By Scott Shephard
Dubrovnik, Croatia
For the first time since February, 2020, Deb and I have ventured a little further afield than our camper and pickup have permitted over the last three years.
Here you are getting a bird’s eye view of part of the walled city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. Deb and I have been here before so it’s really the same old place. And yet it’s different. For example, it’s busier than the last time we were here. We blame “Game of Thrones” for that, which was partially filmed here.
But it’s different in other ways as well - we are older, and that changes many things, including how we see things and what we value. It is also different because I am traveling with in-laws who so far have voiced amazement at almost everything we’ve seen or done. I enjoy being part of that.
So what does it mean to travel? To me, whether it means leaving Watertown and going to Omaha or getting on a plane and ending up in Croatia, it is about a change of scenery, experience and opportunity.
Above all for me, foreign travel is about ending up in a place like I am this morning as I write this - Orebic, Croatia. We are 50 yards from the Adriatic Sea. The street in front of our hotel is pedestrian only and except for us, the tourists have cleared out. Local couples, families and kids on bikes are the rule. We are true strangers in a strange but welcoming land.
My title, incidentally, comes from a Mary Chapin Carpenter song. She sings
And the freedom to be a stranger
Is a bargain that’s ours alone
Sometimes you just want to be someone else
Unencumbered and unknown
DJI Minie 3 Pro 5 Frame HDR