Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:13 PM CDT
Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian Coast and Croatia are worthy European destinations
By Scott A.G.M. Crawford
In the early 1950s one of my childhood passions was stamp collecting.
The shifting contours of the British Empire meant that old countries seemed to be constantly in a state of flux. New countries and reconfigured boundaries were created as once-colonial powers sought autonomy.
Europe, for the most part, was reassuringly constant. In Eastern Europe and especially the Balkans, despite centuries of conflict and bitter schism, boundaries seemed more fixed.
Under Austria and Hungary, west of Romania and Bulgaria and north of Albania and Greece, was this substantial country known as Yugoslavia. Today, a quick glance at a European atlas reveals a very different jig-saw.
While there is still a Yugoslavia, it is shrunken in size and within it lie regions such as Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo. As for the other Yugoslavia, if you will, it has been replaced by the newer creations of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
While we had heard so much about the beauties of the Dalmatian Coast, stretching along the eastern shoreline of the Adriatic Sea, we were unprepared for the rugged splendor of the terrain.
To sail into, and out of, Dubrovnik -- almost the most southern part of Croatia -- is to be exposed to a beguiling panorama of undulating countryside and the mountains of the Pleljesac Peninsula.
The shoreline is a succession of steep cliffs, bays, beaches and densely wooded islands. The most dramatic feature is the architecture of the houses.
If Greece leaves one with the memory of white houses and blue surrounds -- doors, roofs, shutters -- the central tone of Dalmatia is a copper red. The walls of the homes are a muted rust color, while the pan-tiled roofs present the viewer with a dazzling duality created by serried ranks of red houses framed against the blues of sea and sky.
The capital of Croatia is far off Zagreb, and there is a delightful sense with Dubrovnik that the local inhabitants enjoy being independent in spirit, thought and action.
We found it nice, for example, that when we explored Dubrovnik there was less of a sense of a local population hell bent on getting tourists to part with their American dollars. Big smiles, hearty greetings and an eagerness to make a sale were replaced by a more guarded, almost stoic, stance. Several shopkeepers firmly stood at the entrance to their establishment as if to make the point -- "Enter only if you are serious about making a purchase."
While Croatia's population is 4½ million, Dubrovnik's size does not overwhelm the visitor. It has 55,000 residents, although at the height of the summer tourist season that figure can double -- even triple. The relatively narrow streets of the new town and the auto-excluded environs of "Old Town" make for, paradoxically, a modern place that feels more like a medieval town.
The history of the town goes back, indeed, to the Middle Ages. In the 1500s Dubrovnik was essentially a city-state with its own flag, money and consular offices as far afield as Czarist Russia and London, England. Its more recent history has been as a fragment of a fractured Yugoslavia.
Our most somber moment in Dubrovnik was visiting the Hall of Heroes. It was a stark room with no decorations. On a series of walls were more than 200 black-and-white photographs of, mostly, young men. These were individuals killed in 1991 and 1992 when, during the Serbian siege of Dubrovnik, significant damage was done to the town, resulting in loss of life and significant destruction of property.
The pride and joy of Dubrovnik and the cynosure of tourist attention are the city walls built between the 11th and 17th centuries. The stone walls, a fusion of medieval and renaissance architecture, circumnavigate the Old Town and allow visitors a series of spectacular views.
When we were in Dubrovnik the thermometer registered 99 degrees, which did nothing to dissuade swarms of tourists who huffed and puffed their way up steep stone staircases to get onto the high escarpments.
We luxuriated in the cold shade and shelter of the Old Town, which is primarily a labyrinth of narrow cobbled pathways that merge, seamlessly, into stone-paved squares, set against tall houses, churches, palaces, fountains and museums.
The common denominator is that all of the buildings are cut from a light gray stone. On a blistering, baking day the Crawfords perambulated leisurely, more sloths than earnest and energetic tourists.
The name Dubrovnik is derived from a Serbian-Croat word that means "grove." It is possible to explore portions of the town that show off the region's rich flora, with clusters of cypress, pine and olive groves. There are vineyards that nestle beside lemon and orange orchards.
The Dalmatian Coast claims the cleanest and clearest waters in the whole of the Mediterranean. It is a haven for coastal sailors as well as experienced ocean racers.
In Dubrovnik harbor we spotted many "gin palaces," those multi-decked luxury cruisers that cost millions of dollars and are homes to tycoons, movie stars and seafaring people who enjoy the good life and see their ship as primarily a water-borne limousine.
We also marveled at "proper" racing yachts, with lean, elegant hulls and towering masts. A reading of their home ports of registration underscored the nautical attractions of Dubrovnik and Dalmatia.
Yachts from Bermuda, exotic locales in the Caribbean, California ports, and American East Coast sailing meccas such as Newport nestled close to one another and created a virtual forest of bobbing masts, sea-sawing spars, and fluttering pennants. Several weeks after we visited we were not surprised to read an Associated Press feature describing the stir caused when actor Tom Cruise made a surprise visit to Dubrovnik.
The Dalmation region is known for crafting superb seafood dishes such as scampi, shellfish and a local specialty called brodet (a fish stew on a rice base) cooked in olive oil and rounded out with boiled vegetables.
Although Croatians produce fine wines, one of their more unusual eating habits is to enjoy a small brandy as a premeal aperitif. The country produces plum brandies, herbal brandies, several potent cognacs and maraschino, a cherry liquor that goes wonderfully with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Near Dubrovnik is the small town of Ston, which once produced the most highly valued product of the then Dubrovnik Republic, which was salt. Today the "harvest crop" is oysters, which unbiased Croatians claim to be the most succulent in the world.
In 1979 UNESCO called Dubrovnik a world heritage treasure as a result of the historically accurate restoration schemes admirably carried out over several hundred years.
Penny fell in love with Dubrovnik. She cannot wait to return. She has a passion for sailboats and any/every form of fish cuisine. If you bear in mind that she is a keen student of oenology, and not averse to an occasional noggin of brandy, then my sense is that she will check out the possibilities of a future visit to Dubrovnik and the Dalmation Coast for an extended stay.
Scott A.G.M. Crawford is a free-lance journalist who lives in Charleston.
Aboard the Galaxy cruise ship: This is the fourth and final story in a series about the Crawfords' trip through the Mediterranean.
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