1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680 Welcome back to a new episode of the All Things Croatia podcast. 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:05,680 I'm your host, Stanko Zovak. 3 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:10,400 Born and raised in Los Angeles, I'm now living in Zagreb and studying the Croatian language. 4 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:15,000 Before we start, just do me a favor and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,020 listening, as well as the Facebook and Instagram page. 6 00:00:18,020 --> 00:00:21,800 In this series, I'll be talking with people both in the homeland and around the globe who 7 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,240 have connections to Croatia. 8 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:28,480 We'll hear from startups, returning to Aspora, musicians and athletes, and the biggest Croatian 9 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:30,880 celebrities and will return my calls. 10 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:31,880 But enough about me. 11 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,720 I'm the Modalje and let's get started. 12 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,760 Alright welcome back to the podcast everyone. 13 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,680 Today our guest is a good friend of mine, Zrinka Šapro. 14 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,760 Zrenka is from Konovole down by Dubrovnik and works there as a tour guide of the old 15 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,680 city in Dubrovnik. 16 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,320 She's also involved with dance and yoga and today we're going to find out a little bit 17 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:56,960 more about her and hear some cool information that she gives on her tours as well and hopefully 18 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,640 we'll come away with a little more knowledge than we had before. 19 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,280 Zrinka, thanks for coming on the podcast. 20 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,280 Thank you, Starco, for inviting me. 21 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,280 It was quite exciting. 22 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,080 I know you wanted to make a little statement before we started to everyone. 23 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,080 Yeah, yeah, sorry. 24 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:17,000 I'm going to apologize because of my grammar. 25 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,880 I do some kind of small mistakes, so if someone's going to... 26 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:22,880 I'm grammar-nasty. 27 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,040 That's why I'm apologizing in advance. 28 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,840 Because I, myself, I'm a grammar-nasty. 29 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:33,040 Yeah, I see on Instagram you're always posting those language memes, grammar memes. 30 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,040 So I know you're very... 31 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:35,040 I love that. 32 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,800 But your English is perfect, so you don't have anything to worry about. 33 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,200 You speak French too. 34 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:46,960 Yeah, I never mentioned because I'm more in love with Portuguese, but yeah, I also speak 35 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:47,960 French. 36 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:50,120 Well, yeah, that was one of the questions I was going to ask you because I knew you 37 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,760 spoke Portuguese and you actually give tours in Portuguese, right? 38 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,120 Yes, and in French, and in English. 39 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:57,120 Wow. 40 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:58,120 And in Croatian. 41 00:01:58,120 --> 00:01:59,120 Everything. 42 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,120 What is that, four languages that you're giving tours in? 43 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:02,120 Four, yeah. 44 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:03,120 How did you... 45 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:04,120 I mean, that's incredible. 46 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,520 How did you learn in school, Portuguese and French? 47 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:13,160 Well, French I started in my elementary school because my sister, my older sister, she was 48 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:14,160 learning... 49 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:15,160 Studying... 50 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,600 She was studying French and then, you know, younger kids are always like, oh, I'm going 51 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:21,240 to be like my sister. 52 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:26,520 So I decided to start learning French too. 53 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:33,120 But then I fell in love with it and I continued on my high school and then college. 54 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:38,040 And then when I came to college, Croatia is great because we had a lot of TV shows that 55 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:45,960 are like in foreign languages, but we have just subtitles, so it's not synchronized. 56 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:50,960 And we had a lot of these Brazilians in Portuguese TV shows that I was watching when I was... 57 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,840 I was a kid and I fell in love with the Portuguese, but I didn't have an opportunity to learn 58 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:56,840 it. 59 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:01,760 So when I went to Zagreb to college, I saw that they're offering Portuguese and I was 60 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:03,320 okay, that's it. 61 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:04,320 Portuguese it is. 62 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:05,320 Wow. 63 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,240 So you didn't start Portuguese until college? 64 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,560 Yeah, I didn't start until... 65 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,320 Yeah, until 18. 66 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:19,760 And I think the languages are one way of getting know people, nation and country and everything 67 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,760 actually, culture. 68 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:26,560 So that's why I love languages. 69 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:32,240 It's describing everything about those people, about their culture, tradition. 70 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,840 So you get the identity of those people. 71 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:37,640 So that's why I love languages. 72 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:38,640 That's true. 73 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,120 I mean, certainly, and the other way around too, for when you're giving tours, for example, 74 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,760 and people are able to hear this information in their own native language, French or Portuguese 75 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:48,760 or English. 76 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,760 I mean, that's definitely you can learn a lot more like that. 77 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,040 It's easier for them. 78 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,880 They can remember easily a lot of things because our history is really rich. 79 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,600 So it's a little bit complex, but... 80 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,000 And they appreciate it, you know, although though you have always some small mistakes 81 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:12,720 because I'm not surrounded by those languages, besides English, I'm surrounded by it. 82 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:17,320 But French, Portuguese, we don't have a lot of TV shows or movies. 83 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,800 I have to search for those. 84 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:26,160 So for them, it's really, they appreciate when someone from Croatia speaks their language. 85 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:27,160 They're like, whoa. 86 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:32,000 And I mean, the other way around too, when I try to speak Croatian over here, I know 87 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,160 it's terrible, but a lot of people appreciate it. 88 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:36,160 That doesn't matter. 89 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,640 That doesn't matter that it's terrible. 90 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:38,640 We appreciate it. 91 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,520 You're trying because not a lot of people are going to speak Croatian. 92 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:42,520 It's not easy language. 93 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:43,520 So... 94 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,600 Zarenko, when did you first start becoming interested in, you know, giving tours and becoming 95 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:49,600 a tour guide? 96 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:55,160 Well, it was always somewhere in my conscience because, like I said, I love traveling. 97 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:57,600 I love communicating with people. 98 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,520 I always wanted to be a teacher or professor. 99 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:10,000 And after the college, in college, of course, you're always learning grammar, literature, 100 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,480 history, but you never speak. 101 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:14,960 You know? 102 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:21,680 And I said, like, okay, I need to go there in the mass and between, to be between people 103 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,480 and start using these languages. 104 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,160 And then I said, okay, I love my country. 105 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,760 My Dupromnik is amazing. 106 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,120 It's easy summer job. 107 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:38,600 So I'll just do that one season and then I'll go, I'll do something else or I don't know. 108 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:43,440 And then I, on 2015, yes, 2015. 109 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:49,760 It was my first year when I decided to come back for summer in the Bronnick from Zagreb 110 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:55,280 and then I decided to do tours. 111 00:05:55,280 --> 00:06:03,360 And that actually, it was quite herbal year, full of stress. 112 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:08,560 But that's actually the year when I started to use a lot of French, English, of course, 113 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:14,040 but I never had a lot of problems with communicating in English with people. 114 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,720 But French and Portuguese, those were two languages that I didn't have. 115 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,640 I wasn't, was not surrounded by those languages. 116 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,760 So I decided to do tours and it was worth it. 117 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:27,720 I just loved it. 118 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:34,680 I fell in love with the city again, although I love it all the time, but I fell in love 119 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,800 with the city, with the history. 120 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,560 And it's completely different when you learn in school about your history and then when 121 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:49,720 you grow up and when you learn about it and you actually start, when you start to understand 122 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:50,720 the history. 123 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,200 How do you mean by that? 124 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,960 You know, we were in school and they were talking, yeah, the Bronnick was Republic. 125 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:02,320 We had this, we were first for this, we were first for that. 126 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,880 And I was like, oh yeah, right, right, right. 127 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:11,200 But then when you grow up and when you realize, oh my God, in 14th century, this small city 128 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,680 was independent. 129 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:24,400 You had other empires around us that had thousands and thousands of people, armies, weapons, 130 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:32,160 money, and we were, what, 5000 people that were independent and we were one of the biggest 131 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:37,640 forces in the Mediterranean, you know, and not just the Mediterranean, but we were worldwide 132 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:38,640 known. 133 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,040 So for me, it was like, whoa, but you never realized that when you're 15 years old, you're 134 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,040 like, yeah, yeah, right. 135 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:46,200 Yeah, that's true. 136 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaking of that, how did the Bronnick manage to stay, I mean, independent like that when, 137 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:58,360 you know, it was one of the like premier trading places on the coast there, right? 138 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,120 So how come they were able to, you know, no one wanted to fight them? 139 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,000 And take them over if they were so small? 140 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:09,280 I mean, I guess that's where the walls come in and part of the, you know, that sort of 141 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:10,280 history. 142 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,560 No, city walls of the Bronnick started to get built in 11th century already. 143 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,040 Those are typical medieval cities, fortifications. 144 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,720 They were building everything around the center where they had people that lived. 145 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:29,320 And of course, the center of our republic and the city was the old town of the Bronnick. 146 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:36,480 But the Bronnick always knew that they had the most powerful position in the Adriatic 147 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:45,760 Sea and it's next to the exit to the Mediterranean, which means next to the entrance to the Mediterranean. 148 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,880 So they figure out, okay, we have to protect this. 149 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:56,200 They had the land on their side because we have a lot of rocks around. 150 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:00,640 So they decided to build a city on the rocks, on the higher rocks so they can protect themselves 151 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:07,560 from up, you know, from the higher level, we can say. 152 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:13,160 And Venetians actually conquered whole Croatian coast, including the Bronnick. 153 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:20,400 But the Bronnick never was completely conquered because the Bronnick was always rebel city. 154 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:22,440 They knew their thing. 155 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,480 They never wanted to be part of someone else. 156 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:33,840 And from the moment they started to be here and live here, they started with trading, 157 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,760 they were started to be a maritime center, trading center. 158 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:38,400 They were great sailors. 159 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:39,760 And what's the most important thing? 160 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,400 They were great diplomats. 161 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:49,760 Everyone said like diplomacy and maybe when someone mentions diplomacy, that's like Switzerland 162 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,800 or some other countries. 163 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,120 But the Bronnick was the center of diplomacy. 164 00:09:54,120 --> 00:10:01,360 This is where diplomacy was invented because they were the line between East and West. 165 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:06,520 They were the line between Muslim region and Catholic region. 166 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:12,760 But literally, because behind the mountain that is just next to the Bronnick was Bosnia 167 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:20,640 Herzegovina, which in the past was under Ottoman Empire. 168 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:28,600 And those two Ottomans and Venetians hated each other and the Bronnick was in between. 169 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,680 So to protect themselves, they invented diplomacy. 170 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:43,080 They were talking lovely sentences with Ottoman Empire on one side and lovely, lovely sentences 171 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,560 with Venetians on the other side. 172 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:52,840 And the most important thing was that Vatican, the center, Roman Catholic Church, the Pope 173 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:57,600 was for the Bronnick because they were great Catholics. 174 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,280 So they played those cards. 175 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:10,200 So we always said in the Bronnick that with everyone be polite, but with no one for real 176 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:11,200 these. 177 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,800 That's the saying over there? 178 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,760 Yeah, yeah, yeah, because they're all kind and polite. 179 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:22,960 They were great with everyone, but they were thinking with their own head. 180 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,680 They could say whatever, but they knew that their plan was something else. 181 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:30,560 So they were always able to sort of negotiate themselves out of trouble? 182 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:31,560 Always. 183 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:35,560 The Bronnick, if they couldn't resolve the problems with the words, they always had 184 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:36,560 the money. 185 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:45,160 In 16th century, the Bronnick's Republic was one of the richest republics in Europe. 186 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,040 And yeah, and it's small. 187 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,040 It's really small. 188 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,760 You know, you visit it, so it's small. 189 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:56,040 So whenever they couldn't resolve the problems with words, there's money. 190 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:57,560 They were paying off. 191 00:11:57,560 --> 00:11:59,400 Okay, what's your price? 192 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,080 And everyone had price. 193 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:02,080 So. 194 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:08,600 And did they have any goods that they were exporting or they were simply trading between 195 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,000 goods from other countries? 196 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,840 Trading was the main thing. 197 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:20,280 Trading between the countries, they were the only Catholic republic or country at that 198 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:28,360 time that had permission to trade inside of the Muslim territory, which means whole 199 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:34,040 eastern part, Turkish Ottoman Empire part was just for the Bronnick. 200 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,320 They were the only ones who had this permission. 201 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:42,960 And then they had mines in Bosnia Herzegovina. 202 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,280 Then they had salt. 203 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,720 And in the past, we know that they didn't have refrigerators. 204 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,400 So refrigerator was salt. 205 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:56,680 To conserve all this food, fish, meat, you had to have salt. 206 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:00,760 So in 16th century salt was considered as white gold. 207 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,120 And who had that was really, really rich. 208 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:09,640 That's why we built another city walls around the city of Ston, which is around one hour 209 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,560 from the Bronnick towards Split. 210 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:19,240 And this is where we have huge city walls, the 5.5 kilometers long that are protecting 211 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,720 the saltworks that we have there. 212 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:27,600 Yeah, that's right, you can see the salt fields from up on the road. 213 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:29,120 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 214 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,520 And there are 13 pools that even today are in use. 215 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:41,600 So even today, they're producing salt using the same old traditional technology. 216 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,720 So this is all taking place in the 16th century. 217 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:56,080 From 14 to 19 was republic, but majority like golden period was end of 14, 15, 16th century. 218 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:01,160 End of 16, beginning of 17th century. 219 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,000 And then you mentioned the walls were in the 11th? 220 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:09,040 Yes, 11th century was when they started to build small fortifications around. 221 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,160 So the main wall was built in 11th century. 222 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,960 And then it took them three centuries to finish the walls. 223 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:21,080 So from 11th until 14th century, the whole city was fortified. 224 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:27,120 But then because the weapons were developing, of course, enemies were getting stronger and 225 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:28,120 stronger. 226 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,120 They were always changing the fortifications. 227 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:38,940 They were adding some fortresses or smaller soldier houses. 228 00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:42,960 So they were always improving city walls and the city itself. 229 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:48,800 And were they occupied during those 300 years of building or that was all independent? 230 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:55,840 So the independence came, the official independence came in 1358. 231 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,680 Until that period, we were under Venetian government. 232 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,800 Then we were changing our governors, we can say. 233 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:10,520 But the Bromnic as mentality and identity was always independent. 234 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:15,920 The only thing they were not still in that time, they were not strong enough to separate. 235 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:22,600 But in 14th century, when they succeeded to have enough money, enough power and then Vatican 236 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:30,000 holding their back, they succeeded to have their freedom and independence. 237 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,320 And that wasn't a violent, there was no war? 238 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:39,000 No, no, the Bromnic was never violent because they had no army. 239 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,000 They had just guards. 240 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:46,200 If there was some problems and the Bromnic had to fight with someone, they were paying 241 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,520 to the barbarians, to the criminals. 242 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:55,360 They were paying to criminals to fight for them. 243 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:57,680 But the Bromnic never had big army. 244 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:03,920 So even though if they started a war with Venice in that time, they would lose because 245 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,560 Venetians had huge army. 246 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,000 Ottoman Empire on the other side, also huge army. 247 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:15,160 So whoever wanted to attack the Bromnic could easily do that. 248 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:22,560 But like I said, the Bromnic was protected on other things with Vatican as the center 249 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,680 of the Catholic religion and diplomacy and money. 250 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:31,400 So those are the means that they were using to avoid problems. 251 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:32,560 Never violence. 252 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:36,960 Even in 19th century, when Napoleon troops came here in the Bromnic, when the Bromnic's 253 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:42,680 Republic was embellished, they decided to avoid the war. 254 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:48,280 They decided to open the gates to French government, to French army and led them in the city to 255 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:55,680 avoid that Russian army and French army meet in the city and destroy the city itself. 256 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,760 Because they really loved their city. 257 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:04,680 All this money that went or they earned went to the city. 258 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:11,480 They were improving the city, they were improving the life here. 259 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,800 You have strict rules that you had to follow to live in the city. 260 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:21,120 And whatever you did, you didn't do that for your glory or your prize. 261 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:24,480 You did that because you loved the city. 262 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:29,400 And we're like the main old city as we think of it, you know, in the walls. 263 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,600 Is that only royals live there or even common people? 264 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:34,840 Even common people. 265 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:35,840 Even common people. 266 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:41,520 Of course, common people were living on the higher points, like closer to the exits or 267 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:48,400 on these poor areas that were considered at that time poor areas, while the noble ones, 268 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,880 but these noble families became noble because of the money. 269 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:58,280 Of course, they were all merchants, sailors, they had their wealth like that. 270 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,000 They earned their wealth. 271 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:07,760 They lived closer to Main Street and in these bigger palaces. 272 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:14,000 That also they were building the summer houses outside of the city, but both poor people and 273 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,240 wealthy people lived in the same place. 274 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:19,840 So everyone was being protected then? 275 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,280 Yes, yes, yes. 276 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:32,520 Only this countryside area, although they didn't have a walled city, they did have a few fortifications 277 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:38,880 in the countryside from where the government of Dubrovnik, they would send some noblemen 278 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:47,400 there that had to keep that area secured for six months to one year. 279 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:52,840 So every six months or every year they were changing the governor of that area and they 280 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,280 had these fortifications. 281 00:18:54,280 --> 00:19:00,160 So in the case of war or some attacks, people could hide in because the number of people 282 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,480 that lived in this area at that time was not enormous. 283 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:08,720 So that's why these fortifications could be a fuse. 284 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,760 Today of course it's a little bit different. 285 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,240 Is that the area known as Ploče? 286 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,120 Conale, no. 287 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:18,120 You mean? 288 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:20,360 Up in the hills or no? 289 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:23,000 You mean outside of Dubrovnik? 290 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,200 Yeah, yeah, outside of the walls. 291 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,040 Outside of the walls you had just few summer houses. 292 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:35,720 So all these fortifications on the walls, majority of the people when the war happened 293 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:43,240 in Dubrovnik would hide inside of these fortifications or inside the old town. 294 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:49,120 Conale area, the countryside area had its own fortifications, monasteries with towers 295 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:56,080 and forts where local people could hide. 296 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,520 Oh, yeah, what's the fort called? 297 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,360 Sokol, falcon fortress. 298 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:06,560 That's right, yeah, actually I was there. 299 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,760 Yeah, I know. 300 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:20,480 And that falcon, sorry, Sokol fortress or falcon fortress was built to protect the line between 301 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:25,040 Ottoman Empire because behind that hill was already Ottoman Empire. 302 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:30,360 And this is where the Ottomans every Saturday would come to trade with Dubrovnik local 303 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,840 people in that area near the fortress. 304 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:41,800 And from that fortress they could see whole Conale region and like that they were controlling. 305 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,840 They knew if something would happen. 306 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:49,200 So that fortress for me built on the rocks, it's amazing. 307 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,720 It was a small city, so it's amazing. 308 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:56,320 Well, it sounds like they really had their diplomacy and negotiating down. 309 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:02,520 Yes, Dubrovnik in 16th century had around 50 consulates all around the world. 310 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:03,520 Wow. 311 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,440 Yeah, including India, Goa. 312 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,320 In India and in Goa we have Saint Blaise church. 313 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,320 Really? 314 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,320 Our patron saint, yeah. 315 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:14,320 I didn't know that. 316 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,880 That's all the way back from the 15th century? 317 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:17,880 Yes. 318 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,520 Wow, very cool. 319 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:20,520 Yeah. 320 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:27,080 They were great, they were quite intelligent and that's what amazes me a lot and that's 321 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:34,960 why I'm really grateful to live here, to be part of this region and to have this opportunity 322 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:41,320 to pass all this knowledge and I can say my love towards the city to our guests that 323 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,000 are visiting the city. 324 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,840 Yeah, I mean, you're a great tour guide. 325 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:47,080 I know at least once. 326 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:52,280 I think two times you've, I don't know if we've been on the walls twice, but... 327 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,080 No, we've been on the walls once and then in the city. 328 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,520 Oh, that's right. 329 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,920 What are some of the, actually I wanted to get back to one point you made, I forgot, 330 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,400 when you mentioned that they let the French army in. 331 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:07,400 I'd never heard about that. 332 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,480 I wanted to ask what happened after that. 333 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,600 So Marshal Marmont and his troops entered the city. 334 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,040 They used the legends that that was a trick. 335 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:23,000 So they said like, okay, we're gonna enter the city, just pass through the city and go 336 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:28,120 on the other side so we don't have to go all the way around and we're gonna leave the next 337 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:29,120 day. 338 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:35,320 But of course, when they entered in, they just stayed for five years, which meant that Napoleon 339 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:41,320 on in January 1809, abolished the Republic of the Bronnick. 340 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:49,480 So the Republic of the Bronnick no longer existed as a free or city state or free country 341 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:51,480 or free city. 342 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,040 And it was just joined to the rest of Croatia. 343 00:22:54,040 --> 00:23:00,200 It was blend with the rest of Croatian coast and the center up there, north of the eastern 344 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,200 area. 345 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:02,200 Ah, by the French though. 346 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:03,200 By the French. 347 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:04,200 Yeah. 348 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,200 I never knew that. 349 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:08,200 Yeah, yeah. 350 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:09,200 Interesting. 351 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:10,200 Okay. 352 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,200 So you're going to enter the city in two years here and after that, Austrian-Gerion government. 353 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,320 Ah, yeah, that makes sense. 354 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:17,320 Yeah. 355 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:24,600 I wanted to ask you about, you know, I mentioned how we walked in the old city there. 356 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:30,200 What are some of the old buildings that are there of note that you talk about on your tours? 357 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:37,000 Well, I can just point or tell the most important ones. 358 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:45,200 For example, when we immediately enter in the city, there's a big fountain, round fountain 359 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:46,640 in the city. 360 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:52,680 That's one of the most important monuments in the city because the Bronnick, like I said, 361 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,600 was built on the rocks, so they didn't have their own water. 362 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:01,720 They didn't have any cisterns or aqueduct or spring of natural water inside the old 363 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:02,720 town. 364 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:09,600 So it was really awful to live in the city during the summertime, especially during the 365 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:10,600 sieges. 366 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,880 If the Bronnick was attacked, the gates would be closed. 367 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,600 No one could exit or enter in the city. 368 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:22,080 So they needed food and water for people who lived in the city. 369 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,840 So they decided to build the aqueduct. 370 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:32,640 The aqueduct was built by Italian architect, Nofria da Acava, that's 12 kilometers long. 371 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:37,040 So it's bringing the water from the mountain to the city of the Bronnick. 372 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,480 And it's using just gravity. 373 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,800 So in the past, they used just gravity to bring that water from the mountain to the 374 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:46,080 city. 375 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:51,000 And that was the most amazing thing ever. 376 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,840 And then they left a small part of the roof open. 377 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:59,840 So in the case someone cuts off the sorts of water from the mountain, the rain can fall 378 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:03,480 and like that they can have rain water. 379 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:08,160 And the system was a centrifugal system, which means that was never still. 380 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:15,120 So it was always moving and it means that was never full of diseases. 381 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,560 When there's a still water, it can get bad. 382 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,400 So that never happened with this one. 383 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,000 So for me, that's amazing. 384 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,000 And it's still functioning. 385 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,320 Yeah, people still drink from it? 386 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,400 Yes, yes. 387 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,880 The water from in the Bronnick is completely safe to drink. 388 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,680 So during the summertime, that's the best thing ever. 389 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:36,800 When you enter in the city and it's hot, so hot, you just go in that fountain and like, 390 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,600 and it's water is so fresh and cold that it's amazing. 391 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:42,360 Oh, yeah, that's so refreshing. 392 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:46,600 I know it gets so hot there in the old part with all the stones. 393 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:50,400 Stones, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, because it's really white, bright stone. 394 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,840 So it's really, really hot. 395 00:25:53,840 --> 00:26:01,440 And I would say Franciscan monastery with its pharmacy, one of the oldest pharmacies 396 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:08,600 in the world, it was opened in the Bronnick in 14th century, 1317. 397 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,200 And it's still functioning. 398 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,560 That's the most important thing that that pharmacy from 14th century until today never 399 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:16,560 was never closed. 400 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:18,320 I never stopped working. 401 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,480 So you can still go and get medicine there? 402 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:22,480 Medicine, yes. 403 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:27,000 Of course, today it's modern medicine, but it's the past. 404 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:33,000 Yeah, but yes, they're still producing their local moisturizing creams, hand lotions, body 405 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,760 lotions and stuff like that using the herbs from their garden. 406 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:41,320 So that's the, they're still producing something like Franciscans, but now the pharmacy, of 407 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,760 course, it's a big company. 408 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:55,360 So you can use, you can buy any medicine that you need, but those that are there are producing 409 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:59,520 our moisturizing cream solutions and stuff like that. 410 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:06,320 And this sort of off topic here, but are a lot of the people, like the families that 411 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,640 we're living for a long time in Dubrovnik still living there and still, like for example, 412 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:15,080 you know, running the same shops or living in the same homes that they've been for generations? 413 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:25,400 Yes, not all of them because majority of them or rent outside of the old town since it's 414 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:29,440 quite, it's really quite difficult to live inside the old town because there's no lot 415 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:32,200 of transport. 416 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,880 For example, there's no lot of grocery shops. 417 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:40,480 Everything is so expensive, double, triple. 418 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:46,680 It's mainly tourist areas, so it gets crowded over the summertime during the wintertime. 419 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:53,520 When we have a lot of rain, you have cascades, waterfalls down the whole city because it's 420 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,400 all in steps. 421 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,460 So there's more than 5000 steps inside the old town. 422 00:27:58,460 --> 00:28:04,960 So there's a lot of floods that are happening if it's pouring rain like today. 423 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:11,600 So it's difficult, but for those people who are still here, they stayed here because they 424 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:12,720 love it. 425 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,400 They love the city itself. 426 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:19,600 They love the way of living here, so they are still living in the same buildings. 427 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:25,840 Majority of them didn't even renovate these apartments because it's quite expensive and 428 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:33,760 hard to renovate anything, especially when UNESCO protected Dubrovnik from 1979. 429 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:40,800 Dubrovnik was protected as a World Heritage, so now you have to file all this paperwork 430 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:46,600 before you do any renovation or change something inside of your apartment. 431 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:53,360 To bring the furniture in the apartment is also difficult because the doors and windows 432 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:55,440 are quite small. 433 00:28:55,440 --> 00:29:00,640 So all that is complicated, but still a lot of people live here. 434 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:08,680 Not too much, around 800 people during the whole year, while maybe during the winter 435 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:14,320 time you have 1,200 people that live here. 436 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:18,600 The number is changing because of the tourism, of course, because the majority of people 437 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:26,080 would like to rent these apartments to tourists, earn a lot of money, it's easy money, and 438 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:27,520 they can live normally. 439 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:32,720 We can say because Dubrovnik is quite expensive. 440 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:38,520 But you still have, for example, small shops, especially jewelry shops, these old jewelry 441 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:44,680 shops, those are generations and generations of goldsmiths from Dubrovnik that were here. 442 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:53,360 Or all these small shops that are not some franchise. 443 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:59,280 All these unique small shops are mainly from generations to generations of people who were 444 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,040 here or worked here or had shops here. 445 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:06,240 That's pretty cool that those have been kept within the generations. 446 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:14,120 It's less and less every year, unfortunately, but I think especially with this COVID situation, 447 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:19,880 corona situation, slowly they started to bring that back again. 448 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,600 Especially for local people who live inside the city, because sometimes the government 449 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:28,880 forgets that the city is not just for tourists, it's not just the city that people visit, 450 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,720 it's also the city where people live. 451 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:35,960 That's why they're trying to bring all these things that local people need inside the old 452 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,560 town too. 453 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:43,920 I wanted to ask, what is life like outside of the summer season when there's not so many 454 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,560 tourists? 455 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,480 Come and see. 456 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:58,840 Well, these two years was quite difficult because it was more that than usual because 457 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:00,120 of the COVID situation. 458 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:07,520 So we didn't have any festivals or a lot of theater performances or stuff like that or 459 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:09,840 concerts. 460 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:12,400 But it's quite quiet. 461 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:19,720 And there's no lot of things to do, unfortunately. 462 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,120 Majority of the restaurants and cafes are closed, especially inside the old town. 463 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:28,920 Yet the problem is that majority of them have the outside seatings, not just inside or inside 464 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,240 that you have just few tables. 465 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:34,800 So majority of the restaurants closed during the winter time. 466 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:39,560 Then it's cold because there's a lot of wind, then there's a lot of rain. 467 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:47,640 So even if they want to open, they cannot have outdoor seating. 468 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:54,200 We have some movies, theater, maybe sometimes some concerts, but that's it. 469 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,640 It's quite completely opposite from the summertime. 470 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:04,400 When it's overcrowded into alive, the promenade goes back to its winter sleep. 471 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,240 We can say it's like a bear. 472 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:07,240 Yeah. 473 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:08,240 Yeah, yeah. 474 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,240 It's like there's a... 475 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:11,240 It wakes up in the spring. 476 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,440 It sounds like there's a little bit of a sweet spot, right? 477 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,120 I guess at the end of the summer and before the winter hits where it's just the right 478 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:18,120 amount of people. 479 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:19,120 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 480 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:20,120 Yes, yes. 481 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,400 You know, it's 2019 was crazy. 482 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:34,640 I always said that I would never like that year happens again because all those people 483 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:40,920 who visited Dubrovnik during the summertime of 2019, I think they said never again because 484 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,320 it was overcrowded. 485 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:44,320 Overcrowded. 486 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,880 It was overcrowded for me that I'm used to these crowds. 487 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:51,240 So you can imagine how crowded it was. 488 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:56,440 And yet people who come to visit Dubrovnik in that time, if they're not just planning 489 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:03,240 to go to the beach or enjoy the sea, if you want to see architecture or enjoy the city, 490 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,440 you cannot do that because it's overcrowded. 491 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:18,200 So I prefer less number, like less population or less tourists, but high quality. 492 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:26,040 So I think the perfect time to visit Croatia would be May, June. 493 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:32,240 It's crowded but not overcrowded and it's not too hot. 494 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:39,320 July and August are mainly where people come for their vacation holidays and this is where 495 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:43,760 a majority of people come for their summer. 496 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:44,760 And then September. 497 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:51,400 I love September, not just because it's my birthday then, but also because September 498 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,400 is like it's really hot but not too hot. 499 00:33:55,400 --> 00:34:02,360 And yet the nights are a little bit colder or cooler and the temperature of the sea is 500 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:03,480 perfect. 501 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,520 Less people who want to go to take a swim. 502 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:11,080 So the beaches are not empty but not overcrowded. 503 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:16,760 The temperature of the sea is amazing and then I'm swimming till mid of October. 504 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:17,760 Wow, really? 505 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:18,760 That leaves me. 506 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:22,720 Yeah, yeah, yeah, because it's still really, really nice weather. 507 00:34:22,720 --> 00:34:23,720 It's not too cold. 508 00:34:23,720 --> 00:34:24,720 There's no rain. 509 00:34:24,720 --> 00:34:25,720 No, no, no. 510 00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:31,640 It's perfect because actually outside it's so hot that the water, its balances. 511 00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:32,640 It's really great. 512 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:39,440 But you know, there's a lot of people who love crowds and love 40 degrees and stuff 513 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:40,440 like that. 514 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:42,240 So come and visit during July and August. 515 00:34:42,240 --> 00:34:43,240 Yeah. 516 00:34:43,240 --> 00:34:44,240 Google, not regret. 517 00:34:44,240 --> 00:34:47,080 Well, what are you expecting for this summer? 518 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:55,840 Well, they said that the expectations are quite high, that it will be quite crowded. 519 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:57,920 Almost to the 2019 levels or no? 520 00:34:57,920 --> 00:34:59,160 Yes, yes. 521 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,840 They say that but we'll see. 522 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:09,720 It can change easily and maybe the newspaper is always adding something to, you know, they 523 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:15,080 are always increasing the numbers and stuff like that but they said it's gonna be as good 524 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:16,080 as 2019. 525 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:17,080 So we will see. 526 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:18,080 Wow, that's crazy. 527 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:25,880 I would love, let's say, I would love that it's like maybe 70% of 2019. 528 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:26,880 That's completely okay. 529 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,080 That's your ideal number. 530 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:30,080 Yeah. 531 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:37,160 You know, just so people who come, they can enjoy in, enjoy really the city and not yell 532 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:38,800 to, oh, it's overcrowded. 533 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:40,280 I hate this. 534 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,280 I have to wait in the queue for 45 minutes to get my dinner. 535 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,040 Yeah, you don't want people to hate it just because I mean. 536 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,960 There's a lot of people, it's not hitting the city, that's just, you know, the problem 537 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:50,960 with the crowd. 538 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:51,960 That's just the situation. 539 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:52,960 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 540 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:58,160 The same thing with Venice, Barcelona, all these popular cities around the globe. 541 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:08,520 The only problem that is, is that Dubrovnik is one, 50 times smaller than those cities. 542 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:11,640 It's just one quarter of Venice, I can say. 543 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:12,640 Wow. 544 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:13,640 It's funny. 545 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:14,640 Yeah. 546 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:18,640 So, are you doing the Game of Thrones tours this summer? 547 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:26,120 Well, I'm doing all kinds of tours, so Game of Thrones is also one of them. 548 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,880 Now you have a lot of Game of Thrones tours all around. 549 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:34,640 I don't know what, for now, I don't have specific tours like, okay, this is just Game 550 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:35,920 of Thrones tour. 551 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,360 So if I have private tours then, if there are some fans of Game of Thrones, I always 552 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:49,440 mention something, but there's a lot of people, now less than in the past, there are people 553 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:53,040 who would like just to do Game of Thrones, to see where they film, what they filmed and 554 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:54,040 stuff like that. 555 00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:55,040 Yeah. 556 00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,040 And you try to incorporate that sometimes in your regular tours? 557 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,480 Yeah, I always do. 558 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:08,520 Even when I'm doing Game of Thrones tour, I love to compare Dubrovnik and King's Landing 559 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:12,160 in the Game of Thrones, because it was similar. 560 00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:18,360 The whole idea of King's Landing and the policy of Dubrovnik was similar, so I like to make 561 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:26,920 some, I like to compare things with Dubrovnik's Republic and some situations that happened 562 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,440 in the show and stuff like that, so it's fun. 563 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:30,440 Yeah. 564 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,440 And I'm always having photos that I'm showing to people, so. 565 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:38,480 Well, yeah, that helps you better understand too when you can relate it to something like 566 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:39,480 that. 567 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:47,640 Yeah, and I think it's also that, and I think it's pretty to come to Dubrovnik and not have 568 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,320 just a small part of Dubrovnik's history. 569 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:55,320 The most important things, not a lot, but just some small things, and just so you can 570 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:59,760 remember, it's like, oh, this is a Game of Thrones, but she also said this and that, 571 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:06,560 you know, so I'm trying to actually read the vibe of the group and see what they're willing 572 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:07,560 to hear. 573 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,520 And the majority of them, when we start to Game of Thrones, they said, oh, can we get 574 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:11,520 some history? 575 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:15,480 Yeah, they still want some part of that. 576 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:16,480 Yeah. 577 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:19,640 Well, your sister was in an episode of Game of Thrones, right? 578 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,520 Yes, yes, my sister was. 579 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,640 How did that happen? 580 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:29,040 Well, it was crazy because when people heard that HBO Game of Thrones show is coming to 581 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:34,760 the city, everyone, especially those fans who read books, they went crazy. 582 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,480 They were like, oh my God. 583 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:44,080 So there were lines for audition and it was quite difficult to get in. 584 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:53,280 First, so that was season two, and they had just 300 extras for season two. 585 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:58,880 And then season three, four, five, of course, more and more, but for first season that was 586 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:03,920 filmed here in Dubrovnik season two, that was really a big deal. 587 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:09,560 My sister, she wanted to try it and she said, okay, I'm going to apply and see and she's 588 00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:10,880 a beauty. 589 00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:15,080 So they accepted her as a noble girl or someone. 590 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:22,560 She was in the scene with Khaleesi on the island of Karth when they prepared like a 591 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,600 welcome party for her. 592 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:28,360 That was filmed on the island of Lokron here in front of Dubrovnik. 593 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:35,760 My sister never watched an episode, never read any word from the books, and she did not 594 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:40,640 have a clue who those actors were, what they are doing and what's happening. 595 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,240 She just knew it's some TV show that is really popular. 596 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:51,040 And she got in and you can see her in some of the scenes, especially those scenes when 597 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:52,360 Khaleesi is there. 598 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:57,800 And you can see my sister behind Emily's left shoulder and she's acting and she's 599 00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:03,680 like, imagine that she's there and in her head, she's like, oh, I'm on the film set 600 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,360 and she doesn't even know who those actors are. 601 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:07,360 It's so funny. 602 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:09,560 She doesn't realize the magnitude of it. 603 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:10,560 No, no, no. 604 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:17,280 And there were people that were so jealous because I have colleagues and I have friends 605 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:24,160 in mind that wanted to be part of it and they never got in and imagine them like, I'm not 606 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:25,240 there and I'm a fan. 607 00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:26,240 I know everything. 608 00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:29,640 So I'm always laughing because of that. 609 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:35,200 And she didn't even know that she's in the show. 610 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:37,720 I've told her, I was like, you were in the show. 611 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:38,920 I saw you, you were in the show. 612 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:39,920 And she was like, really? 613 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:40,920 Where? 614 00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:41,920 When? 615 00:40:41,920 --> 00:40:44,920 And then I sent her these clips and she was like, oh my God, I'm in. 616 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:45,920 I'm in. 617 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:47,640 I was like, you didn't even watch yourself? 618 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:49,120 And that was like four years after. 619 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:50,120 Wow. 620 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:51,120 Not at that time. 621 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:52,120 Yeah, yeah. 622 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:53,120 She said, oh, I'm in. 623 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:54,120 She's so funny. 624 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,120 She didn't even care to look. 625 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:57,120 No, no, no. 626 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,840 She didn't even apply for the next season. 627 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,200 She said, it's too tiring. 628 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:10,880 It really was because they had to get up at 4 a.m. and they were finishing at 7 p.m. 629 00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:11,880 It was all day. 630 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:12,880 It was a long day. 631 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:17,040 And they were paying them just like 30 euros, which is nothing. 632 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:19,720 Wow, that's it for the whole day? 633 00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:21,520 Yeah, yeah. 634 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:22,520 Yeah. 635 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:27,400 It was not, extras are always there because they love the show, nothing else. 636 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:29,720 Yeah, they want to be part of it. 637 00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:30,720 That's what's funny about it. 638 00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:32,520 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's why. 639 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:37,720 Now, Zarenka, you're also doing, you told me about this a few weeks ago when I saw you 640 00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:43,360 and I forgot exactly what it was, but for National Geographic, you're taking them around 641 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:48,040 as they're, what are they doing, like a special or taking a bunch of pictures? 642 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,200 Yeah, oh well. 643 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:51,200 They're different tours. 644 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:59,480 So for this Limblad Expeditions that are having like doing these tours together with National 645 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:10,120 Geographic, they have these specifically created tours for people that are visiting to experience 646 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:12,640 Croatia, the best of Croatia. 647 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:20,360 So either we are going by the land, so we're visiting the main points, the Romney, Split, 648 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:27,040 some neighborhoods, the countries around, having this traditional food. 649 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:35,480 They are, we are showing them some specific parts of people's life, you know, if they're 650 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:41,640 making something, how they did this, how they're cooking that, some experiences that they would 651 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:46,800 never find somewhere else or in regular tours. 652 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:52,480 And we are sailing around Croatian coast also, we are visiting the islands, the most important 653 00:42:52,480 --> 00:43:01,360 points, and we always have first day on tour, we have like a presentation, I talk about 654 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:08,880 Croatia, and every day we have different presentations or lessons that we are passing, learning a 655 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:14,160 little bit about the language or culture or history. 656 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:15,880 So there's always something. 657 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:23,120 It's not a typical tour, like two hours and that's it, we have few, few extra things. 658 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:24,120 It's quite fun. 659 00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:27,960 So it sounds like they really want an in-depth look at the culture and everything. 660 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:29,160 Yes, yes, yes, yes. 661 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:33,520 And I'm there, especially on the boat, I'm there with them as a local, if they want to 662 00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:39,000 know something in any time of the day, they want to know something more about our history 663 00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,840 or some parts of the history or tradition or I don't know, literature, you know, I'm 664 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:47,040 there for them and we're talking about that, so it's quite fun. 665 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:48,040 That's really cool. 666 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:55,560 And they're always trying like local food, local wines, so it's a full experience on 667 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:56,560 local things. 668 00:43:56,560 --> 00:44:01,160 That sounds like a great job for them too, they just get to try all the food and drinks. 669 00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:03,160 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 670 00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:04,640 Of course they have a... 671 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:06,440 Sorry, go ahead. 672 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:11,360 Sorry, of course they have a professional photographer who's with them and taking photos 673 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:16,080 of them on these tours and picturing all and capturing all these moments. 674 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:19,440 And then they'll publish that in their magazine or what? 675 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:22,680 Yes, website, magazine, whatever. 676 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:25,800 I really, I didn't get any copy of those. 677 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:29,880 So if you find some photos of mine, please tell me. 678 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:33,440 And when is that taking place? 679 00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:39,760 Those are mainly I have mainly now, July, August. 680 00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:45,040 That's just because we are doing the coastal area too, we are sailing, so that's why. 681 00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:50,080 And I have, sorry, I have September, main September, so August, September, so I was 682 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:53,360 lying August, September. 683 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:59,240 But aside from Dubrovnik, you're also, I guess not with them, but on other tours you 684 00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:01,520 go into what Mostar, right? 685 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:03,000 And Split too or no? 686 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:09,640 Yes, yes, one day excursions to Mostar or Montenegro, so Bosnia-Henskovena and Montenegro. 687 00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:16,680 And sometimes I do like, they are rare one day tours or trips to Split. 688 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:25,720 There's always, or I'm doing transport from Dubrovnik to Split or from Split to Dubrovnik. 689 00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:27,040 And also I do these tours. 690 00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:36,520 This year I'm gonna have more tours for like 10 days with the group or just a couple around 691 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:37,520 Croatia. 692 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:39,760 Wow, so you're gonna be really busy this summer. 693 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:40,760 Yes, and I love that. 694 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:44,600 That's the best part about being tour guide because I'm traveling. 695 00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:48,520 I love to travel, meeting new places. 696 00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:51,040 And Croatia is really beautiful. 697 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:57,840 It has a lot of things to see, so I think that's the best way of getting to Croatia to come 698 00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:00,000 here and explore a little bit of everything. 699 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:08,920 Because we have from mountains to sea, sandy beaches, rocky beaches, flat area, high area, 700 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:12,400 you know, it's something completely different. 701 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:19,440 So whatever one country, big country can have all that, like from one side to another, Croatia 702 00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:26,200 is so small, but we have like, it's like we have four countries in one country. 703 00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:29,800 You know, we have small places, big towns, the flat area. 704 00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:30,800 It's amazing. 705 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:31,800 I love it. 706 00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:32,800 Yeah, there's so much to see. 707 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:37,960 You can't just go to one city and, you know, call it a day. 708 00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:41,600 In Croatia, no, because there's more. 709 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:43,000 For example, you're in Zagreb now. 710 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:50,520 You know that Zagreb is like typical Austrian, German architecture, gray, foggy area, flat 711 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:51,520 area. 712 00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:53,800 And then you pass to the Dalmatian coast. 713 00:46:53,800 --> 00:47:01,280 It's sunny, sea, Dalmatian typical medieval architecture, so it's completely different. 714 00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:06,960 Well, before I forget, Zrejka, if people want to reach out to you about tours, you know, 715 00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:08,960 this summer, where should they go? 716 00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:12,160 And I'll put links to later on. 717 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:13,560 I'm such a lazy person. 718 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:15,320 I don't have my website now. 719 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:16,800 It's still in progress. 720 00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:18,400 So why you're making a website? 721 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:20,080 Yeah, I'm making a website. 722 00:47:20,080 --> 00:47:26,200 So it's easier to connect with me or contact me. 723 00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:32,040 I have a mail address or a Facebook page or Instagram page. 724 00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:33,800 Those are the channels I have. 725 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:34,800 Okay. 726 00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:38,520 And maybe I'll have to wait then to release the episode until you have the website up. 727 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:39,520 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 728 00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:40,520 That's pretty cool. 729 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:42,920 I didn't know you were doing that. 730 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:48,840 Yeah, because I figured out, okay, maybe that will be some sort of maybe blog just for people 731 00:47:48,840 --> 00:47:53,800 if I'm still thinking about languages. 732 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:55,960 Should I put all three or just English? 733 00:47:55,960 --> 00:47:58,280 But I'm going to see that and figure out. 734 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:02,640 But it's something that you should do. 735 00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,080 It's a amateur guide and I love it. 736 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:06,480 But not just because of the business. 737 00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:12,400 I just want to, if people, when they are searching, want to find some informations that are in 738 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:15,720 one place, because of course, Internet, you can find a lot of information. 739 00:48:15,720 --> 00:48:22,440 But from a local side, we can say, I think that's a good idea to have some site where 740 00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:28,920 you can go and say, oh, she recommends this, not because someone paid me, but just because 741 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,200 I think as a local, this is better than something else. 742 00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:34,240 Yeah, I think that would be a huge hit. 743 00:48:34,240 --> 00:48:38,080 I mean, even I look for things like that. 744 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:43,520 I guess only a year is not that long, but it feels like a long time that I've been able 745 00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:44,520 to be in Croatia. 746 00:48:44,520 --> 00:48:49,680 Yeah, I'm still looking for things that aren't just tourist traps and I want to see what 747 00:48:49,680 --> 00:48:51,600 the locals are doing and things like that. 748 00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:55,720 That's the problem with the Bromnik because the majority of the things in the Bromnik 749 00:48:55,720 --> 00:49:03,240 can't be out of tourist area because the Bromnik is so small that everything is tourist area. 750 00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:09,200 Even those tourists who don't want to be tourists are tourists because they are looking for non-tourist 751 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:11,240 things, if you get me. 752 00:49:11,240 --> 00:49:12,240 Yeah. 753 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:18,160 So, there's a lot of people who don't want to be, I don't know, inside your hotel, they 754 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:24,000 want to go to some bar that is not that low, that is not that touristy, but yet if you 755 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:29,440 have 20 people like that, that bar will already become tourist bar. 756 00:49:29,440 --> 00:49:30,440 Yeah, that is so. 757 00:49:30,440 --> 00:49:31,440 Yeah, so, yeah. 758 00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:34,200 So, it's funny, but that's the Bromnik. 759 00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:42,000 But I think it's whenever you want to, that's why, for example, winter area or winter time, 760 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:46,200 it's perfect time to visit Bromnik because then you can see where the locals are and 761 00:49:46,200 --> 00:49:50,560 what they are doing and you can feel that vibe. 762 00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:54,000 It's lazy vibe, but it's still a vibe, so. 763 00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:55,000 Yeah. 764 00:49:55,000 --> 00:50:00,360 Well, what are you doing, Zarenka, outside of the season during the winter? 765 00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:01,760 I do a lot of things. 766 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:09,200 I'm a person that almost never, I love sleeping, but I sleep a lot, but still, I'm always doing 767 00:50:09,200 --> 00:50:10,200 something. 768 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:19,480 Well, these two years since I was almost off work, I took that to concentrate on my passions 769 00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:25,840 and my passions are yoga, dance, and psychology. 770 00:50:25,840 --> 00:50:34,480 So this year, I'm gonna be also, I'm almost finishing my yoga certificate, so in September, 771 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:38,640 fingers crossed, I will be yoga teacher, finally. 772 00:50:38,640 --> 00:50:45,760 And I'm doing dance classes, so I'm dancing in one studio, and now I'm studying psychology, 773 00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:47,240 actually, so I do a lot of things. 774 00:50:47,240 --> 00:50:51,280 I'm doing some energy treatments also, so a lot of things. 775 00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:52,280 I'm tutoring. 776 00:50:52,280 --> 00:50:53,280 A little bit of everything. 777 00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:54,280 Yeah. 778 00:50:54,280 --> 00:51:01,240 And you just told me before we started recording about the psychotherapy, do you want to talk 779 00:51:01,240 --> 00:51:05,160 a little about that? 780 00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:13,760 Psychology and psychotherapy for me are the amazing sources and amazing things. 781 00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:23,280 I think everyone should do some kind of psychotherapy just because I think people, especially nowadays, 782 00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:27,680 are bombed with a lot of things and the emotions and everything that they are feeling. 783 00:51:27,680 --> 00:51:30,040 It's really hard to process. 784 00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:36,120 And just to work and to work on yourself and get to know yourself, I think psychology and 785 00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:40,600 psychotherapy are great tools to do that. 786 00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:51,680 So this year, I got in this education for Gestalt psychotherapy, and now I'm doing my 787 00:51:51,680 --> 00:51:54,960 education for next four years. 788 00:51:54,960 --> 00:52:06,640 So I'm hoping to get these approaches on psychotherapy that are modern and that are interesting 789 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:07,640 to other people. 790 00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:12,200 So it won't be a huge, like, oh, she's doing psychotherapy. 791 00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:17,280 It's like, okay, that's completely great thing and normal thing, so just go for it. 792 00:52:17,280 --> 00:52:19,280 Yeah, it's pretty cool. 793 00:52:19,280 --> 00:52:20,280 I love it. 794 00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:23,680 And it's really cool when you get to know the brain and how it's functioning and how 795 00:52:23,680 --> 00:52:30,520 your body is functioning, how these emotions and traumas that you have are what they are 796 00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:35,280 doing to you and your body and how you're fighting against them or with them. 797 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:36,480 Oh, it's amazing. 798 00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:37,480 I mean, I love it. 799 00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:38,480 With it. 800 00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:42,320 So it seems like a lot of that ties into yoga and even dance. 801 00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:45,200 So that makes sense why you're interested in those as well. 802 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:46,760 Yes, yes, that's true. 803 00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:52,560 Because when you see, well, now I'm seeing people when they're walking down, I can see 804 00:52:52,560 --> 00:52:59,760 the burdens that or that they're holding, you know, or they're having, you can see that 805 00:52:59,760 --> 00:53:08,240 people if they have their shoulders like really tight or if they walk differently or they 806 00:53:08,240 --> 00:53:14,720 are walking too proud, all of that shows these or traumas or emotions or something that they 807 00:53:14,720 --> 00:53:18,520 have held in it or locked in themselves. 808 00:53:18,520 --> 00:53:19,520 It's amazing. 809 00:53:19,520 --> 00:53:20,520 It's amazing. 810 00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:21,520 I love it. 811 00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:22,520 I love it. 812 00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:26,720 Oh, I forgot what I was going to say. 813 00:53:26,720 --> 00:53:27,720 Okay. 814 00:53:27,720 --> 00:53:28,720 Sorry. 815 00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:33,560 No, no, no, I was, I was thinking about that and I was getting lost in my own thinking, 816 00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:35,680 wow, what burdens am I carrying? 817 00:53:35,680 --> 00:53:36,680 Oh, sorry. 818 00:53:36,680 --> 00:53:37,680 Oh, are we starting psychotherapy? 819 00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:42,680 Yeah, I think I just had my first session. 820 00:53:42,680 --> 00:53:43,680 Free of charge. 821 00:53:43,680 --> 00:53:44,680 Okay. 822 00:53:44,680 --> 00:53:45,680 For the first time, it's free of charge. 823 00:53:45,680 --> 00:53:46,920 First one's free. 824 00:53:46,920 --> 00:53:52,880 But no, Zrenka, I really, I appreciate you taking the time to come on the podcast here. 825 00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:54,160 You gave a lot of great information. 826 00:53:54,160 --> 00:54:00,440 I think we're coming down towards the end here and I just wanted to ask for your first 827 00:54:00,440 --> 00:54:04,640 local recommendation. 828 00:54:04,640 --> 00:54:09,080 Maybe it's going to go later on the blog and the website, but just two things. 829 00:54:09,080 --> 00:54:15,240 I won't ask too much, but your favorite beach in or around Dubrovnik and the best restaurant 830 00:54:15,240 --> 00:54:18,560 to go to if you were to visit for the first time. 831 00:54:18,560 --> 00:54:25,320 That's a tough choice because, okay, you have to tell me, fish restaurant, meat restaurant, 832 00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:26,320 vege restaurant. 833 00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:27,320 True. 834 00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:28,320 Yeah. 835 00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:29,720 Just put it all into one. 836 00:54:29,720 --> 00:54:30,720 Okay. 837 00:54:30,720 --> 00:54:36,320 Say if you've never been to Croatia and you want like an authentic Dubrovnik restaurant 838 00:54:36,320 --> 00:54:37,320 experience. 839 00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:38,320 Okay. 840 00:54:38,320 --> 00:54:39,320 Okay. 841 00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:46,040 Then for sure, I would like, if you're in the Dubrovnik area, you should go to this like 842 00:54:46,040 --> 00:54:47,040 Proto. 843 00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:52,760 For me, Proto is one of the best fish restaurants because when you're in Dubrovnik, you have 844 00:54:52,760 --> 00:54:58,320 to eat fish and seafood, especially in the summertime, especially oysters. 845 00:54:58,320 --> 00:55:03,080 If you miss oysters, if you don't eat oysters in Dubrovnik, you made a huge mistake since 846 00:55:03,080 --> 00:55:06,080 we have the best oyster in the world. 847 00:55:06,080 --> 00:55:11,800 One price in London for the best oyster in the world, flat European oyster that is quite 848 00:55:11,800 --> 00:55:17,000 rare to find and they are here from Roman time. 849 00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:18,840 So that's number one. 850 00:55:18,840 --> 00:55:19,840 Yeah. 851 00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:21,840 When in Croatia, when in Dubrovnik, eat oysters. 852 00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:26,400 Actually, I've never eaten an oyster in any of Croatia, so I must be doing something 853 00:55:26,400 --> 00:55:27,400 wrong. 854 00:55:27,400 --> 00:55:28,400 I'm going to try that next time. 855 00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:29,400 Yeah. 856 00:55:29,400 --> 00:55:31,920 This summer when you get down, well, we're going to do these things. 857 00:55:31,920 --> 00:55:32,920 Okay. 858 00:55:32,920 --> 00:55:33,920 Local things. 859 00:55:33,920 --> 00:55:37,920 So, for me, the best fish restaurant is Proto. 860 00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:46,120 If you're willing to have this, again, modern approach to the local cuisine, then I will 861 00:55:46,120 --> 00:55:52,520 recommend Luz in Kantoon, the Lucy's Corner restaurant inside the Old Town. 862 00:55:52,520 --> 00:56:02,520 But for peka, the meat and these traditional dishes of Dubrovnik, I would go in Konavle. 863 00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:09,880 To go in Konavle, Konavoski Dvori restaurant near the River Lyuta in Konavle area. 864 00:56:09,880 --> 00:56:14,080 Sorry, veal under the iron bell. 865 00:56:14,080 --> 00:56:15,760 That's a traditional meal. 866 00:56:15,760 --> 00:56:16,760 Delicious. 867 00:56:16,760 --> 00:56:17,760 Delicious. 868 00:56:17,760 --> 00:56:18,760 Delicious. 869 00:56:18,760 --> 00:56:19,760 Delicious. 870 00:56:19,760 --> 00:56:25,160 And that's if you love meat and you want to try typical dish, that's it. 871 00:56:25,160 --> 00:56:26,160 That's it. 872 00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:28,760 Veal under the iron bell in Konavle. 873 00:56:28,760 --> 00:56:29,760 Okay. 874 00:56:29,760 --> 00:56:32,200 I'm going to have to write these down. 875 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:36,840 My mom will make it for you, don't worry. 876 00:56:36,840 --> 00:56:38,840 And that's what we are eating. 877 00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:46,560 So, and those are really, that's delicious meat that is under slowly put, not cooked, 878 00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:53,520 but like it's like in an oven, slowly, slowly cooked for five to six hours. 879 00:56:53,520 --> 00:56:54,520 It's delicious. 880 00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:56,000 It melts in your mouth. 881 00:56:56,000 --> 00:57:01,000 Although I'm not eating meat anymore, but still, when I'm talking about it, it reminds 882 00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:04,520 me like, oh, it's so good. 883 00:57:04,520 --> 00:57:08,080 But beaches, I have two beaches that I love. 884 00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:12,600 One is outside the Bronning, that's the island of Lokrum. 885 00:57:12,600 --> 00:57:15,240 You cannot get enough of that beauty. 886 00:57:15,240 --> 00:57:18,760 It's a small island, but yet big enough to avoid crowds. 887 00:57:18,760 --> 00:57:20,360 It has everything. 888 00:57:20,360 --> 00:57:26,360 Rocks, terraces, grass for children, for elderly, restaurant, you know, everything. 889 00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:32,440 If you want to hike, you can go hike private beach or to be a little bit isolated or with 890 00:57:32,440 --> 00:57:35,600 bunch of people, amazing. 891 00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:37,840 And Danche beach. 892 00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:43,120 It's near the old town, maybe five minutes walking distance from the old town. 893 00:57:43,120 --> 00:57:48,560 It's under the old monastery where today is nunnery and it's beautiful. 894 00:57:48,560 --> 00:57:50,760 The sunset from there, it's amazing. 895 00:57:50,760 --> 00:57:55,280 It's called Danche, D-A-N-C-H-E, Danche beach. 896 00:57:55,280 --> 00:57:56,280 I love it. 897 00:57:56,280 --> 00:57:58,440 I love it, love, love it. 898 00:57:58,440 --> 00:58:00,960 So those are the beaches that I love. 899 00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:04,880 There are more beaches, of course, but depends on the mood and everything that you're looking 900 00:58:04,880 --> 00:58:05,880 for. 901 00:58:05,880 --> 00:58:11,560 I don't like sandy beaches because sand for me, I'm not fun of it. 902 00:58:11,560 --> 00:58:16,080 But if you like sandy beaches, there are a few in the Bronning, but be careful in the 903 00:58:16,080 --> 00:58:22,720 Bronning you have to get down or get up a lot of steps to go on these beaches. 904 00:58:22,720 --> 00:58:26,800 You cannot avoid exercising in the Bronning, that's the only thing. 905 00:58:26,800 --> 00:58:30,880 That's good, especially if you're going to all those restaurants that you just mentioned. 906 00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:33,480 That's why we are eating a lot, but we are walking a lot. 907 00:58:33,480 --> 00:58:37,000 We are going up and down steps, that's why we are always fit. 908 00:58:37,000 --> 00:58:41,360 All right, Zarenko, well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast with me. 909 00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:44,760 Always a pleasure to talk to you and I'll have to see you this summer. 910 00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:48,880 No, thank you very much for inviting me and having this conversation with me. 911 00:58:48,880 --> 00:58:52,320 So it was my pleasure. 912 00:58:52,320 --> 00:58:55,760 That's it for today's episode of the All Things Croatia podcast. 913 00:58:55,760 --> 00:58:58,160 Thanks for tuning in and I hope you all enjoyed it. 914 00:58:58,160 --> 00:59:02,200 You can subscribe to the Patreon and check out the All Things Croatia Instagram page 915 00:59:02,200 --> 00:59:03,760 to stay updated. 916 00:59:03,760 --> 00:59:08,240 Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, tips or ideas and make sure to tune back into 917 00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:09,760 the next episode. 918 00:59:09,760 --> 00:59:22,920 Thanks again and vide mosten.