Croatia
visit-croatia.co.uk
Zagreb
zagreb-touristinfo.hr
Transport
zagreb-airport
Places
to Stay
Omladinski Hotel - http://www.nazor.hr/index.php
Although
they call it a "hotel," I have to try really hard to call it a hostel. It's more
like a refugee camp. The walls have holes and peeling paint, the lights seem to
glow with cancer-causing radiation, and not even a handful of kunas could get me
to enter the bathrooms. But when it really comes down to it, my room was
comfortable. And with only 2 bunks per room, the space was relatively private.
Dubrovnik
dubrovnik-online.com
Transport
airport-dubrovnik.hr
I
absolutely loved Dubrovnik! Such a peaceful place and wonderment is
abundant.
Pictures of
Dubrovnik
Trip Report - Truman Capote
The former
Yugoslavia was so diverse and interesting, it was like a miniature version of
Europe (with lots of dashes of turkey!!!!). I can certainly say that those were
the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my entire life!
Sarajevo
and Dubrovnik and Mostar were so heartbreakingly beautiful. it made me so sad to
see all the bombed out homes in the Bosnian countryside.
I flew
into Slovenia, which is quite beautiful... it has its own thing going but it
struck me as the most Germanic (or Austrian) country I have ever been to. I felt
like I hadn't left Germany... it's a wonderful place! Delightful and pleasant,
but not amazing.
It was really a little too fast, just a road trip so I
definitely want to go back and see more!
But Croatia and Bosnia just blew
me away. I have never been to such stunningly beautiful places in my life. I had
moments where I thought I would cry, it was that emotional... and I live in
Europe, the beautiful continent, but this was really up there, probably my
favourite place in Europe.
It was good that I was traveling with people
who were very knowledgeable about history and politics, because I understand all
the conflicts somewhat better. They really do go back hundreds of
years...
photos
this is the first time I did a rent a car thing with 4
people: I was struggling against it, but in the end it turned out to be cheaper
than the bus. (I may be mistaken)
Croatia is a fairly wealthy country...
a local bus fare is 1 EURO and a cross country bus ticket was 30 or 40
EURO.
It's popular now so I can only imagine the massive traffic (for
buses also) during the summer along the coastal roads. Our car was hijacked by
my friends who are obsessed with the Byzantine and Turkish empires, so we were
suddenly in Bosnia before I knew it. I really didn't expect Mostar to be so
beautiful.
Bosnia has some amazing mosques. It really was a meeting place
of east and west. we also sat in on some beautiful Serbian orthodox ceremonies,
and it was saddening.
I am just a stupid tourist, but I noticed little
things. the orthodox (Serbian) church in Dubrovnik was empty, and was damaged
from where people had attacked it in retaliation for the bombings in the early
nineties.
in Mostar the Croat Catholics had built a massive crucifix on a
hill overlooking the city and had driven the Muslims out of their homes and
across the bridge, before blowing it up.
and Sarajevo was busy, and
stunning, but just so sad. I think everyone wants to label the Serbs as the bad
guys, but we passed through Slavonia and people said that the Croatians had
driven the Serbs out of there too.
the ferry was great, cheap and much
more comfortable than a bus.
the trains in Croatia suck, but there are
good connections to Ljubjlana... you get a nice ride through the mountains to
the sea!
I went with some classics geeks. there's so much history
there... read up!
split is so cool! the private rooms were
cheaper than the hostels at times.
it was weird, my Austrian friend kept
bashing Croatia and saying that the people were unfriendly and that the food was
bad, but the food was far better than anything I've eaten in Austria or
Germany.
I've also always associated Slavic culture with chillier
weather, so it was funny to be in the Mediterranean hearing it around
me!
But I did find Ljub. much more beautiful and much less crowded
and nasty than Prague. Prague just rubbed me the wrong way.
Trip
Report - PB
Check out more of Croatia if you should go there in the
summer time there is a place in the north eastern part that is called 16
plitvice meaning 16 waterfalls and they have underwater caves too... I never
been to Serbia but I went through bosnia-hercegovina and they do have some nice
landscape I vote for more travelling in Croatia! (only because I’m Croatian :0)
Transportation in Croatia is okay, expect to pay every time you get
on the bus because if you are caught by the Kontrollers (bus cops/enforcement)
if you don't have the bus ticket expect them to give you a fine if you are
co-operative. If you are not they will threaten to take you down to the
station.
When I went travelling to Mostar, Medugorije and throughout
Bosnia and Hercegovina the bus rides are long if you are travelling for a day
trip try and catch an overnight bus because depending on the time of travel i.e.
summer, fall or winter. In summer the overnight bus will be best travelling
during the day gets very hot and make sure you are there EARLY; because even
though you bought your tickets and reserved in advance them there is no such
thing so if you really want to sit in a specific seat then get to the bus depot
early and don't expect them (the natives of the city) to move out of your way. A
lot of these people travel to the bigger cities to do shopping and over the
border shopping and make sure all of your permits or travelling documents are in
order! (I only say these things even though it is my dad’s home country and I
have citizenship I still get hassled because my Croatian is fluent but of course
it has a different accent!) Shops are open in the morning then they have a
siesta in the summer time (mostly all year around) from about 1200-1700hrs for
the hottest part of the day and after 1700hrs they open until 2100hrs. But, the
coffee bars are open early and open late and have the younger crowds out or the
people that just get off of work and like to hang out for a bit and they are
open late like 0200am.
Trip Report - Kahunna
I guess I
could give you a few facts: In the course of my 15-day voyage, I traveled (by
plane, train, bus, ferry and hitchhiking) through 17 towns in 5 countries -
England (just London), Italy (Bari and Trieste), Croatia, Montenegro, and a
40-minute busride through the small country of Slovenia. I spent an average of
$20 daily in Montenegro and $35 daily in Croatia, which was more than enough for
a comfortable bed, food, and enterance fees into the many historical/cultural
sites I saw.
DCMOM - I took a flight from LAX to Gatwick in London (via
North Carolina), and from London Stansted to Bari, Italy. From Bari, I took a
ferry over to Dubrovnik. My return home started with a flight from Trieste,
Italy into London.
Even though I sometimes had the option otherwise, I
camped a few times on my trip. It is always an interesting experience camping in
a foreign country. Since I was there in early May, before the summer rush of
tourists and backpackers had begun, I didn't run into many other campers. And
when I say "campers", I mean backpackers who have a tent strapped to their back.
Most of the people I saw and met in campsites of Croatia and Montenegro arrived
in a large, air-conditioned, Recreational Vehicles (RVs) with a satellite dish
on the roof and a motor scooter in tow. Not exactly my idea of "roughing it",
but these mainly Italian, German and Netherlander adventurers were usually two
to three times my age.
The highlights of my journey would have to include
my return to Dubrovnik, Croatia and Kotor, Montenegro. When I visited these two
fortified old towns in 2001, I had always promised myself I would return one
day... and so it was literally a dream come true to spend another three nights
in each of these cities. I also will not forget my time in Plitvice National
Park, one of the most spectacular nature preserves in Croatia - or Europe for
that matter. Countless
waterfalls, rare birds, and mineral-rich water brings
images to mind of Hawaiian postcards that I have seen.
If I had to pick a
favorite place in both Croatia and Montenegro (not including the obvious
Dubrovnik and Kotor), it would be Pula and Mount Lovcen. Pula is a large city in
the northern region of Croatia known as Istria. It is famous for its
well-preserved Roman buildings, including a 1st century AD Amphiteater, which is
the 6th largest of its kind in the world and located right in the middle of the
populated city. Mount Lovcen (pronounced "love-chen), on the other hand, is
beautiful for its natural beauty and unbelievable view. Johan, a fellow
backpacker from Sweden, and I rented a taxi to drive us to the top of this
monumental mountain shaped a little like Half Dome in Yosemite. We had to trudge
through a bit of snow before reaching the 400+ stairs which would bring us to
the top, which lies the mausoleum of Petar II Petrovic Njegos, one of the most
revered men of Montenegro. If ol' Pete was still alive, I'm sure he would
appreciate the great view the people of Montenegro gave him. From his mousoleum
ontop of the mountain, it is possible to see for over 40 miles in every
direction on a clear day. They say that if the weather is *really* good, you can
see Italy. Alas, the weather was not good the day we were there and only had a
10-minute opportunity to see the awesome view before the mountain top was
smothered in a cloud.
Eventually , I will put up on my website a few
hundred of the close to TWO THOUSAND photos I took while in Europe as well as
some of the more interesting and entertaining stories. But for now, I have but a
handful of selected images from my trip:
http://www.kahunna.net/europe2/bestofthebest/01.shtml
Articles
The Pearl of
the Adriatic
