I tried to arrange for a minimum of hotel-hopping (i.e., to maximize multiple nights in a given place), which worked out well. Our accommodations generally worked out well, too--except the one place they didn't--and it was good to stay mostly in apartments and to have a common space outside the bedroom(s) so that we weren't on top of one another. We all got along, even hit it off, which was not surprising but also not guaranteed, as I was the only one who knew everyone going in. I warned K that Jay and I would bicker like an old married couple, and that it needn't make her uncomfortable; it's just what we did. We've been traveling together for 15 years now, after all. During the week that the five of us were together--before Alex and Steve split off to go to Italy--K and I would often get an early start or do something quiet in the evening while the guys went out drinking and (often, in Jay's words) 'talked about gay shit.'
I'd wanted to go during my birthday, which coincided with shoulder season, but then I got this one-year gig for which that week wouldn't work, so we shifted to early June, which was tourist season but still not bananas (stay the f* away in late June, July, and August). It was not uncrowded, but it was manageable, especially as we were able to 'reverse commute' against the tourist traffic, often serendipitously. Also, by this time there were more options in terms of ferries and opening hours.
One by one (in one case, two), we flew into Tirana on flights we'd booked in January. Tirana is architecturally and otherwise bananas; it's a little bit of everything.
It feels simultaneously Mediterranean, Ottoman, and Eastern European. Jay got in Saturday night and hit some museums on Sunday morning; I got in Sunday afternoon and walked around town with him. We stumbled upon an eco fashion show outside the art museum
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| We stumbled upon an eco fashion show |
and then wandered across town in search for the Mosaic of Tirana, which turned out to be closed. We met up with A&S that evening after dinner.
On Monday morning, K flew in; A&S slept in; and Jay and I took the cable car to Mt. Dajti and hiked around.
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| View from Mt. Dajti |
It was already hot and humid in Tirana, and so lovely to get out into the crisp, fresh air. We came down and joined A&S at BunkArt, which was also nice and cool, though eerie. BunkArt is a converted, 3,000 square-meter, multi-floor, cold-war bunker. From there, the four of us met up with Kiera, had dinner, and walked around Tirana. It was *amazing* to have a working phone. I hadn't planned on getting an international plan, but it turned out I was "required" to have my work phone with me, and it was super helpful. I'd go for an international plan in the future, especially coordinating with this many people. Jay eventually got a tourist SIM in Croatia, but was SOL in the other countries.
Our apartment was mostly great, and part of a very hip and hipsterish complex with a cafe that had a library, garden, and cats. My only complaint was, as I sleepily put it to K, the dog/rooster, which she heard as dog-rooster and mocked me. Until the dog went off at 3am, to be followed, as soon as it shut up, by the rooster. We got up relatively early for our beautiful bus ride to Kotor. We were surrounded by mountains throughout the ride through Albania, and then also the coast once we hit Montenegro. Sadly, much of the coast there is overdeveloped to the point of looking trashy, but Kotor--a world heritage site--was lovely. Later, our driver to Orebic would tell us that it was much harder to develop in Croatia, which, while a pain, protected the coastline from what happened in Montenegro.
Kotor was confusing AF. I don't think we ever got to the point in our two days there that we weren't getting lost in the small but labyrinthine old town. We walked around the walled town, and K and I walked up the city walls that evening and again, with the guys, the next morning.
Upon returning to Kotor, K and I hit the beach. The water was lovely.
The next day, we visited the cat museum before catching our bus to Dubrovnik, which was not as timely as the bus from Tirana to Kotor. We had dinner within the city walls (Happy Cow didn't let us down) and came across any number of bachelor and 'hen' parties. Dubrovnik had a Disneyish aspect to it, but it was still stunning. We passed a few shops advertising Game of Throne tours, and there were multiple references to the show throughout the city (I guess some episodes were filmed there). Shrug.
We got up early the next morning--as you must, to beat the cruise-ship crowds--to walk the city walls. Nobody likes the cruise-ship crowds; they make the city virtually impassible. The locals don't like them, not least because they mar the city for overnight tourists, who bring in more money (and are reported to be generally better behaved). As with all ruins, they're much more enjoyable with fewer people. If there's one thing you do in Dubrovnik, get on those walls before everyone else does. We were able to walk the walls in peace and quiet, but by the time we had brunch, the cruisers had crowded the town. We were heading back to our apartment just beyond the city walls, but there was, for us to resolve, the matter of getting to Korcula or at least to Orebic, from which we would ferry. There were no buses on the weekend, and there were too many of us for a single cab. We stopped by the tourist information office, where the very helpful guy had us (Jay and me) follow him down the main walk, to the waterfront, where a friend of his offered us a ride for 2,000 kuna. We balked and the tourist info guy apologized 'for this idiot,' who he'd thought would offer us a better deal. So he called another guy, who'd take us to Orebic for 1,200 kuna, with a quick stop in Ston to see the greatest wall outside of China. Alex especially was amused by the 'Ston Wall' Marathon.
By afternoon, Dubrovnik was truly impassible and hot AF, so we went on a kayaking tour (with snorkeling!). Jason and I kayaked together well. It helped that there was no rudder, but kayaking can nevertheless be the end of any couple. We communicated, and it worked. When the kayaking guide talked about the war, everyone was saddened; the war was so recent, so unnecessary. Dubrovnik got out relatively lightly; 150 died, but that was still, as he said, 150 too many. You can see that most of the roofs had to be rebuilt--the bright orange ones are not original. Afterward, as the crowds thinned and the city became breathable again, K and I walked around one of the fortresses for more views. We'd thought about the cliff-diving bars, but ultimately abstained just because we were tired. The kayaking guide had pointed them out to us, and noted (in response to a question) that every year, drunk people get hurt, usually Australians.
We were about ready to leave Dubrovnik, though I'd come back in the fall when it's less crowded, and I'd come back to go to Lokrum (past which we kayaked). We were worried that the driver would flake (we hadn't gotten any confirmation), but there he was, waiting for us outside Pinky as agreed, and we got to Orebic just in time for a ferry to Korcula.
On Korcula, we dined, found and booked a ferry off the island, and then biked past some gorgeous vineyards to the Lombarda, the beach region. This was more of an uphill endeavor than we'd realized, and on the first hill, Steve's bike chain jumped off (I fixed it); eventually, my bike seat came loose (I sucked it up). We went for a swim--Lombarda wasn't home to the most beautiful beaches on Korcula as we were told, but they were sandy rather than rocky--and biked back into the old town. After we cleaned up, I climbed the clock tower (the guys opted to drink and K doesn't like tight spaces) and joined the others for dinner within the walls. We watched, as in Kotor, and old-town cat poop in a large potted plant. When the city's made of stone, what else are you going to do? The next morning, we hit the nearby beach (with slide!), had an amazing lunch with local wine, and got ready to ferry to Split. The tomatoes at this place were so good that Jay, for whom tomatoes are a life-long enemy, tried and liked them.
The ferry was comfortable, and though by the time we reached Split, we were out of fucks to give about old walled cities, we enjoyed it. It was not as stunning as Dubrovnik, but different and interesting in its own right. That evening, we went to Bach concert in the church (after we'd said goodbye to A&S, who got on their ferry to Italy earlier).
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| See the chihuahua in the window? |
The drive to (and in) Bosnia was stunningly beautiful but at times scary. Mostar was pretty but hot as Hades, and K and I had mistakenly dressed modestly--in long sleeves--upon bad internet advice. The internet also had us fretting the night before about needing an international driver's permit--which apparently you do if you rent the car in Bosnia, and maybe if you're stopped there--but we weren't.
We had a really nice meal in Mostar (thanks Happy Cow) and walked across, but did not bungee jump from, the bridge. I wished I'd taken my swimwear out of the car to pop into the river, but Jay was skeptical of its cleanliness (and my ears were still waterlogged from Korcula). We got to Sarajevo just in time for a flash flood, and we were all sick of being in the car even without the worsened traffic. Our apartment directly over the river was nice and spacious, but took upon itself a sewagy smell, and when we got back from our evening walk in the old town, K spied a handful of spiders on the ceiling. She claimed they were black widows; Jay went to ask if they'd move us to another room, but they opted instead to just come in and kill the spiders. We were worried there'd be more--they probably came in from the river--and K didn't think she'd sleep. I'm not good at sleeping amid the thought of spiders myself. We spent an hour or two googling 'spiders of Bosnia' and came to think they were probably harmless. I conked out and slept through the night. I was amazed at my sleeping abilities throughout the trip (my eating abilities were impressive, too, but no surprises there). I slept through all kinds of things, and was unfazed at sharing a bed with K where twin beds were unavailable.
On our full day in Sarajevo, we embarked on a walking tour and saw the statue--given by Italy to represent piece--that initially caused consternation because it was naked; the park where people go to play chess in all weather; the synagogue; several mosques; the beer factory that was a source of clean water during the war; the spot where the heir to the Hapsburg throne and his wife were assassinated in 1914; and the road to Istanbul. Sarajevo was Ottoman for centuries, but the Ottomans didn't build much. The Austrians did build in the much shorter time they ruled the place, and the city reflects their handywork. We were there during Ramadan and restaurants were offering Iftar menus. The call to prayer was one of the more beautiful I'd heard. That evening, we hiked up the hills on the outskirts of town, heeding warnings to stick to the paths, as there were still mines plaguing the city.
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| The (old) road to Istanbul |
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| At that pink building, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie were assassinated |
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| The brewery |
The next morning, we drove to Zadar (I'd set the itinerary based on the idea that we'd drive stright to Plitvice, but the drivers were not interested in driving around even more mountains, and it was up to them), where we stopped to hear the sea organ and couldn't resist getting in the water. We dried off and found the small Roman part of town, complete with very old church and other ruins, before heading onward to Plitvice.
Plitvice was what I'd most looked forward to, so there was ample potential for disappointment. I wasn't impressed for the first hour or so I was in the park. This is what people had told us was paradise? And we'd gotten in early, but we were still obstructed by tour groups. What we were seeing was neat, but it wasn't otherworldly. Until it was. As we got deeper in and as the crowds went in other directions, the promised paradise materialized. The waterfalls just kept emerging as if from out of nowhere. We spent all day there, and I could have spent another day.
Bled was a good, chill wind-down to the trip. We hiked the hills around the lake and up to the castle (tourist trap!), where I had the overpriced only-vegetarian option. I got my revenge over dinner at a vegan cafe, complete with vegan chocolate cake and Bled cream cake (Jay and I split one of each).
We made a quick stop in Ljubljana, which was a little bit Amsterdam and St. Petersburg, on the way to Zagreb, which we would fly out of. If you rent the car in Croatia, you return the car in Croatia, so Zagreb--not far from the Slovenian border--it was, and I really enjoyed it. It's the Vienna I don't hate. We hit the Museum of Broken Relationships, which exceeded my expectations--some displays were sad, even tragic; others were lighter, though all were poignant. And it all came together very well.
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