Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Here is how is to be a tourist in your own city?

Have you ever thought about looking at your surroundings or the city you grew up in from a different angle? To rent an apartment or have Sunday lunch at a local restaurant? Neither did I.

Just one of those weekends, when I was planning to spend my free weekend at home from college and obligations, I had the idea to actually present a small “war environment” on the banks of the Danube to tourists from the point of view of common sense. That same Saturday, I went on the Water Bus Bajadera, wow how much I didn’t know about Vukovar. With a friendly guide, a bajadera, and a glass of Ilok wine, along the way, I learned something more about electro-solar boats, the very one I sailed with.

During the sailing, the organizers talked about the very origin of the project, and what particularly attracted me was the moment they combined Slavonian melodies, Ilok wine, Bajader, and the Danube – that’s what the eye and palate of tourists want.

They also have a discount for students, and the sailing itself takes about an hour. After sailing, my taste buds wanted to extend their hedonistic moment, after going to the famous Vukovar park Adica, I fed my taste buds in the restaurant and lodging Vukovarska kuća. The choice for me, as a vegetarian, was quite satisfactory, with risotto with vegetables, grilled mushrooms, and Greek salad. I admit, I was in a calorie surplus.

As I already mentioned the restaurant, I would also have to mention the local cafes of the city of Vukovar, such as 032, Maritim, Central, Vukovarski and Dublin Pub, which relatively have their regular guests, to the mutual satisfaction of both the guest and the waiter, who already know if you drink nesscafe coffee or poured to the line. Dublin is specific in that it often organizes pub quizzes on Fridays. The Vukovar pub naturally has a special taste for all kinds of local and foreign beers! Eh, I almost forgot the famous pub Best, which has a soul, but really. Free estimates, in 40 square meters of bar, mini bar and cheap drinks, the charm is the “jukebox” that contains music all the way from old school level to the latest hits.

In addition, in the city, you can find various facilities for young people, the already mentioned pub quizzes and cinema, city library, theater, the birthplace of the first Croatian Nobel laureate, Dr. Lavoslav Ružička, city museum, EU youth center, cafes, gyms, swimming pool with sauna, fitness club as well as other sports.

Also, in addition to Hotel Lav, I would recommend Villa Martini apartments and rooms, they have excellent breakfast and newly built rooms and are located just a few meters from the city center. We must also mention the promenade along the beautiful Danube, as well as the baroque center of Vukovar with the Eltz Manor, the Srijem Palace, the Grand Hotel, the Magistrate’s building, and the Stagecoach mail building.

Being young and staying in these small communities is a great ambition, because if you are guided by the logic that most of the time you will not find a job in the profession for which you have been studying for years, as well as the impossibility of personal development, because only tourists can be young and observe the city from a different angle. Therefore, do not look down on your environment, cities, villages, and the local population, there is a lot that we do not give importance to regardless of its size, and we use it every day, there is always room for improvement, but as in everything, we should also look at what has been achieved and functional. 

It is not said for nothing – beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I often like to say the famous lines: Stay here!… The sun of someone else’s sky will not be as warm as your own.