The bus back, in at times dreadful conditions, was half an hour early so I was back at Renata’s earlier than anticipated and able to let myself in as she had kindly told me to take the front door key. It wasn’t until my departure two days later, that I saw Renata again. The bad weather had hit Dubrovnik but watching a thunderstorm

from my room on both evenings, was a magnificent sight with the old city lit up spectacularly. Winds and high seas dared me to walk as far as possible alongside the Maritime Museum which is the front part of the city and the unmistakable feature of the old city which juts into the Adriatic. Renata’s house looks over this museum so the location could not be better. It was a privilege to stay there.

My one full day there took me on foot up Mount Srd to see the stunning views not only over the old city but the other main outlying areas of Lapad, Gruz and Babin Kuk. The cable car has re-opened after almost twenty years and whisks passengers to the top in four minutes. I picked entirely the right moment to take the fantastic views of the old city from the Hotel Excelsior as the weather was magnificent: a few minutes later it turned noticeably after I had walked further up the road and sat alone on a small beach taking more photos with the waves crashing over the rocks. Trips to the nearby island of Lokrum were not possible: maybe it was because they don’t go in the winter, maybe the seas were too choppy for the small boats. Maybe seafaring types would poo-pooh all this! Whatever, they weren’t going.

I flew to Zagreb for the final part of this trip and, despite getting to the airport too early, everything went smoothly. It was noticeable how much colder Zagreb, in the north, was. It was also wet but I surprised myself by finding my accommodation first time. Okay, I had a map and had picked it as it was close to the bus station and

the centre but, nonetheless, it was in a small residential area and had I not had the address, I really would have doubted my sanity when I came across the place. The Servus