Hello friends! As we traveled through Croatia we haven’t posted for awhile (outside of socials). We are now in Tivat, Montenegro (not far from Kotor), along the Adriatic coast, more specially the Bay of Kotor. We’re spending the week relaxing a bit, enjoying some downtime, journey planning, catching up on life and our books!
Before we get to it, one more thing. I had posted on our visit to Stockholm, Sweden but didn’t send an email, so if you’re interested in reading about that visit check it out - we really enjoyed our time there!
We’ve enjoyed Croatia but may have some shocking and even controversial thoughts on our time here. I’ll share those and perhaps a separate post on the details of what we did, where we went, etc.
Our expectations were very much based on the original trip we had planned for summer 2020 - we all know what happened then - and photos from so many friends who have been to Croatia. To summarize our expectations
beautiful old and well preserved cities
stunning coastlines and islands along the Adriatic Sea
Game of Thrones filming locations
All the above sounded amazing (GOT more for David) but what we found was a little different. To each their own perspective right?
First, the cities - Beautiful, old and well preserved UNESCO Heritage cities - YES! From Zagreb to Zadar, Split, Moster (in Bosnia Herzegovina), Kotor (in Montenegro) and of course the crown jewel, Dubrovnik.
However, as we learned along the way, many of these cities have been rebuilt and not just rebuilt hundreds of years ago, one civilization on top of another, but recently (late 1990’s early 00’s) due to earthquakes and war. For me, less so for David, there was something inauthentic about this (don’t yell at me, to each their own, right?) Nonetheless we LOVED visiting these old towns and in Dubrovnik had the pleasure of staying in the old town itself, truly a unique experience - especially before and after the cruise ship tourists come/go. TIP: the best way to really see these old towns is in the morning before the cruise ship hoards descend or the evenings when they leave. And definitely walk the walls of Dubrovnik at 8am when they first open.
Next, the coastline and the islands - full disclosure we are not boat people, so island hopping is not going to be our thing, ever. The Adriatic Sea and the views are beautiful. What surprised us was the lack of stunning beaches, at least from the couple of islands we visited and hundreds of kilometers we drove along the coast. Pebble beaches, not a lot of sand, sometimes concrete platforms and nothing soft and expansive. Often the roads hug the edge of the coastline, so beachfront accommodations are not what we’re used to or expected. The sunsets however, AH-MAZING.
What we didn’t fully appreciate or expect:
The history here is unreal and I don’t mean the ‘ancient’ history but rather the recent history. The people of this area have only recently become independent, democratic (some more than others) and freed from communism (or social communism as one of our tour guides insisted on calling it). Best story that illustrated this for me was shared by a tour guide in Zadar - an 80 year old person in Croatia today would have had 5 different passports in their lifetime - FIVE!
Until the Mid-90’s the country was part of Yugoslavia and following the Bosnian War they have rebuilt, become part of the EU and most of these cities are now reliant on tourism completely. Many locals shared that the tourist season continues to extend, now running into November even. And the younger generation is leaving Croatia for other EU countries and opportunities.
The wine, like anywhere else, some better than others, but we definitely found some delicious wine. For example, Orange wine is not for us but it was interesting to learn how it is made. Plavac Mali is a unique grape to the Dalmatia coast that we discovered. We also enjoyed visiting some small family wineries and some award winning ones as well. We had a car for the three weeks of our visit, so the wine easily followed us to be enjoyed from one place to the next.
The roads - the main toll roads in Croatia were wonderful to drive. And we definitely found our “Norway” type small, curving, barely two-lane roads as well. The difference, not a lot of trust that oncoming cars were going to stay on their side of the road! Especially in Bosnia Herzegovina (on our way to Mostar) and Montenegro (on our way to Kotor and Tivat). From here in Tivat we head back to Dubrovnik airport - only one more road trip to survive!
The Food was a bit more challenging, especially for me. Oysters and other seafood were fresh from the sea (YUM!) and plentiful, but bakeries were not gluten free/friendly not even one. We found one or two vegan restaurants along the way in Croatia (Zagreb, Zadar and one in the old city of Dubrovnik) which were aware of gluten free restrictions but limited in options. In Mostar my research paid off with a gluten free and vegan friendly restaurant however in Montenegro thus far, not a lot of luck. I’m holding out for a place we’re day-tripping to tomorrow. Definitely looking forward to Spain next week.
As always, send us texts, emails, photos - we’ll be sharing our life on the road, please share your life with us as well - we miss you!
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