Vesna

The Joyful Bookworm

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  • I live in Dubrovnik
  • I speak English
  • Verified Local host
  • Response time less than 5 hours

Hi there! Nice to meet you

I am born and raised in Dubrovnik, and I am still passionately in love with my birthplace. In its beauty, but even more in its rich history. All my attempts to live elsewhere failed. I always came back home, driven by longing, enchanted by this city.

My favorite childhood pastime was to make up stories about imaginative former tenants of my 500-year-old home in Dubrovnik Old City. Who were they, how did they live? What did they eat and drink, what made them ill? How did they have fun, how many children they had, how they died?

Let us be honest: churches and monuments, buildings and streets are not making the city, regardless how beautiful or unique they are. Residents create the city. The history of any city is the history of people who had lived there over centuries.

Today I am turning that infant’s game into a historical quest for the real inhabitants of this city in the past. The real people has replaced my imaginary friends. Those people who were similar to us today: happy and unhappy, greedy and envious, stingy or wasteful, drunk or sober. In each of them we find ourselves, and every one of them becomes a gemstone in the history of Dubrovnik.

My birthplace still has the soul of a medieval town, where you are never alone, in which you are never lonely. Everyone is your friend, all of them take care of you, and sometimes of your business and life, also. Full of good intentions, they participate uninvited in your life, despite the fact that their attention is the last thing you want. But that’s what friends are for, isn’t it?

I am still living in my centuries-old home, but today I dream about the people I'm going to meet and new friends I'm going to get. Join me for a walk around the city. Let’s become friends.

  • I live in Dubrovnik
  • I speak English
  • Verified Local host
  • Response time less than 5 hours

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Reviews

Cindy
27 November 2024
Our flight to Dubrovnik was delayed but Vesna did her absolute best to accommodate our schedule. Vesna was personable, knowledgeable and gracious. She gave us an excellent tour of Dubrovnik which provided a first hand account of the war in 1991. Prior to that time, we really had not known that much about it. It was truly fascinating, if not heartbreaking. We all enjoyed the tour very much and highly recommend it, if you are into history.Amazing Vesna!
Tori
14 October 2024
Vesna was an Amazing guide We came away with an Authentic experience of learning about Dubrovnik and its history. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about where you have travelled to . Vesna was a Beautiful soul who shares part of herself with you Thank you 🙏 10
Shelby
13 October 2024
We absolutely adored this tour and regret not having more cash on hand to tip Vesna. She is an extremely knowledgeable and passionate guide with local insights that you couldn’t find on any other tour. We loved learning about the dark history of Dubrovnik and recommend this tour for anyone interested in crime, punishment and morbid things!! Amazing tour & wonderful, clever host!
John
3 October 2024
Vesna was magnificent. So much knowledge and so many stories. It was a pleasure walking the old town with someone so well versed in local history. The tour was based on crime and punishment during the Middle Ages. Told with some humor and some tragedy. Her forte is being able to blend the bleak with the amusing. Vesna answered all questions, historical or not. We can recommend a walk with this amazing woman. Off beat and fascinating
Kelly
28 September 2024
Our tour with Vesna was one of the highlights of our time in Croatia. She grew up inside the walls of Dubrovnik—a true local in a seemingly fairytale place. Her description of how her family lived during the war moved me to tears, and left us with images of what life inside the walls was really like. This tour was unique as it combined the old history of the city with its more recent history. We ended our tour with a much greater appreciation for the place. We spent much of our trip trying to learn more about the war. Vesna is such a genuine, lovely person. She was so generous in sharing her very personal stories with us. We felt lucky and grateful to have met her and learned from her. I wish we could have spent the whole day wandering Dubrovnik with Vesna.Book a tour with Vesna!!
Julie
6 September 2024
Great historical facts and stories about the crimes and punishments that took place in the walled city of Dubrovnik over the centuries. The Dark Side
Allyson
15 August 2024
Vesna gave us a very objective view of the Homeland war. And her own living experience gave us a realistic view of the politics and the day to day difficulties during that time. As well as describing the ancient history. We were both extremely impressed by her knowledge and delivery and she answered all our questions very comprehensively. We would highly recommend a tour with Vesna. Outstanding insight on Dubrovnik
Hugo
11 July 2024
Vesna is extremely friendly and had some fun facts about the city. Great knowledge of history. Would highly recommend Loved the dark side of Dubrovnik
Jennifer
5 July 2024
We had been to Dubrovnik before, but just walked around on our own. Vesna gave us a vivid picture of what life there had been like in medieval times. The streets and buildings meant so much more to us knowing what they have seen in the past. It was a quick and entertaining two-hour tour that I highlight recommend!Going back in time in Dubrovnik!
Jessika
17 April 2024
I chose to combine Visna‘s Medieval and War tours. She is a walking encyclopaedia of Dubrovnik and told me many quirky, funny and dark stories but my favourite parts of the tour were the most unique of all; her stories of the war. She lived (and still lives!) in Dubrovnik‘s old town during the war and has many inspirational, sad and heartwarming stories to tell. As if that wasn’t enough, she is also absolutely delightful, so warm and personable. You are in very good hands when you book with Visna!!See Dubrovnik through Visna‘s eyes!

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