Dubrovnik

it feels kind of useless to blog about this, because I still can't quite get over it. Suffice to say Dubrovnik is utterly spectacular.

Somehow we truly lucked out on the hostel. We booked it completely randomly, and basically on the criteria of as cheap as possible. It turned out to be pretty much the nicest place I've ever stayed. It had views on three angles, including the ocean, a palm tree, a little garden, the roofs of the old town, the mountains, the conservancy of music (whose music would waft up at all hours of the day), and the old city walls. The place itself had lots of room and light, a bathroom with a spectacular view, a kitchen, and was well located. However, I won't reveal any details in the hopes of maintaining it as a well kept secret. THe price was ridiculously low: 16 euros per night. I doubt I will ever stay in such a gem ever again. The only slight problem came on the last morning when they somehow gave the next guests their keys before we'd woken up in the morning. It was a bit of an awkward meeting.

Other than that, we took a day trip to a nearby town whose name escapes me. It was more relaxed, slightly less touristy, and much cheaper than Dubrovnik. I am now planning on becoming a property mogul in the area. Its surprising that tourism is apparently only up to mid 1980s levels, even all these years after the war. A lot of the old communist style hotels are still lying empty and full of shell holes. The local museum dedicated to the resistance is a real piece of work in nationalist writing.