Day 29 - Dubrovnik

I had a lazy morning nit doing much and just getting ready to meet the girls for a late breakfast at 10am. We wandered down to the old town and after a bit of looking and flicking through some really short breakfast menus, we found a place that had a bit more on the menu. BTW you can get a discount in some places for sitting inside we got 25% off just got eating inside as opposed to on the street.

Jane and I then wandered the streets to do a bit of shopping. I only had to get something for one of my sisters, as I had gotten the rest of my family something already.

I met up with Mel again and escaped the midday heat with and ice cream and a cold drink. I then headed up to the cable car at about 2pm to get the view from the imperial fortress that over looks the city.

After spending about 30min walking around the top taking in the views I headed back down again. By this stage the weekend tourist crowds became a bit too much for me so I decided to go hide in our villa for a whole have a shower cool down and catch up on my blog.

I met up with Jane for dinner at 7pm and we headed down into the old town. I just had some grilled chicken. We then got an ice cream on the way home again. Early night tonight as I am flying out tomorrow.

Day 28 - Dubrovnik

After about 2.5 hours we arrived in Dubrovnik. We got dropped off beside the main road opposite some stairs. We headed down the stairs for a while until we got to a green metal door. Off the stairs this was the door into our villa where our private rooms were. The room is big enough but the bathroom is very compact. (the door hits the toilet when you open the door.
We had a little while to settle in before having our orientation walk around the city. After the orientation walk we decided to go to Lokrum Island for a couple of hours getting the 1pm boat. So we went different ways and had lunch. Mel and I got salads from a restaurant which were huge mine was the size of a salad I would do for a small bbq. A couple of older American women sat beside us and ordered ice cream, the bill came our and one of the American women hadn't looked at the prices. The bill just for the ice cream was more than what we paid for our salads and a drink. There bill was 220 kuna, which is expensive considering that if they went to a ice cream stand/shop not a restaurant they would have only paid about 20 kuna. That's why they give you a menu. :-)
Lokrum Island was good and only a 15min boat ride from the old town port. I went for a swim off the rocks (beach in these parts). Layed on a rock in the sun for a while before moving to the shade.
We got the 3:15pm boat back so that we could have showers and get ready for our 5pm walk around the old town wall before dinner. We had dinner down near the water outside the old town and I had a wild bore goulash with fried gnocchi followed by some creme caramel and a taste of some hot cherry pancakes with ice cream.
We then went for a drink near our villa in more of a local pub than a tourist pub and the prices complemented that fact. Only 18 kouna for a gin and tonic.
We said our good byes to our tour leader Daniel as this was our farewell dinner and Daniel had a very early flight.

Day 27 - Kotor

This morning we had a boat tour of the bay booked at 9am with a local guide. We casually putted around the bay taking in the sites around the bay we stopped off at a man made island which has a church and museum on it. We then had a beer while we putted back across the shore to have a coffee right on the waters edge. After our coffee stolen we then started our way back on the other side of the bay stopping for a swim along the way.
The tour finished at about 1pm and we decided to head out for lunch at about 2pm we stopped at an Italian restaurant on the water edge on our way back into the old town for a spot of souvenir shopping.
We had a light dinner by the bay where we just shared some entrée, wine and had some dessert.
Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow at 8am via private transfer thankfully.

Day 26 - Kotor

After an early start and two buses we arrived in Kotor at about 9:30am. We were able to check in straight away and we had breakfast at the hotel. After a pretty terrible sleep last night I took the opportunity to rest and watch a bit of tv before our city orientation walk at 2pm.
Kotor is a beautiful spot still with plenty of local charm. The old town is a bit touristy at times but what old town area isn't. We were planning on doing on kayaking tour around the bay in the afternoon but with winds increasing and the chance of rain the tour wasn't running. So we opted to sit down at a bar on the town wall and enjoy a drink. We then made our way back along the bay to our accommodation to relax and get ready for dinner.
It is great to have time to relax after a fairly intense start to this second half of my tour.
We went to a seafood restaurant near the back of the old town with a view of the fortress and walls on the mountain behind us. The meal was a bit pricey but was good and we were paying for the setting.

Day 25 - Ostrog Monastery

We left our accommodation in Sarajevo at 10 to 8am to start making our way to the Ostrog Monastery. It was a winding climb out of Sarajevo through the mountains and all the way to Ostrog Monastery. After crossing the border the landscape started to change and became more and more spectacular rugged mountain ranges with deep valleys, forests and mountain streams. We got dropped off on the side of the road near the turn off for the monastery, where our private transfer was waiting to take us up to our dorms near the lower monastery.
We had about an hour of free time when we arrived at the dorms to looks at the lower monastery and grounds. We then walked up to the upper monastery. The view was pretty spectacular but it was very hazey/smokey.
We had a bit of a look around the monastery and went into the room where the remains of a Saint are kept supposedly unpreserved and not decomposing.
We then headed back to the lower monastery area to walk down to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Early start again tomorrow with a 5:45am departure to Kotor.

Day 24 - Sarajevo

I had a bit of a sleep in this morning before going to the Srebrenica exhibit which documents the events of the srebrenica massacre in 1995. 11000 bodies have been found in mass graves so far in Bosnia after the war.
After looking at the exhibit I went for a walk up to a lookout over the city. I caught up with everyone for lunch at 1pm before going on our tour to the tunnel museum at 2pm. The tunnel was critical supply route for civilians in the city for basic needs like food. The tunnel was only 800m long and passed under the UN controlled airport. Connecting the urban area which had space to grow fruit and vegetables with the city. The tunnel was later used to bring in weapons for the Bosnia army.
When we got back Mel and I went for drink from the fountain (they say that if you drink from the fountain you are destined to return to Sarajevo). We then made our way back to our accommodation, getting ice cream along the way, to get ready for dinner.
We had dinner in the old town area at nice restaurant with a good variety on the menu. On our way home we stopped in at a pub for a drink. We sat on the sidewalk, inside very 80 with black lights and fluorescent paint splashed on the walls. There was also strangely a room with different types of casual chairs around a central pole, like a private pole dancing room very odd.
Sarajevo has grown on me and it has such a vibrant atmosphere. I should have mentioned that our accommodation was right beside the old winter Olympic Stadium from the 1984 winter Olympics (which has been repaired since the war).
Off to the Ostrog Monastery tomorrow.</p>

Day 23 - Mostar

Early start again today (6:30am departure) with our day trip to Mostar. We had a lovely 2.5 hour train journey through the beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina mountains.
Upon arriving in Mostar, Daniel gave us the short history of Mostar before heading into the old town area which has now almost been fully restored since the end of the shelling in 1993. UNESCO assisted with funding the rebuilding and the bridge was reconstructed using the traditional methods when the bridge was first built.
After finishing our orientation walk we sat down for a coffee by the river. We could have almost sat there all day, but we thought we should go and see some of the sites. We walked back to the bridge the tower one side has a war photography exhibition by a New Zealand photographer on he other side we checked out a photo exhibition and a short film which shows the shelling and collapse of the bridge in 1993. We then got lunch down beside the river where I just ordered a burger after lunch we went into the tower on the other side for a museum dedicated to the history of the bridge and Mostar and contains artifacts found on the site, including things like wooden pipe and a wooden knife.
We then wandered back through the old town for a bit of souvenir shopping. We then went into an old style turkish house that was built in the traditional ottoman style. We then headed for the bus station with some haste as our bus was departing at 3pm to take us back to Sarajevo.
We got back to Sarajevo and our accommodation in time our cooking class at 6:30pm we made dolma which is basically spiced minced beef stuffed in vegetables (capsicum, zucchini, onions, etc) or wrapped in vine leaves.
It was great as they had prepared ones earlier so we got to eat straightaway (we didn't have to wait for ours to cook). :-) After dolma and salad we had coffee and baklava. It was nice to do a spot of cooking as I haven't done any for about 3 weeks now. Free day in Sarajevo tomorrow. Going to take it easy after a couple of busy days and we have another big travel day the following day.