Montenegro Begins

Sadly bidding Croatia goodbye, we began the next leg of our journey, entering into Montenegro which admittedly was beautiful in its own right. We began in the town of Herceg Novi. After a sweat-educing walk up hill, we surveyed the beautiful views and enjoyed wandering around the fortress (free entrance! Although I don't think it was meant to be. Woops) 

Rather exhausted by the heat, we retired to the shade of some palm trees for a cold drink. The church next to us was emitting some solemn sounding chanting and when we walked past I noticed a man and a woman standing before a priest each holding an extremely large candle. Some sort of interesting local custom perhaps?

There was little else to see in the little town so we headed off to our next destination. We were in search of a lovely sounding restaurant but Montenegro's road signs proved to be as elusive as Croatia's and no matter how hard we searched we couldn't find it. All was well however as we found a bakery with Burek and had an impromptu picnic by the water. After our tranquil lunch we decided to go in search of a beach (notice a re-occurring theme here!) and settled by this little bay that we had almost to ourselves, the water almost as good as Croatia. Some elderly locals had their chairs out on the wharf and were drinking beers together. Not a bad way to spend your retirement!

Reluctantly we left the beach behind as the day began to cool and headed for the town of Risan.  After settling in to our spacious and cheap apartment, we headed off to see the town's big attraction, the Roman mosaics. During Rizan's most prosperous time in the 1st and 2nd centuries the Roman's built resplendent villas - almost the only vestige of this wealth that remains are these beautiful mosaics which were built sometime in the 2nd century and were used until the 4th century. 

These mosaics were discovered in the 1930s and thought to be part of a Villa. One of the most interesting mosaics found was this one, featuring the Roman god of sleep -Hypnos- in the middle. Although named a Villa by the original excavators, later research deduced that this building was in fact an hotel built at the crossroads of the street leading down to the harbor. Additional excavations carried out in this area have yielded interesting finds, including a coin hoard and a large variety of Greek amphorae and bronze nails. The information board mentioned that research into these finds was currently being undertaken. 

The next day we carried on as there was little else to do in Risan. Our next destination was the town of Perast. One of the notable things about this town is how close it lies to two islands, one natural and the other man-made. The natural island is impossible for tourists to get to as it has a still running monastery - I'm glad those who live there get to spend their time in relative peace, but I feel bad that their tranquility must be constantly disturbed by tourists in boats heading to the nearby artificial island. 

Once part of the Venetian republic, the architecture and churches were reminiscent of this style which I very much enjoyed. However pretty as it was, it was also teeming with tourists so after a pleasant wander we soon left. 

The view from the town as we headed out, looking back it again struck me as very picturesque and pretty.

We then headed for the town of Kotor, the main town in the bay. The drive there afforded us with stunning views and it's at times like this I feel so lucky to have traveled with a car rather than having been stuck on main transport routes by train or bus. 

Dubrovnik: More on the war and a smug monk

Our time on the islands gone too soon, we headed off to our last town in the beautiful country of Croatia: Dubrovnik. Another town that we knew had been heavily bombarded during the war in the 1990s, I was interested to learn more about its history. 

The drive was scenic as usual, and we stopped for a quick look at a recent forest fire which spread out from the road like a scar on the landscape. We also had another important stop where we pulled over to the side of the road to buy some rather delicious wine from a little wine shop clearly selling what they produced directly. 

We didn't arrive until the evening in Dubrovnik, and thus we passed a rather enjoyable dinner dining on our excellent wine and an antipasto that Yannick arranged artfully. Tired by this time, I decided to have an early night whilst my travelling companions went to see the city by night; to hear about their adventures you will have to read my comrade Necia's blog which can be found here

We woke in the morning to another day of sunshine and exploring. Dubrovnik is a beautifully fortified old city, which made it very enjoyable to wander around although it was very touristy. 

We also went to another photo gallery with more photos depicting the war, specifically the siege of Dubrovnik which occurred in 1991 after Croatia declared independence. It was extremely interesting and in my mind, definitely worth going. 

Civilians affected by the brutal siege. 

One of the most eye-catching photos from the gallery for me was this one, enemy fire engulfing the ancient city in a hellish glow. 

We also visited the Sponza palace which dated from the 16th century and had a variety of different functions through history. Nowadays it holds a small memorial to those who died in the siege, and some utterly traumatizing modern art (oh my eyes!)

It's funny how new graffiti is considered such a problem but old graffiti is treated as history in its own right and is actually pretty interesting, often being the only mark left by the everyday people of the past. This piece of writing, whether it was graffiti or the mark of the architect or something else entirely I couldn't be sure (though I imagine it would have taken a long time to carve the letters so deeply!) was rather striking to me. A piece of history within history if you like. 

 After examining this smug monks nose which has clearly been rubbed a few too many times for luck, we fled the tourist crowds. 

Korcula Island

Before we knew it we were leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina and our whirlwind tour of Mostar behind. Although originally wanting to go mainly to see the bridge, our brief visit made me realize how very interesting the country was and is definitely I place I want to visit again to explore further.I cannot however say that that I wasn't wildly excited to be heading back into Croatia, my favourite country in the world. We headed for the town of Orebic with the sun setting behind us, giving us glorious views of the surrounding landscape. 

We stayed in a lovely little Airbnb for the night and left the next morning for the island of Korcula which I had high hopes for after our brilliant time on Hvar Island. If you were to ask me which island I preferred I honestly don't think I could answer; both were perfectly brilliant.

After the quick ferry after, we drove to Korcula town and parked on a hillside at the back as parking was not only rather limited but also would leave the car sitting in the blistering heat. Finding a lovely shaded spot, we began the trek over the crest of the hill and down to the town, affording us breathtaking views.

We were back to the land of paradise with utterly clear water. I wish we could have stayed forever!

The town itself was very pretty and enjoyable to walk along the little cobbled streets and take in the numerous Marco Polo memorabilia (there's a tenuous connection that perhaps the famous explorer was born here so of course this claim to fame is is milked for all it's worth, with many souvenir shops)

Worn out by the heat we soon went in search of a beach, finding this one which was surprisingly busy (by which I mean maybe two or three families) considering how out of the way it was and the scramble down the cliff side to get there. It was lovely, the water clear and inviting and the rocks warm beneath us. The only downside was the British tourist passive aggressively trying to convince his family to apply sunblock, and the Mosquitoes that attacked us! Mosquitoes at the beach! What new evil is this!? 

We retired for the night in the gorgeous little harbor town of Zavalatica where we were not only staying in a lovely apartment but we also had a gas stove (which means toasted marshmallows of course!) and a little terrace to eat dinner on and admire the sun setting over the water. This was another of those 'is this really real!?' moments for me. 

One of the standout things about Korcula (apart from the breathtaking scenery, gorgeous beaches, cheap accommodation and cute towns) was the delicious food we tried on this little island. Korcula is definitely a place I would recommend having a car (or a bike and some fit legs) for because so many places are out of the way, including in the cutest little villages and the best restaurant ever. In a tiny village with nothing but this gorgeous clock-tower to see, there was a tucked away restaurant called Konoba Mate (which I couldn't help but pronounce in an overly Australian accent whenever I saw it) where I tried undoubtedly the best goat cheese and sage butter ravioli  of my life. This was the first time that Yannick had ever liked goat cheese, just to give you an idea of how unimaginably stand-out this dish was. 

We did in fact return the next day as we liked the restaurant so much, this time trying goat which was interesting, but nothing special to me. I actually enjoyed the potatoes it was cooked with more, however it is always good to try new things! We also spent the next morning lazing at Zavalatica taking in the sunshine and admiring the water that looked too good to be real. 

Our last night of note was in the town of Lumbarda (where every street is named Lumbarda, I swear someone is out to get us with street name directions!) it was another cute little harbour town where our accommodation for the night had another beautiful view across the water. It was here that the hospitality of the Croatians struck me again, as we had asked the owner if he knew where we could buy Korculan olive oil as we had heard it was a specialty of the island. He regretfully had told us that as the last seasons crop had been bad, we had little chance of finding any in the supermarkets. However after a pleasant walk the next morning, we returned to find a little handwritten note and three bottles of olive oil from their own olive grove as they wanted us to have the opportunity to try it! I was extremely touched by their generosity, especially knowing how little of it they must have due to the bad crop. It's official, Croatian people are just the nicest people in the world. 

Mostar Part II: Damaged but not Destroyed

The next day we headed into the heart of the old town. Mostar's history of course extends far back in time from evidence of human habitation in pre-history to the formation of the town around the 'Mostari' or gate keepers who protected 'Stari Most' the ancient bridge used as a trade route. Under Ottoman rule the original wooden bridge was built in stone and was one of the most important structures from this era. It is sad that with this rich history,the most prevalent part seen today is the Croat-Bosniak War which held Mostar under an 18th month siege and left the city devastated. 

One of my favourite things we did in Mostar was to visit  a photography exhibition showing photos from the war.It seems crazy to me that something as recent and monumental as the Bosnian War isn't taught or even really mentioned at school. As such I have to unfortunately admit I came to Eastern Europe with only the vague idea that a war had occurred but not the knowledge that it took place so recently as the 1990s and nor the scale of conflict. I had imaged it as perhaps short skirmishes and fighting, I had no idea it was an explosive war that created a conflict between numerous countries. It was interesting to talk to my parents later and realize that for them and the world at the time it was an extremely shocking event. 

This photography collection really brought the conflict to life for me and gave me a better idea of what it was like.

Seeing these kids dressed in typical nineties clothes and hairstyles surrounded by destruction was oddly jarring for me, as it was far less removed from me than the usual stark photos of war provided by World War I and II. I was surprised to learn the photographer behind this gallery was in fact a New Zealander! Turning up in former Yugoslavia to try photojournalism with no former experience, he soon found himself in the middle of a war zone which he then set about spending the next few years of his life documenting. 

For all that it was shelled horribly during the siege of Mostar, beautiful old buildings still survived, and it remains a lovely old town to this day. After admiring the view we decided it was lunchtime and wandered in the beating sun for a time, finally settling on Burek - a type of filled pastry found all over Eastern Europe however in my opinion arguably the best right here in Mostar.  

The bridge of Mostar was the one thing I had been looking forward to above all else. One of the most famous architectural structures in history and considered a modern wonder in its day - in the 17th century one traveler described it as 'a rainbow arch soaring up to the skies' - it looked spectacular arching elegantly over the water. However it wasn't until this moment that I discovered it had in fact (in a moment which shocked the world) been blown up in the 9th November 1993 by Croat forces after standing for 427 years. Although extremely depressing, It has been beautifully reconstructed, a testament to Mostar's enduring spirit. 

And of course I fulfilled my goal and finally not only saw it, but had Yannick document my victorious moment!

Mostar and Bosnia Herzingovinia: Changed by War

Sadly we said goodbye to Croatia, though this was tempered but the fact that we knew we would be back after popping across the border to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As overly touristy as it was, I had grown up with seeing photos of the famous Mostar bridge all over the internet, and was desperate to go. Luckily my travel companions happily obliged. 

The drive there was rather pretty in itself, and we stopped at this dramatic view for lunch.

Mostar was an interesting city due to its history and architecture. We were lucky enough that Teo - the owner of where we were staying at - was extremely friendly and acted as a tour guide for us, taking us about the city. He knew a lot about the history of the place (having lived through the war as a child) and pointed out the many bombed out buildings that still stood ruined on the streets.

The first place he took us however was to do with something much earlier. The Partisan Memorial Memorial Cemetery was a monument built in the 1960s to commemorate those killed in World War II in Yugoslavia.. 

Damaged by the war in the 1990s, it was neglected and vandalized. And it was in a dismal state when we saw it. I was surprised to learn it had in fact been completely renovated and reopened in 2005 - clearly this didn't last. 

It has become the local hangout spot for youths which was obvious by the graffiti and numerous bottles littered everywhere - I can't say I blame them (for picking the spot - I certainly don't condone littering) as it provides a great view over the city and its rather peaceful sitting in the ruins of this nostalgic infrastructure, almost reclaimed by nature. (Does it remind anyone else of one of those dastardly puzzles from the computer game series Myst?)

Teo's tour next lead us through park where he stopped for an amusing anecdote on exactly why a Bruce Lee statue was erected here of all places. The part that stood out to me was how they were promised Bruce Lee would actually be there for the opening ceremony only to be terribly disappointed when the time came and he didn't show up. Nevertheless its a rather amusing statue to come across so unexpectedly and we posed accordingly. Mad Kung Fu skills here yo. 

The next place he took us was one of the most interesting places I've ever been to; known as the Glass Bank it was the main sniper tower during the war - which was chilling to think about whilst walking through. Today its a husk of what it must once have been, full of shattered glass, refuse and debris. One had to carefully pick their way through and I was glad we had a guide.

There was also a lot of graffiti on the walls, some of it actually very good and I enjoyed wandering around each corner to whatever unexpected picture would present itself next.

Watching the sun sink below the mountains and the day dim from up high was definitely an experience I wouldn't miss, especially as we sat in the midst of history - at the top of this war ravaged building, each with our own thoughts.