It’s safe to say that Peter Bjørn Larsen is no stranger to Dubrovnik. He’s visited the city 30 times over the past 20 years—and even spent his honeymoon here.

We caught up with him not just because of his deep affection for southern Croatia, but for a more athletic reason.

Peter first appeared on our radar in the spring of 2020, during the height of the global pandemic. He and his Copenhagen-based running club, Ørestad Runners, were preparing to compete in that year’s Du-Motion half marathon—until the lockdown derailed their plans.

They were back this year, and back in impressive numbers, with 19 members of the Danish running club pounding the streets of Dubrovnik in the Du-Motion events.

So the first time you were going to run the half marathon was 2020, I guess?

No, I ran once before that. And then we started the social running club in Copenhagen, Ørsted Runners. So I founded the club, and I thought it would be really nice to show to all the members Dubrovnik, because I love it down here. And we talked about going, and Kimi sitting here as well was one of the ones that signed up for it. I just thought it was a lovely route, and then when we started talking about we should do something, and then I said, well, let's go to Dubrovnik and run the half marathon as a group instead of just me individually. So, and that's when people started to sign up, and it was like, interesting. But of course, then COVID hit.

So there were nineteen runners from your club who took part in different events in DU-Motion this year. What do you think of the course? Is it tough?

I have run around 20 half-marathons before, so I have quite a bit of experience. As far as this event in Dubrovnik is concerned the first thing I have to say is that the course is absolutely beautiful, which is a huge bonus. Talking about running the course I have to mention the hills. So it's hard for people coming from Copenhagen, because all our courses are flat. Bear in mind that the highest peak in Denmark is only around 170 metres. Of course, you run in the heat in Dubrovnik as well, which is, you know, not normal for us as well. So it's challenging. And the other thing, I think, is just the scenery. You start in the old, historic, old town, and Stradun, and you walk through, it's just absolutely beautiful, and you run along. I haven't seen Game of Thrones, but people were talking about that. And then you come down to the port, turn right under the bridge, and you just go out. And I think people just loved all the scenery. So that's very, I think that's actually very important as well.

And does that scenery take your mind off the physical activity, maybe make the marathon easier?

I think so, absolutely. I think it gives you a more positive mind. So it might hurt in your legs and other parts of your body, but your mind is focused on, wow, look at that, and you forget it for a little while, and you come out, and the wind comes in. So we turned down at the turning point, when you go under the bridge in that way, and the water was there, and the wind came in a little bit because it was so hot, and you could just see the beautiful mountains and the sea, and I was like, this is so stunning. And then we started to talk to other runners and they all said the same thing.

So as you are running you are communicating with the other runners?

For sure, we talked to people from Croatia, from Macedonia, and England, and Ireland, and other Danes. And that's a huge social aspect in these kind of runs. It is an international event.

How do you find the organization of the whole DU-Motion events? Is it well organized?

Absolutely. Apart from the actual race, which is organized perfectly the surrounding activities and add-ons. As runners we had free bus transport, free access to the city wall, to the island of Lokrum, to all the museums. And there is the party after the event, and the social event when we picked up our running numbers.

And do you think that the entry fee is expensive?

No, it's cheap. Especially compared to Copenhagen. The Copenhagen ticket is much more expensive on its own, and you don't get anything. But here, you basically get access to everything, free transport and these kind of things, so yeah. I think for many of the runners the race is almost free, if you go and do something, go into the museums and these kind of things. And many runners come back for holiday with their families.

We also like the fact that everybody comes together in the city.

So even on the buses, you can see, welcome running heroes. And this counts. This really counts. Because you feel welcome, and it's really nice, and you can see that people are responding to it. It's the whole city coming together. And I have to mention the kid’s race, it is really nice to see all the children involved.

So would you come back next year and enter the race again?

For sure. I talked to the group, and I don't think there's many who said they didn't want to come back. I think that's going to be a lot more runners from our club coming next year. I'm pretty sure. We tend to book relatively early to make sure we get a running number.

And as a final question could you sum up the race with only three words?

The first word that came to mind was beautiful. Beautiful. The course is beautiful. And then tough. And finally captivating.

Dubrovnik is working to become more than just a beautiful place to visit — the goal is to create an ideal environment for remote work and a thriving digital nomad community. To help guide this development, feedback from digital nomads is essential.

A short, five-minute survey has been launched to better understand the needs, experiences, and suggestions of those working remotely from the city.

From improved co-working spaces and services to networking opportunities and community events, this input will directly shape future initiatives aimed at supporting digital nomads in Dubrovnik.

Click here to take the survey and help influence the future of remote work in one of Europe’s most iconic destinations.

Every response matters — thank you for contributing to the evolution of digital nomad life in Dubrovnik.

Do you dream of soaring above the stunning city of Dubrovnik and experiencing breath-taking panoramic views of the Old City, the shimmering Adriatic Sea, and the surrounding hills? Well, now’s your chance to turn that dream into a reality!

We’re offering two lucky readers the chance to win two free tickets to ride the Dubrovnik Cable Car in 2025, one of the city’s most popular attractions.

To enter, all you need to do is take a fun, short quiz and prove your knowledge about Dubrovnik and the Cable Car experience!

Here’s how to enter:

Answer the quiz questions below.

Submit your answers via our social media channels. Either as a comment or message.

If you’re one of the lucky winners, we’ll get in touch with you directly!

Quiz Questions:

1. How high above Dubrovnik does the Cable Car take you?

a) 212 metres

b) 412 metres

c) 612 metres

2. The Dubrovnik Cable Car gives passengers a unique view of which nearby island?

a) Vis

b) Lokrum

c) Brač

d) Hvar

3. What is the name of the historic fort located at the top cable car station?

a) Fort Lovrijenac

b) Fort Imperial

c) Fort Minčeta

Submit your answers via our social media channels. - Facebook - X (or Twitter) - Linkedin - Instagram or email us - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Deadline for submissions: 19.05.2025

Winners will be announced on: 20.05.2025

Terms & Conditions:

The winner must be able to visit the Dubrovnik Cable Car during its operational hours.

This prize cannot be exchanged for cash or any other products.

The winner will be selected randomly from those who answer all questions correctly.

The two free tickets are valid for a return trip on the Dubrovnik Cable Car and must be used in 2025.

Good luck to everyone, and we hope to see you enjoying the stunning views from the Dubrovnik Cable Car soon!

Maritimo Recycling from Dubrovnik has won 3rd place in the 2025 SozialMarie Award for Social Innovation — celebrated in the stunning and packed Das MuTh – Concert Hall in Vienna!

Out of 401 inspiring projects, their initiative was selected by an expert jury for its innovative and impactful work.

SozialMarie is an annual award that recognises socially innovative projects — initiatives offering fresh, sustainable solutions to today’s societal challenges. These are ideas rarely seen or never tried before, with the potential to inspire others and serve as models for change.

Maritimo Recycling left a strong impression with its hands-on approach to sustainability, education, and active community involvement in tackling marine waste.

A standout example is Floaties — handcrafted sunglasses made from bottle caps collected from the Adriatic Sea and from local households. Each pair is a unique piece of circular design, transforming waste into wearable statements of sustainability and style.

“Our whirlwind 24-hour trip to Vienna was unforgettable — far too wild to fit into one post — but we’ll be sharing more soon… and probably retelling this story for the rest of our lives! Dream team!” said the Maritimo Recycling team.

The Croatian National Bank (HNB) stated on Friday, in its commentary on the latest inflation data, that inflation slowed in April compared to March according to both the harmonized and national indices. The higher inflation measured by the harmonized indicator is mainly due to a greater contribution from service prices, while the gap between inflation in Croatia and the eurozone has also narrowed.

Overall inflation in Croatia, measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), according to the preliminary estimate by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), slowed in April from 4.3% in March to 3.9%. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, remained at 4.2%, the same as in the previous month.

The slowdown in overall inflation in Croatia, measured by the HICP, in April was driven by lower inflation rates in all major components except industrial goods, the HNB noted.

Food price inflation slowed for the third consecutive month (to 4.6% in April from 5.2% in March). Additionally, energy price inflation significantly slowed (to 1.1% from 2.2% in March) due to lower fuel prices. Service price inflation also slowed (to 7.2% from 7.6%), while inflation in industrial product prices increased (to 0.5% from 0.2%). Accordingly, core inflation (excluding energy and food prices) remained at 4.2%.

"Despite the slowdown in service price inflation, services continue to be the most significant component driving overall inflation trends in Croatia. Of the total 3.9% consumer price inflation (measured by HICP), services contribute 2.3 percentage points, and food contributes 1.3 percentage points," the central bank stated.

Inflation Is Lower Without Tourist Spending

Inflation measured by the national Consumer Price Index (CPI), which does not include spending by foreign tourists or institutional households (such as educational, healthcare, and religious institutions), slightly decreased from 3.2% in March to 3.1% in April.

According to the HNB, the slowdown in overall inflation in April, as measured by the CPI, was driven by reduced inflation in energy prices (to 1.1% from 1.9%) and food prices (to 4.1% from 4.4%). In contrast, inflation for industrial goods increased (to 0.3% from -0.2%) as did inflation for services (to 6.1% from 6%).

The difference between the harmonized and national overall inflation indicators narrowed in April, amounting to 0.8 percentage points.

I am now, it would seem, a numismatic.

Not a gymnast. Not a sommelier. A numismatic.

I had never even heard the word until about a week ago, and frankly, my life was richer for it. Ignorance was bliss — until a perfect storm of events convinced me that I had stumbled upon unimaginable riches, courtesy of a grubby two-euro coin!

It all started innocently enough, as all great Greek tragedies do.

How often do customers pay you in cash? I asked the lady in the bakery just the other day, “Almost all foreigners pay by card, in fact it’s really only older people who still pay cash.”

And yes I pay for my daily bread by card.

Coins and notes are slowly but surely going the way of VHS videos and floppy disks. Honestly, I don't think I've spent more than €30 in cash this entire year. Probably less.

If it weren’t for car park machine that eats credit cards for breakfast, I'd have forgotten what euros even look like.

This, dear reader, was the first cloud of my perfect storm.

And there are some weird positives of the death of actual coins. I was listening to the BBC the other day when a report announced that “Procedures to remove foreign objects, including coins, from children's throats, airways and noses saw a "significant decline", of almost 700 cases by 2022. Basically fewer coins fewer children in ER.

The second part of the storm came hurtling towards me, courtesy of my wife.

"Look after this coin," she said, eyes wide with excitement, as she dropped a two-euro piece into my hand like it was a newborn baby. "Are we broke, then?" I quipped.

"No, it’s a French two-euro from 1999. It could be worth a fortune!" she declared, with the conviction of someone who’s been binge-watching Antiques Roadshow.

One of her clients — who presumably knew about coins — had spotted it in the change tray and told her to treasure it. “Very rare! Very valuable!” the oracle had proclaimed.

I turned the coin over in my hand. Indeed, it said 1999 and France. Perfect storm number two complete.

Now, there was only one responsible thing left to do. Panic. And Google. What awaited me was the stuff of a fever dream. Listings! So many listings! EBay auctions, Amazon offers. And the price quoted €3,000.

Three thousand euros.

For a coin smaller than a biscuit.

I could already hear the Bali surf crashing in the background as I mentally packed my suitcase.

And because misery loves company, I asked AI for confirmation.

Big mistake.

ChatGPT thoughtfully informed me that, and I quote, "The value of a 1999 French 2-euro coin largely depends on its condition and rarity." Which is another way of saying, "Could be worth two euros, could be worth your house. Good luck!"

The internet, it seemed, had declared me rich.

But then a cold, hard fact rattled around in the attic of my brain.

1999?

That was the year the euro was introduced. Not in actual coins and notes. Those didn’t hit the public until 2002. A sneaky thought crept in: had we discovered a "lost" pre-launch euro? Some priceless relic? The Ark of the Covenant — but shinier and with a European Central Bank logo?

Perfect storm number three was peaking.

And oh, how I wanted the story to end there. To tell you that I'm now writing this from a beach hammock in Bali, sipping a cocktail called "Coin Collector's Dream" and laughing at my former poverty.

Alas.

More research — and a polite but crushing reply from an actual coin expert — destroyed everything. “Short answer: it's worth two euros. Long answer: it’s worth 200 euro cents.”

Our little miracle? Worth about the price of a cup of coffee. And not even a good coffee. The Lost Ark? More like a Lost Cause.

He added “I don't know what's up with E-Bay and the like, but people there ask for absolutely unrealistic coin prices that should never be taken into account. Numismatic shops charge under five euros for the same coin, and that's in its uncirculated state,” he added.

Turns out, 59 million — yes, million — of these coins were minted. If they’re rare, then so is a supermarket plastic bag. And so I find myself richer only in wisdom, not in wealth.

No dreams of retiring early. Just two euros and a bruised ego. Lesson learned: when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And if you’re banking your future on loose change, you might just be the one who’s a few cents short.

At least I learnt a new word.

Read more Englishman in Dubrovnik…well, if you really want to

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About the author

Mark Thomas (aka Englez u Dubrovniku) is the editor of The Dubrovnik Times. He was born and educated in the UK and moved to live in Dubrovnik in 1998. He works across a whole range of media, from a daily radio show to TV and in print. Thomas is fluent in Croatian and this column is available in Croatia on the website – Dubrovnik Vjesnik

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has announced that Croatia will assume the presidency of the Three Seas Initiative. But what exactly is this Initiative, and how much influence does it hold?

The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a relatively new but highly ambitious regional cooperation project that brings together 13 EU member states located between the Adriatic, Baltic, and Black Seas. These countries include Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Over time, the initiative has evolved into one of the most important political and economic projects in Central and Eastern Europe.

The main goal of the Initiative is to strengthen cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, and digitalisation, and to reduce the developmental gap between Western and Eastern Europe. Moreover, the Three Seas Initiative also has a strong geopolitical dimension, aiming to increase member states’ resilience to external influences, particularly from Russia and China, and to reinforce transatlantic ties with the United States.

History and Motivation: From Idea to a Catalyst for Change

The Initiative was launched by then Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Polish President Andrzej Duda, who recognised the need for greater collaboration among EU states that, despite membership, remained economically and infrastructurally less integrated than their Western counterparts. Although EU membership has brought many benefits to these countries, they still lag behind the most developed members of the Union.

Poor transport, energy, and other connectivity have contributed not only to slower economic development but also to increased dependence on external actors, especially in the energy sector. The crisis in Ukraine in 2014 further highlighted the need for diversification of energy sources and the strengthening of regional cooperation. The Three Seas Initiative thus emerged as a response to long-standing challenges and as a platform for accelerated development and greater political autonomy for the region.

Economic Strength and Potential

The member states of the Three Seas Initiative cover 28% of the European Union’s territory and represent 22% of its population, yet they generate only around 10% of the EU’s total GDP. This imbalance between potential and actual economic output clearly indicates the room for growth. According to estimates by the European Commission, the region, which includes the Initiative’s countries, requires more than €570 billion in infrastructure investments to reach Western European standards.

The Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund, established in 2019, has so far raised more than €500 million, with a goal of reaching €3 to €5 billion in capital. The Fund supports 143 priority projects with a total value of €111 billion, with most of the funding directed toward energy and transport.

Among the most important projects are the LNG terminal on the island of Krk (Croatia), Via Carpatia (a transport corridor from Lithuania to Greece), Rail2Sea (a railway link between Gdańsk and Constanța), the expansion of port capacities in Rijeka, Ploče, and Koper, and the construction of new energy interconnections.

Turkish Airlines has announced that its Istanbul–Dubrovnik route will now operate on a seasonal basis. The final flight for 2025 is scheduled for October 25, with services set to resume on March 29, 2026, reports EX-YU Aviation. 

The airline carried 51,398 passengers on this route in 2024. While summer demand remained strong—boasting an impressive average cabin load factor of 89.2% during the second and third quarters—winter performance was notably weaker, with occupancy falling to just 48.7% in Q1 and 71% in Q4.

Despite the seasonal shift, Turkish Airlines has boosted the number of weekly flights for the 2025 summer season, reflecting continued confidence in Dubrovnik as a high-demand destination during peak months.