As we were having breakfast a few days ago in Trogir, Emilia, the B and B owner told us about the 2014 Croatian Catholic Youth Conference in Dubrovnik, on the exact same days as our visit! We went on to Dubrovnik, checking into our hotel, and making our way to the Old City. When we arrived there were a lot of people on tours, but within an hour they were leaving, as it seems they were from a cruise ship. We walked around the Old City walls, inside and outside, taking our time and soaking it all in. By 7 p.m., there was a noticeable influx of young teenagers. When we got back to the hotel, we were given a notice telling all guests that the streets of Dubrovnik would be
closed to car traffic the next day, with buses and taxis running free of charge.
We woke up Saturday morning to a light rain. We needed to do laundry, so we packed a bag and took off for the Old City on a free bus ride, to the only laundromat in town. The streets and buses were full of teenagers wearing rain ponchos and carrying umbrellas. There were 35,000 of them! No kidding! We did our laundry and returned to the hotel, as rain fell harder in early afternoon.
By 4:30, the rain had stopped and the teenagers were at a concert on the waterfront. We went back to the Old City and enjoyed over two hours of walking about with very few people. The recent history of Dubrovnik is really interesting and was difficult for all those living there during the Serbian, Yugoslav, and Montenegrin conflict of 1991-92. Several homes and businesses have photos posted of the damage suffered, along with celebratory photos of their rebuilding.
By 7:30 p.m., teenagers started to flow back into the Old City, so we made our way back to the hotel. Along the way, we were joined in the streets by thousands of polite and happy teenagers. Once back at the hotel, we asked about traffic on Sunday morning and were told that there were over 600 buses. We left Dubrovnik soon after breakfast to beat the bus stampede! We had no problem and left with very fond memories of Dubrovnik and the 35,000 teenagers visiting at the same time.
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| City Map of Dubrovnik, with the sites of damage in 1991-92, due to Serbian, Yugoslav, and Montenegrin conflict |
