Blogs from Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Croatia, Europe - page 21

Ristiretki Balkanille alkaa Vuosia sitten tuli vierailtua muinaisessa Jugoslaviassa ja jo silloin etenkin Adrianmeren rannat viehättivät kovasti. Mieleen jäi myös ajatus rannikon koluamisesta vähän tarkemmin autolla joskus myöhemmin. Sota ja muuten levottomat ajat alueella sitten tekivät pakollisen tauon tähän suunnitelmaan mutta nyt vihdoin aika sitten oli sopiva uuteen retkeen. Syksyn matkaa suunnitellessa useita eri vaihtoehtoja kävi mielessä mutta yksi ylitse muiden toistui vähän väliä. Koska Kroatian rannikkoa on mainostettu yhtenä maailman kauneimmista autoreiteistä, oli se sitten lähdettävä itse paikanpäälle toteamaan. Ja helpoimman lentoreitin vuoksi alkupisteeksi valikoitui Kroatia ja siellä Dubrovnik. Dubrovnikin lentokenttä sijaitsee laaksossa pienen vuorijonon takana rannan suuntaisesti. Jo lähestyttäessä kenttää kävi selväksi, että lento tulisi päättymä... read more

DUBROVNIK Today we went into the historic city of Dubrovnik, we had been told it would be a highlight of our tour and we were not disappointed. The city was bombed mercilessly during the homeland war (although they call it the aggression) and large parts were destroyed. The city was then rebuilt in the keeping with the original style. We had our usual walking tour with a local guide who explained the history of the city, showed us around and pointed out the best things to visit. After the walking tour we took the gondola to the top of the hill overlooking the city the view from the top was amazing, you could see the wall surrounding the old city, the defensive positions, and the new town and of course you could look out to sea ... read more

Now, where was I? Suitably relaxed, we packed the Berlingo, said our goodbyes to the campsite fella and his cat, and headed south-east-ish. We had decided to head for Dubrovnik, and the usual way to get there was to head southwest, straight towards the coast. We decided to take the advice of Nedzo from Blagaj and hang a left on highway 6. As is usual, taking local advice paid off. Not only did it reduce the number of border crossings (the normal way required driving into Croatia, then back into Bosnia, then into Croatia again) but it took us through some quieter, dry Mediterranean type countryside. The road wounnd its way through some lovely country, through towns with great names like Stolac, Ljubinje and Trebinje, all a bit bucolic in a dry sort of way. Not ... read more

today we were back on the coach headed for debrovnick, Croatia and travelling through montenegro. It was a beautiful drive most of the way, we got to debrovnick around 5ish and set up our tents for the first time in a wee while. After camp was set up and we had a bit of spare time we got taken on a walking tour by our tour guide david before being left to our own device for dinner. We then met up with everyone else later to head to the skybar for a couple of drinks.... read more

Heading south from Slovenia, I crossed into the Croatian part of the Istrian peninsula. The bus arrived in the Croatian city of Pula 10 minutes early even though it was 45 minutes late in Slovenia and we had to stop for 15 minutes at the border for passport control, so not quite sure how that happened. Pula is right at the tip of Istria, and as the name suggests, it has a very Italian past. The city has some of the best Roman ruins I've seen, including the impressive Amphitheatre from the 1st century BC (the 6th largest surviving example) as well as several Roman gates and arches dating from the same era. The main square in the city is called the Forum, and is home to the 1st century Roman Temple of Augustus, as well ... read more