Dubrovnik and Montenegro

We had previously visited Dubrovnik in 1990, shortly before the Balkan war began.  Dubrovnik, as a designated World Heritage site, was expected by many to be excluded from the conflict at the breakup of Yugoslavia.  Instead, the Serbs attacked and laid siege to the city by land and sea for nine months.  They had artillery on the mountains overlooking the city, and it suffered considerable damage.  We wanted to know more about Dubrovnik and how it had been re-built.

Following GPS directions into Dubrovnik, we found our small boutique hotel, overlooking the ocean and only a few minutes' walk from the walled old city.  We rented a parking space across the narrow street from the hotel.  Below is the view from our hotel looking toward the walled city.

Dubrovnik is amazing: a history rivaling Venice, a picturesque location between mountain and ocean, stone buildings and cobblestone streets 500+ years old, tall and impressive walls of the old city itself, the many shops and eateries, and the crowds of tourists from everywhere.  Get up early if you want to see the city before the streets are engorged with tourists.  Notice in the photo below that the beach chairs are vacant; only at sunrise is that true.

 An island, easily reached by a short ferry-ride, brings you to multiple beaches, a garden, natural pools and the architecture of the building complex shown below.

  A passenger ferry is available for trips to a park-like island just offshore.  A gondola is available to take you quickly to the top of the mountain overlooking the city.  A very impressive museum, located in the bunkers under Fort Imperial at the peak, details the recent war through multi-media.  Avoiding the crowd, we frequented a little restaurant outside the south gate of the fortress.  There we talked to a server who had been in Dubrovnik through the war.  He said the war "took" his teenage years, age 13 to 20.  A museum inside the old city commemorates all the defenders killed in the war.  Not really trained soldiers; mainly just young men with rifles who decided to defend their city.

Produce displays being set up in one of Dubrovnik's inner town squares.

While staying at Dubrovnik, we took a day trip to Montenegro, to the old town of Kotor.  Montenegro is a socialist/communist country; a resort destination for rich Russians; many signs are in the Russian language.  Kotor is another old walled city, but, in Montenegro, merchants don't scrub the cobblestone streets in front of their shops like Dubrovnik.  Everything looks slightly shabby and unwashed.  Traffic is horrific and unorganized; parking is difficult.

   Notice how the walls of this old city extend far up the mountainside in the background.