Sin 'n' Joy

Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro : List of Blog posts

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:45:00 +0000

In September/October 2019 we had a trip to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro.

I took lots of photos and notes along the way and have compiled a small subset of them into a number of blog posts as a reminder of our fantastic trip and to provide information that may be of use to others in planning trips to this area of the world.

The many blog posts are as follows:

Kotor and St John Fortress

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:43:00 +0000

I walked up to the St John Fortress at Kotor in the morning. It was great walking up in the shade before the heat of the day set in. Apparently there are 1355 steps (where the steps still exist!) and it only took me about 40 mins to get up including lots of photo stops. It was very picturesque the whole way up and down. The entry fee for the walls walk was 8 Euro. There were also a number of cats on the walk.

In the afternoon we went for a wander along the waterfront and had lunch and a coffee.

Next... Lake Skadar National Park and Budva

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Lake Skadar National Park and Budva

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:43:00 +0000

On one of our days in Montenegro we went for a drive to Lake Skadar National Park and Budva. Budva has a small old town that we found didn't have the same charm as Kotor.

Lake Skadar National Park is overrun by people selling boat rides with prices that seemed to differ a lot for very similar trips.

We opted to just have lunch instead of heading out on the lake. For lunch I decided to try the deep fried pancakes which I will not be rushing out to try again.

Next... Tivat

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Driving to the Plitvice Lakes & Slunj / Rastoke

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:43:00 +0000

We drove to the Plitvice Lakes area from Rovinj on some quite narrow roads which were particularly painful when stuck behind a very slow vehicle for a long distance with no opportunities to overtake.

While in the area we took the opportunity to see Slunj / Rastoke which is known for having waterfalls super close to houses and in some cases going under them.

For dinner I had what in New Zealand would be considered an undersized trout at Plitvicka Sedra.

Next... Plitvice Lakes

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Tivat

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:43:00 +0000

We did a daytrip around the coast from Kotor on narrow roads big enough for 1.5 cars in parts to Tivat. We were surprised to find that the coastline is super modern.

There was also a coffee shop, Kafeterija, which did Chemex coffee which we had and really enjoyed the soft nature of.

We had lunch at Buffalo and my sandwich was a whole ciabatta loaf! I managed to get through almost half.

Next... Back to Croatia before flying out & Cavtat

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Back to Croatia before flying out & Cavtat

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:43:00 +0000

We were originally intending to drive from Kotor in Montenegro on the day of our travel to the Dubrovnik airport in Croatia, but decided to change plans to destress our final day by spending our final night at Cavtat near the Dubrovnik airport.

After our drive around the bay of Kotor the border crossing wasn't far away and we had a quick crossing into Croatia and were very shortly thereafter at Cavtat.

Cavtat was a nice relaxing location and being only about 5 mins drive from the airport was great.

That concludes our 5 week holiday :-)

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Mostar

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:42:00 +0000

We drove from Dubrovnik to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) taking a route with three border crossings; out of Croatia and along the 9km stretch of BiH, back into Croatia and then across the border again into BiH via Metković (this was apparently the best route for us; some crossings aren't open for tourists and with others the roads apparently aren't as good). We were delayed by less than 5 mins at each border crossing so it worked well for us.

Stari Most (the Old Bridge) was opened in 1567, destroyed in 1993, rebuilt and reopened in 2004. It attracts a lot of tourists.

I had a mixed platter of food for lunch for the cost of about 10KM (~NZD$9) and a Bosnian coffee (I really should have poured it for the photo!).

We were pleased to be able to get freshly pressed pomegranate juice in the streets. It was sooooo good.

Also pictured is Sniper Tower, an abandoned mansion (there are quite a few buildings like this around), and a Bruce Lee statue.

There is a significantly smaller version of the old bridge called Kriva Ćuprija (the Crooked Bridge). This was built prior to Stari Most in 1558 and is believed to have been the prototype before the more risky bigger version. This bridge (according to Lonely Planet, some other sites differ slightly) was destroyed by floods in 1999 and rebuilt in 2002.

We ended the day with a fantastic meal at Hindan Han where I had the stuffed squid with cheese and tuna and Jane had sweetbreads.

Next... Sarajevo

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Sarajevo

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:42:00 +0000

The drive from Mostar to Sarajevo is very scenic.

Once checked in at our accommodation in Sarajevo we went for a wander. Straight outside our hotel was the Latin Bridge which is an Ottoman bridge, of which the northern end of the bridge was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, which triggered World War I.

Out next stop was lunch at Ćevabžinica Željo where we had Ćevapčići.

Around the corner we came across the Sebilj fountain which is an Ottoman-style wooden fountain built in 1753 and has no shortage of pigeons around it.

Wandering through the streets was enjoyable and we found the vast majority of people around to be locals.

The fruit and vege at the market looked fantastic.

Shortly thereafter we saw the Eternal flame which is a memorial to the military and civilian victims of the Second World War in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For dinner we had a superb meal at Žara iz duvara - The Singing Nettle. Jane wrote some awesome words about this one: "And another meal! Oh my word, this was amazing. A husband & wife ( I'm assuming!) run restaurant - they are the only staff! In a little back alley in Sarajevo. We started with Nettle doughnuts with hummus - both items were an absolute treat; for mains I had the chicken breaded with sesame and flax seed - a dish I'll be attempting to recreate at home. This was served with garlic and nettle pesto. Simon had the daily speciality - beef in sauce! (very limited English, but so very friendly and warmly welcoming). We had a seasonal salad made of perfectly dressed and seasoned cabbage, amazing tomatoes (at last!!!) and lovely fresh crunchy cucumber. Outstanding meal. We wanted to share the nettle cheesecake for dessert, but alas we were utterly full. We may yet return tomorrow. I'm not even joking on that"

On Day 2 we continued walking around Sarajevo, including ventures to some parks, along the river, the Festina Lente Bridge, up to the Sky Lounge on top of the Marriott Hotel and more Bosnian coffee.

In the afternoon I went for a walk up to the abandoned Winter Olympics 1984 Bobsleigh Track and continued on to the top of the mountain. It was quite a steep climb up with the route I took. On the way I came across some abandoned buildings and some lovely scenery.

On the way down it was sunset.

Next... Driving to Kotor

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Driving to Kotor

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:42:00 +0000

We drove from Sarajevo to Kotor in Montenegro. It was a very scenic trip (albeit my photos here are all from Montenegro and a small snapshot of the beauty) with a stop for goulash for lunch at Restoran Pečenjara Stara Kuča Old House.

For our first evening in Kotor we wandered into the beautiful Old Town.

Next... Kotor and St John Fortress

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Korčula town

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

We drove to the island of Korčula with the help of a ferry. This included driving into Bosnia and Herzegovina for about 20 mins before crossing another border back into Croatia.

The town of Korčula on the island of the same name has a lovely old city.

Jane had anchovies yet again.

We had a crazy amount of thunder and lightning one evening. This is the view from our apartment overlooking the Korčula old town (during the day and in the storm, albeit the photo or videos I took don't convey the feeling of being there).

Thankfully we finished dinner early before the rain started! Our dinner incidentally was Lamb Peka, which is akin to a lamb roast cooked with a lid on with some potatoes.

Next... Pupnatska Luka, Vela Luka, Vela Spila and Pupnat

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Trogir

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

We took a one hour boat trip from Split to Trogir to explore this UNESCO World Heritage site (Croatia has a lot of these!). It is a small island that took me 20 mins to circumnavigate. I found it strange to see a game of football being played against the castle walls. The old city had a lot of tourists but quiet alleys could be found between the myriad gift stores.

Next... Korčula town

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Pupnatska Luka, Vela Luka, Vela Spila and Pupnat

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

With the weather forecast for thunder storms we went to Vela Luka for coffee and the Vela Spila cave where ceramic fragments thought to be around 17,500 years old have been found.

We then had a lovely lunch at Mate in Pupnat.

After lunch we went to the beach at Pupnatska Luka and almost had the beach to ourselves. Of note, is that beaches in Croatia often consist of pebbles. The beaches that are sandy are often very shallow and not suitable for swimming. There are also a lot of "beaches" that are rocks, concrete or a mixture of both.

Next... Račišće and Lumbarda

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Račišće and Lumbarda

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

We started the day with a lovely drive around the coast to Račišće which is a lovely quiet village.

We then drove to Lumbarda to check out the beach (but it really wasn't beach weather) and Lumbarda village where we saw a Ferrari boat with a slide.

It was then time for lunch at Konoba Maslina. I had the local macaroni speciality, Žrnovski, with a beef stew and Jane had an olive oil based lentil soup, Sočiva. Our meals were accompanied with a lovely fried bread.

Next... Čara, Brna, Gršćica and Žrnovski Banja

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Čara, Brna, Gršćica and Žrnovski Banja

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

For our third day on Korčula Island we visited myriad small villages, including Čara which is a wine and olive growing region,

Brna which is a lovely seaside village,

Gršćica which also has beautifully clear water with a slide

and Žrnovski Banja where we had lunch at Mimi's Bistro.

We are noticing an increasing number of restaurants closing for the season (start of Oct). Our accommodation has one more couple staying and will then be closing its doors too.

Next... Dubrovnik

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Dubrovnik

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

We moved on to Dubrovnik from Korcula. This started with a lovely ferry crossing before we headed down the coast to Dubrovnik.

Once in Dubrovnik we checked into our hotel in Lapad and then took an Uber to the Pile gate of the old town for 58kn. Being out of peak season (early Oct) it should be quieter... there still seemed to be lots of other tourists as we wandered around this picturesque (and huge) old town.

Next... Walking up Mount Srđ

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Walking up Mount Srđ

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

I took a bus from Lapad to the Pile gate (12kn), bought some water and then walked up some steps near the walls of the old town to a nice lookout. Incidentally I was able to buy a bus ticket at the bus stop in Lapad from a ticket office there.

I used Maps.Me as a guide and found the bottom of the track up Mount Srđ (412m). It took me about 35 mins to get up to the top from the start of the track including taking lots of photos on the way looking down on the old town. There weren't many people walking up but I did encounter a reasonable number walking done, albeit a lot less than those going up by the cable car.

Once at the top I took lots more photos but my favourite pics of the old town were from on the track up.

The restaurant at the top was super busy and had a wait list for a table so I abandoned my thoughts of a drink and small bite to eat and went wandering further afield. It turns out there is a lot of great exploring to be done up there and areas most people wouldn't get to. Highlights included some fantastic views, a memorial of Croatian fighters and some ruins.

I was planning to come down on another track (towards Gruž) but a cow blocked my way so I detoured and then my track ran out so I had to backtrack and go down the same way I went up.

The bus back to Lapad was super busy and crammed but it was an experience.

Next... Lapad

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Lapad

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:41:00 +0000

On our third day in the Dubrovnik area we went for a wander around the coast of Lapad.

More hotels should have cave bars and it's a bonus when they have sea views too. The Hotel More cave bar is worth a visit.

I particularly enjoyed walking around the coastline of Mala Petka and through the trails in the area.

Lapad has great sunsets too.

Trinity Oriental Fusion Lounge was our highlight in terms of food. We went there twice! The first night we had a Thai theme and for the second we did Japanese. We didn't reserve a table for our first visit and after a long and very cold wait outside for a table we had an outstanding meal and enjoyed our friendly, informative and fun waiter. We had Tom yum gai, pad thai, green chicken curry and a ginger and carrot soup amuse-bouche.

For our second visit we had a variety of flavourful and interesting dishes including Cucumber & Japanese seaweed salad, Octopus with crunchy potato salad Japanese style, Marinated mussels Mediterranean style (ok this wasn't with our Japanese theme and it's the one in the video), Steamed dumplings, and a sushi platter which even had jellyfish on it. I accompanied my meal with a very smooth and flavourful Nikka whiskey from the barrel. An excellent meal with an excellent waiter.

Next... Mostar

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Nin and Pag

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:40:00 +0000

One of the recommendations from our host in Zadar was to go to Nin, so we daytripped to the very quiet town of Nin which has a roman temple from the 1st century AD and more lizards than people.

We then continued on via a very picturesque road to the island of Pag which is known for its cheese and lace.

Next... Split

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Split

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:40:00 +0000

Split is a super busy city with the Diocletian's Palace being the dominant feature.

I came across a men's quartet at the palace when walking around one afternoon.

I went for a walk up the tallest hill I could find near Split, Marjan, and was rewarded with some beautiful views.

Our best meal was at a restaurant that was having its opening night, Mandrill's Brewpub & Kitchen. We had a large super tasty meat platter and the staff were very friendly and wanting to share the celebration of opening night.

We also had a nice Mexican meal at To Je Tako.

Next... Trogir

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Bale and Pula

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:39:00 +0000

In the morning we drove to the hamlet of Bale and went for a wander before having breakfast of coffee and croissant, of which the chocolate croissant was divine.

We then continued on to the significantly busier Pula which has an amazing amphitheatre which was built over several decades completing around 80AD.

The oil museum and tasting was our next stop and we got to sample some beautiful extra virgin olive oils from Croatia and better appreciate the characteristics to look for in good extra virgin olive oils (they are not all the same!).

We then wandered through the old town.

For dinner we had a magnificent seafood plate for two back in Rovinj at a place right next door to our accommodation, Rovinj Mali Raj.

Next... Motovun and Poreč

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Motovun and Poreč

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:39:00 +0000

Motovun is a beautiful hillside town in Istria where we had a wonderful truffle tasting experience. This area is famous for truffle hunting.

From Motovun we headed to the coast to Poreč and parked on the side of the road and took a while to work out how to pay since the pay machine on the side of the road appeared to be playing up. In the end Jane installed the PayDo application and paid by that; this enabled paying by the hour and then extending (even for multiple days). This was particularly useful later in the trip in Zadar where our standard parking was roadside for days.

The highlight of Poreč is the sixth century Euphrasian Basilica.

We then headed back to Rovinj where we had a crazy amount of meat for dinner from a place just out of town, Konoba Tugurio, that had meat on a spit (there are lots of these around), where they had the fire going despite it being warm already.

Next... Exploring Rovinj on a rainy day

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Plitvice Lakes

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:39:00 +0000

The Plitvice Lakes are beautiful to walk around and we had heard that getting in early to avoid the crowds is advisable so we bought a ticket for 8am at Entrance 1 and noticed the crowds increasing as we were there.

It is not the cheapest of places to go, but it was a great experience. It is worth working out in advance which route you loosely want to take (they are online), since then you can follow the appropriate markers in the park. We started with route B and then I did a mixture of other ones too.

Included in the ticket price is a boat trip. You only get to go on the long boat trip once, so you should plan this in advance.

There are also "trains" (which are really buses with multiple carriages) to transport you around too. I think you can only go on these once too with your ticket.

In the afternoon we headed to Zadar.

Next... Zadar

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Zadar

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:39:00 +0000

We stayed in the middle of the old town of Zadar and the Paydo app consequently came in very handy for paying for car parking.

Our host, Kruno, was quite a character and spoke to us for about an hour about Zadar, the general area and lots of other stuff, including beers.

Zadar is a very vibrant city which we really enjoyed.

The sea organ was a particular favourite, which plays music to the flow of the ocean. The Monument to the sun also puts on a cool light show once the sun goes down.

I also enjoyed the views from up the Bell Tower.

We had some really good meals in Zadar; the first was at Proto.

Another good meal was on the waterfront at Bon Appetit.

Next... Nin and Pag

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Exploring Rovinj on a rainy day

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:39:00 +0000

We decided to have a day of no driving and explored Rovinj on foot despite some awful weather.

Mulini beach was particularly empty due to the weather.

After getting a little wet we had a coffee and Italian hot chocolate, I went for a small walk and then Jane ordered some anchovies to accompany lunch.

After lunch I decided to go out in the torrential rain to visit the large church on the hill, Church of St Euphemia (where lots of people were sheltering inside from the rain) and then walked home on the cobble stones which was more like walking in a stream.

Next... Driving to the Plitvice Lakes & Slunj / Rastoke

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Wandering around Ljubljana

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Gianoutsos) — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 05:38:00 +0000

Ljubljana is a great city albeit quite busy with tourists. Having spent a few days based here we decided to spend a day wandering around parts of the city we hadn't seen.

We started by wandering around the river, into a church (which I only saw afterwards I was not supposed to takes photos) and across some of the bridges we hadn't yet ventured over.

The markets had a wide variety of produce.

Ljubljana also has some interesting (and macabre) art.

We then went across town to Tivoli Park, a very large park, where I walked to the highest point (which had no view, but some lovely tracks anyway).

To commiserate the lack of view we went to the Pivnica Union Brewery and had, according to the bartender, the most commonly purchased beer which was in my view a very basic lager. We ended up spending a couple of hours chilling out there before doing some more wandering through the park and then via some ruins back to our accommodation.

We later headed out for some magnificent gelato and sorbets, Jane had an Aperol Spritz and I went for another walk up to the castle and explored the Šance landmark which offered some lovely views of the city.

In the morning we did a little more exploring of the city before changing countries again and heading to the Istria region of Croatia.

Next... Arriving in Istria, Croatia

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here