Respuesta de Viktor
Dear Skyler,
Thank you for your private review. I really appreciate it, because the dilemmas you unconsciously provide me with are the ones which haunt me and many of my colleagues (the balance between the fleeting entertainment and deeper understandings of the past).
I'm a local patriot, my family was in Dubrovnik for generations, so to be "fun" is not my main concern when I guide. The tour actually provides the participants with a balance between details ("fun facts"), history telling and mainstream landmarks (monuments & buildings).
It's true that the tour focuses a lot on the overall history, construction of the city (from "ab ovo" periods), culture, mentality and – most importantly – republican ethos & the old, profound notion of liberty (now almost lost in the West), of the Republic of Dubrovnik, because without all of that we wouldn't have such an important heritage. Without all of that, every detail and mainstream stuff would be pointless.
Every fun fact is but a fleeting moment and if the tour were "more fun", people would remember it only as "fun", but would quickly forget all the fun details and would be deprived of the deeper meanings which move the human spirit (such are inscriptions in Latin which we covered).
Most people appreciate that, and the fact that during the tour they can also learn a lot about Croatia, but I'm well aware that I can't please all the walkers. Let a thousand flowers bloom!
In the end, I'm well aware that I speak quickly because I try to give as many fun details and mainstream things as possible. We cover a hell of a lot of locations, periods, buildings etc. During the tour I ask the walkers many times how are they doing and is all OK. Rarely, some guests do ask me to speak slowly and I always comply (even if it makes the tour a bit longer). But I must admit, that I never had a native English speaker like yourself complaining – after the tour – that I speak (English) too quickly ;)
All the best,
Viktor
