July. 2018
We crossed 9 countries in almost 2 weeks. All this time, the car became our second home. For this trip we gathered a larger group of 14 people. We left with 2 small cars and a van, from Targu Mures. (with a little bad luck because the day before, one of the cars had a little accident and had to be replaced)
For some of the gang members, including me, the plan was to stay for only a week and from Sarajevo to take our way back home. For me, the reason was the bachelor’s thesis that hung like a boulder over my head, I hadn’t started it and I didn’t even know what it should look like.
Anyhow, I was convinced to stay until the end, I made peace with the thought that I might have to work nights to be able to finish the work, but it was the best decision I could make.
Serbia. BELGRADE
We take a city tour and in the evening we climb towards to Kalemegdan Park, from where you can see the city very well, but also the sunset. We are hungry now and we go to look for some local food – pljeskavica – a dish similar to the hamburger, but traditionally Serbian. To be honest, I have some doubts that we found the best in town.
Accommodation is from Airbnb and is a large house with an inner courtyard and several rooms or apartments. We have a kitchen, bathroom, etc. Generally we paid approximately 10-16 euros/person.
Croatia. ZAGREB
Of course, after walking a little on the streets, the group splits into 2. We head to a viewpoint from where you can see the whole city, the others eat the best burger in their lives. We also visit the Museum of Broken Relationships.
In the evening we watch the semifinal of the world football championship Croatia – England on the ground floor of the hostel where we are staying (Taban Hostel). We sit at the bar and drink a few beers. There is an incredible atmosphere, we wait breathlessly to see who is the winner and in the end it’s Croatia’s team. That means we’re having a party.
In the morning after drinking our coffee, offered by the hostel, we go on to Plitvice National Park. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but we came across a huge park, with many waterfalls, lakes with water of a very intense blue. We rode a boat, wandered the paths and I was pinched by a duck as I was trying to feed her. 🙂
When our relaxation tour gets to an end we get back in the cars and in the afternoon we arrive in ZADAR.
Croatia. ZADAR
We unpack in a villa, also found on Airbnb and then go for a walk to the beach. We reach the shore just as the sun is almost setting and there is such a great energy, we are all very happy. We can’t wait to take a bath, so we sit on a patch of beach. Of course, someone cuts her feet in a shell in the first 15 minutes, so it is highly recommended to have water slippers. Not only for the cuts, but also because the beaches are practically made of stones and it is much more comfortable to have something in your feet.
In the evening we looked for some local food, walked the cobbled streets and returned to the accommodation.
Theoretically, we had to move on in the morning, but due to a car key failure – it was thrown from the balcony and its chip was lost – we took a walk to the Sea Organ. At the meeting of the sea with the boardwalk, some tubes are built so that even when the waves hit them, sounds similar to those from the organ are produced. It’s beautiful and has a special charm, but soon after we arrived a man started cutting the grass, the sound of his grass cutting car covering almost everything.
Croatia. DUGI RAT
When the car is repaired, we leave for DUGI RAT and arrive around noon. Because it was harder to find accommodation in this area and the most acceptable was for 12 people, 2 people had to wait until the others checked in. We don’t do this in general, but in this situation we really didn’t have another choice. There were enough places to sleep.
Here we can say that we have our own private beach because for most of the time, it is just us. The water is incredibly clean.
However, it doesn’t take long for another member of the group to step on a sea urchin :). While the patient is encouraged with gin, we try to remove the spikes from his finger with tweezers.
Due to the fact that there are not many tourists in this area, at night, more as a challenge, we decided to try skinny dipping. I had never entered the sea at night. I was somehow afraid of that of creatures that live in the water and that you can’t see, but I did that too.
Here we spent 2 nights after which we went on to OMIS. Here we had the most spectacular accommodation.
Croatia. OMIS
In the evening was the final of the world championship, Croatia played against France. The Croatians were ready for party, so even if their team lost, we still went out with them. Everyone was involved in the celebration: firefighters had taken out their cars and made noise, people had all kinds of white/red smoke, singing and dancing. Of course we also had matching equipment. I think it was a once in a lifetime experience – we were in the right place at the right time.
The only inconvenience was the fact that the streets were blocked and for a while we could not drive, so we headed to a beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon.
We also climbed a tower in a fortress. I notice that I have this obsession for high places in every city. Everything looks very beautiful and in addition you can see where everything is and you can find the attractions easily afterwards. This is very practical for me because I lack the sense of orientation.
Then we found a store with all kinds of bottles with a unique design, full of liqueurs of all possible fruits and rakija (local drink with a high % of alcohol). The saleswoman let us taste everything. We also bought a lot as a souvenir for home.
I tasted all kinds of seafood although I am not the biggest fan. When we go somewhere new I prefer to eat local dishes.
Bosnia. SARAJEVO
And now to SARAJEVO. When you get here, you might say you landed in Istanbul. Although I’ve never been to Turkey, that’s exactly how I imagine it is.
Here we were caught by the rain. We could not walk very much so we went to a small family restaurant. It was just us, the owner was very happy to have customers and said that we can play whatever music we want in order to feel good.
The bad part is that we had a problem with the accomodation, through Booking this time, in the way that it was not at all what we payed for. We were told they had no more rooms available, but they were taking us somewhere else. We arrived in a building with many rooms, shared bathroom, which did not look good. At least we only stay here for one night.
Theoretically, this would have been the best time to decide whether to stay or go home with the others the next day. The scientific paper was on my mind, I didn’t have any money left and this was the year I finally decided to go to Folk You ( romanian festival at seaside), but I also wanted to stay here as I may not have this opportunity again.
Clearly I have a problem with decision making, and I was very stressed, so that in the end, AFTER I left for home, I knew I really wanted to stay. Luckily someone answered the phone and I was picked up by the group continuing this journey.
Montenegro. BUDVA
After checking Bosnia off the list, the country that impressed me the most, precisely because I didn’t have high expectations, was Montenegro. So, to BUDVA.
The old town is splendid, is a fortress with stone paths with terraces or small restaurants.
The accommodation was also impeccable here, also Airbnb.
On all the postcards at the souvenir shops we see pictures of a ballerina statue, famous in the city. This is why we wanted to find it and see it for ourselves. We wandered a lot on the streets and we asked people who didn’t understand what we wanted from them. In the end, we found her hidden at the end narrow path.
Albania. TIRANA
I will start with the fact that in Albania there is hellish traffic. There were 3 lanes on the road, but people drove as there were 5. You had to be very careful not to hit other cars, because no rules were followed. On the less travelled roads, people dried their plants 🙂
Greece. THESSALONIKI
Honestly the sea and the beach are like the ones on the Romanian coast, we did not went on islands with crystal clear water. But the accommodation… makes all the money. We rented a villa, on top of a hill, with a view, with a large yard, with hammocks on the terrace. We stayed there for 3 nights and I am convinced that we will not forget them very soon.
Obviously we looked for a viewpoint again and this time it was The White Tower.
Macedonia. SKOPJE
Slowly, slowly we leave this beautiful place, and move on to SKOPJE – another city about which we did not have high expectations, but which impresses us with its impeccable city center. Everything seems recently renovated, with giant artesian fountains and statuies. Cleanliness, many terraces, gilded bridges and buildings.
Although the central area and a few other streets are very beautiful, there is a great contrast between them and other areas of the city left as if abandoned, with unfinished buildings and not very clean streets.
Bulgaria. SOFIA
Last stop before entering our country.
Although we are responsible and we send a message for paying the parking, when we return to the car we have the wheel locked and a fine in the windshield. It’s true that we didn’t receive a confirmation message, but we had nowhere else to get parking tickets from. We relied on luck and it was not on our side this time.
We visited the city center for a shot while and a beautiful church. After we bought some fridge magnets as memory we continued our way home.
Travel notebook 