Our First Class Tin Can...

We didn’t want anyone to have false expectations, so we described the ship as a tin can and a floating youth hostel. Luckily we didn’t scare anyone away and everyone was pleasantly surprised with how nice the Nikola actually was. Of course, it wasn’t really a tin can; it just wasn’t full of amenities like a traditional cruise.

The Nikola was built in the 60’s to transport wine; approximately 10 years ago it was retrofitted to carry 38 passengers and 5 crew members. The number one thing that folks commented on was the lovely woodwork throughout the ship. There was no doubt that the crew took wonderful care of this ship.

This deck was a wonderful place to read or take a snooze in either the sun or the shade.

We had to do some last minute shuffling of rooms, but everyone seemed pleased with the room assignments. The rooms were small, but we didn’t spend much time in them. Luckily there was an empty room where we could store our suitcases.

The bathrooms were quite small with no separation for the shower. Rather than soaking our own bathroom, we were happy that there was some extra showers on the main deck that we could use.

Cruise Time...

While at Schiphol waiting for our flight to leave, Jimmy decided we should use this funky new machine to make a banner for the ship.

We weren’t really sure what to expect, but were actually really impressed with the quality.

I met with the travel agent in Dubrovnik to go over all the last minute arrangements and gave her the banner to pass onto the ship’s crew. It was so nice to see it hung up when we arrived on the Nikola on Sunday.

Our Pre-Cruise Dinner...

The East-West Restaurant on the beach just outside of Old Town was a beautiful setting for our big pre-cruise dinner.

Not everyone was able to join us, but 25 folks spent the evening getting to know each other before spending a week living together.

We were thrilled that our San Diego Hash buddies Dan, Nancy and Julius weren’t too jet lagged to join us despite having just arrived from California at 5:30 p.m.

More of the Gang Arrives...

After we walked the wall, we visited a few of the churches. Vivynne, Tony, Ariana and Max arrived just in time to join us for lunch.

We found a restaurant just outside the city walls with this beautiful view.

That evening we met up with much of the gang for dinner. It was a bit like herding cats, but we even managed to get a group photo before walking to the restaurant.

More of the Wall...

What about small confined places always attract our kids?

You forget that this walled city isn’t just full of tourists, but walking the wall reminds you that people actually live here year-round.  

Here we are on the final part of our climb, at the top of Minceta Tower, built in 1464.

We had all earned our frozen lemonades after we climbed back down.

Walking the Walls of Dubrovnik...

It was worth getting up early so that we could get onto the wall before the crowds off the big cruise ships arrived. Later in the day, this square and main street were packed with tourists.

The bulk of the existing defensive stone walls were built in the 14th and 15th centuries and run for 1.2 miles around Old Town at a maximum height of 82 feet. On December 6, 1991, Dubrovnik was attacked by forces from Serbia and Montenegro. The Siege of Dubrovnik lasted seven months; Old Town was hit 650 times by artillery rounds. Adhering to UNESCO guidelines, repairs were done in the original style and were completed in 2005.

Even with an early start, it was very hot. We took it slow and stopped to take a lot of photos.

This photo of Café Buza from above clearly shows that it’s situated outside the city walls.

Balancing on a Gargoyle...

Saturday morning we got an early start to meet with Sally and John to walk the city walls. Before we headed up the stairs, we stopped for a chance for the kids (including this big one) to try balancing on the gargoyle, called the Dubrovnik Maskeron. We knew that this was a custom, but didn’t know that the legend was that if you can remove your shirt while balancing, luck in love will follow you.