That idea was impossible, unless we shelled out a huge amount of money for direct flights - it was the middle of the summer holiday season after all. We both had been to Croatia before - Sasha had done a Sail Croatia trip during her "Summer of Fun" holiday in May/June last year, and I had visited Croatia during mine and Dion's "Euradventure" in August last year. If we were to visit for Al's birthday, and not spend the earth on flights we'd have to add an extra day or few either side, and with this the trip grew. Coupled with the fact that when this was planned we had no idea if we would succeed on the job front and stay in Germany long term - if not, then this would be our last, best chance for a decent trip back to Croatia while over here. So a visit to Dubrovnik became a must, as Sasha had loved it and my visit had been far too fleeting; the Plitvice Lakes also became a must after hearing about them and seeing pictures from friends; and while we're at it, how about a day trip from Dubrovnik to either Kotor in Montenegro or Mostar in Bosnia? Balancing activities vs cost vs time, and working through all the options we could think of we managed to arrive at a rather nice trip that wouldn't break the bank, see a lot and also avoid as much as possible any horrendous summer holiday road traffic (that awfully slow bus trip from Mostar to Dubrovnik last year ever present in my mind!).
So how did it go?
Day 0 - Berlin to Split, Croatia
Day 1 - Plitvice lakes
Day 2 - Hvar
Finding the ferry wharf for our ferry wasn't easy - our tickets didn't say anything in this regard, and there was multiple vessels from the company we'd booked with. A lot of things online said it would be the middle wharf, but when we found someone who would be able to tell us, they said the International wharf at the end. We weren't going international but sure enough it turned out to be where we needed to go. After some breakfast, the gates opened and we boarded - deciding to grab an outdoors seat up the back. From here we watched other ferries come and go, sea planes come and go plus Split itself disappear as we headed towards Hvar. It was just on the pleasant side of hot out there, and quite a lovely view. After about an hour and a half, the ship started turning and backed into a wharf - this was Stari Grad.
Or at least, Stari Grad wharf. The town was not here, we could see it from the ferry but it would be a decent walk - doable but not exactly what we wanted in this heat. We knew buses that were at the wharf went direct to Hvar Town, so we contemplated giving Stari Grad a miss after all that until we saw one if the buses was going to Stari Grad town and beyond. 10mins on the bus later and we were at the bus station. From there, we wandered into Stari Grad - a town celebrating its 2,400th anniversary and it sure was pretty. We also decided to get lunch, which was a large Ice Cream Sundae each - the best lunch you can have on a hot day!
Once we'd checked in and settled in, we decided to go for a wander but also wear our togs in case we wished to swim. It wasn't long before we emerged at the waterfront, and not only did the water look inviting but the hot weather made a swim very appealing. So we swan for a while, before walking past the wharves/marina (quite a few large superyachts docked), through the town and then up to the Fortress that overlooked the town. After admiring the view, we headed back down, back to our accom and got changed to go out for Al's birthday dinner.
Day 3 - Sailing to Dubrovnik
Following dinner, we wandered further around the alleys of the old city in the dark, until we happened across a gelato place which we sampled before we headed back to the accom for much needed sleep.
Day 5 - Day Trip to the Country Next Door
Our bus came (after a few others picked up people from the same spot), picked us up and then headed to another spot in Dubrovnik to collect passengers before heading south to Cavtat to pick up the last of our group. Then it was south to the Montenegran border about 30min later - first through the Croatian border, and then through the Montenegran one. At the Croatian one our passports were checked but not stamped, while at the Montenegran border they didn't even look at them - so no stamp. Croatia is an EU country but not yet a part of the Schengen zone, and doesn't yet have the Euro. Montenegro is not EU, so no Schengen zone but they have the Euro as currency. Just down the road from the border was a service station where our bus stopped and we had a 15-20min break - seeing prices in Euros having got used to Croatian Kuna's made things look cheap until you realised how much a Euro was worth in comparison. Also, we quickly realised that our phone plans, which let us roam on our German plans in the EU with no penalty didn't apply here - so we disabled our cell data quick smart!
Montenegro using the Euro but not being EU was a bit confusing at first, but made sense when it was explained as we learned about the history of Montenegro - the worlds 2nd or 3rd newest country (South Sudan being the newest). Once a part of Yugoslavia just as Croatia and Bosnia had been, when Yugoslavia began to disintegrate Montenegro was the only state that chose to stay in Federation with Serbia to form a 'new' Yugoslavia (although never recognised as the successor state of the actual Yugoslavia). This meant however that Montenegro had to wage war against Croatia and Bosnia just as Serbia was, to try and stop them becoming independent nations. It was the Montenegrans who shelled Dubrovnik and destroyed parts of the old city, at Serbia's behest but it created a lot of animosity towards Serbia in Montenegro as a result, something that grew when Nato had to intervene in the late 90's and shelled parts of Serbia and Montenegro before sending in peacekeeping troops to stabilise the area. Because there were a lot if German peace keeping troops stationed in Montenegro, who were paid in Deutschmarks and were essentially cashed-up soldiers in an impoverished country, the then-leaders of Montenegro threw out the Yugoslavian/Serbian currency and made the Deutschmark the official currency. When Germany adopted the Euro, Montenegro also changed to it - although such a thing would not be permitted by the EU anymore. Montenegro separated from Serbia in 2006 following a referendum - that's right, the country is just 10 years old. It is sometimes known by the acronym FYROM which stands for Former Yugoslavian Republic of Montenegro, as the name Montenegro by itself is in use as a regional name elsewhere in a nearby country. Montenegro translates to "Black Mountains", which is apt given the rather spectacular and dark coloured mountainous terrain.
Our trip was taking us to a small area close to the coast, first to Budva - one of the bigger cities, but not the capital which is Podgorica. Budva turns out to be a fairly decently appointed tourist city, mainly for Russian tourists and the nearby airport at Tivat sees daily Aeroflot flights from Moscow in the summer months. We passed the airport, and our tour guide said it was in dire need of upgrading - from what I saw of it, including the runway, she was not wrong. We also had to take a small vehicle ferry across a stretch of water, on which we could hop off the bus and take photos. The ferries were double ended and there was a few of them plying the stretch of water, but something was wrong with ours as shortly after leaving the wharf it turned around to travel across facing a particular way, and then turned again before we docked so the vehicles could drive off facing the right direction.
Day 6 - Dubrovnik, Game of Thrones and Lokrum
Day 7 - Munichin' Back Home
Summing Up
For me, my biggest want in Croatia was to visit Dubrovnik again, for a decent amount of time - 2 hours in the Old City had not been enough. We did that in spades, and so much more - and being able to visit Montenegro too was an excellent addition. Split was also good - the Old City there is quite good, but its not as polished as Dubrovnik's and to be honest I didn't find it appreciably cheaper than Dubrovnik like so many people say it is. The trip was a blast - the prettiness and clarity of the Plitvice Lakes, just Dubrovnik in general, the charm of Stari Grad, Hvar Town's charm too and not forgetting Al's Birthday there! We covered quite a swathe of Croatia too - yes, its time for one of those maps!
I think it is always a measure of a trip that when there's been things that didn't go good - as was the case in this trip - that if you still really enjoyed it despite the bad stuff, then it must have been a really good trip, And it was, it really was - all of that good far outweighed the bad. I really like Croatia - I have done a considerable amount of it now I feel. My first introduction to the place was the capital Zagreb, which seems so completely different to the rest of the country that I have seen since. While Zagreb seemed typical Eastern Block city, Split, Dubrovnik and the coast inbetween are so far removed from that its hard to believe they are the same country. There is still areas of Croatia I haven't covered, such as up to Rijeka on the coast side or whatever I didn't get to see from the train from Zagreb to Sarajevo on the land section above Bosnia. But you never really hear anything about them, so perhaps there is not much to see. I would definitely believe that about the land section above Bosnia, but I am cautious about making such a bold claim regarding Rijeka. You never really hear anything about Podgora, but that is a fantastic gem of a place. One thing many people also do in Croatia is a Sail Croatia island-hopping tour, just as Al and Rachel did for Al's birthday and Sasha did during her first visit to Croatia. I have to say though that for myself, I would gain not much from doing such a trip having seen so much of Croatia as I have now and having been to many of the Island spots. I would very much like to do such a trip, but feel I would gain more by doing such in another country - I've come to regard Croatia as the "New Greece" with regards to the sail tours, but why not do such a thing myself in Greece? I've yet to visit Greece...
Montenegro - we can't forget the fact that this trip wasn't all about Croatia, that I got to tick off another country on the list as well by doing the day trip to this young nation. On the balance of things, as you will see from the map above what we saw was only a sliver of Montenegro - but I feel like what we did see was the most scenic part and probably all we need to see. It was an interesting contrast to Croatia - in one sense the landscape was more dramatic, but the villages and towns less charming and more plain. Kotor for instance was rather good and made me realise how heavily manicured and maintained Dubrovnik's Old City is - Kotor by countrast is tidy and looked after in the streets, but the outer wall is in need of a lot of attention and looks more like its been there for hundreds of years. Perhaps that's the difference between a country that has access to EU grants to restore and maintain important historical areas (Croatia) versus one that doesn't (Montenegro).
That fateful question - would I go back? one day, I will go back to Croatia for sure. But I don't think I will anytime soon - probably not again while on my OE, as having done it as comprehensively as we have now there is no compelling reason to go back anytime soon. This is especially true considering there is still a large list of countries and places yet to be visited or other places in need of a revisit. Croatia will be an eventual revisit destination some time in the further future, unless for whatever reason it makes sense to go through Croatia as a part of a visit to Bosnia - as Sasha has to go visit Mostar yet. So yes, but not soon. I should pose the same question for Montenegro - I really enjoyed the time spent there and what we saw, but have no need or desire to go back and spend more time in the country. It might be that I never get to visit Montenegro again, and that would be fine - but never say never. As for Munich, well... that's another story soon to be told.
So Croatia (and Montenegro) - you were fantastic, I had a great time and will forever have fond memories and it was great to be able to celebrate a friend's birthday there also. However in the meantime, I have a great many other places to visit and explore with my partner in crime Sasha!