Dubrovnik
September 16, 2008

It was sad to trade my little scooter in for a car, but the scooter only went 50km an hour and therefore was not convenient for driving all the way to Montenegro and back. I put my negotiation skills to work and was able to negotiate a rate with Hertz that was about 60% off their regular price. Unfortunately, I will not be able to take the car into Romania, Bulgaria, or Hungary because they are "restricted" countries. This means that I will be cutting those countries out of my trip this time around.

While I am sure that Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria are beautiful, my partner made a good point that when you are starting a new fund and a new brand, it is better to develop in locations that are already perceived as large tourist destinations. (My current obstacles to obtaining financing for Panigram are a case in point.) I haven't written Eastern Europe off yet, I just think that any resorts that I develop there will be in my second fund...

Anyway, after a lovely drive down the coast I finally arrived in Dubrovnik. It is a very charming old town surrounded by crystal blue water. I walked around the wall surrounding the old town and got some great photos from above. Dubrovnik was hit hard by the war, but fortunately many of the buildings have been restored.

Drive to Dubrovnik
The drive on the way down was gorgeous. I stopped a few times to take pictures of the coast and the islands in the background.

Stone Village
This was yet another beautiful Croatian stone village that I found on the way to Dubrovnik.


Dubrovnik Town
Here is a photo of old Dubrovnik. You can see the fortress wall and the gorgeous blue water in the background.

Remnants of War
Unfortunately Dubrovnik was hard by the war. Some of the buildings still have not been restored. When you enter the city, they have a map that shows where the bombs hit. It is amazing that so much of the city remained in tact after being hit by all of that artillery!


Roof Damage
While a few buildings (like the one above) were completely destroyed, most of the buildings just had severe roof damage. Unfortunately after the war the original tile maker for this city no longer existed, so they had to import the roof tiles from France. In this photo you can see the original roof tiles and the new French ones.

View from Above
I walked around the outside wall of the old town and got some great photos of the city below. Dubrovnik is definitely a charming town!

For more photos you can visit my Croatia Flickr page: Croatia Photos