Dubrovnik, Croatia

For the first two ports of call we will be visiting Balkan countries.  For those who remember their European history, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was what triggered World War 1, and reignited a long-term battle for control of the Balkans.  Croatia has been overrun by other countries, most recently making them part of Yugoslavia.  They achieved their independence in 19__.

The port city of Dubrovnik is most famous right now for its UNESCO medieval walled city.  When the HBO series “Game of Thrones” needed a historically correct place to film – Dubrovnik was selected and now you have GoT tours, GoT souvenirs, GoT maps, etc. etc. etc.   

approaching Dubrovnik

The ship pulled into the new port, about 2.5 kilometers away from the Old City.  We docked behind the Viking Star, in the shadow of the Dr. Franjo Tudman Bridge, one of the newest accomplishments of the Croatian government.  

Taking the shuttle bus from the ship we went from the 21^st century to medieval times, and back again. 

It was hot (92) and everybody was trying to get to the same places we were, so it was a visit we could walk away saying “been there, done that” – not something I would go out of my way to do again, unless I could do it in like October or April when the temperature was more cooperative and the crowds are less. 

the walls begin along the sea, including this tower

the main wall

the walls go up the hill

crossing the moat to Pile Gate (one of only three places to enter the city)

Once inside the walls, you get to the main street, known as the Stradun.  You can see how everything is so close together.

Stadun

One of the big things to do is Walk the Walls.  Scott and I previously walked the walls in York, England (in May), so we saw no reason to pony up the 40 Euros they wanted PER PERSON for the privilege of torturing yourself for 1.9 kilometer up-and-down and around. (That’s roughly $45). 

Just to get to the top of the walls, you have to clime the staircase seen at the left of this picture.  NO WAY!  

After a quick gelato to reward ourselves, we returned to the ship, for lunch, a siesta, and a visit to the thermal spa (hydrotherapy, hot tubs, heated “meditation” beds, and other wellness benefits.  Once the sun left our balcony, we alternated sitting out watching the boats go by and retreating to the air conditioning inside.

Thanks to lots of smoke in the air, we got a spectacular sunset, with many of the small boats returning to the harbor.  We will leave at midnight… two hours from now. 

the bridge just after sunset

One bemused foot note- Scott asked me to take a picture of this statue covered by pigeons.  Turns out this is a public drinking fountain - one of two we saw today (one inside the walls, this was outside).  People were drinking right below all those birds.

Porto Corsini

Ravenna has long been a port city – fishing, fuel, and cargo operations.  It became a cruise port when Venice decided to ban cruise ships from their lagoon due to the perceived damage large ships were doing.  Ravenna and Trieste became instant cruise ports… but a lot of the infrastructure wasn’t there. 

As we drove towards the port, we saw swans, cormorants, and (off in the distance) flamingos.  The driver pointed out a sand pile, saying Ravenna is shipping sand to Sicily to help with their erosion problem.  

shrimp "shack"

On both sides of the roadway, and along every slough were what could best be described as shrimp shacks.  On pilings, houses draped with huge shrimp nets, dotted the country side.  

Once the industrial area ends, the beach awaits.  And thousands of Italians flock to the flat sandy lido.

beaches, Italian style

Marina Ravenna, and beyond, more beaches

Ravenna is in the process of building a cruise terminal, but manages to handle passengers, baggage, customs, security in a series of un-air-conditioned tents on the pier.  Scott’s scooter got us head of the line privileges, and we were actually the first people to be allowed on the ship (an hour ahead of our assigned time).

tents (background and along side) = today
rails and building materials =
Ravenna's future port

Cagney’s Steakhouse is normally open only for dinner, but it becomes a private dining room for suite passengers for lunch.  (We have private dining in Moderno Restaurant for breakfast.)  We enjoyed.

After lunch we did our muster drill (reporting to a crew member at the assigned location, and by that time our cabin was ready.  One pm is the fastest time from pier to stateroom we had ever experienced.  We were so excited we took a siesta.

Scheduled underway was 5 pm, but I guess everyone was on board because the lines went slack at 4:28 and we started backing out of the berth two minutes later.  Arrivederci Italy!

clearing the jetty as traffic heads in

 

 

Ravenna Mosaics,

The final site waited until after lunch and siesta time. (How quickly we adapt to a routine involving naps.) The Basilica of Sant'Apolinare Nuovo was only about two blocks away from the apartment - just beyond our favorite pastry shop and the Co-op supermarket.

AI summarizes that it is a long church with rows of holy men and women along the walls. It is very different from the first two we visited... it is a standard Catholic Church which above the nave has a long mosaic (on both sides) of so-called lesser saints and martyrs all in a line.

This church was built around the turn of the 6th century by Theoderic, king of the Goths. After the Goths were run out of town, the church was converted to Catholic by order of Emperor Justinian.  It was consectrated to Saint Apolinare in the 9th century, but, since there was already a famous nearby church by that name, "Nuovo" was added to distinguish it. 

Emperor Justinian

Starting at the back left of the church, there is a sort of reference to Ravenna's location on the sea, and then the line of people begin.

more and more and more, until it ends in...

three Italian men presenting gifts

to this throne.

The other wall's mosaic is similar, but instead features named saints in clerical garb and halos as this excerpt shows.

All of the mosaics are at least twenty feet above you, leaving the remainder of the church with an empty feel.  

the church altar (not a single mosaic!!)

I did find some interesting side chapels... there was one with frescos that were clearly old nd in need of repair. 

That concludes our tour of Ravenna.  We're off to dinner soon.

We head to the ship tomorrow, so that will be a full day.  Since I don't know how good the WiFi is going to be, I can't promise daily posts.  The pictures in these posts take a while to load and the previous cruise ship systems can't always handle it.   

Here's the ship's schedule:

        9th     Ravenna, sailing at 5 pm

        10th    Dubrovnik, Croatia

        11th    Kotor, Montenegro

        12th    Corfu, Greece

        13th    Katakolon, Greece (for Olympia)

        14th    Mykonos, Greece

        15th    Santorini, Greece

        16th    Athens, arriving 5:30 am

Ciao!

Ravenna, UNESCO Mosaics

Ravenna is renowned for its eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, famed for the finest collection of late-Roman and Byzantine mosaics in the world -- it is sometimes called the mosaic city.  We visited three sites.  The last time my neck was this sore from trying to photograph things over my head, was when I visited the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Our first stop was the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, a small fifth century structure known for its deep cobalt blue dome filled with hundreds of glowing stars.  

Galla Placida

The first thing they tell you outside is that Galla was the daughter of one of the Emperors, and they have now figured out that she is not really buried here, but don't worry about all that, the mosaics are incredible.

They got that right.

It's hard to get an angle that gives it justice, but I tried.

entrance vault

The mausoleum is laid out in a cross shape, with four separate vaulted patterns.  It is not large and you go from bright sunshine into a starry night interrupted only by yellow light coming through windows of marble sliced very thin.

yellow marble windows

Above the vaults it builds to a central mosaic, at the center of which is aa starry cross.

The particular mosaic shown here is a local favorite because it depicts the doves drinking of the font of living waters.  You see that image around town in advertizing and gifts.

this is a recreation of what is atop the vault
(it is hard to photograph in the dark building, so this was outside)

the basilica of San Vitale, from the Galla mausoleum

The second place we visited was the Basilica of San Vitale.  This was consecrated somewhere around 547 during the reign of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora.  It features biblical scenes with brilliant gold backgrounds (very different from the blue and gold of Galla.) 

the dome

above the altar

one side of the altar

as you approach the altar
one on each side

closer look at the other side - that's one big marble

the floor
big chunks of marble, and then tiny mosaics

They are in the process of restoring some of the "wrapping" around the main columns.  If you look at the original pieces, each features two pieces cut from the same marble then laid side-by-side so they form a mirror image.  Each of them is different.  One of them resembles a face, and it reminds me of a door knocker that we saw as we walked to the marketplace restaurant.

door knocker

Two hours of walking in 90 degree heat called for a gelato break.  Limon and fragola were our choices.... lemon and strawberry flavors so vibrant you could imagine the fresh fruit.

Oops, all gone!

Editorial note:  the system is giving me fits, I put everything in, and when I add the photos the size of type changes, or, in this case, it gave me a weird, highlighted type face  I don't have time to figure it out, so - as long as it is readable, I will publish it. I thought this sans serif font would be better than the Times it was originally set to use.... but, as you can see it keeps drifting back to a different size and type face on the comments. 

Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Ravenna is a city of about 160,000 which is the capital of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of central Italy. It was the capital of the Western Roman Empire during the fifth century, then part of the Ostrogothic and Bysantine Empires.  Population-wise it is the 24th largest city in Italy, but like Juneau, it has expansive land mass and is the second largest city in area with over 653 square kilometers.

Ravenna Train Station

We were staying near the train so we started exploring there.

Those of you with keen eyes may notice the fine Italian dining experience on the right side of the station -  yes that really is McDonalds.

This might be  a time to mention if you want to see pictures close up, you can click on any picture and get a better view.

Three long blocks up from the station, in a pedestrian only zone, we encoutered the Piazza del Popolo (People's Square).  The restaurants along its edges, move their tables out into the square under big umbrellas.  Today with mid-90s most had fans trying to cool the diners. (One place even had a self-made mister by putting a stream of water onto the fan.)

We bypassed the formal restaurants for a little hole in the wall place that featured Piadini. Piadina Romagna is the regional dish - its a flatbread that can be filled with savory or sweet fillings.  Sort of an Italian soft taco/ quesadilla combo.  Ours was ham (proscuitto) and a local cheese, with a bit of salad thrown in.  It is first grilled quickly on both sides, then the fillings added,   

Pretty good!

La Tonda - featuring Piadini

Scott's scooter has been negotiating the streets and cobblestones well.  Some of the sidewalks are a bit of a challenge - no handicap access points.   For getting up or down only a couple of inches, Scott can lift the scooter up or down.  For places with steps, we tag-team maneuvering it.

the leaning tower of Ravenna -
they seem to be trying to shore it up

By the time we got home from our first exploration we were hot and tired and immediately adopted that Mediterranean custom - the siesta.  Amazing how refreshing a nap can be.

For dinner, we weren't sure how the scooter would do after dark, so we walked the four blocks down to the Mercado.  The sun had set about 8 pm, but as we came out of the restaurant about 9, the city lights came on.  From this picture of the same block Scott was on (above) the restaurants on the sidewalks had come to life and were doing quite well despite it still being hot.

That was it for our first day in Ravenna.
 

FRA to BLQ to Ravenna

The flight from Frankfurt to G. Marconi Airport in Bologna (BLQ in airport code) was on Air Dolomite, a subsidiary partner of Luftansa.  It's the equivalent of Horizon Air to Alaska Air or American Eagle for American Airlines.

We got the royal treatment for 20 minutes as we were the only ones on the plane.  We even got serve pastries that no one else got.

The flight was routine - I think - I fell asleep the moment we lifted off and came awake when the pilot was doing his pre-approach speech.  I did hear him say that temperature in Bologna was 38 C.  That works out to be a nice round 100 F!!!!

When we checked in with Luftansa at gate A4, the gate agent was not real sure what to do about Scott's scooter.  We had sent all the info to Luftansa ahead of time and received permission to fly with the scooter - so I showed her the email confirmation.  Well she proceeded to create a luggage tag for the scooter, plus a "deliver to aircraft" tag.  The front of the scooter looked like more like a lampost that people kept putting tags on.  

bottom left (orange) Singapore Air Tag
middle PRIORITY tag for FRA-BLQ
top "Deliver to Aircraft" tag from Luftansa

As you can imagine, none of this worked.  The Air Dolomite crew watched Scott go up the stairs to the aircraft in Frankfurt.  As we landed the attendant told us to remain in our seats while the other passengers left - which we did, expecting it to take a few minutes to deliver the scooter.  Rather than let us go down the stairs, we had to go to the back of the aircraft and onto a wheelchair lift.  Overkill we thought.  We expected it to just lower us to the ground, where we could get the scooter.  Oh NO!  He turned towards the terminal... delivering us to an area behind the baggage claim area, where another guy waited with a wheelchair for Scott.  We were trying to explain that we didn't want that, we wanted his scooter.  

Long story short, after multiple phone calls and after all the other baggage had been picked up his scooter arrived.  

I had used the webpage visitravenna.it to request a car and driver to take us to Ravenna. We could have reached Ravenna by monorail to Bologna Centrale train station and taken a local train - but that would have meant schlepping the bags multiple times and rolling them two blocks from the train station to the apartment.  

All the misadventure with the scooter occured inside the secure area (we had not yet cleared customs) and, of course, our driver was waiting in the arrival hall.  Finally he cought up with us.  His first concern was that we had too many bags - they wouldn't fit in his car.  He had a nice Mercedes, and we showed him a few packing tips that got everything in without damaging his car.  

I asked the driver if it was any cooler in Ravenna because it's on the coast.  No he said.  

The autostrada between Bologna was bumper to bumper (this was after six - a bit late for rush hour).  It was strange to have that much traffic and be looking out at rolling farmland. As it turned out a truck had gone off the road... once we cleared that location traffic sped up. I looked over and our driver was going 143 kmh - that's 88 mph.  He was really ready to be done with this trip.  He dumped us off right in front of the door, while I was getting the keys out of the lock box.

We made it to our air conditioned apartment in Ravenna at 8 pm just as the sunset.  Lugging bags the 40 feet from the curb across the courtyard had us hot and sweaty.   (Imagine if we had gone with the original plan of coming by train!)

By an hour later we were asleep!  Two days of travel caught up with us.