crew: Antonio, Filipa, David, Guilherme, Clara, Shannon, Ana and Gizem
plan: rent the car in Maribor, drive through Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro and discover this wonderful places!
i don't even remember what i was expecting or not about this trip! but i can tell now: IT WAS THE BEST HOLIDAYS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE SO FAR... thank u all for the incredible moments.
we have to agree that the places helped a lot! =P
let's go through it with all the details =)
...after Mostar and Sarajevo...
2 JULY
GRAZ - MARIBOR - ZAGREB
wake up early (even after just slept 1 hour because of the goodbye party) and pick the train till Maribor - the place to rent the car where we would be able to drive through Balkans! wow, what place would be this that the austrian rent-a-car companies don't let people drive the cars there... in the best place in the world, or something similar!
first stop: Zagreb. i think no one said me: "yeah, Zagreb is great, go there, visit the city and have fun" but even so we had to stop to rest and decided to take our chances! and once again, there's nothing like see the places, know every and each thing by your own eyes. what's wrong with Zagreb? you should have been in Szczecin, in Poland, and than would talk about it... =)
the capital of Croatia it's a good place for a nice walk in the afternoon, have dinner, and go out in the night! and what a good night!
there was another car of people: Carmen, Jon, Ben, Vani and Lolla. they got sooner in Zagreb and then we meet there to dinner. after all was Carmen's birthday and should be together and drink a beer together... well, i left Graz very sick (shit!) so no beer for me, but i warm up the place! =)
3 JULY
ZAGREB - PLITVICKA JEZERA - ZADAR
we left the hostel of that crazy military receptionist (lol) and drove direction Plitvicka Jezera, or by other words, the National Park with such a pretty lakes! i really wasn't excepting anything like this! it wasn't possible to jump in the water... but me and Clara, well, we did it anyway! and the water was good! com' on we needed to cool down... the temperature was hot! =) just check the pics, the place was awesome!
we separate again from the other car. it was the last time i saw them... but i didn't know! we were supposed to be together in Zadar, the next stop! even if we were sleeping in different places... but it didn't happen! strange goodbye to you guys! wish u the best! =)
what a surprising place! we stayed in a small town next to Zadar, in a old lady's house. she didn't speak a word in english, just maid some strange sounds, but she was so nice... and the house - this one looks like a grand mother's house! so cosy, and so familiar for us portuguese people!
there was a festival in the city! and we should be there! we end up having dinner and later walking in the city... but i continued to be so sick and the rest of the crew was tired... so we went back to bed!
4 JULY
ZADAR - MOSTAR
we got delayed in Zadar! but anyway we enjoyed a lot the beach! or that thing more like a dock, built in concrete and stones close to the see! what matters is that Croatia has no sand beaches, but the water is greaaaaaat! i mean GREAT! and it fell even more great because was the first swimming time in the sea! the lakes of Austria are nothing compare to the sea! =)
long way driving to Mostar. we cross the border to Bosnia & Hercegovina. and what a surprise related with the constructions we were surrounded by... well, the non-portuguese of the trip might think that we are somehow egocentrics... but in this case, it really looked like, the whole house, the clandestine constructions of those metal roofs, the non finished walls, the jars with flowers everywhere in the windows and balconies, the bad taste for decorations... i though i had crossed the border of Portugal, instead os B&H. lol but it just for a while!
we arrive in Mostar and we got the first contact with very poor people, maybe from other countries that use and bad treat their children to ask money... shocking! and buildings in the suburbia still show the marks of the war, bullets or bombs, it's possible to find everything!
but the city center is simply charmer. Medieval look, totally destroyed during the war period, but totally rebuild after that! the entire old town is world heritage from UNESCO. What a incredible bridge... what a tasty food... and cheap! what a cosy people!
actually the people were the thing that surprised me the most (in the positive way)! they are warm, they are sooooooo nice! and they could have nothing, but they would have welcomed you fine anyway! i just loved bosnian people!
5 JULY
MOSTAR - SARAJEVO
i was very sick! (i think i told this already) so it was time to take some measures! antibiotics... and it was the best thing i have done! in 1 day i was feeling fine...
so let's drive to Sarajevo, get in the hostel and know the city! Sarajevo. what image do you have about Sarajevo? i couldn't have one... the war and the facts about the war are quite recent in my mind. but no picture of it! i loved it! yes i did! the story of the city, the people that live there, all the religions that sharing the same territory! how can they respect themselves so well nowadays?! and more than that, how come this wonderful people had fought with each other a couple of years ago... here u realize how politics sucks so much! and religion... well, i don't wanna say it sucks, but it is most of the time the reason for this kind of disagreements!
in the hostel we stayed, we were welcomed by Arian and his father. they were victims of the war as well, their got attacked and a grenade reached the first floor of the building! till today they've been reconstructing their home, and last year they decided to make an hostel from some rooms of the house! Arian maid us a guided tour through the city which help us understand lots of things about the city and its story that other way we couldn't find out by ourselves... very instructive and interesting!
in the inner city, the old city, the architecture changes totally! in this one/two floor high constructions they sell all the traditional things from Bosnia, the jewelry, the silver things, there are lots of restaurants with traditional food, and they have their own fast food (no McDonalds)... it's so good to walk by! i just saw the entrance of the bazar, i needed some rest, but the guys went there and everyone bought something! irresistible i can see =)
the symbol of Sarajevo, it's a red spot in the ground which they call a rose. red because of the blood. Sarajevo is the City of Roses.
6 JULY
SARAJEVO - DURMITOR - KOTOR
this day wasn't so good plan... or maybe it was, but we didn't know how long it would take to reach every place! the roads are bad, very bad! it took us 5 hours from Sarajevo, crossing the border with Montenegro, being passport-checked, and reach the Durmitor National Park. still with snow in the mountains top, the temperature changed suddenly, we were very high! but this park was different then the other, prepared for hiking and nature sports! so we couldn't enjoy it a lot... and we still had a long way to do, so... driving through Tara Canion, the second biggest in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the USA. beautiful but quite different... while we drove through all the country, from north to south, the landscape is astonishing! mountains everywhere! never saw anything like that! but the drivers in the road... the craziest ones i have ever seen also! the roads are so narrow, just one car in each lane, and on one side of the road is cliffy, on the the other it's edgy. there was a river running down there... but the guys pass by you in a huge speed and with other cars coming in the opposite direction! we were so close to have an accidents, for so many times, because of others... my god! but finally we arrived in Kotor, where we would sleep for 3 nights! what a incredible surprise! one more...
7/8 JULY
KOTOR - BUDVA - KOTOR
Kotor, the old city, is totally medieval as well, inside the walls of the castle! it's so different, the white stone that enclosure you among the small buildings, the random shaped streets, the surprising squares on each corner turning... what a small perfect beautiful world! i want to live there, i want to go there every summer! paradise! and the sea is just there!
we didn't lose any time. once again there was no beach, just a tiny dock, we jump from the wharf... you become so absorbed by the landscape around you... everyplace is amazing!
second half of the day we visit the city next to Kotor, Budva. same style, better night life they say, but i still prefer Kotor!
Shannon had a teacher in Graz University that knew this very nice man in Kotor and he just said to her: "go meet him in his restaurant, he will cook for you, and then go kayaking with him". as we heard this - Perfect! i do want to kayaking! that's the 'cherry in the top of the cake'... about the dinner... what can i say! we ate sea food, very good one, for so cheap price! actually during all the trip we ate very good, very good fish also! wow
and next day we really did it! 9km in each direction along the coast, stoping in many tiny beaches! we were guided by his son, Toni. no words to described this huge fjord that develops from the coast line till Kotor... we got tired, yes we did! but there was some rest of energy to climb the wall of the city up in the mountain! i would paint a canvas with that landscapes by the sunset, if i knew out to paint! =P but at least i took some good pictures!
9 JULY
KOTOR - DUBROVNIK - SPLIT
i had to leave the guys in this morning! my plans was to traveling direction Greece and pick the flight from there to Portugal. so i had to say goodbye to everyone in advance... guys, i said to u already, and i'll always say: thanks for your company! this trip was simply amazing! i don't know what happened with u from this moment on, but i hope all the rest of the trip was ok!
(i leave this part to filipa because i wasn't there anymore)
10/11 JULY
SPLIT - GRAZ
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