The drive between Split and Dubrovnik was incredibly scenic. We intentionally took the longer route that allowed us more time along the coast. We saw beautiful coastal villages going up the cliffs, amazing jaw dropping views of the Adriatic Sea and incredible feats of engineering. There were numerous tunnels, longer than any we have ever travelled, passing through the mountains. There was also an incredible suspension bridge, the Peljesac Bridge that was reportedly built during Covid (I screen shotted a photo as I could not get one from the car). This bridge has allowed travel directly between Split and Dubrovnik, without having to cross the border into Bosnia twice on the journey. This reportedly saves hours of time as custom lineups that could be up to 4 or 5 hours long during high season.
In Dubrovnik, we were staying in another lovely Airbnb with beautiful view of the old town. It was cliffside, we walked many steep flights of stairs to move around the city, we all complained of not being as fit as we could be. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and overcast, with a bit of rain, our sunniest bluest day was the first afternoon we arrived, and I neglected to take pictures thinking we had four days (lesson learned). We enjoyed taking the local ferry out to Lokrum Island across the bay, it is home to an old monastery and beautiful peacocks. It has now been developed as a nature reserve, with interesting botanical gardens, forests and walking trails among the different ruins. We spent time exploring the old town and castle of Dubrovnik, but elected not visit any of museums in the old city. On our final day, we visited Red Museum of Dubrovnik, which features life Croatia after the WWII under a Communist Government. It taught us a lot about the Communist Values and clearly the developers of the museum reflect on time in a positive way. The level of literacy, education, women’s rights, healthcare, housing, and modern amenities all increased dramatically. They described the “cult like love” of Tito, the Communist leader of Yugoslavia and the impact of his death. The second part of the museum acknowledged the work camps and mass executions that contributed to the Communist taking the lead as the political leadership following WWII. There were also some interesting articles on the relationship with Russia and the factors that led up to Croatia leaving Yugoslavia and the war.
