For my parents last trip to Germany (for a while) we decided to visit the beautiful country of Croatia but first I made them come to Köln one last time. We walked around the city, we took them to our favorite brauhaus, we enjoyed a few Kölsch, had dinner at the food truck markets, ate a döner and had a drink at the Biergarten. It was a great last trip to Köln. On to Croatia!
Dubrovnik, Croatia: We spent three nights in beautiful Dubrovnik. We arrived in the late afternoon, checked into our apartment that overlooked the city then headed down the 300+ steps that lead into the city. We had drinks and dinner in the historic center. Then we begrudgingly walked back up those 300 steps to get back to our apartment. Good thing is has an amazing view!
The next morning, I made everyone get up and out fairly early. We grabbed a quick bite to eat then walked along the walls that enclose the entire city. It gets busy quickly and since it was suppose to be in the high 80s, it was good to get there early. We spent over an hour and a half walking around the city using the walls to get around. It was a fun way to see everything from above. Once we headed down, we had the entire day to explore what we had seen from above. We walked around the medieval city for a good part of the day until one of us (Alex) got pooped on by a pigeon and had to take the many steps up to change. After that unfortunate event, it was time for our sunset kayaking tour. My parents hopped on one kayak and Alex and I shared another and us, along with a guide and 8 other couples headed out for a 3 hour tour. Our first stop was to a huge cave were we had a bit of time to swim around in the crystal clear water. Next, we went to a smaller cove where only the “brave” got off of their kayaks and jumped off a (pretty high) rock. Alex and I decided to go for it. It was actually much higher then I thought but without much hesitation we quickly jumped together before we could think too much about it. We hopped back on the kayak and watched the beautiful sunset while kayaking back to Dubrovnik. Once back, we were rewarded with delicious Croatian wine and the perfect restaurant for dinner.
Kotor, Montenegro: Ever since seeing pictures of Montenegro, I’ve wanted to go. Luckily, Dubrovnik is just a short 2 hour drive to the beautiful country. We took a different route to Montenegro to avoid the tour busses and long lines through boarder control and made in there in no time. On the way, we even saw a boar crossing sign (unfortunately not the real thing). Once we arrived in Kotor, we really enjoyed walking through the small town. It was really pretty with views of the surrounding mountains and fortress high up on a steep hill. We grabbed a (cheap!) local drink, did a little souvenir shopping, stopped at the local casino (my dads idea, of course) then headed back to Croatia. On the way, we decided to stop at a small beach to swim. With the crystal clear waters and the surrounding mountains, it was honestly one of the most beautiful places you could think of to go swimming. We swam in the ocean for a bit, grabbed a drink at the small outside bar then headed back to Dubrovnik. Once back, we had a drink on our rooftop overlooking the beautiful city then decided to head back down one last time. We grabbed a last dinner in Dubrovnik then walked back up the 300+ steps for luckily the last time.
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina: We left Dubrovnik for good as we headed into Bosnia. Again, Mostar was somewhere I really wanted to visit so seeing as we were only a two hour drive from B&H, we decided to stay a night. We left Croatia, using the scenic, less traveled route (because the normal way was super traffic-y) and made it into Bosnia in no time. Once in Bosnia, the road seemed to get smaller and smaller until it was basically a one lane road, covered by trees, with a bunch of abandoned looking homes (actually used to be the old train route) and we didn’t see another person for a loooong time. It was a bit creepy… but we eventually got to an even smaller road that looked even less traveled and was even more creepy. Yikes. Finally we all relaxed when we made it to a normal road (with other people driving!). We thought we were out of the woods until we saw a police officer up ahead with a sign saying “stop” and he motioned for us to pull over. We thought he was just going to check our passports but then ended up just asking for Alex’s ID. “Alex Jerry Hempel, please come with me.” Ummm…what? Alex stepped out of the vehicle and was promptly arrested…just kidding. He followed the officer over to his car and was told he was speeding. He was going 63km in a 50km (about 8 mph over the limit). He was then told he could take the ticket to the bank to pay or just pay the cop directly. Alex decided against the bank and just paid the cop the €25 directly (I’m sure he pocketed some of that.) Alex noticed on the police officer’s “list” that he had already pulled over 6 other people that day. It was 10am. Sheesh. After that excitement, we were on our way again. We decided to make a short stop at Blagaj Monastery. It was a very secluded, very beautiful monastery built into the side of a mountain. We had lunch there and took some pictures then finally headed to Mostar. At lunch, Alex wasn’t feeling well and by the time we got to Mostar, he looked pretty bad. We checked into the hotel and he went straight to bed and didn’t come out until the next day. Poor guy. We missed Alex but that didn’t stop my parents and me from exploring the small bustling town. The main pedestrian street is just covered on both sides with vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs so that was of course, our first stop. My mom and I had a lot of fun shopping while my dad found a bar with cheap beers. Once we stopped in pretty much every stall, we found a spot for a drink where we were able to watch the brave men jump off the high bridge. The rest of the evening consisted of a tasty dinner followed by some gelato then we enjoyed a drink on our balcony. I loved Mostar but wished that Alex could have enjoy it with us.
Split, Croatia: We got ready to head back into Croatia the next morning and realized that my dad now had what Alex did. Ugh. But at least Alex was feeling better. We drove the 2 hours to Split, checked into our apartment, left my dad to recoup and the three of us headed into the city. We walked around, stopping for a drink and a charcuterie board. By late afternoon, my dad was feeling well enough to join us for a tour of Diocletian’s Palace – an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian. It was really interesting to get the history behind the city of Split.
We had a full day tour set up early the next morning so we walked to the water to join the group. There were 8 of us plus a guide and we jumped on a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and headed out. It was a full day of exploring 6 different islands. Alex and I were in the back of the raft and my parents in the front. The guide told us the first Cave was the longest journey of the day at 1 hour 15 min and since it was pretty choppy, some people were going to get wet. Those people just happened to be…you guessed it, Alex and me. Only Alex and me. My parents said they got splashed once or twice but Alex and I got totally soaked. It was 7:30am so it wasn’t warm out yet either and I had to keep drying my face from all of the salt water. But by the time we made it to the first island, we had pretty much dried off. Our first stop of the day was to the Blue Cave. We had to get off our boat and get on another that was specially made to be able to get into the caves. When we entered, it was dark inside and all you could see was the turquoise blue waters. It was beautiful! The second cave we stopped in was Monk Seal Cave. It used to be a safe haven for monk seals to give birth in but they have long since gone. Next, we passed by the Green Cave and after that, we stopped on a beautiful beach and had time to snorkel around and enjoy the clear, warm water. Our next stop was to Hvar Island a bigger island with hotels and shops etc. We had an hour to explore the island. We stopped at a restaurant for a drink and my dad talked the waitress into picking a pomegranate off of the tree so we could try it. Our second to last stop of the day was to Brac island where we enjoyed a delicious lunch on a really quiet part of the island. The guide said he sometimes catches sea urchins to eat and Alex was really interested in trying one. The guide snorkeled around and found a few for Alex. He cut one open and scooped out the insides and Alex tasted it. He said it tasted fishy with a sponge like consistency. Our last stop was to the other side of Brac island where we enjoyed a small wine tasting. We tried a red, white and a dessert wine (that we both ended up buying) plus olive oil and almonds. All really delicious! Then we had a crazy bumpy (but dry!) ride back to Split.
The next morning, another person was down for the count. My mom ended up getting whatever the other two had. We had a two hour drive to Zadar that day. We got in early and couldn’t quite check in yet so we walked around the city. We stopped and had a drink at a outside bar then we were able to check in. My mom stayed in the apartment and the three of us headed out to explore more of the city. We grabbed some food then walked to the Sea organ (an experimental musical instrument, which plays music by way of sea waves located underneath a set of large marble steps). My dad then went back to check in my mom and Alex and I stopped for a drink. We collected my dad and walked back into the center. We could hear loud music coming from the promenade and happened upon a big beer festival. It was a fun atmosphere and we stuck around for a while enjoying the evening.
We woke up bright and early the next morning and headed towards Zagreb. We made a stop along the way to Plitvice Lakes. Unfortunately, it was pouring out so we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we should have but the lakes were still beautiful. We walked along the path, admiring the amazing waterfalls, rode a boat across the blue lake and warmed up with a hot chocolate. We were almost done with the trail when we thought we had taken a wrong turn so we took a short cut through a muddy trail. I ended up slipping and falling right on my butt and my pants were completely covered in mud. Ughhh. Not long after, we got back to our car and I was able to change. We drove the rest of the way to Zagreb. We checked into our apartment and O.M.G. it was the coolest place we’ve ever stayed. It was huge and industrial and modern and awesome. We forced ourselves to go out and not stay in the apartment all day. We stopped for a drink, bought a few souvenirs then found an outdoor festival selling all kinds of food and drink.
The next morning for our last day in Croatia, we had a really delicious breakfast at a restaurant below our apartment. We then visited a few churches, rode the “World’s Shortest Funicular” (about 1 minute long), did lots of walking, stopped for a drink at a bar that used to be a pharmacy, then had delicious sliders at a burger place. We then found ourselves back at the festival where we enjoyed our last evening.
Thanks for another great trip Mom and Dad! I’m glad you were able to come back to Köln one more time too. Alex and I will for sure miss our yearly European trips but maybe we can do a little more traveling in the US…Vegas anyone? Love you both and see you soon!
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Oh Sunny, you did a spectacular job of summarizing our trip! So sad that it was our last European adventure together, but the trips we DID take were unforgettable….And soon you’ll be back home where many new adventures await!
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Sounds wonderful! The only place we hit was Kotor, and in Croatia we were in Sibenik. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
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