The people of Dubrovnik are typically of cheerful and unconcerned Mediterranean mentality, proud of its city and cultural heritage, pleasant and polite, trying to be a perfect host always offering you something to drink, eat, even nudging you, just to accept a small token of their attention.

Although in most cases you won't notice it, there is also the other side to this mentality, it's the fiery, passionate and impulsive side of the mentality that is usually triggered by ignorance:

Three little things to know to get on a soft and mellow side of Dubrovnik citizens:

The first thing you should know is that there is no such thing as “The Old city” in Dubrovnik.
It's plain and simple “The City”, the way the locals call it, "Grad", and calling it old is just pure rude. Although some people call it old (old town, old city). Well nevertheless, they are wrong...

No matter of it's age, “The city" is never perceived old, for it's soul as the locals often say lives with the people and it will always be wonderful and young as long as there is a new generation, to renew it's strength, expand it's culture and care for it's wounds. And they think it, a little child, always needing attention, for it will wane if uncared for and really one day become “old”.

This tradition of calling it “The City” dates even to the old Republic (Dubrovnik Republic) and it was known that if two citizens of Dubrovnik met anywhere in the world and one asked about "The City" that it meant “Dubrovnik” (but not as a whole Dubrovnik including Lapad, Gruz etc. but the core, meaning inside the City walls. (The City = the core, surrounded by the city walls.)

So when in Dubrovnik and you meet a local ask him/her “for a way to The City” and he/she will be pleased and flattered as if you gave him/her some sort of a beautiful compliment

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Maybe the most important of all things to know is a way how to act and behave when going out, on a drink, dinner or just a cup of coffee with someone from Dubrovnik, this is time for coffee, Dubrovnik way.

In every city work is considered important and is done in a serious manner, Dubrovnik is no exception...

...but when someone from Dubrovnik invites you to a drink or a cup of coffee, it is almost the same thing, important, and don't expect that to be a short thing, lasting an hour tops for you will be suprised.

Unprepared, you accept the invitation and go out for a cup of coffee in the early afternoon and after about 10 minutes you finished your coffee and you notice your host still sitting comfortably in his/her chair, relaxed to a maximum, just watching the world passing by and slowly sipping on his/hers almost full cup, and you think to yourself “what's this?!”, but then after half an hour more you notice that neither your host nor people sitting in the tables around you are taking no hurry.

And this is exactly how it goes around Dubrovnik, when you go out, for a coffee, a drink or even a walk with someone from Dubrovnik, there is no rush, as if all else fades in marginality, all problems vanish into fresh air, just like you are in heaven and the time has stopped, the way to do it is just to relax and enjoy your stay…

And finally when the dinner, coffee, drink comes to an end it's time to pay the bill, forget about the splitting the bill, the account will be paid by one person, the one that made the invitation, depending on the situation and the other persons will have their chance to pay the bill next time, or something else will be on their account later that day or maybe even next day…

Always keep in mind these little advices, they will keep you out of “trouble”, and remember, relax and have a wonderful stay in Dubrovnik.

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