Dubrovnik and Lokrum Island

We arrived in Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic, and the setting for King's Landing of Game of Thrones, at 7am the next day.  

Dubrovnik is one of the top 10 protected medieval walled cities, and was known as The Republic of Ragusa by the Italians. The name Dubrovnik was derived from the Croatian word "dubrava" which means oak woods. Croatia was formerly part of Yugoslavia until 1991.  As a kid, I always pictured Yugoslavia to be a gray, rainy dull place.  I had no idea it was so sunny and beautiful.

Approaching Dubrovnik by ferry after crossing the Adriatic Sea.

Love locks.

Entering the old city through the Pile Gate.

Onophrio's Fountain.  It used to be more elaborate, but it was damaged during the 1666 earthquake.

The church of St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik.

We hopped on a boat and decided to take an afternoon trip to the nearby Lokrum Island. Lokrum was the home to Maximilian of Hapsburg, brother of Francis Joseph I.  He travelled all over the world and brought over more than 500 different kinds of plants and trees from places like Chile, Australia and South Africa.

We rented a couple of bikes as a quick way to travel around the island.

Franciscan monastery built in the 15th century.

The island is also filled with peacocks (like mommy and babies here) that Maximilian brought over from the Canary Islands over 150 years ago.

Some stupid girl fed bread to the peacock and I thought it was going to choke to death on it, because it was stuck in its mouth for what seemed like an eternity.

At the ancient harbor.

Lots of swallows flying over the main street in the old city.

The Bell Tower.

Taking the funicular up Srd mountain.

Panorama of the Dalmatian Coast.

Duning out in the mountains.

A view of Dubrovnik from the steps of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The clock next to St Ignatius shows only 6 hours at a time.

The Bell Tower at night.

The Stradun at night.

Heading out of the city.