Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia...and Serbia??

I can't say enough good things about Croatia.  What an amazingly beautiful part of the world.  We stayed 4 nights in Dubrovnik and made day trips into Montenegro and Bosnia.  Our resort was on the Lapad peninsula just outside the walled old town of Dubrovnik.  We chose to stay at a resort outside the old town thinking that this would be a more relaxing vacation and we would spend some days lounging by the pool but after researching everything there was to see in the area, we ended up only spending a few hours the first day laying around and the rest of the time we were on the go; so much for the relaxing vacation!  Dan and I just can't lay around if there are things to see and I'm so glad we took the time to visit the surrounding area.  Besides, how could we be so close to two other countries and not check them out?

We arrived to sunny skies and spent our first afternoon lounging on a pebble beach just below our resort.  Although the skies soon clouded over, there was no rain and it was a good way to relax after an early morning plane ride.

Valamar Argosy Resort:

That evening we took the short bus ride into the old town.  Dubrovnik is a beautiful city within surprising well preserved stone walls.  We had a nice stroll through the city before sitting down for a delicious seafood dinner right on the marina; fresh squid and mussels literally pulled out of the sea right there.  After dinner we made our way over to Buza Bar, a great spot built right into the cliffs along the city walls with amazing views of the ocean.  Because of their location, they have no plumbing and just have refrigerators stocked with bottled beer and wines, but you can't beat the location.

 marina, where we ate dinner:

 Buza Bar:

The next morning we heading back into the old town to walk the city walls.  We were told by several people to do this first thing in the morning because it gets incredibly hot up there but after sleeping in and enjoying a leisurely breakfast at the resort we didn't make it there until almost noon.  And yes, we were sweaty and gross walking those walls but boy was it stunning.  The views of the deep blue Adriatic dotted with islands and the tile roofs of the old town were picture perfect.

After walking the walls we grabbed some ice cream for lunch (not thinking we could stomach anything else with how hot and sweaty we were.)  We then made our way over to the cable car that leads up to Mount Srdj, the mountain just behind Dubrovnik that is supposed to have great views over the city.  Unfortunately, because there was a chance of thunderstorms, they had closed it for the day, so we went to the St. Lawrence Fortress instead.  Game of Thrones fans will recognise the fortress as many of the kings landing scenes have been filmed there.  It has been called "Dubrovnik's Gibraltar" and is an iconic part of the Dubrovnik coastline.

The Rector's Palace:

 hilly streets of Dubrovnik:

 Stradun street:

climbing up to St. Lawrence fortress:

 St. Lawrence fortress:

 view from the fortress back to the old town:

After the climb up to the fortress we grabbed a couple beers on a shady side street in the old town, away from the hustle and bustle of Stradum (the main street of town.)  We then made our way over to the ocean for our sunset kayak tour.  We started by hugging the city walls along the sea and then made a stop in a cave for a quick swim and snorkel.  From there we took the kayaks around Lokrum Island, which is uninhabited but used to be occupied by monks who lived in a monastery that still stands there.  There is also a nude "beach," which is basically just a few unattractive, old men and women sitting on the rocks.  Once we rounded the far side of the island, the sun was setting as we paddled back towards the city walls.  It was a gorgeous, warm night and a great way to watch the sunset over the ocean.

That night we had dinner at a casual pizza place in the city before heading back to the hotel.  The next morning we picked up a rental car and started our drive into Montenegro.  We were told to get to the border early as the queues can get quite long in the summer months but we hardly had to wait at all.  The day before as we were drinking beers and planning our Montenegro visit we realized we didn't know what the currency was in Montenegro.  To our great amusement, we realized when we looked it up that they in fact do not have one, and simply use the euro even though they are not in the European Union.  They have been told by the European Central Bank that this is not acceptable but have basically ignored their complaints, and honestly, why wouldn't they, who cares what Montenegro does.  So, that certainly made it easy for us as there was no need to figure out how to get some new currency.

The drive from Dubrovnik hugged the ocean the whole way and because there are no tides on the Adriatic, the road literally runs just steps from the water.  We drove about 2 hours to the Bay of Kotor.  The bay is surrounded by steep mountains and because it is so protected, the water is still and crystal clear; it feels almost like an alpine lake.

 Our Lady of the Rocks church (on the island):

We drove all the way around the bay to the town of Kotor, a UNESCO world heritage city on the edge of the bay with a well preserved walled old town.  Kotor is stunning, built right into the side of the mountains with a really charming old town area.  Right after we arrived, it started to rain so we plopped down at a bar for a couple beers and waited for it to pass.  Once the rain had stopped, we made the climb up to the fortress of Kotor, a steep climb along the old walls of the city.  The views across the bay from the top were well worth the effort.  We have easily ranked Kotor as one of the most beautiful places we have ever been.  Montenegro is now our new favorite country, not only for its beauty but for its illicit use of the euro.

Back in town, we stopped for a delicious pasta and seafood lunch at a cute hotel, did one more sweep of the old town, and then got back in the car for the drive home.

Once we were back at the resort, we spent a couple hours lounging by the pool and watching the sunset over the Adriatic.  We then headed back into Dubrovnik for a wine and cheese dinner at D'Vino wine bar, a great spot on a hilly side street that does flights of local wines so we could sample wines from different regions of Croatia.  We didn't like them all but some were quite good and the charcuterie boards were fantastic.

The next morning we were up early again for another day trip, this time into Bosnia.  As we did not have maps on our GPS for Bosnia or Montenegro, we were relying on Google maps, which quite literally took us on the road less traveled.  After crossing into Bosnia with pretty minimal inspection, we were driving along when I noticed another border on the map indicating that we would soon be crossing into "Republika Srpska."  I asked Dan what that was to which he replied, "Srpska means Serbia, are we driving into Serbia?!!."  I quickly started panicking and looking up whether driving through Serbia was safe and if we were even allowed to enter Serbia, while silently cursing Google maps for not informing us of this extra border crossing when giving us the route options.  Now, in reality, driving through Serbia is quite safe and the country has been stable for a while, but when one is not expecting to go to Serbia, it can be a little shocking.  As we drove closer we worried what the border crossing would be like but just as quickly as we saw the Serbian flag, we realized there was no border crossing, just a sign that said "Welcome to the Serbian Republic."  Dan and I both found it quite shocking that two countries so recently in a serious war would have virtually open borders.  But, not giving it much more thought, we continued on in what we thought was Serbia for about an hour before crossing back into Bosnia.  We spent the whole day talking about how cool it was that we had been to Serbia and how even though we were initially mad at Google maps, we were actually grateful it took us that way so that we could see Serbia.  Unfortunately, after doing some research the next day we realized that the "Serbian Republic" is actually just one of two entities of Bosnia (the other part being 'the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina') that is made up of ethnically Serbian people.  So, we didn't go to Serbia after all, but it was still a beautiful drive.

Serbian republic:

leaving the Serbian Republic:

Our destination that day was actually Mostar.  A beautiful town in an Islamic area of Bosnia with a famous old bridge that was virtually destroyed in the Bosnian war.  The old town area and the bridge have been very well restored and it makes for a quaint, but slightly touristy stop.  The area just outside the old town still has many signs of war, buildings riddled with bullet holes and falling down. We parked just outside the city center and walked across the bridge and along the shops in the old town.  We passed by an amazing bar built right into a cave and decided we had to stop there for a quick drink.  Afterwards, we made our way over to the Koskin-Mehmed Pasha Mosque.  You can climb the minaret there for great views of the old bridge and the river valley.

cave bar: 

 on top of the minaret:

After another stroll through town, we stopped for a lunch of cevapi, a grilled dish of minced meat served on flatbread, considered a national dish in Bosnia and Serbia.  Although they do not look at all appetizing, they are really quite tasty and the bread was delicious.  We washed them down with a couple Sarajevkso beers and then got back on the road.

 guy asking for money to jump from the bridge (he didn't get any takers while we were there):

Google maps, clearly preset to give you the most interesting journey as opposed to the easiest or most traveled, sent us on quite the adventure on our way back to Dubrovnik.  Leaving the main road just outside Mostar, we proceeded to take what was essentially a driveway; poorly maintained and barely wide enough for one car, let alone the giant trucks that came at us from the other direction at surprising frequency, up a steep mountain pass with blind turns and frightening cliff drops.  As we were navigating this increasingly dubious road, it starts to pour and thunder and our Volkswagen Up started making really worrying noises, making us think we are definitely going to get stranded on a mountain top in the middle of Bosnia with a dead cell phone in a huge thunderstorm.

at the top of the mountain: 

Luckily, the rain let up as we made our way down the opposite side of the mountain and as we approached the border, we were feeling much more confident.  We drove up the border crossing (ie - a flag with a shipping container next to it) and pulled to a stop.  The guard meanders out, takes a look at our US passports, and asks us where we're going.  After we tell him Dubrovnik, he says with a smirk that we can't cross here, this border is only for locals.  Dan and I, both thinking that he was kidding and was about to chuckle and say 'just kidding,' just looked at each other.  Once we realized he was serious, a feeling of dread spread through me as I pictured us driving back over that mountain pass all the way to the main road.  Fortunately, that wasn't necessary and we only had to drive 15 minutes back north to connect with the main road and more commonly used border crossing. Thanks again Google maps.

That night we headed back into old town Dubrovnik for one last time.  We watched the sunset at Buza Bar before having a wonderful dinner at Lady Pipi, a delightful outdoor restaurant set next to the walls at the top of the hill that came highly recommended by friends.  We had to queue for about 15 minutes but it was worth the wait, especially for the octopus salad.

The next morning we reluctantly headed to the airport, wishing we had much more time in this amazing corner of the world.  Our last views of Dubrovnik: