Dubrovnik and Montenegro

· Croatia, Featured

After the overnight ferry from Bari we arrived in the south of Croatia to the town of Dubrovnik. The walls, drawbridge and decorated gate make entering Dubrovnik’s old town feel like a special event. While touristy, the town is beautiful and has an incredible setting between dramatic hills and the ocean. We walked around the city walls just before sunset and got a lovely view over the city in the evening light.

Srđ is the tallest of the hills behind Dubrovnik. Napoleon built a fortress here in 1806 and it was later used to defend Dubrovnik from Serbian forces during the Siege of Dubrovnik in the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995). We climbed to the top of Srđ Hill and had a look through the fortress which is now a war museum.

To be honest we were pretty ignorant about the war - even though, unlike most of the conflicts we’ve been learning about, this one happened during our lifetime (although while we were young). Around 1,500 Croatian soldiers (many with with World War II era weapons) tried to defend the city from 7,500-20,000 Serbian and Montenegrin soldiers who had artillery and naval warships. During the siege, Serbian forces shelled the old city of Dubrovnik (a war crime, as the old city has UNESCO heritage status). Dubrovnik was under siege from the Serbians until 1992, when the city was liberated and the war came to an end.

We could tell that the war was still very much a sensitive topic and the information in the museum was often emotively written. We later learned that the Croats also committed war crimes during the war, which the museum didn’t mention at all.

We stayed in one of our best hostels yet while we were in Dubrovnik – Villa Divine Hostel. It was a small place with just 15 beds so everyone hung out together in the evenings. It had a really nice vibe with great staff and an awesome view over the port. The hostel was located in Lapad, a residential area on the coast with lots of beaches to choose from.

IMG_6336

On the advice of some other travellers staying at the hostel we rented a car with a few of the other guests and took a day trip to Montenegro. We headed south with five of us squeezed into a little Suzuki Swift. Like Croatia, Montenegro came from the disintegrating former Yugoslavia. Montenegro originally fought alongside the Serbs to prevent Croatia’s independence. However, in 2006 Montenegro itself achieved peaceful independence from Serbia and is now one of the newest countries in the world.

Our destination was Kotor, a beautiful walled old city, and the mountains that surround it. Kotor is built close up against a steep mountain. The city walls climb straight up the mountainside to a fortress perched precariously above the town.

IMG_6767

We left Kotor to drive to the Jezerski summit of Mount Lovćen, which stands at 1,657m. The narrow road zig-zagged up the mountain through a long series of switchbacks and blind corners. We took to honking around corners to warn the crazy local drivers who were hooning down the road. At one point we saw a group of people standing on a corner looking out over Kotor. Assuming it was a lookout we pulled over and got out of the car. Realisation slowly dawned that we were in fact wandering through a meeting of street racers! They were drifting around the switchbacks and running time trials up the hill. They started staring at us, so we thought it was probably time to get back in the car and leave! The road to the summit was long and tricky, but the views on the drive to the top were awesome.

IMG_6696

IMG_6720

IMG_6746

It was midnight by the time we got back to the hostel - a long daytrip but well worth it.

With only 43,000 residents, Dubrovnik is a small town. It’s definitely on the international tourist circuit, with cruise ships constantly coming and going. If we had just stayed in the heavily touristed old town, a day might have been enough time. However, because of the people we met, our great hostel and our daytrip to Montenegro we thoroughly enjoyed our three days here.

Happily, the weather forecast is looking good for the next few days as we are now leaving Dubrovnik for a week-long sailing trip through the Croatian islands (the last week of the season).

Comments from WordPress

#Places