srd -- I heard it several times, but I still can't say it).

Our group was addressed by a woman who is a survivor of the war. She made several points: First, it is known in Croatia as the Homeland War, and people get upset if they hear it called a "civil war." this is because, from the Croatian standpoint, they were an independent nation that was invaded from outside, and the war was in defense of the homeland.

Second, the war was complicated. That is underscored by the fact that, when asked what the war was about, no one is able to answer in a single sentence. The answer always comes in paragraphs.

Third, the war in Ukraine is triggering for many Croatians because there are so many similarities to their own experience in the 1990s. So, this is a difficult time with many bad memories being dredged up for people here. Many still carry physical or emotional wounds of war.

After our presentation, we rode the gondola down to the old city. These rides are always over-rated and over-priced in our estimation, but it was part of the tour. And the view of the city from above was, indeed, spectacular on this beautiful, sunny day.

In the old city of Dubrovnik we had free time. We spent it by using our Dubrovnik Card to check off three more museums.

Our first stop was the Franciscan Pharmacy. The monks of this monastery have maintained a pharmacy dispensing medicines here since the middle ages. Medical care here was considered at the cutting edge for centuries.

The modern pharmacy is still in operation today, but the museum shows pharmaceutical trends over the centuries.

At the Museum of Ethnography, the theme was displaying folk art from the area, dating primarily from the 19th century. The museum is nicely laid out, and features a lot of textiles and traditional costumes, as well as artifacts from daily life, both in the cities and in the countryside.

Finally, we visited the home of "The Croatian Shakespeare," Marin Držić (completely unpronounceable) who was born in 1508 and raised in Dubrovnik, studied at the university, was ordained a priest, but then went off to study, teach, and rabble-rouse in various parts of Europe until his death in 1567. He is considered to be one of the finest of the Renaissance, though we had never heard of him before coming here.

After so much high culture, we found a table at a cafe along the main street and enjoyed a beverage while people-watching. Then we caught the city bus back to the hotel.

Some other folks on the tour told us about a bar near our hotel that is built in a cave along the sea. We had just finished our bar time in the old town, but decided to walk down and take a look, at least. It was pretty cool, but we didn't do anything other than walk in, take our photos, and leave.

At 3:15 p.m. we met in the lobby and boarded the bus for a trip to a farm about a half hour out of the city. The farmer was a rather gruff sort, a bit of a bully, really. His schtick involved mild insults to various members of his audience, as well as to his competitors in the food business.

But he explained about the olives they grow and the olive oil pressing process they use, the grapes they grow and the wine they make, etc. We got samples of several wines, a shot of brandy, and some of their dried fruits. Along the way, he showed off various antique farm implements.

Then we were seated for a meal which was entirely made up of produce from the farm: Meats, cheeses, nuts, salad, veal, lamb, potatoes, and an "apple pie" dessert -- which was really more of what we would call an apple cake. It was an excellent and very abundant meal.

As we ate, a couple of musicians entered the room with an accordion and guitar, performing Croatian folks songs. After dessert, they even got the group on its feet, clapping and dancing (well, sort of).

Upon our return to the hotel, we felt the need to walk off some of the huge dinner. Since it was once again a gorgeous evening, we repeated last evening's walk along the promenade to see the sunset. Then it was back to the room to pack, because we depart Dubrovnik first thing tomorrow morning.