* our wonderful apartment in Collioure is for sale … after I put these photos together I’m not sure we want to leave

Our intent was a 2 year adventure in Europe … it’s been 6 summers (this will be the 7th) and it’s time for a change.

The apartment has been everything we could have wanted. It’s very comfortable for 2 people. The terrace provides spectacular outdoor space for living, dining and entertaining.  

And, since many people want to come to Collioure, we have done over 20 great home exchanges, to Paris (many times) and Provence, elsewhere in Europe (Dublin, Vilnius), and to Hawaii, Australia, and Mexico. Great destinations provided by our apartment.

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the view from our terrace

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Our apartment is small inside, but it provides very comfortable living for 2 people. With the terrace adding to the living space, the apartment actually becomes quite large.

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Our apartment is 5 minutes from the beach, with a great parking space, and immediately adjacent to the train station with access to Paris, Barcelona, and all of Europe.

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Welcome to our home … dinner for 8 … cocktails for 14. Our apartment is perfect for entertaining.

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Collioure is a former fishing village located on the Mediterranean 25 miles north of the Spanish border … with highways, train service and airports leading everywhere in France and Europe 

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Collioure is an ancient and still largely authentic French village. It is a place where the French come on their vacations, with their children. All summer there is activity every day and night – street fairs, bands, Catalan dancing. A fresh market comes on Sundays and Wednesdays. There are 5 beaches, a 14th century chateau, and a 15th century church. Did I mention the weather – it’s perfect, in the low 80s by day, down to 70 or so at night. And the location is perfect for access to all of France and all of Europe.

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and then … this is the view you wake up to the next morning

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* CIA (Cuties in Action) in the 2012 Conch Republic Parade

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Only in Key West. A parade to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Conch Republic, formed when Key West seceded from the union (a whole other story). A group of Key West “cuties” dedicated to community service and having a great time. A container of margaritas and a huge smile, marching down Duval Street. Pat’s CIA moniker is “Miss Judge.” Others ladies are “Miss Appropriate,” “Miss Adventure,” … and nobody is “Miss Laid.”

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* 4 grandsons playing baseball

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Many years ago, I got a great deal of pleasure watching my sons Jon, Ben and Josh play baseball … 

Now the beat goes on, with Blake, Cole, Michael and Luke picking up gloves and bats.

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* visitors to Key West … Chris, Becky, Sean, Howard & Judy

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* visitors to Key West … Jon, Stacie, Evan & Natalia

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* visitors to Key West … Terry, Kerry & Susan

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* The Pope’s Conspiracy … Lew’s long-awaited sequel to The Heretic … is now available in PAPERBACK, KINDLE & NOOK formats

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in this exciting sequel to The Heretic …

• It is 1478 at the very peak of the Italian Renaissance in Florence.
• Benjamin and Esther Catalán are young Jews who have escaped the claws of the Spanish Inquisition and are brought to Florence under the patronage and protection of Lorenzo de Medici, the wealthiest and most powerful man in Europe.
• Their promising future is threatened, however, by a plot to murder Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano, a conspiracy organized by Pope Sixtus IV in Rome.
• As the fast-paced plot moves forward, Benjamin and Esther’s often heroic struggle to build their new lives is set against the evolving progress of the Pope’s plan.
• Esther Catalán, a woman unlike any other ever seen in Florence, shows blazing intelligence and engaging style as she sets the Catalán Press on a path to print previously unpublished works of Plato and the Jewish Talmud. Her friendship with Lucrezia de Medici, mother of Lorenzo and Giuliano, offers a unique look into the lives of one of the most famous families in history.
• Benjamin Catalán surprises Lorenzo with his boldness and political acumen. He develops a close friendship with Giuliano, involving football, hawking and hunting with a cheetah.
• Both Benjamin and Esther become integral participants in the cultured and opulent Medici inner circle even as they seek to re-make their Jewish life in an environment that resembles the anti-Jewish furor they experienced in Spain.
• Directed from the Vatican, the net around Lorenzo and Giuliano tightens. Rumors of a possible attack are reported by Medici spies.
• Benjamin joins with the Medici family to try to thwart the conspiracy.
• Lorenzo refuses to believe the Holy Father is brazen enough to attempt murder almost to the day the would-be assassins arrive in Florence.

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in PAPERBACK ($14.95) …

http://www.amazon.com/The-Popes-Conspiracy-Lewis-Weinstein/dp/1475058411/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332690047&sr=1-6

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in KINDLE format ($9.99) … 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Popes-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B007N7JLAI/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332690047&sr=1-4

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in NOOK format ($9.99) … 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-popes-conspiracy-lewis-m-weinstein/1109628986?ean=2940014249720&itm=1&usri=the+pope%27s+conspiracy

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* Spring training in Clearwater & Tampa

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a warm day in Clearwater and a cool day in Tampa

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the very special flavor of spring training and 3 generations of fans

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My sons have a long tradition of travelling to various major league parks together.

This year they included me and one of my grandchildren in a delightful March weekend.

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Cayo Hueso Literary Salon – Jan 24 2012

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Our first meeting of the Cayo Hueso Literary Salon.

We talked. We ate. We ate and talked. We may even have had a glass of wine.

Much of the discussion dealt with the book of the night … Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson

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* Key West Sailing Races (Jan 2012)

High profile fleets, intense competition and superb sailing conditions have made Key West a showcase race event for many years. 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the annual race week off Key West

“Key West is always one of the

most anticipated events on our annual schedule.”

This year I was fortunate to be invited to watch the races on the boat of our friends Steve and Karen. Here is some of what I saw …

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* a visit to “Occupy Wall Street” at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan

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October 21, 2011 … We took the R train and walked to Zuccotti Park, where we observed the situation a week or so after the tents had been removed by the NYPD. At roughly 3:00 pm, there were only a few people protesting – less, we estimated, than the combined number of police and reporters.

We engaged in conversation with Megan, 28 years old and unemployed, an intelligent well-spoken young lady. Her issue of the day was the exorbitant power of corporations in America, with a focus on the “Corporate Personhood” issue raised by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

We think this is the absolute correct issue, but wonder how this movement will ever get to effective action on the evils of political campaign financing which we believe is at the heart of our current national impotence. We will comment further on the political implications of what we saw and heard on our political blog at http://lewandpatpolitics.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/occupy-wall-street-loses-focus-a-post-in-progress/.

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* Fantasy Fest in Key West … Locals’ Parade

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Fantasy Fest in Key West is a weeks long celebration of what makes Key West such a special place. Aside from the plentiful nudity, there are many occasions for fully dressed fun. One of the best events is known as the locals parade. Appropriate for the Halloween season, it begins at the KW Cemetery. Thousands of costumed marchers walk through the streets in a casual parade that this year lasted over two hours. Since Pat had been preparing to be a Fairy Godmother, I just had to be the Godfather. Lots of people took our pictures, and we took theirs …

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* the magic of Venice … Sept 2011

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Just say the word “Venice” and the mind conjures images of romantic canals and the slow passage of gondolas.

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St. Mark’s Square during the day is so jammed with cruise boat tourist groups moving like large herds that it’s best to stay away. At night, it is gorgeous, with music and (very expensive) open air bars. 

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At 7:00 am, it is a perfect place for a morning run.

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It’s also perfect for kids and pigeons … and dancers???

Perhaps an explanation is in order. A band was playing, and Pat and I danced. When we finished, a group at a nearby table applauded. So we asked them to join in the next dance.

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The Galerie del Accademia … a superb collection of art taken from the churches of Venice on the order of Napoleon.

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the saga of Ursula by Vittore Carpaccio

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Pat has arranged for herself a threefold course in Renaissance art … preparing before our trip to Italy, viewing the art, and then reviewing her course materials with the new appreciation of personally seeing the works. And I got to have my own personal art docent.

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And also to amuse myself by finding a mirror on the stairs up to our apartment.

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Sights of Venice

a door handle, music museum, lladro tango, dali’s clock

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thousands of great store windows

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What’s new on the Rialtro? Plenty! We find a tiny cafe tucked into a corner of the bridge at water level. Once we had coffee, the next time bellinis. And we watched the action, an ever-changing mosaic of water taxis, gondolas, ferries, and UPS boats conducting an intricate dance, never colliding.

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the Rialto Bridge

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and of course there are some shops on the Rialto

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The world’s first ghetto was established in Venice, at the site of an old foundry (ghetto means foundry). Our tour of the remains of a once vibrant Jewish community was fascinating. Several small synagogues. Stories from the period of Nazi occupation. “Fortunately,” our guide says, “the roundup of Jews was conducted in the Italian manner. Inefficiently.” He told us the old Jews in nursing homes were shipped off to Auschwitz and most of the rest, dispersed throughout the city (no longer living in the ghetto) survived.

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exterior of synagogues

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the skylight above the bima corresponds to the cuppola in the photo above

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There is an altarpiece by Giovanni Bellini at the church of San Zaccaria that was painted in place so that the light from the window sweeps across the painting and at one point in each sunny day illuminates the heads of both St. Peter and St. Zaccaria. It was truly an incredible experience to watch this happen, and appreciate just how fast the earth rotates on its axis.

Bellini's altarpiece at San Zaccaria

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We had eaten a large lunch and wanted only a prosecco and dessert. It was surprising to us that restaurants with mostly empty tables would not take us, insisting they would only serve full dinners. It worked out fine. We were finally accommodated in an otherwise empty courtyard where the atmosphere of an ancient time surrounded us.

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You don’t take a taxi to the airport. You take a water taxi, winding first through the interior canals and then gaining speed across the wide bay. A great way to end our three weeks in Italy.

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* Sienna … a day trip from Florence

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Siena is about an hour’s bus ride from Florence. We took the bus because it goes right into the middle of the old city, whereas from the train a taxi is needed. We had been to Siena before, and loved it, so we just wanted to see some favorite sights again. We began with this dramatic entrance into the old piazza, still the site of the annual palio which has been Siena’s signature event for over 5 centuries.

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The Cathedral in Siena is as large and as overwhelmingly lavish as any we have ever seen. There is amazing art and sculpture, and the system for tourist exploration is excellent. Donatello’s emaciated John the Baptist reminded us of his Mary Magdalene in Florence’s Bargello.

Donatello's emaciated sculptures

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Siena’s Baptistry also features reliefs by Donatello.

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* a day trip to Bologna

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We took the train from Florence to Bologna – 37 minutes, mostly through tunnels so we saw no scenery. But guess what? We found more churches and art, and spectacular exhibits at the Town Hall and the National Gallery of Bologna.

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There was also a reminder of the dark days of WWII, and a tribute to Bologna’s partisans who resisted the Nazis.

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* the joy of Florence

We had two glorious weeks in Florence, which I have attempted to express in the three posts which follow …

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*Florence is just spectacular!

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* art in Florence … Pat’s mission accomplished

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*Dali & Rodin interpret Dante’s Inferno … unexpected and magnificent!

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* Florence is just spectacular!

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This is our third time in Florence, which gives you an idea how much we like it. Pat found a rental apartment with views of the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio that are fantastic day and night. The running path along the river and across the bridges is also perfect. That’s Pat running across the Ponte Trinita just downriver from our location.

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a convention of marching bands

Timing is everything. We had barely settled into our apartment on our first Saturday night in Florence when we became aware of bands marching, drumming, playing … everywhere it seemed, with considerable partying to accompany the music, until the wee hours. On Sunday morning, we saw dozens of bands which had assembled for a convention, marching from various streets into the Piazza della Signoria. Most of them – especially the younger ones – were sober and serious. The older ones … well … at least they were still playing.

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On our first full day in Florence, outside the Duomo, we met friends from Key West. Later we discovered a common fondness for Prosecco at our apartment overlooking the Arno and had a great dinner at Trattoria Cammillo at the other end of Borgo San Iacopo.

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Our apartment overlooks the Arno River between the Ponte Vecchio and the Ponte Santa Trinita. During WWII, the retreating Nazis bombed and destroyed most of the bridges across the Arno, including Ponte Santa Trinita. A multinational group of American, British and other soldiers, known as the “Monuments Men” took initiatives to save and reconstruct the art of Europe. They managed to stop the bulldozers from disposing of the stones and statues of Ponte Santa Trinita, the curvature of which had been designed by Michelangelo at the request of Cosimo I. Fortunately, a set of plans for the bridge was found at Columbia University. Also found were all four statutes for the corners of the bridge, except for one lady’s head. Almost twenty years later, a sand-digger found that head and it was re-attached.

for more fascinating details see …

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History

The Venus Fixers: The Remarkable Story of the Allied Soldiers Who Saved Italy’s Art During World War II

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Going to the Medici Palace is like visiting old friends. The last time we were in Florence, I practically haunted the place, doing research and absorbing flavor for my soon-to-be-published novel The Pope’s Conspiracy. I almost expected to see Lorenzo and Giuliano playing football in the courtyard and was somewhat disturbed by the extensive renovations which have so far made a mess of what was Lorenzo’s ornate study.

Cosimo’s chapel in the Medici Palace is a remarkable place. It is decorated by Benozzo Gozzoli’s three wall fresco depicting the Medici family offering the gifts of the Magi. This was the place where Lorenzo de Medici asked his visitors to wait, giving them every opportunity to be even more impressed with the majesty of his family (and himself).

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It was Rosh Hashana so I went to the Great Synagogue of Florence, a survivor of the Nazi madness. The painting by Rembrandt is called The Rabbi. I forget where it actually is, so I put it where I thought he would be comfortable.

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Florence is such a special place, full of extraordinary art and architecture. But Florence is also just walking around, enjoying whatever comes into view, so I thought I would finish this post with a series of photos, random as to place and time, that express our great joy at being in this great city.

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* art in Florence … Pat’s mission accomplished

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Pat has been studying art of the Renaissance, mainly from the course “Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance” produced by the Teaching Company and presented by Professor William Kloss. She identified a long list of specific paintings and statues to see in Florence. I was a willing accomplice, enjoying the art and taking hundreds of photographs, some of which are presented here …

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The 12th century Baptistry sits directly across from the Duomo. Three of its sides contain sets of doors depicting scenes from the Jewish and Christian Bibles. 

In 1401, a competition was announced by the Cloth Importers Guild of Florence to design the doors which would eventually be placed on the north side of the Baptistry. The two finalists were Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, each of whom submitted a design of The Sacrifice of Isaac for the final competition. Ghiberti was chosen and what he produced was later described by Michelangelo as “the gates of paradise.” Ghiberti’s competition panel is shown on the left above and Brunelleschi’s is on the right. Michelangelo favored Brunelleschi’s because it presented the more dynamic action, with the hand of the angel already holding back Abraham’s knife.

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Michelangelo's Pieta at the Museo della Opera del Suomo

The Museo del Opera del Duomo, located just behind the Duomo, contains an astonishing collection of sculpture. Here are three examples: a Pieta by Michelangelo, Donatello’s wooden Magdalene, and a wonderfully expressive sculpture I neglected to identify. HELP anyone?

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Branacci Chapel & Santo Spirito

In the early 15th century, a young man named Masaccio produced several frescoes in the Branacci Chapel of the Church of S. Maria del Carmine … and changed the nature of painting. His depiction of vibrantly rounded forms and profound human emotion gave the Bible story of the expulsion of Adam and Eve a meaning never before achieved. Years later Michelangelo stood in that chapel and absorbed Masaccio’s lessons. Just down the street in the Church of Santo Spirito Michelangelo’s wooden Crucifixion is glorious testament to how much he learned.

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images in the Bargello

The 13th century Palace of the Bargello was once the seat of government in Florence and later the palace of justice, complete with scaffold and torture room. Now it contains a remarkable collection of statues.

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statues at Orsanmichelle

In the early 13th century, Orsanmichele was a market where wheat was sold. Around 1400 it was converted into a church used as the chapel of Florence’s powerful craft and trade guilds. Late in the 14th century, the guilds were charged by the city to commission statues of their patron saints to embellish the facades of the church.

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San Marco cloister

San Marco - dozens of cells decorated by Fra Angelica

Cosimo de Medici undertook the restoration of the monastery of San Marco, including frescoes in each monk’s cell. Cosimo took one of the cells for his own use, when he needed a quiet place not too far from the Medici Palace. Over the entrance to his cell, he placed a stone tablet on which was repeated the dispensation he had received from Pope Eugenius forgiving him for all sins (At least that’s what I think it says.) Apparently, Cosimo needed frequent reminders that he wasn’t going to go to hell.

Cosimo's sins forgiven

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two of Michelangelo's slaves

The primary attraction at the Galleria della Academia is of course Michelangelo’s David. But down the hallway from the slayer of Goliath are a series of unfinished statues, referred to collectively as the slaves, which to me are even more impressive. Here it is possible to see how the artist removed the excess stone to allow the figure he saw to emerge, and also the vision of internal stress which Michelangelo implanted in his figures.

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Battle of the Centaurs

The slaves were created when Michelangelo was a mature artist. The Battle of the Centaurs was one of his first pieces, sculpted when he was but 15. It is found at the Casa Buonarroti, where you can often stand completely alone and think of the genius sharing the room with you.

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In the Church of the Ognissanti there are a series of striking images. 

But in the adjacent monastery is a masterpiece, a stunning Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio that fills an entire wall in what was the dining room of the monks.

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The Santa Maria Novella, near the train station, contains many astonishing paintings. Here, to finish our tour of the art of Florence, are just a few.

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* Dali & Rodin interpret Dante’s Inferno … unexpected and magnificent!

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This one was not on Pat’s Florence list. We saw a sign advertising Dali and Rodin. What a strange combination! It turns out that both had produced a considerable body of work inspired by Dante’s Inferno, and someone had the brilliant idea to put on a joint exhibition. Here are just a few of the many drawings, paintings and sculptures in the exhibit …

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* a few days (& nights) in Rome

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the Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are one of Rome’s most exciting landmarks, a gathering place for young and old at all hours of the day and night. Best of all for us, they were only a few steps from our hotel.

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Michelangelo's Moses

You need no other reason to go to Rome.

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Caravaggio in the French Church of St. Louis

Pat has been studying Italian Renaissance art for months in preparation for our trip to Rome, Florence & Venice.  One of her particular new favorites is Caravaggio, a really bad person who produced stunningly original paintings. The three paintings in a single alcove in the French Church of St. Louis, not far from the Piazza Navona, is a spectacular sight. We went twice.

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…speaking of the Piazza Navona

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St. Peter’s Square at 7:00 am is a remarkable sight, quiet, peaceful and empty. We saw the Sistine Ceiling and the Last Judgment, after rushing through the Vatican Museum in a successful breakneck effort to get to the Sistine before the first tour groups.

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Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel

It’s not a good thing to anger a painter of Michelangelo’s caliber. Apparently, the Pope’s assistant suggested, while Michelangelo was still painting, that there was too much nudity in the Last Judgment. So … Michelangelo added this fine official to the lower right hand corner of the wall, nude of course, wrapped in a snake, and with a very prominent donkey ear growing from his head.

for more about Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, see …

 http://maitaly.wordpress.com/tag/sistine-chapel/

also see a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel at …

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

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Vogue Fashion Night in Rome

Timing is everything. Our second night in Rome was the annual Vogue Fashion Night, and it took place just past the Spanish Steps. Champagne, the highest of high heels, and beautiful women made a terrific street party.

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So much to see in Rome, including statues, large and small, at every turn.

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* and then there’s Collioure

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The views along the Collioure harbor and in the town at night match any other village we’ve ever seen, in France or anywhere else. 

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We also love the views from our terrace. From about 5:30 to 8:30, with the cooling sea breeze and the puffy ever-changing clouds, it’s just a great place for a glass of wine, a good novel, and a soft reflective conversation.

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A real highlight of the summer of 2011 was the visit by two of Pat’s kids and their spouse and partner. They got to see what we’ve been talking about for 6 years, and we got to spend great time with them.

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For us at least, it doesn’t get better than this.

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… and then we came back to Paris for another week

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This is the bridge of locks, where lovers leave a symbol of their love in the city of love. We left our lock last year. The first time we looked for it, we were disappointed. But Pat is persistent and we returned to learn it is still there.

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The Hotel de Ville is the city hall of Paris and one of the most beautiful buildings in a city of beautiful buildings. The plaza in front of Hotel de Ville  is also the scene of a wide variety of activities, such as rock band setting up between two rather contrasting statues.

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For us, this was a Sunday trifecta of iconic images: High Gregorian Mass at Notre Dame, Breakfast in America, and the finish of the Tour de France along the Champs d’Elysee. Does it get better than that!

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People often ask us what we do in Paris, and we usually say, “We just walk around.” Here’s some of what we see. And this will have to do for our Paris experiences in 2011.

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* more images of Dubrovnik … the city walls, kids and music everywhere, ringing them bells, pictures of bombing, an island preserve … and a nude beach

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It seems to be the consensus that walking the mile or so around the top of the Dubrovnik walls is the main “not to be missed” attraction of Dubrovnik. Accordingly, I set off one late afternoon when the sun was not so fierce. Pat, showing her wisdom, did not join me. The walls were built eons ago, and enhanced in the 1400s  as defense against the Ottoman navy. The views are actually quite nice, both out to sea and looking over the orange roofs of the old town. But halfway around, it got repetitive and I came down.

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What Dubrovnik has more of than anything else is young people. Thousand of young men and women strutting about, enjoying the restaurants and bars, finding each other. It is they who create the wonderful atmosphere that permeates the broad and narrow streets and the beaches. Although slightly older, we felt right at home wandering along amongst them.

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Liza Minnelli sings it as only she can deliver a song … You gotta ring them bells. It’s the story of Shirley Devore from the Upper West Side in Manhattan, 31 and unmarried. She “borrows a thou” and sets off on a European adventure, intent to “haul me home a hus if it’s the last thing I do.” But Shirley strikes out in London, Madrid, Brussels, Majorca and Rome …

so she went to Dubrovnik and the very first day

she met a guy on the beach who took her reason away

The guy, it turns out lived at Five Riverside Drive, apartment 29F, while Shirley lived in the same building at 29E. The moral of the story …

You girls who live in apartments, don’t just stare at the wall

Open up the door and hurry out in the hall

And … ring them bells … swing them, ring them, swing them,

ring them bells!

So we tried it. We went to the beach in Dubrovnik and guess what happened? We each found someone who lives in the same house.

Enjoy Liza’s stirring rendition at … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtJSLZnKCv0

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There’s music all over in Dubrovnik, on all sorts of instruments, including empty liquor bottles. And the Dubrovnik String Quartet playing a selection from Mozart’s Night Music to the Mikado.

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In 1991, Dubrovnik underwent severe bombing attacks. The war with Serbia over the dissolution of Yugoslavia lasted until 1996. In our hotel, the desk clerk said she had four little children and no food, no water. She took their diapers to the sea to wash, and people shot at her. In a narrow alley, there’s an almost unmarked building where we saw the photos and video above.

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Lokrum Island is a ten minute boat ride from the Dubrovnik harbor. There’s an old monastery, hiking trails, beautiful views of a stunningly blue sea, a swimming hole that fills with sea water. You can see how enthusiastic Pat was about the nature all around her.

And, oh, there’s also a nude beach.

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It’s at the far end of the island, and it’s not a beach at all. It’s a collection of more or less flat rocks, high above the sea. We wondered how you could get to the water, and walked to the edge of the rocks, where we saw a ladder. We also saw waves crashing against the rocks, making it very dangerous to get into and out of the water. There were about a dozen people laying on the rocks, some relatively decorously, some not. Several men seemed to be posing at the edge of the rocks, the sea as background, although no photos are allowed and no one seemed to have a sketch pad.

“Once you’re in, the sea is pretty calm,” a lady said. “There’s my husband swimming out there.”

We turned around to face a lovely blond woman standing near us, perhaps in her mid 30s, with a beautiful figure, wearing a necklace of pearls … and nothing else.

There followed the most surreal conversation. She seemed to be an American. There were four children walking about, equally nude, and everyone (except us) seemed quite comfortable.

By the way, you’ll have to take Pat’s word about the pearls. I never saw them.

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It takes a lot to supplant the image of the lady on the beach, but my final impression in Dubrovnik, and my first impression in Paris where we went next, was the lovely lady sitting across from me. It’s really no contest.

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* died defending Dubrovnik … part of a centuries-long, and probably still unresolved, ethnic conflict

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There’s a small room on one of the side streets in Dubrovnik dedicated to the memory of those (mostly young men) who died in 1991 or after in the defense of Croatia against the Serbian Bosnian attacks. It is moving to stand there. All the buildings have been reconstructed and the tourists have returned, but the families and the feelings are still not settled.

We asked our waiter in a pizza restaurant where he was from … Bosnia & Herzegovina he says. We ask, “Are the tensions fully subsided?He shakes his hand in a manner that says … not quite. Our waiter at breakfast was a very young child during the fighting. His father fought; he and his mother remained in Dubrovnik, even as many others fled.

I recently read a novel about the refugees from that war and I recommend it … it’s called The Sound of Blue by Holly Payne, set in 1992, in Dubrovnik and in a refugee camp across the Hungarian border. Very moving and enlightening. And I just added another book to my reading list … The Yugoslav Auschwitz and the Vatican: The Croatian Massacre of the Serbs During World War II by Vladimir Dedijer. It’s a complicated situation that goes back generations and centuries, a situation where the truth is elusive and never unambiguous … not untypical of many ethnic conflicts that have always plagued our world, and continue to do so today.

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* Dubrovnik is spectacular!

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Dubrovnik is alive!

And at the same time beautiful and restful. The city is loaded with tourists, including many young people who fill the beaches during the day and the bars at night. Yet there is no sense of over-crowding, and once you move off the main street, the narrow side streets offer many pleasant places to have a glass of Croatian wine or beer, or to eat a fine meal or pizza at a reasonable price. There are plenty of shops with a variety of tourist merchandise and some up scale clothing, and there is a fine book store well stocked with English titles.

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Dubrovnik’s Jews and synagogue

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The Old Synagogue in Dubrovnik is the oldest Sefardic synagogue still in use today in the world and the second oldest synagogue in Europe. It still functions as a place of worship for Holy days and special occasions, but is now mainly a city museum which hosts numerous Jewish ritual items and centuries-old artifacts. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, many of the expelled went east and some eventually settled into the then independent city of Dubrovnik, where there was already a small Jewish community. Many Conversos came to the city.

NOTE: for more about conversos in Spain, see my novel “The Heretic” at …

http://www.amazon.com/Heretic-Lewis-M-Weinstein/dp/1595943242/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311062422&sr=1-1

In 1546, Dubrovnik officials allocated a Jewish settlement within the city, with the main street being called Ulica Zudioska (“Jewish Street”) in the Dubrovnik Ghetto. When and Dubrovnik was occupied by Napoleon’s forces in 1808, essentially ending Dubrovnik’s centuries of independence, Jews attained legal equality for the first time. However, when the Austrian Empire annexed Dubrovnik in 1814, legal equality was again withdrawn. Jews were again granted legal equality under Croatian law in the mid-late 19th century.

Today, because of the small number of Jews in Dubrovnik, the synagogue does not have its own rabbi.

However, when we visited the synagogue,

there was a Rabbi in residence.

Rabbi Yisrael Karasik had just arrived from Brooklyn with his charming new bride Mushki (from LA). It is Rabbi Karasik’s Chabad mission to bring Jews into greater recognition of their Jewishness. On this day, that meant convincing me to wear tefillin and say the Shema prayer.

Rabbi Karisik and his wife are hosting a regular Friday night Shabbat dinner

at 8:00 pm at the Dubrovnik Hilton.

If you are Jewish and plan to be in Dubrovnik this summer,

this would be a fine addition to your trip.

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Croatia on the Adriatic Sea

a brief historical note

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea.  The prosperity of the city of Dubrovnik has always been based on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages, as the Republic of Ragusa, it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice.

During World War II, in 1941, Nazi Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria occupied Yugoslavia, redrawing their borders. A new Nazi puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), was created. Many Croats took refuge in the satellite state of Croatia, which became the battleground for a guerrilla war between the Axis and the Yugoslav Partisans. Following the surrender of Italy in 1943, most of Italian-controlled Dalmatia was reverted to Croatian control. After WWII, Dalmatia (including Dubrovnik) became part of the People’s Republic of Croatia, part of the SFR Yugoslavia (then called the Federative People’s Republic of Yugoslavia).

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was the Yugoslav state under Marshall Tito that existed from the second half of World War II (1943) until it was formally dissolved in 1992. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Yugoslavia pursued a policy of neutrality after the Tito-Stalin split of 1948.

Rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to fast dissidence among the multiple ethnic groups within the various republics, followed by recognition of their independence by some European states in 1991. This led to the country collapsing on ethnic lines which were followed by wars fraught with ethnic discrimination and human rights violations.

In 1991 Croatia and Slovenia, which had been republics within Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, declared their independence. On October 1, 1991 Dubrovnik was attacked. The siege of Dubrovnik  lasted for seven months. The artillery attacks on Dubrovnik damaged 56% of its buildings, as the historic walled city, sustained 650 hits by artillery rounds. Following the end of the war, damage caused by the shelling of the Old Town was repaired. As of 2005, most damage had been repaired.

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