Unusual Day in Dubrovnik

I woke up to this outside my window.

Welcome to Croatia!  I'd been to Italy before, but we now have a new country I can check off the ol' list. 

When I booked this cruise, I was unaware that today is a national holiday in Croatia - a day of Remembrance for those who lost their lives in the Croatian War of Independence.  Which, if you've forgotten, was in 1991.

There was an element of surreality today - visiting this historic walled city which dates back many CENTURIES, but seeing damage it suffered during a war in my lifetime (my adult lifetime, even).  Our tour guide gave us some background on the war, and how she tries to teach her children not to hate Serbians; but, damn, there are still some fresh wounds here. 

Because of the holiday, most shops and restaurants were closed, and our day in the Old City of Dubrovnik (which is usually wall-to-wall people) took place in a largely empty city.  Humans were outnumbered by pigeons.  Probably by a lot.  (There is quite the pigeon population.)

(Notice the flags, alternating between the Croatian flag and that of the patron saint of Dubrovnik.)

I'm not saying "ghost town," but certainly under-populated.  Weather was nice and we got a good overview of the town. 

We also stopped at an overlook and got a really good overview of the city (and the view).

(People were looking in this general direction and saying "King's Landing!"  I do not watch "Game of Thrones," but hope I snapped the right picture.  Gorgeous either way.)

The weather is supposed to start turning on us tonight, but I managed a couple peaceful shots from the ship at sunset.  

We're actually staying overnight here and they're bringing some local entertainers onboard so's we can appreciate some traditional music and such.  (I prefer appreciating that sort of thing rather than snapping pics or video.  Something about keeping the moment ephemeral helps me connect with it in the present.)

(If you're keeping score - and some folks are - my team has won trivia twice.  A shipmate (on another team) requested a Broadway Name That Tune, even knowing my past as a critic.  She's pretty confident, but my team thinks I can take her.  I reckon we'll all get the easy ones, and it will come down to the one or two deeper cuts he tosses us.  I'm hoping for, say, something from "Boys From Syracuse."  Or "Assassins."  Seems like nobody knows "Assassins.")