20th - 23rd June 2013
Approaching LDDU.
Some of the MMIG46 members flew in on 18th June, which wasn't just on account of the weather forecast back home such a bad idea.
To each his own FOLLOW-ME – as one would expect.
After arriving safely in Dubrovnik, tanking was one of the first things to do.
A short history of the town.
Dubrovnik was founded in 615 BC as Epidauros by Greek refugees from the Peloponnes. In 164 BC it became a Roman colony, in AD 530 a bishopric and in AD 980 an archbishopric. In the 7th Century Slavic refugees from Salona and Epidauros founded Ragusa on a peninsula.
Dubrovnik was Byzantine until the year 1205 when it became a free state, formally under the sovereignty of Venice and after 1358 of Hungary. In the 15th Century Dubrovnik was the “Queen of the Adriatic” and a rival to Venice. In the 16th and 17th Centuries Dubrovnik enjoyed a golden era of literature and art and became a “Southern Slavic Athens”.
After Turkish sovereignty (1526) and especially after the earthquake in 1667 the importance of the town declined.
Between 1806 and 1814 Dubrovnik was occupied by France (Marschall Marmont, Duke of Ragusa), becoming Austrian in 1815 and Yugoslavian in 1919 before becoming part of an independent Croatia between 1941 and 1944.
(1968 F.A. Brockhaus, Wiesbaden)
It's not just columns and cypresses that line the Adriatic Bay, south of Dubrovnik – we have arrived at the “Grand Villa Argentina”, right on the waterfront.
Between our Hotel GVA and the island Lokrum, other friends of this delightful region were enjoying themselves.
The above mentioned island stands out on account of its rich subtropical flora and a small castle once belonging to Archduke Maximilian.
On 20.6.13 we met for a Welcome Buffet on the Paradiso terrace at the Villa Orsula. We had an aperitif here too at 8 o'clock before dinner.
Typically Croatian music performed by the famous group Klapa Maestral accompanied us at 8.30 to an excellent dinner on the Victoria terrace at the Villa Orsula.
It was an evening of serenity, of having arrived, of dinner with friends in expectation of a pleasant time together.
On Friday, 21st June a guided “Walking Tour” through the Old Town was scheduled – and it was 36° in the shade!
A must for all first-time visitors is, of course, the walk on the city wall. Then there was a visit to the Franciscan Monastery and the Old Apothecary.
Very advanced for Dubrovnik to have set up an apothecary, medical services and an orphanage – very early, very advanced!
At 1 o'clock we headed for the restaurant Posat. Luckily and finally there was shade and something to drink – or should we mention the great food too?
After that it was time to rest in the hotel until 6.30 before driving through the beautiful Konavle valley to Zastoje, a small mountain village.
Dinner at an old grange – in the 300-year-old oil mill. According to the local farmer, everything – the meat, the wine, the oil, the salad – was produced by himself. Who would doubt it?
Saturday, 22. 6.2013
On our short walk to the harbour we could see her – the “historical” Tirena, which would take us the island of Lopud.
And here it was. From the quay on Lopud you could make out the Villa Vilina, just behind the palm trees.
Wonderful to sit in the shade, sharing a cool drink with friends. A good start to a good lunch.
But not everybody had a place under the pergola...
but besides that the small Dog Leo also loved the Dessert.
At about 3 o'clock it was all aboard and back to Dubrovnik. Thanks Tirena for the wonderful trip!
This was where we were to meet up in the evening for our gala dinner – in the best fish restaurant Dubrovnik has to offer - the Nautika.
At 8 o'clock the aperitif – a refreshing aperol spritz – was just the right thing to set the mood for our final evening together.
We had the superb “Pope's Menu”, consisting of several courses.
What a view of “our” Tirena!
And what a moon!
Returning at night to our Hotel GVA, along the main street, the Stradum.
On Sunday, 25th June it was time for most of us to fly back home. Everyone got back safely, which is the main thing!
All there is to do now is to look forward to the next Fly-In.
© MMIG46 e.V.
