Dubrovnik has been a famous tourist attraction for many decades. But nowadays, the old town becomes crushed by its own popularity. More than one million cruise ship passengers arrived in the port of Dubrovnik last year. Each day, 300 buses were circling around the city center. For all the crush of the crowds, it is impossible to see the historic buildings any longer.
Usually, the cruise ship passengers make a city tour through the old town. They also walk the city walls and ride the cable car up to Mount Srdj. Sometimes, the main street, Stradun, is so overcrowded that it is impossible to find your way through people and pigeons and enjoy the beautiful architecture or have a cup of coffee on one of the romantic squares.When you see the hordes of tourists following their guides, you have the feeling as if you were in Japan or Scandinavia!
That was the very reason why we decided to visit Dubrovnik in the evening last week. And we were really lucky – we entered the old town in a very special moment: the Blue Hour.
This is a magic „hour“ (typically this period lasts about 40 minutes), especially treasured by lovers of photography. It happens when the sun is a significant distance below the horizon and the residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue hue. Of course, the blue hour does not only depend on the time of the day (morning or evening), but also on the weather conditions, pollution, particles in the air, etc.
When we entered the Pile City Gate, the medieval ramparts and the Minčeta fort were illuminated. The sky was clearly visible and some stars could already be seen. This was a good moment to take photographs.
And what a surprise! The sky on the pictures had such an intense blue color that I could not believe my eyes. We admired the Onofrio Fountain – the favorite meeting place of the city youth – and the Fransiscan Monastery. The first street lights on Stradun appeared in the scene and transformed the city into a fairy tale.
Roaming through the narrow streets, we soaked up the authentic atmosphere. On a romantic small square, we had dinner in the open air. The „blue hour“ disappeared … but it was a memorable evening in this beautiful city, rightly called „The Pearl of the Adriatic“.
