Croatia's proximity to nearby countries makes for awesome day trips, especially out of Dubrovnik. Because we were staying a full week in Dubrovnik we decided we had some time to adventure around the Balkans and see the beauty this area has to offer. Maneuvering this area with a car is easy, and many people opt to rent a car. We didn't choose that option and instead booked day tours through the excursion company Super Tours
Montenegro
Our trip to Montenegro started with a pickup at 7:40am where we got to meet our guide and the other people on our tour. I was skeptical about joining in on a day long tour where you're essentially stuck doing whatever they have planned, but I'm very happy with this company and their tours.
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Our first stop was in the city of Budva, which is also where our only spot of sunshine appeared. The pictured island is a luxury resort popular among celebrities, with rooms starting at $1000 USD/night. We then drove closer into the city where we had two hours of free time. Budva has an old town, which we wandered through and found a nice restaurant for lunch. This city is located right on the water and had it not been raining it seemed that there were options to rent boats and jet skis.
Next stop was Kotor, which is one of the more popular cities of Montenegro. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. We had an organized walking tour that was about 45 minutes and took us through the center of town, teaching the history of the area. On a clear day there are some great hikes available up the side of the mountain that offer views of Kotor and the surrounding water.
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| Cathedral of Saint Tryphon |
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| Church of Sveti Luka, which has both an Orthodox and a Catholic altar inside |
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| Fortification systems built from Venetian inspiration |
Our last stop was Perast, which is a very small village known for it's proximity to the islands of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks which you can visit by boat when it's not pouring down rain. The first island contains a monastery and the second is a man made island that has a Roman Catholic church. The town of Perast has just over 300 inhabitants and isn't up to speed with tourism, but they have an intricate history and stunning views of the water and mountains.
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| Island of St. George on the left and Our Lady of the Rocks on the right |
Despite the heavy rain that left us soaked and cold, I still fell hard for Montenegro. Each stop we made was filled with charming people and beautiful views of both water and mountains. Even though we only stopped in three cities, Montenegro is so small that we still managed to see about 20% of the entire country. This wasn't enough for me though, so I hope to go back some day soon and spend more time exploring this charming place.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)
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| St. James Church with people outside listening to the 11:00 service |
Our first stop was a city called Medjugorje where I learned about the strong religious associations affiliated with BiH, especially within this area. Starting in the 1980s there were numerous reports of the Virgin Mary appearing to people in this city, and since then it has grown to be a huge pilgrimage site for Catholics, attracting over one million people every year. The city itself is relatively small with a population of about 2300, but when it comes to 'go big or go home' they definitely go big. The streets were lined with tourist shops where you could buy any religious souvenir you could think of including rosary beads, playing cards with Jesus on them, and life size models of Mary.
We arrived in Medjugorje just in time to catch the 11:00 service at the Christian church in town. I have never seen anything like this before; as we were driving through the streets people came flocking towards the church. It felt like the entire city was coming out to attend. Moms walked with strollers and people of all ages were carrying chairs, because although the church fills up quickly, the outside can hold the whole town. The service was performed through a microphone which could be heard clearly from outside, and that's where many chose to sit, especially those with children.
In this small town there were basically two options, either attend the church service or go to a cafe for some snacks and coffee.
Once church was done the town's population dispersed and it
was time for us to head to our next location of Mostar.
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| Minarets of the Mosques rising above the city of Mostar |
Besides the capital of Sarajevo, Mostar is probably the most well known city within BiH. Mostar reflects it's history well by being a mixed population of Bosnians, Croats and Serbs; all whom settled there after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Religion in this area (and majority of BiH) is a strong mix of Islam, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism, with Islam being the most prevalent because of the long history of Ottoman ruling. The city itself is home to many churches, and we were lucky enough to be there during the call to prayer, which I haven't heard since my visit to Turkey five years ago.
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| The Old Bridge of Mostar |
Mostar is most known for The Old Bridge, which was built during Ottoman ruling in the 16th century. It was known then and now as one of the most impeccable examples of Islamic architecture in the Balkans. The bridge that we see now is not the original; after standing for over 400 years it was destroyed during the Bosnian war and was later rebuilt in the exact same way in 2004 and is now protected by UNESCO.
The bridge carries an odd tradition of 'divers'. These are professionals who stand on the top of the bridge asking for collections from tourists. Once they reach a certain sum (usually something around 25 euros) they jump off of the bridge for viewers. This is a dangerous task because not only does the bridge stand at a tall height of 60 feet, the water comes straight from the mountains and rarely makes it above the 40s. Pair that with a hot summer day reaching the hundreds and you'll give your heart quite a shock. There is an endless history of tourists jumping from the bridge and dying or seriously harming themselves; just a few days before we arrived a tourist jumped and landed wrong on the water, resulting in him still being unconscious in the hospital. The divers are looked highly upon in this town and tourists should think twice before jumping.
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| A smaller version of The Old Bridge, which was constructed as a test to make sure the architect could build a stable and lasting bridge. |
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 90s, Bosnia and Herzegovina became the center of the Bosnian War, which led the country through four years of destruction. I was very well aware of this fact, but was shocked to see that 20 years after the war, there is still evidence of this time written all over the country. In each city we went to there were still buildings in shambles, destroyed by bombs and missiles. Many functioning stores and apartment buildings were scarred from bullet holes still showing on the siding. Our tour guide in Mostar explained that they don't rebuild by neighborhood, instead they decide to fix each building separately. This created an odd contrast around the cities, especially Mostar, because you would pass one newly refurbished apartment building followed by a building too destroyed to function. Many people never recovered from the war and Mostar is home to many gypsies and homeless families who roam the streets. The photos I had seen previous to my visit show BiH as a beautiful country, filled with bridges, rivers and mountains. What these photos neglected to show is the poverty and destruction that is still strong in this country. Fortunately, tourism is becoming a booming industry in the Balkans and slowly the country is able to rebuild to it's former glory.
Logistical Info
Both tours were run through Super Tours and they provided very knowledgable, friendly and helpful guides. They were featured on Expedia which is where I booked them, but you can also book through their personal website or visit their office in Dubrovnik. Although I had booked a month in advance there was a girl on our Montenegro trip that had just booked the night before at their office.
Both trips lasted from about 7:30am-7pm. Montenegro was $58 USD and BiH was $62 USD.
Croatian currency is the Kuna, something I neglected to account for before leaving the country. Montenegro is on the Euro and we were told that some areas might accept the kuna, but we were advised to use euros. I found that credit cards were relatively accepted in Montenegro and I had no issues buying lunch and a postcard with my Visa. Next time I would bring along a few euros if I was planning on buying anything, just in case.
BiH has their own currency of the Mark but they were much more accepting of both euros and kuna. I was able to purchase lunch on my card and then used kunas to purchase a few souvenirs. Keep in mind that less touristy areas of BiH might not be as accepting of the kuna or euros.
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