Jeff and I spent five weeks in seven countries for our Balkans adventure. In one word: fantastic. Like I said after my first Balkans trip, I want to come back. We split up in Dubrovnik, but first we quickly crossed southern Bosnia and Hercegovina (Republika Srpska), spending one night in Trebinje.
There’s a small kind of cute old town,
a church with some colorful frescoes,
and, perhaps the most famous site, Arslanagića Most (a bridge).
The next day we found a small road to take us across some rolling hills west toward Croatia. Most of the villages were abandoned during the 1990 war, and the old rail line has been converted into a bicycle route.
It was a pretty area.
We crossed the border, and it was mostly downhill to… — drum roll please — Dubrovnik!
What can I say? Wow! I had visited 10 years earlier (pre Game of Thrones) in November (low season) and was prepared to be disappointed this time. I wasn’t. I’m so glad to see it again.
The last time I was in Dubrovnik I ran into Wojtek from Sarajevo. This time it was Paul and Anne from Boulder.
Seriously? They had visited Vikos Gorge and the Zagori villages a week or so earlier. Traveling with Jeff and then chatting with Paul and Anne — it was a mini Boulder reunion for me.
Even with all the tourists, Game of Thrones hype, and, as Jeff said, “beautiful people”, Dubrovnik’s the real deal. Go see it.
I remembered this basketball court from before and was excited to see it was still there:
Jeff and I said goodbye. We’re already talking about the next trip. He headed south to Tirana and is back in Boulder. I headed north to Zagreb, and, well, am in Slovenia, but that’s getting ahead of things. Next up, Central Europe.
Looks great, will Ferda be joining you at some point?
Dubrovnik is a place I’ve always wanted to visit! Looks wonderful!