Dubrovnik, Croatia

My friend Talin and I just wrapped up a wonderful 7 day trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Before I go into the details of our trip, here is a brief bio about Talin. Talin and I have been friends since May 1998 when we were both bridesmaids in our friend Natalie's wedding. Talin is always introducing me to wonderful things like opera, traveling ideas, and new restaurants. It was great to spend a full week together in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik. We enjoyed exploring the area and learning about the history and the cutlure. In addition to all the sight seeing, our week was filled with great conversations, laughter, and delicious food! We had the world's best seafood ever....everything was so fresh since we were right off the Coast. This food definitely rivaled the food of Italy.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I didn't know much about Dubrovnik before this trip. I'm so glad Talin and I decide to take this trip because Dubrovnik is absoultely beautiful. We had incredible weather...temps were in the low 70s so it was perfect for us to walk around and take in the incredible coastal scenery. The best way to describe Dubrovnik is that it is a combination of the Greek Islands and Ancient Greece all in one spot. Dubrovnik is not an island, but its beaches remind me of the Greek Islands. You also have the Old City of Dubrovnik which has the ancient walls lining up against the coast. I always love seeing two contrasting things put together....ancient history plus modern beaches combine for an intriguing destination!

During our week together, we took a day trip to Bosnia. We had no intention of going to Bosnia but we saw these pics of a beautiful town and we wanted to see this place called Mostar. We figured it was next to Dubrovnik but our guide told us that Mostar was in Bosnia and it was a 2.5 hour drive there. We figured it was worth seeing so we signed up for the tour and spent a day there. When I heard that we were going to Bosnia I just pictured a war torn area that was really grey and depressing. We were wrong. Bosnia has beautiful coast lines like Dubrovnik. The beaches of Bosnia were like the ones we would see in the Carribean. The town of Mostar was beautiful and so quaint. It reminded me of a Medieval village in Germany. Bosnia still has a few buildings that have not been rebuilt since they were damaged from World War II and the war in the early 90s. Our trip taught us a lot about the war and the struggles that these countries went through. It also taught me not to judge a book by its cover. I'm so caught up in going to countries that have the glamourous appeal like Italy, Greece, Spain, etc. There is so much to see in the world and every country has a story to tell. A real story that I can learn from and grow from.

During this week I also had a major turning point where I gained perspective. My friends and family know me as a passionate person. My passion is expressed in two different ways....I exude positive emotion when I love something and I can't contain my enthusiasm and love. I also express my frustration and anger in a passionate lunatic way too. This type of behaviour is commonly expressed to Customer Service agents. I'm sure I am on The Most Hated List of United Airlines, Comcast, YB Customer Service, etc. My philosophy is simple...Just do what you're suppossed to do. I don't expect anything more and I don't expect you to roll out the red carpet for me. Just do your job. Ex. United needs make sure my luggage gets to my destinatin on time...That's all!

SO back to my new gained perspective... Talin and I stayed in a nice hotel in Dubrovnik. The room was nice with a great view and great location. My issues with the hotel: they didn't clean our room one day and they didn't call us on time for our wake up call. These are basics that are a GIVEN in any hotel. Also, the hotel staff was incompetent. They were not helpful and never had an answer for any of our basic questions. Again, these are a given in any hotel. I became frustrated that I had to share my thoughts to the hotel manager in my lunatic ways of expression. I go off on this hotel manager because nothing was getting done. This hotel manager was this kind and gentle person. He was soft spoken and so compassionate. After my rant he responded in his soft voice, "Let's make peace. Let's work on this. I'm sorry about these issues. We will fix this. However, you don't need to get mad. You are on vacation. I want you to be happy. If you want to get mad, get mad about the starving children in the world. Get mad about the people dying in the war but don't worry too much about this. This can all be resolved." He didn't say this in a condescending tone but in a very nurturing and kind tone.

I actually calmed down and I felt so petty. These people have experienced war in their neighborhoods only 15 years ago and survived. Their homes were burned down and their loved ones killed and I'm complaining about my room and our wake up call?!?! Despite what has happened in the last 15 years, these Croatians and Bosnians are so resilient and so warm and so friendly. They don't hold bitterness about their past. Instead they look forward to rebuilding a brighter future. These people have been through hell. I hear about the war in Iraq almost everyday but I don't see the buildings being blown up everyday and dead bodies lying in the streets. Living in the U.S. we are so fortunate to not have to physically witness what is going on in Iraq. We are safe (to a certain extent). I feel far removed from this war and I feel so guilty for being glad that I am far removed from this situation. I don't even give the war too much thought anymore since it's been going on for over 5 years now. I'm ashamed to admit all this but it's true. I obviously do not want innocent people dying. I'm just fortunate that we have brave people fighting for us and hopefully this will all end soon. As for my change in handling customer service situations....I hope I can maintain my cool in the future because I realize now that I should not be sweating the small stuff. The true test will be when I move back to Chicago and I have to deal with Comcast and my movers all over again. AMY GAURI...I still have your back!