Look How Hvar We've Come!

I write this now while finishing a gourmet breakfast overlooking the Adriatic from our hotel in Hvar.

According to Clete, Hvar is Croatia's sunniest island with over 2400 hours of sunlight a year (it also resisted takeover by the Turks hundreds of years ago).  It's everything we hoped for to end our trip - and we don't expect to be writing much more since our packed itinerary for the next two days includes poolside drinks, overconsumption of the day's fresh catch, and if we really get ambitious a boat to a private island.  Oh yeah - and of course the most important, at least 12 trips a day down the hotel's waterslide :)

We hope everyone at home is having a great weekend! 

Eating our Way Through the Balkans and the Croatian Comeback

Up to Sarajevo we were noticing a an inverse correlation between food price and quality. Our lunch in Bosnia for less than $15 dollars (with two beers) wins the award for best meal.

This was closely followed by the seafood platter in Montengro which was a tad more expensive but had an eclectic array of seafood deliciousness.

Last but not least is Dubrovnik’s over-priced tourist traps. Great for ambiance but unlikely to appear in the latest Michelin Guide.

However, yesterday (Friday) we left Mostar for Hvar and stopped at a little town on the ocean for an amazing meal that is putting Croatia back in second place... despite being about 4x more expensive. 

Who Needs a Tour Guide When You Have Clete?

I’m not going to lie – I didn’t do much prep work for this trip. I did read the book, Pretty Birds (a novel about the conflict in Sarajevo) and watch a documentary on the war – but this was nothing compared to Clete’s preparation. Below is one conversation that exemplifies his skills.
While strolling down Sniper’s Alley…
Clete: I feel like this is such a big city, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, it does have a population of 300,000. Well, 300,000 city proper and 700,000 metropolitan area
Lisa: And GDP per capita is...
Clete: Not very high.  It’s ranked 123… this is compared to 67 for Croatia and 106 for Montenegro.

Later at the museum…
Lisa: So how long was Yugoslavia a country?
Clete: Well it was a Kingdom of Croats, Slovenes, and Bosnians from the end of World War I until 1929 and then it was Yugoslavia until 1991. Of course, prior to that the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled from 1878 until WWI and prior to that it was the Ottomans.

I could go on… but you get the idea. As I type while driving, Clete is informing me that we are approaching the third most visited pilgrimage site in the continent of Europe. I’m personally more excited for the waterfalls that we are stopping by after.

Remembering the War

Thursday morning we wanted to get a more local sense of Sarajevo.  We took a bus down Sniper’s Alley – the main road along the river dividing the Serb and Bosnian territory during the conflict.  We got off downtown, near the front lines, and started our tour at the Holiday Inn – where all of the journalists stayed during the war.

 

From there we walked Sniper’s Alley past the Bosnian “twin towers” that fell during the war, to a museum with hundreds of photographs and artifacts documenting the conflict.  Surrounded by bullet-laden buildings watching the locals go about their daily routine was a bit unsettling, but to some extent it is refreshing to see life go on.  

Thursday afternoon, following the shortest and easiest drive of the trip thus far, we arrived in Mostar.  The highlight of the city is the Stari Most bridge – originally constructed in 1566 and senselessly destroyed by the Croats during the war.  Like Sarajevo, the city has recovered and the bridge was reconstructed using 16^th century construction techniques and stone from the original quarry.  For tourists, it offers an unparalleled view over dinner and evening drinks.  

The Streets of Sarajevo

Miraculously – or through a combination of Clete’s love of planning and my navigation skills – we did not make a single wrong turn on the way to our hotel in the Turkish Quarter / Old City of Sarajevo.  Warned not to leave the car with Croatian license plates on the street, we parked in a semi-guarded lot and hoped for the best.  Sarajevo was a city of sharp contrasts.  While much of the old city was rebuilt and is now a bustling haven for locals and tourists alike, bullet holes covering many of the buildings painted a vivid reminder of the recent conflict.    

We hit up all the must-sees, including the location where Franz Ferdinand was shot triggering the start of World War I.  

Special shout out to Tara Kramlich and her friend Adi who was raised in Sarajevo and recommended amazing restaurants.  If you haven't tried ravioli bathed in sour cream and oil as well as various vegetables stuffed with ground beef you haven’t really lived.  

 Also thanks to Adi, we were able to watch the sunset over the whole city.

 

Who has the Passports?

Driving over the Sedlo Pass en route to Sarajevo was the best part of the Montenegrin national park… the first time.  After just crossing the pass with snow piled high on both sides of the road Clete asked if I remembered our passports when I checked out of the hotel.  In fairness to me – Clete was the one who checked in and gave the guy our passports, but nevertheless, our little mishap provided us with the unique opportunity to experience the pass twice. 

As we descended the mountains we drove a beautiful road along the river marking the Montenegro-Bosnia Border.  Which of the following do you think happened within the first 10 minutes of crossing the border?

1.  Road blocked by cows

2.  Pulled over for the Bosnian police to warn us it was illegal to drive without our lights on/solicit a bribe

3.  Road blocked by sheep

4.  All of the above

On to Sarajevo!

Montenegro has a National Park?

Prior to leaving the States I shared our itinerary with a former manager of mine who is from (what is now) Montenegro.  Her response to seeing a day in Durmitor National Park “Montenegro has a national park?  I’ve never heard of anyone going there…”  Nonetheless, around 5:00pm on Tuesday we arrived in Durmitor National Park.  Clete would probably object but I think the national park status is pretty arbitrary, although there were fewer rocks than the rest of the country.  

Not too much to report other than our conversation with the park ranger when we arrived: 

Us:  Hello, do you speak English?

Him:  Two Euros

Us:  Ok, which way to the Black Lake?

Him:  Sorry

Us:  Do you have a map?

Him:  Goodbye

The lake and forest were beautiful but decidedly not that unique to Montenegro.  We still had a good time despite a wolf false alarm. (The dog looked big and wild, I swear!)