早朝のドブロブニク Dubrovnik in Early Morning

夜明け前のドゥブロブニクの街を見てみたい！ということで、朝の4：30にこっそり街に飛び出してみました。夜はあんなに人でにぎわっていた通りもこのとおり、し～～～～ん、と静まり返っています。

We wake up very early in the morning and and went out to the Old City of Dubrovnik at 4:30 am!  The street full people last night was now so silent and peaceful. The city was still sleeping...

昨日の夜は人でにぎわっていたレストラン通りもこのとおり、誰もいません。

There were many restaurants on this street and lots of people enjoying dinner last night, but now, there were no single person on the street.

こっちの通りも誰もいない。日中はあまり見かけなったネコ達が、ふいに目の前を通り過ぎるくらい。早朝のドブロブニクはネコの街になっていました。

No people on this street, too... Only cats ran across in front of us. Yep, Dubrovnik in the early morning was a cat city :)

ドブロブニクの旧港。ここでも闇に隠れて用心深く行動するネコ達に遭遇！それにしても、昼間の喧騒がうそのように本当に静か！穏やかな波の音と、風の音くらいしか耳に入ってこない。ついつい、旦那としゃべる時に小声になってしまう・・・。いつもとは違ったドゥブロブニクを独り占めした感じで、とっても贅沢な時間を過ごせた。がんばって朝早く起きてよかった・・・。

Silence also hung over the Dubrovnik Port. Even here, we encountered only cats cautiously moving in shadow. It looked very different from daytime when the city is full of tourists. Actually, I really liked Dubrovnik in this early morning (before the sunrise). There were only us and cats (and a few tourists) moving in the city, and it was very very quiet. It was so quiet that we even talked in whispers.

ドゥブロブニク旧市街の中心、プラツァ通り。ちらほら人がこちらに向かって歩いてくる。誰もいないと思っていたので、ちょっとびっくり（がっかり）・・・。どうやら、城壁のすぐ外にあるナイト・クラブで有名DJがパフォーマンスをしていたらしく、その帰りの若者たちだったみたい。酔っぱらったイギリス人グループが道の端っこに座り込んだりしていた。

ドゥブロブニクにナイト・クラブなんてなんだか不釣り合いな感じがするけれど、いろんな年齢層の観光客が楽しめる、と言う意味ではいいことなのかも?!

But, we actually passed by some young tourist people on Placa street in the early morning. We thought there would be few people, so a bit disappointed, to be honest... It seemed like they just came back from a Night Club located just behind the City Walls near Revelin Fort.

Personally, I think Night Club doesn't fit to the Old City of Dubrovnik, but on the other hand, that means people in all ages can enjoy Dubrovnik.

長い年月人が歩いてきたこの道は、表面がつるつっるに磨かれています。ちょうど街灯が鏡のような路面に反射して、まるで雨に濡れたかのような幻想的な雰囲気。

ちょうど朝の5：00に街の街灯が一斉に消されました。この頃になると、もう空も明るくなって、清掃員の人たちが街を掃除してたり、お店に飲み物などを運んだりして、観光客を迎える準備をしていました。

The surface of the Placa street is very slippery! I'm not sure, but maybe because of people walking on the street over centuries and polishing the stones. Sounds very romantic, isn't it?! Anyway, the street looks as if it was wet, but actually, it wasn't. Lights in the city reflected on the glassy road and created a fantastic view :)

Just before 5:00am, all the lights in the city were turned off. But, by that time, the sky is already bright and daybreak had arrived. Gradually, people in Dubrovnik started cleaning streets, small trucks were carrying drink and food to prepare for welcoming tourists.