From Albania we crossed the border into Montenegro where we had a quick lunch and a look around. The cheapest option was a burger and chips - they came in the burger!
This is the coastal end of Serbian country which extends up into the mountains. We watched a semi fictional movie called The Hunting Game on the coach, which was an excellent film and gave us a little more insight into conflicts in the area of Montenegro and Sarajevo. As we continued along the coastline and crossed the border into Croatia the landscape became more and more stunning. Luckily we had gotten up early to score ourselves a coveted spot up the front of the bus which gave us a really good view. It was hard to believe that the area was torn apart by war as recently as 15 years ago. As we finally got close to Dubrovnik we were shown the positions up on the mountain that they were bombed from. They were shelled and shot at for months despite the fact that the beautiful city is a UNESCO World Heritage protected site and preserved as it has been for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Photos of Dubrovnik from the air show all the shiny new orange tiled roofs - this is because so many were burned or blown up. You can see some of the bullet holes in the walls although many have been repaired. We were staying outside of the old city and up on the hill. Walking into the hostel we had a wonderful impression - a stone eating hall, archways laden with grapevines, and views down to the sea.
Unfortunately our rooms were another story - hot little cupboards with ratty rugs to cover the breaks in the floorboards and malfunctioning air conditioning! On the upside they were twin share which meant David and I could be together, though we were in end to end twin beds which were fixed to the wall which meant no cuddling. Still, it was a place to sleep and we headed into the town. We walked around and quickly lost the majority of our group, but were fortunate enough to find ourselves with two lovely girls called Chantelle and Catherine who are Aussies teaching in England, and two sisters, Alana and Nadia, who are originally from Croatia and know the local language. They were able to show us around really well as they recently spent a month with family in Dubrovnik. They gave us a good tour and showed us some of the nicer bars and pubs. We ended up with the whole group again at the Latino Club which was very cool with a light up floor and giant cocktails for sharing with lots of long bendy straws.
We had a pretty late night but with some prompting from David we got up in the morning and headed back into the city. There aren't any cars and the streets are shiny white stone. The buildings and stairs and walls are mostly white too which gives the city a dazzling appearance in the sun.
By the sea, local jewellers sell necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets made of coral and stone. I bought a turquoise bracelet which was supposed to be my only souvenier from Dubrovnik but was shortly followed by some cheapy cute earrings in a little shop, and then I somehow ended up with a pair of wedge heels, and then the best purchase of all, a 'Dubrovnik Charm', a local design of a silver ball covered with little stones on a long chain that has long been associated with the region. What can I say, our sailing days were incredibly cheap and David encouraged me! His only desires were some beer and ice cream which he enjoyed very much. We also managed to fit in a lunch amongst all the retail therapy (whoops!) of local seafood - calamari, fish in a tomato and mussel filled sauce, potato slices with olives and some soft polenta. Our tour leader had advised that in Dubrovnik there are no essential galleries or museums to see, rather the walled city itself is the museum. We wandered for hours and really took in the sights. After all the walking we opted for a quiter night, so while many of the group went off for round two of bucket size cocktails, we shared a local pizza and a bottle of wine and watched cartoons on the laptop before bed.
The next day we headed for Zadar in the north of Croatia. The drive was beautiful again, with rolling hills, water views, and lots of green scrubby bushland as we went through the country of Bosnia Herzegovena. It was quite surreal driving through that area - the signs to Sarajevo still have bullet holes. In the afternoon we got to the walled city of Zadar. Our hostel was outside of town and the absolute pits - mouldy, smelly, full of mosquitoes and with only 2 toilets and showers for about 40 people. We dropped off our gear and went into the city as soon as possible! At least we had a room together again, though it was bunkbeds. In Zadar we walked through the local markets, posted a few postcards home, and photographed the Roman ruins inside as well as the ancient Donut Cathedral (which has absolutely nothing to do with doughnuts!).
Our favourite thing though, and the feature that Zadar is most famous for, was the Ocean Organ. It is the only instrument in the world played by the ocean! The waves lapping at the steps on the shore forces pressure into the pipes producing haunting sounds. We expected something sticking out of the water but in fact it is in the ground and you can't see it until you are standing on top of it. It was much louder than we had anticipated, and I thought it had a beautiful effect.
We then had dinner with a few members of the group and the coach driver. It was a great restaurant called Bruschetta just a street or two back from the water. We ordered steaks- mine had truffle oil.
We rose early on Sunday for the very long drive to Venice - a trip of over 11 hours! Thankfully we had one long stop on the way - the spectacular Postojna Caves in the country of Slovenia. The countryside was amazing. It looked like a postcard - green rolling hills, meadows and fields, pine forests, log houses, rushing streams...
The caves we visited are the largest underground network in the world - they span over 27 kilometres. We even got to travel through some of the caverns via underground railroad carriages. It was very cold and dark inside.
We carried on to Venice and arrived in time for dinner at our accommodation followed by a toga party at the local bar.
Slovenia looks awesome, and toga's are tres cute..! Also wine and cartoons sounds great - good choice!
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