Roosink's Europe Road Trip 2013

Hello again, this time from Bosnia Herzegovina!

Here we are about half way through our trip at this point and it feels like a long time has passed to get to this point! Time is not flying thankfully. We seem to be working like a well oiled machine after about 11 weeks on the road and things are going smoothly.

Since the last post we left Montenegro and entered Croatia where we happily sat for 5 days (couldn't tear ourselves away) on the coast enjoying the sun and the water near a town called Orebic on a peninsula. It was nice to have a campsite with proper facilities for a change. Montenegro is yet to develop enough to increase the number and quality of campsites. So there we sat with pool and ocean at our doorstep. The kids are enjoying the company from many other children now that Europe has started their summer holidays.

Camping Nevio on the peninsula near Dubrovnik:

morning tea and plannings for the trip ahead

beers on the beach

Pebbly beach at the campsite

Ready for a spot of fishing ...

a camping buddy :)

Our 'home' at camping Nevio, Croatia :)

So that was Croatia for now...

From here we headed into Bosnia Herzegovina and have since learnt a lot about this previous Yugoslavian state. 44% of people here are Muslims and as it is currently Ramadan their is plenty of noise around the mosques! The fireworks go off each night at sundown (around 8.30pm) and their feast can begin.

Once again we were waved quickly through at the border crossing from Croatia into Bosnia. They had their hands full checking the arrivals from Bosnia (a non-EU state). We came in from the south and headed straight north to the town of Mostar.

Mostar, as so many other towns, shows evidence of the war from 1992-95. The bridge in the centre of the old town has been rebuilt. Graphic footage can be seen in the bookshop at one end of the bridge. It now stands as a symbol of unity again between the people. Young men stand ready to dive the 21m into the 9 degree water below with payment of 21 euros.

Unfortunately we will remember Mostar as the town we fled from after Fynn managed to 'break' a shop item which we refused to pay for. The police would be called! We were not hanging around to find out if she meant it or not ...

Payment in Bosnia is in Bosnian Marks. However euros are also frequently used on their own or as mixed payment. You have to be on your toes as you are also likely to get Croatian Kunas back as payment. Can be confusing! The going price is 2 euros for a big beer :)

Would you pay this man 25 euros to dive the 21 metres into 9 degree water below?

There is an annual diving competition from this bridge which they were setting up for.

Neretva River, Mostar

Mostar Bridge

The old bridge at Mostar, repaired since 1993 bombing.

copper wares in Mostar

awaiting the storm ... camping Blagaj (near Mostar)

Canoeing at camping Blagaj on the Buna River. All of 9 degrees! What were we thinking?

The last time we went canoeing in a 9 degree river it ended up in catastrophe. The Inn River in Austria many years ago on one of our cycling trips. It was our 'rest day'. The rapids won! We ended up swimming, losing a paddle, traipsing through a forest to a road whereupon followed discussions in german to a policman about our predicament (who was currently involved in a rescue of someone who had had a heart attack while canoeing).

Spring in Blagaj on the Buna River. The air temperature actually dropped around this river due to the cold water. Was the perfect place for dinner and well deserved after the hike up to the fortress overlooking Blagaj ...

Dervish Monastery built in 1520 at the spring in Blagaj on the Buna River, a national monument.

ablutions room

correct monastery attire

Blagaj Restaurant area

dinner on the river at Blagaj

chilling the beer in 9 degrees

Rural Herzegovina in the area of Mostar

From Blagaj we went to Sarajevo. An incredibly diverse and colourful city and easy to get around. We visited a few museums (National museum being closed due to government indecision about who's to foot the bill), ventured into the hills surrounding the city and soaked up the atmosphere in the streets.

Heritage Museum, Sarajevo. Photos taken at different locations from the same spot of immediately post war and 15 years later, 1996 and 2011 respectively

Heritage Museum. Home made heaters.

Heritage Museum: typical market goods sold during the war years 1993-5

Heritage museum: Hand made guns

Latin Bridge (currently under repair) in Sarajevo on the River Miljacka.
It was here where Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand which started WWI.

Lunch at a muslim restaurant in Sarajevo during Ramadan

Sarajevo

Miljacko River running through Sarajevo

The Tunnel Museum on the outskirts of Sarajevo. The nearly 800 people killed by Serbian snipers early on in the war resulted in the Bosnian army building this tunnel.

800 metres of tunnel dug over 4 months with just shovels, pick axes and wheelbarrows from the backyard of a house on the edge of the airport to the other side of the airport (the airport was on the border of Serbian occupied territory and Bosnian free territory).
Thousands of people used the tunnel to buy food that came in from Croatia.

The 25 metres of tunnel still in existence. During the war it was filled with mud and water. A railway track ran through the length of it to transport mainly weapons.

The Kolar family's house where the tunnel was built

A mosque in Sarajevo during Ramadan. Men on the right, women on the left in the background.

wicker work

Cafe Sarajevo

One of the many headstones from the Balkan War on the hills of Sarajevo

Sarajevo, street full of copperware

Heading up to the hills surrounding Sarajevo to the Fortress

Most buildings, but not all, have been repaired.

Views from the fortress overlooking Sarajevo. War cemeteries scatter the hillsides.

We are now in the town of Jayce, west of Sarajevo, surrounded by lush green hills, lakes and waterfalls. Tomorrow we will leave Bosnia Herzegovina and head towards Solvenia to meet some friends at Lake Plitvice in Slovenia :)

And now for something completely different ...

Montenegro! (29th June - 7th July)

A geographical memory jogger for us all :)

The BALKANS

Last week we crossed over from Bari, on the Adriatic coast in Italy, to Bar in Montenegro by overnight boat. We were the only campervan for a change and were a bit suspicious. At the border check we were the last off the boat and saw everyone before us going through extensive checks of the whole car AND luggage. But to our surprise we were welcomed and happily waved through :)
In hindsight, the numerous vehicles without number plates crossing the border may have been more a concern for the border patrol ;)

Flag of Montenegro.
A royal flag of King Nikola I

Montenegro or Crna Gora has been independent from Serbia since 2006. The first and only ecological state in the world at the moment, since 1991. Made up of Montenegrins (43%), Serbs (32%), Bosnians (9%), Albanians (7%), Muslims (5%) and Croats (1%). 62,000 residents in total.

Niksicko, Montenegro's national beer from the town of Niksic

Local produce from the side of the road

Stari Bar - the "pompei" of Montenegro

These rascals hijacked the campervan putting on a spontaneous magic show with flashing lights.

abracadabra

With our GPS again on the blink we blindly followed this road hugging the mountainside until reaching the ridge (which you can see in the distance). To our right are views over Albania. We then switched back 160 degrees and popped out at Lake Skadar (National Park). 2/3rds of the lake lies in Montenegro and the rest in Albania. It's the largest lake in the Balkans and is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, including some of the last pelicans in Europe. Popular with bird watchers.

Road block. Here I can also include the 3 cows I had to navigate on a run this morning.

Lake Skadar (National Park)

Views to Albania to the east, here and below

BIOGRADSKA National Park

Sarah's (40th!) birthday dinner at the Biogradska restaurant, just a stone's throw from the campsite.

Sink / fridge with continuous flowing chilly water from the mountains.

Biogradska is the smallest (54 square km) of the 4 national parks in Montenegro but packed with flora, fauna, 3 kinds of trout, 10 sorts of mammals, 6 glacial lakes and trees up to 60 metres. We camped at one of the lakes and explored it by row boat.

Biogradska Lake

Durmitor National Park

(UNESCO World Heritage Site)

We spent 4 nights at a campsite at 1500m at Durmitor National Park boasting 48 peaks over 2000m altitude. Highlight was the ski lift up to Savin Kuk to 2318m. 2 ski lifts actually and incredibly STEEP! The views from the top were worth it.

An afternoon's activity. DIY tent at campsite in Zabljak ;)

Typical houses in the Durmitor valley in Zabljak

View from Savin kuk

From the ski lift we witnessed this flock of sheep separate as 2 skiers came down the mountain on a small patch of ice (in July!). They had set up poles to 'figure-of-eight' between and even had their own portable powered rope lift to get them back up!

The ultimate goal really was to FINALLY get into some serious snowball fighting. We could see snow on several occasions but nothing within reach. Here the kids all got their hands on some snow for the first time. Faces were priceless :)

The tops of Durmitor!

Wishing well

transport ...

The Black Lake in Durmitor NP. 2km walk from our campsite which we somehow made 12 of. Lunch on the way. As usual goulash for Kai! 14 euros for lunch for the 5 of us is a pleasant change.