I’d long wanted to go to Dubrovnik.  One of the world’s best and best preserved walled cities. 

Game of Thrones scenery.

It’s a hot destination right now for cruise ships and Instagram influencers.  

TOO BUSY with tourists in the summer, I’m thinking.  

This small city can’t really handle the visitors they are getting.  Too much traffic.  Too few buses.  

BIG tourism is new here.  The place was near closed to visitors during the 10 year Yugoslav war. 

I’d flown in from Scotland and was a little overwhelmed on arrival. Happily I had a good (US $25) hostel dorm room with a view …

… and a helpful young guy at reception. He’d only arrived a month ago from Argentina and was still super excited about Dubrovnik.

Night 1 the hostel hosted a home made pizza party.

Highest priority for me was walking the famed walls.  2kms.  I walked it twice in sequence. 

Cost is 35 EU !?

Unfairly, the feral cats do not have to pay. 😀

So — like almost every tourist — I bought the 35EU Dubrovnik ticket which pays for the wall, the castle, Rector’s Palace, and several more interesting attractions. 

You also get a 24 hour bus ticket which costs about 5 EU by itself.   … Of course there’s no room on the buses. 😀

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Museum of Modern Art. Normally my least favourite school of Art.

Obligatory stops at impressive Cathedrals.

I do recommend Dubrovnik, but not June through September.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Keep in Mind

Many things do not work for the tourist in Croatia 2024. If you are promised snakes, there will be no snakes. Also no coffee. Nor a machine. And the rental bike will be unusable. 😀

I’d not followed the Yugoslav Wars, 1991 to 2001, splitting Yugoslavia into 6 new republics.

I’d not realized that Bosnia and Herzegovina are one of those 6 nations — so I signed on to a popular day trip out of Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Joining a tour makes the border crossing out of the EU easier.  

The highlight was a morning stop at Kravica (Kravice) waterfall.  It’s even more magical than photos reveal. 

25m high.  120m wide. 

Unlike many similar scenic waterfalls around the world, you can swim and boat in this one. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The other major stop was at the interesting historical capital of Herzegovina ➙ Mostar.

Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva during the Ottoman era.

Commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, completed in 1566, it’s one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most visited landmarks, and is considered an exemplary piece of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.

A monumental project to rebuild the Old Bridge, which was destroyed during the Bosnian War, to the original design, and restore surrounding structures and historic neighbourhoods was initiated in 1999 and mostly completed by spring 2004. The money for this reconstruction was donated by Spain.

In July 2005, UNESCO inscribed the Old Bridge and its closest vicinity onto the World Heritage List.

Tourists wait around to watch young people jump.  They’ll do it for about 50 EU in combined donations. 

There are plenty of beautiful mosques in Mostar. 

Our guide recommended a restaurant — and it was excellent, though not inexpensive. 

Like Argentina, this is a MEAT eating nation.  So I had the mixed platter including several of the local favourites.  A BIG lunch.  Couldn’t finish it. 

The new nations, aside from (possibly) Slovenia and Croatia, are struggling. Yugoslavia became: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia (now called North Macedonia). 

Benevolent dictator Josip Broz Tito held factions together until his death in 1980.  Once he died, the stupidity began. A good argument against organized religion is religious conflict.

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I learned more about Bosnia and Herzegovina from my excellent tour guide.

 Bosniaks are the largest group, Serbs the second-largest, and Croats the third-largest.

A three-member presidency is made up of one member from each of the three major ethnic groups.

Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city.

From the late 19th century until World War I, the country was annexed into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the interwar period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

After World War II, it was granted full republic status in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

In 1992, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence. This was followed by the Bosnian War, which lasted until late 1995 and ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement which was reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, United States, finalized on 21 November 1995

These accords put an end to the three-and-a-half-year-long Bosnian War, which was part of the much larger Yugoslav Wars.

My guide from Mostar told us the government is a MESS. This nation will not be joining the EU any time soon — even though he wants them to.

I wasn’t all that impressed with Dundee — but stayed here one night as a jumping off point for nearby St Andrews.  

With the decline of traditional industry (raw wool, whaling, shipbuilding, etc.), a £1 billion master plan to regenerate Dundee Waterfront is expected to last for a 30-year period between 2001 and 2031.

In 2015 The Wall Street Journal ranked Dundee at number 5 on its “Worldwide Hot Destinations” list for 2018.

… I’m not sure why. 

To me it felt a small city in decline.  Many shops vacant.  

There are some grand historic buildings.

On the other hand, tourist pedestrian streets downtown are great.  And it has excellent train and bus connections. 

My highlight was climbing up to the Dundee Law, the highest point in the city.  A large war memorial at its summit.

I’ve been to Yemen. A most troubled nation.

And I’d love to get to Socotra Island.

BUT in 2024 the government only allows 3000 tourists / year. And it’s not inexpensive.

Socotra does look amazing.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I tripped to Stirling to visit a monument celebrating my buddy from Saskatoon ➙ Bill Wallace. 😀

Wallace Monument (1869) commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero.

Yep, it was Mel Gibson, the drunk, homophobe, anti-Semite, who played William Wallace in the film.

The clash at Stirling Bridge sequence in that movie is considered by critics to be one of the all-time best-directed battle scenes.

It’s a bus ride from the train station.

Take the free shuttle up. Walk down the signposted path.

It was WINDY up there.

But offers terrific vistas.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.