The Pacific Princess arrived at Port Gruž in Dubrovnik at 7am this morning, and, frankly, that is just all kinds of wrong. The pressure to wake up early and hit the ground running is immense...but we successfully fought it back for over an hour. Still, we didn't want to dawdle too much. While it was mostly sunny this morning, rain was expected to move in by early afternoon. We enjoyed breakfast in the Club Restaurant, pulled on our usual jackets and hats and walked off the ship. G had three goals for today: drive across the beautiful Tudman (pronounced TOOJ-man) Bridge (the New Bridge), ride the gondola to the top of Mount Srd (somehow they pronounce it 'surge'. Pat, I'd like to buy a vowel please.) and walk on the city wall surrounding Dubrovnik's Old Town. We managed to accomplish them all in a way. Go us!
We first walked through the port to the left under the suspension bridge to take a few photos.
On our way back, we encountered a taxi driver named Jadranko Buško (jadranko.busko@du.t-com.hr), who accepted credit cards (always our least expensive option) and offered a one hour tour for 50€. He promised we'd cross the bridge, stop for photos on the other side, drive above the Old Town to the top Mount Srd and then he'd drop us off at the Ploče Gate on the east side of the wall. Sometimes it's just worthwhile to pay a little extra and get a personalized tour, and thus was one of those times.
We drove up to the road that led to the bridge and, years after we first saw a photo of it and asked "Where is that beautiful bridge?" we were crossing it ourselves. The best views of it are from a lookout on the other side, with the cruise ships and the Adriatic Sea stretching out for miles.
We next made our way toward Old Town but on a higher road with less traffic, and stopped for our first views of the walled Old Town from above.
We then started making our way up a narrow and somewhat treacherous road to the top of Mount Srd and along the way, Jadranko explained to us about the Siege of Dubrovnik. It was mind boggling to think about the fact that people woke up one morning being attacked by their neighbors just to the north.
In the interest of time (mine), here is what Rick Steves said about the siege in his Mediterranean Cruise Ports book:
In June 1991, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. Within weeks, the nations were at war. Though warfare raged in the Croatian interior, nobody expected that the bloodshed would reach Dubrovnik. As refugees from Vukovar (in northeastern Croatia) arrived in Dubrovnik that fall, telling horrific stories of the warfare there, local residents began fearing the worst. Warplanes from the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People’s Army buzzed threateningly low over the town, as if to signal an impending attack. Then, at 6: 00 in the morning on October 1, 1991, Dubrovnik residents awoke to explosions on nearby hillsides. The first attacks were focused on Mount Srđ, high above the Old Town. First the giant cross was destroyed, then a communications tower (both have been rebuilt and are visible today). This first wave of attacks cleared the way for Yugoslav land troops—mostly Serbs and Montenegrins—who surrounded the city. The ragtag, newly formed Croatian army quickly dug in at the old Napoleonic-era fortress at the top of Mount Srđ, where just 25 or 30 soldiers fended off a Yugoslav takeover of this highly strategic position. At first, shelling targeted military positions on the outskirts of town. But soon, Yugoslav forces began bombing residential neighborhoods, then the Pearl of the Adriatic itself: Dubrovnik’s Old Town. Defenseless townspeople took shelter in their cellars, and sometimes even huddled together in the city wall’s 15th-century forts. It was the first time in Dubrovnik’s long history that the walls were actually used to defend against an attack. Dubrovnik resisted the siege better than anyone expected. The Yugoslav forces were hoping that residents would flee the town, but the people of Dubrovnik stayed. Though severely outgunned and outnumbered, Dubrovnik’s defenders managed to hold the fort atop Mount Srđ, while Yugoslav forces controlled the nearby mountaintops. All supplies had to be carried up to the fort by foot or by donkey. Dubrovnik wasn’t prepared for war, so its citizens had to improvise their defense. Many brave young locals lost their lives when they slung old hunting rifles over their shoulders and, under cover of darkness, climbed the hills above Dubrovnik to meet Yugoslav soldiers face-to-face. After eight months of bombing, Dubrovnik was liberated by the Croatian army, which attacked Yugoslav positions from the north. By the end of the siege, 100 civilians were dead, as well as more than 200 Dubrovnik citizens who lost their lives actively fighting for their hometown (much revered today as “Dubrovnik Defenders”); in the greater Dubrovnik area, 420 “Defenders” were killed, and another 900 wounded. More than two-thirds of Dubrovnik’s buildings had been damaged, and more than 30,000 people had to flee their homes—but the failed siege was finally over.
Jadranko pointed out that Mount Srd had been covered with land mines that have mostly been cleared but the town warns against people going off of the marked trails. It was quite a sobering thing to see the rebuilt cross honoring the Dubrovnik Defenders and to see the mortar damage to the fortress built while the town was controlled by Napolean in the early 19th century. We never did see the gondola operating today, probably due to the wind, and so we were happy to have reached the top of Mount Srd by taxi.
Serbia lies just over these mountains. We kept an eye on the building clouds.
Honoring the Dubrovnik Defenders
Dubrovnik's Stari Grad (Old Town)
Old Town harbor
Dubrovnik is more than just its Old Town. The port is around the corner on the far right.
The siege of Dubrovnik.
Damage from the recent war.
We were dropped at the Ploče Gate for the next part of our adventure. After stopping into a small market for water bottles, we entered through the gate and paid roughly $13pp (Kunas or credit cards only, no Euros) to climb a series of stone steps to the top of the wall. Foot traffic on top the wall goes in only one direction, and we wanted to enter through the east gate to conquer the highest part of the wall first. We made it all the way to the top of Fort Minčeta while the wind picked up considerably and the predicted clouds moved in.
A closer view of the harbor
Drawbridge over the moat that surrounds the Old Town
The Ploče Gate in the west wall of the Old Town guarded by Sveti Vlaho, the patron saint of Dubrovnik
Entertainers dressed in traditional attire
I think this is also Sveti Vlaho, but am not certain.
If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.
A less familiar view of the harbor
In the Old Town, not yet on top of the wall
Finally on the wall
Fort Minčeta
Walking the wall
Many of the roofs were demolished in the war and have been rebuilt in the same style
Of all photos not to be focused, this one I really wanted. If you can make it out,
it provides the key for the diagram below depicting damage to the Old Town from the war.
Loved the sports court in a medieval town
Climbing the steps to the tip top of Fort Minčeta
Fort Minčeta
When we reached the Pile Gate on the wall's west side, we needed to climb back down for a bathroom break. The only bathroom required the local currency of Kunas, no Euros, and we didn't have any, and that is how we found ourselves back at D'Vino's wine bar with its small but complete bathroom (TP and soap and paper towels, oh my!!) and just then it started to rain, so of course we chose to stay there and drink wine instead of climbing back up the hill and walking the waterfront side of the wall in the wind and rain.
Remembering our first visit to Dubrovnik, and navigating these steps at night after a wet afternoon spent drinking wine.
Oh my!
Decorated for the holidays
Alleys everywhere. They're fantastic for wandering but finding a specific restaurant is tough.
We never did make it back up on the wall. It got windier and colder and we got more and more comfortable drinking wine but eventually we made our way back out the Pile Gate and exchanged a few Euros to buy two local bus tickets and for less than $2pp rode the 1B bus back to Port Gruž. Princess wants $20pp for the round trip shuttle to the same place outside the Pile Gate; a taxi is 13€ each way (but can hold four people). The bus is definitely the cheapest route to get to the Old Town, but we can't recommend highly enough starting the day with a taxi tour that drops you at the east side of the wall. It's well worth it.
The southwest corner of the wall
It was 4pm when we reboarded the Pacific Princess, and I actually had a few minutes to do some hand laundry before we needed to get cleaned up for dinner. It was my favorite menu tonight, and I had cioppino and key lime pie for dessert but before we had even finished eating we were hitting the wall (pun intended). There is a Venetian festival on board tonight at 8:15pm and a Celtic duo called Livewire performing at 9:45pm but we are opting for sleep (and blog post preparation) in lieu of either one. The Pacific Princess is in Dubrovnik until 10pm tonight so the evening's schedule is a bit different. No matter; our day is done by 8pm.
We arrive in Korčula, Croatia at 8am tomorrow and do it all over again. Today was Day 3 of nine port days in a row. We can do this, but only at the expense of evening entertainment.