Dubrovnik without Dragons

Well, well, Dubrovnik, we meet again. Though the last time I was here, more than a decade ago, there were considerably less tourists. In fact I traversed the old city walls all the way round and only met one other tourist on the way. 

But since then Game of Thrones hit the screen. It was partly shot in Dubrovnik and the rest is dragon’s eggs. 

Add to that the general increase in tourism, along with a generous sprinkling of cruise ships, and voila -  Dubrovnik is full! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still rather stunning. Just full.

Even so, the driver of the airport shuttle bus said that Dubrovnik is nowadays nowhere near as busy as it had been before covid (though I suspect the war in Ukraine has more to do with it). Then on the best days there were 109 daily flights to Dubrovnik! The walled in old town isn’t all that big - so how to fit in all those people… the mind boggles.

In true Finnish manner I strove to find the most secluded bits of the city, staying to the narrow streets and higher ground close to the city walls.

Or walking along the rather stunning coast outside the old town proper.

I also made friends with some furry locals. The cats here are friendly and always ready for a free meal. I sometimes buy cat food in places with large populations of alley cats, since I’m not above a bit of bribery to get a cuddle from a cat. 

These cats seem to be communally quite well cared for and I saw signs of a programme to neuter some of them to keep the population in check. In Rome when feral cats are neutered, the tip of one ear is cut so that it’s easy to see if a cat has already been neutered or not. I saw many cats with these same kinds of ears in Dubrovnik. And what majestic names they had! Archibald had his own bowl

And Anastazija her own table

Who needs dragons when you have cats!