Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is certainly on the main tourist highway, and deserves to be. It's not only a beautiful town, but also perfect for tourism, with many narrow car-less streets on which to put outdoor cafes and restaurants. Actually many restaurants tables are on streets no wider than an alley. The larger cafes are on the main strip, and a few squares. One thing I really liked was a place with comfortable easy chairs. You could spend hours sitting and watching people strolling!

I stayed at a small place run by Edi Macinko . John Owens had found it and spent a couple of days vacationing there right before the conference. John said that Edi (pronounced Eddie) was the most gregarious person he'd ever met. Absolutely right.

Edi came to pick me up at the bus station in his small motorcycle. It was a wonder that it could take both of us and my backpack. Actually, it's a wonder we got to Edi's place in one piece. He kept chatting with other bike riders as he was weaving in and out of traffic.

There's a lot to do in Dubrovnik. I especially liked an exhibition of photographs of war. The Maritime Museum was also good. This was a center of ship building in the days of sail, so it's appropriate.

The only downside is the number of toruists. It was manageable until the cruise ships came (my last day) and started disgorging hundreds of people. Then it was impossible to find a seat in a restaurant. I ended up taking a ferry to a nearby island to escape for the day.

I sat at a jazz cafe on my last night. It's right behind the cathedral and was fantastic. A five-piece combo was playing old standards, and they were excellent, especially the pianist and sax player. A great way to wrap up my visit.

Before the Camino

Mary is planning to meet me in London on July 1.  I (Anselmo) got here earlier to go to the Graphics Hardware conference in Sarajevo.  Since I had a week to kill, I first went to Mostar, also in Bosnia, and then to Dubrovnik in Croatia.

The conference in Sarajevo was made fascinating by the stories told by the local organizers, Jasminka and Selma.  The talk by Selma about her life during the siege was sad and moving.  We couldn't help but be amazed that such a crazy war ever began.   No one seems to have won anything from it. The Bosniaks (Muslims) were especially devastated by the conflict.  Although there are scars on many buildings and still some ruins, it's amazing how well the city has recovered in less than 15 years.

I'll have more to say about Sarajevo later.  I left my sightseeing for when I return just to allow for possible travel delays.

Mostar is pretty.  There's a famous bridge that was destroyed by Croatian shells during the 1992-1995 war.  The bridge was rebuilt in 2004 with international help.  Guys traditionally dive into the crystal clear river from the top of the arch.

There are a few tourist sights to see, mainly two small museums, some mosques, and three Turkish style houses.  I scheduled two days, but one would have done.

I was a little bored the second day, but luckily met around-the-world traveler, Linda Somers.  I had coffee with her and ended up talking the rest of the day.  Linda has a blog at http://blog.cleveland.com/aroundtheworld.

I've been getting around using buses, which run frequently.  The one from Sarajevo to Mostar (2.5 hours) was pretty good.  The one on to Dubrovnik (3.5 hours) had a very weak air conditioner, which made the trip seem long.  Here's hoping for a good bus for the 6.5 hour trip back to Sarajevo.

I'll blog about beautiful Dubrovik in my next post.