The torrential showers that hit the Dubrovnik region this morning and afternoon not only brought with them hail and flooding, they also made driving conditions hazardous.

The Adriatic Highway the main road that links the city with the airport was particularly dangerous this afternoon as the rains caused heavy rocks and boulders to bounce down onto the road.

The mountain side of the main road is protected by fences and reinforced metal nets, however it would seem that some rocks “escaped” and landed on the road. Be extra careful if you are driving on the main Adriatic highway this evening.

Mayor of Dubrovnik Andro Vlahusic made it official – during the Advent part of Dubrovnik Winter festival, from November 19 to January 8, bus rides will be free!

What it's important to emphasize is that the bus will be free from 5 pm to the last departure. This works for all City lines that drive to and from historical center.
Special line, from bus station to the Pile Gate, will operate from November 19 and will be free during the whole day.

Dubrovnik Winter Festival Opening ceremony will be on Saturday, November 19. The rich program will start by turning on the Christmas lights and the concert of famous Croatian band Colonia. 

Classic Old-timers will line the main street through the historic Old City of Dubrovnik this weekend.

On Sunday the Dubrovnik Old-timer Club will organise their 13th Dubrovnik vintage car rally in the Port of Dubrovnik at 9.00am. Then, following a tour of the city, they will enter into the Old City at 10.00am.

Visitors will have the chance to take a closer look at these rare antique cars in the Old City from 10.00am up until 1.00pm.

Dear The Dubrovnik Times,

I came to Dubrovnik for the 74th time at the beginning of October this year and every time I come I send postcards to my family, friend and work colleagues. This year I wrote forty postcards and went to the Post Office in Trsteno to send them. On the 10th of October I sent them from the post office and still today, a month later, these postcards haven’t arrived.

I sent these postcards to numerous addresses in Germany, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland and in total it cost me over 100 Euros to send them. I am extremely disappointed! I have contacted the post office in and all they could tell we was “they will arrive, please have patience.”

I can only hope that the postcards will arrive in time for Christmas! Again I paid over 100 Euros for this in total and yet still haven’t received the postcards or an explanation from the post office, apart from “be patient.”

Dietmar Gamerith – Austria

The walls of Ston are unmissable, literally unmissable, after the Great Wall of China they are the second longest defensive walls in the world. Ston is your destination, around an hour’s drive from Dubrovnik. A great destination for history lovers and gastro lovers, some of the best restaurants in the region are in Ston, don’t forget to try the oysters.

In 1333 the Republic of Dubrovnik bought the Pelješac peninsular from the Serbian Emperor Dušan. To keep their new property, the citizens of Dubrovnik immediately planned the construction of special fortifications in Ston and Mali Ston that both defended the towns and the peninsular of Pelješac.

The walls of Ston are the largest construction venture outside the Republic of Dubrovnik. They consist of walls of Ston and Mali Ston, the Great Wall, the three fortresses, ten circular, thirty-one square towers and a square and six semi-circular bastions. The height of the walls is between 5 and 10 metres. Today around four and a half kilometres in length they connect Ston and Mali Ston and are one of the longest fortification systems in Europe.

The walls of Ston were a massive architecture and construction feat. Originally 7000-meters long (22 965 ft.), they consist of several parts; the Stone city walls, the Mali Ston city walls and the Big wall with its three forts. Its forts and towers are strengthened by 10 round and 31 square flanking towers and 6 semi-circular bastions. It took almost four centuries to finish these complex defence walls, as the builders had to adapt to the rough terrain and advancements in warfare technology.

The walls were last used for defence in the 19th century, and today they are a priceless monument of immense architectural and cultural value. The association of friends of Dubrovnik antiquities, since their establishment in 1952, care for Dubrovnik, Molunat, Cavtat and Ston walls and the town of Sokol in Konavle.

Profits from ticket sales on the Dubrovnik city walls are mostly used for the maintenance and systematic renewal of the walls, in a kind of self-financing way.

In a strong international competition and after months of negotiations and a series of offered technical innovative solutions, the Brodosplit shipyard was chosen for building a cruise ship for the polar regions, the Polar Expedition Cruise Vessel. The contract was signed on the 8th of November, 2016 in the Netherlands with a leading company for expedition cruising in the polar regions.

‘’By signing this contract Brodosplit is strongly progressing in the realization of all its business plans and is determining its position as an inevitable European shipbuilding system which builds highly complex vessels that achieve high competitiveness’’, said Tomislav Debeljak, the CEO of the Brodosplit shipyard.

The ship will be built in the class LR PC6 (Polar Class 6) which will be the first cruise ship in the world that has ever been built in this class. It will have 8 decks and host 196 passengers in 95 cabins, while 69 crew members will look after passengers' needs. The ship will be 107.6 m long and 17.6 m wide. It will be powered by two engines with a total output of 4200 kW and will be able to reach speeds of 15 knots.

This cruise ship will be equipped with all necessary system solutions in order to enable its passengers to visit the glaciers above and below the sea level enjoying the view at this unique biological and animal life from the best perspective. The passengers will be accommodated in luxury cabins and suites where ship systems will provide them a safe and pleasant stay.

The design and all technical solutions are the work of the Brodosplit’s experts who have confirmed their key role with this project in positioning the Brodosplit shipyard highly on the list of technical competencies and construction competitiveness.
The ship is to be delivered in 2019.

When foreign tourists staying in the Palace Judita Heritage Hotel in Split come by sea to the Dalmatia region, they will be welcomed by a 33-year old Andrija Prostran in the ferry port.

Young Andrija will take their luggage, say a joke or two, and lead surprised guests towards the Renaissance palace in which they will spend an unforgettable vacation.

With his excellent service he has fully ''disarmed'' at least 600 people so far considering the fact that just as many times his name was mentioned in the reviews and comments of Tripadvisor users. Therefore, this world popular travel website nominated Andrija as the first Croat in the category of the Best hotel employee in 2016, the title of which he was especially pleased.

''To be honest, this notification about my nomination came in the middle of the tourist season when I simply didn't have enough time to realize what was going on. But, I'm very proud of it, it is so wonderful to get such recognition from guests. Regardless of whether I win or not, this is the best feedback on everything I have done for guests'', commented Andrija.

Who says that scooters can't take you places? This Korean tourist has been on the journey of a lifetime – 25 thousand kilometers from Asia to Berlin, a trip that couldn't go without a break reserved for Dubrovnik sightseeing.

His photo was taken in Zaton, located 8 kilometers from Dubrovnik. This awesome traveller says that he didn't mind the weather conditions nor the problems on the scooter, which is as special as his owner with signatures from people from all over the world.

- When you have a goal ahead of you, everything is easier – says this brave adventurer and Dubrovnik lover.

                                                                                                                                           Photos by: Hari Puljizević