Brač and beyond: August 2017

12-15 August 2017

Brač (pronounced Bratch) was a lovely island, not too overrun by tourists and overwhelmingly picturesque. We spent four nights on the island, staying in Pučišća, a pretty little harbour town built right on the water, as many Croatian towns are. We had a view of the bell tower from our terrace, and I loved watching the bells move as they tolled - no pre-recordings here, unlike some places which have now placed loudspeaker next to the bells and simply play recordings instead! We soon discovered that they rang a ridiculous amount, it started off amusing, but quickly became annoying (though it was rather fantastic when they tolled out the Game of Thrones theme song) 

The island was very dry and arid, which made the pale blue water all the more stunning. It was a lot less green than my memories of Kortula or Hvar, and peppered with olive groves (apparently brought in by the Venetians).

























As always in Croatia, there was a little pebble beach a five minute walk from our accomodation, so we relaxed, swam, and didn't do all that much for four days! It was glorious. On one of the nights we went to a restaurant in a castle in the village of Dol, which had incredible atmosphere and views at sunset.



















We also checked out a few other villages including one which was full of ruined houses and very pretty to wander. We also checked out the island's biggest town, Supetar (which I always misread as superstar) which was also very pretty, but as usual we prefered our smaller, less touristy towns. 

 Our time in Brač was over all too soon, and on the 16th August, we headed back to Split. Staying the night within the city, with the plan for a very early start the next day, to check out the city before the tourist hordes. We had executed this cunning plan before, and thus were repeating it so my brother could also enjoy the city at sunrise, as he hadn't been with us the last time we visited.

























A 6AM start on holiday is never fun, but was absolutely worth it for how quiet and lovely the city is at dawn. We stopped for delicious coffee too, so no complaints from me. I even took a photo of it because I was so impressed! (It's not easy to get a good cappuccino around here).

Seeing the city at dawn is always breathtaking, no matter how many times I do it. Wandering the streets with not a single tourist in sight, only early morning deliveries for local cafes, and a quietness to the streets - magical.

























We had decided not to go to Dubrovnik as it was too expensive (and we preferred Split anyway). Heading off to cheaper, less touristy places, we drove into Bosnia and Herzegovina instead, sadly having to avoid Albania due to the rules around our rental car.

 17th August
Our first stop was a border village just into Bosnia, called Počitelj  (No, I'm not sure how to pronounce this, but in my head it has become pot-jelly, which is indescribably wrong.) It was interesting coming from one country to the next, and seeing the instantaneous change with mosques suddenly popping up everywhere.

This village - described fittingly as an open air museum by Wiki - lay spread down a hillside, overlooking the Neretva river, requiring a steep climb up narrow winding streets to take in both the views and the beautifully old buildings that surrounded us. I also learned later that this beautiful medieval village was put onto the Worlds monument watch, which comprises of the 100 most endangered cultural heritage sites. 


At some point in admiring the village, myself and Christophe went left, whilst  Yannick and Necia went right. Some time later we realized we had no idea where they went. Woops. Fresh fruit and all sorts of bags and scarfs and things were laid out in an array to tempt tourists (we only succumbed to the raspberries!) after eventually finding our travel companions again, we headed off.


Our next stop was Blagaj (said baggage in a french accent perhaps? I wish I could speak Eastern European languages, because they sound bad-ass!) I found this place through internet researching, and it looked too beautiful to pass up. The Blagaj Tekija was the main tourist point here, a beautiful Dervish monastery (don't worry, I wondered what this was too!) From my vague understanding, dervishes are part of a Muslim religious order (sort of like hermits?) who believe that experiences and virtues will bring them closer to god, rather than organised religious works. This monastery was built sometime in the 1500's. It was so beautiful with the water and the rocks, but they had built a restaurant on top of the path so you couldn't get there! Luckily a nice lady showed us a hidden gravel path that took us around the back to a beautiful view - I pity the tourists paying silly prices simply for the view! The whole place was extremely atmospheric due to an approaching storm; huge cracks of thunder and flashes of lightening had us in awe, and then rushing for the car before the storm hit!

Next we drove to Mostar and stopped for the night. We were tired by then and decided to check it out in the morning. Our apartment was nice and spacious, so we cooked dinner and headed off to sleep.

18th August

We popped into Mostar to check it out - it's beautiful in its own right and does deserve time. There were lots of beggars and we had visited before, so it was a brief trip, but worth it. Wandering the main city, enjoying a view of the bridge and the locals baiting tourists to pay them to dive into the river far below from the famous bridge. We bought Burak/Borek (depending on the country) pastry coils from a local bakery and some fruit, and had a picnic by the river. No trip to Eastern Europe can be complete without the ubiquitous Burek, developed in the medieval ages by a baker in Niš (somewhere we would soon visit, though not for Burek!) Oily pastry sheets filled with either spinach and feta, cheese, or mince and onion, you really can't have them too often, but they are delicious and must be had upon visiting the area! I remember driving through rural Greece somewhere on the mainland, nothing but empty highways and half built concrete buildings around, starving hungry, and coming across a bakery on the side of the road which only sold Burek - how glad I was for spinach and feta then! Filling and somewhat moreish, you don't think you can eat much but you soon find you've finished one!