View from the Castle Of San Giovanni overlooking the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro! Quite a climb but totally worth it. As per someone from the hostel who showed me the way, if you enter from the old town you have to pay €3 to climb it, but there’s a (secret!) entrance all the way on the northside (to the right in this picture) out of the Old Town. That’s where there are no people asking for money and the hike is actually much nicer. I didn’t like that the Bay of Kotor is already so touristy—even though it wasn’tContinue reading
Croatian Coast: Makarska to Kupari with a Hateful Driver
This was my hitchhiking spot in Makarska along the Croatian coast today. A huge car accident had just happened nearby before my arrival. I caught a direct ride to Kupari near Dubrovnik. But the driver went on a huge racist rant about Muslims and people from Turkey within 10 minutes… He only knew about me that I was Dutch and the physical cues. His mind filled in that I must also be a Christian like him. A heterosexual like him. And an Islamophobe like him. Eek! That’s a lot of projection! Normally when you don’t respond or participate people willContinue reading
Croatia’s Adriatic Highway: Makarska to Kupari nearby Dubrovnik
I took this photo while hitchhiking the coastal road of Croatia from Makarska to Kupari nearby Dubrovnik in a truck. There’s more than one ‘Autoroute du Soleil‘ and the French don’t own the rights to beautiful north-south holidaymaker routes! If you’re wondering where you need to go to travel here, look up Croatia’s D8 road. It’s part of an international road called the Adriatic Highway. It goes from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Croatia again followed by Montenegro. Here are a video and the Google Streetview version of that video for location accuracy: 2020 update: The onlyContinue reading
Split, Croatia: Reading a Book at the Riva
At the Riva (promenade) in the old town of Split, Croatia. In this lovely town, I got my tan on and went for the book reading beach life today. I’m only in the first chapter, but it seems like Simone de Beauvoir and I have a lot to agree on. A course – one of the few I didn’t hate – I took at university hadThe Second Sex as suggested reading. I’ve been looking for the peace of mind to read such a staple of feminist philosophy. I think I’m ready to read a thick one. To clarify, the beach I went to is Plaža BačviceContinue reading
Vrelo Bune Caves and Monastery: Idyll in Bosnia and Herzegovina
My Slovenian drivers wanted to make a stop at a specific place in Bosnia and Herzegovina called Vrelo Bune nearby Blagaj. It’s only 14 kilometers far away from Mostar, where we spent the night. I had no idea what it was about, but oh my, this is peak idyllic! But what is Vrelo Bune about? Well, for one, it’s on the list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage Sites. But that doesn’t tell you a lot. As my drivers translated from their guidebook, Vrelo Bune is a perfect mix of nature and culture. The Dervish monastery – from a Sufi order ofContinue reading
That Mandatory Mostar Photo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
When in Mostar, it’s almost obligatory to take a photo with the ‘stari most‘ (old bridge). The Ottomans left a lot of their architecture around the Balkans, which now pays as one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most-loved tourist attractions. I’m wondering if the name of the town Mostar is also just ‘stari most’ but switched around and abbreviated? I feel that the coincidence is too big… This is probably something one could Google. Supposedly, people jump off this bridge into the river below for sport. However, I didn’t witness this and wouldn’t assume this dive is a year-round thing. I’m assumingContinue reading
Boračko Lake: Hitchhiking from Sarajevo to Mostar
Waiting Outside Sarajevo Events described at Boračko Lake happened on Saturday 2nd of May, 2015 It was my first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I hope not my last visit. I had stayed only a few days in Sarajevo when I wanted to hitchhike onward to Mostar. I stayed the night somewhere more outside the city in a sort of campus area. This day, I started hiking towards my hitchhiking spot fairly early in the morning. But I didn’t have much luck besides a short ride past Ilidža in the direction of Konjic. My sign said ‘Mostar’. Eventually, a carContinue reading
Photogenic Street Pups in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Though the concept of stray puppies, dogs, and other pets makes me sad, I love puppies. I love to see them all day, every day. Here in Vrelo Bosne park in Sarajevo, I encountered this litter of sweet photogenic street pups. They were so fluffy and playful and a little sleepy. They reminded me of the pups that lived with us in Vake Park in Georgia. This is also about as good as my photography skills will get, I’m afraid. But it’s also heartbreaking. The mom dog was nowhere in sight. I’m not sure if these photogenic street pups wereContinue reading
Vrelo Bosne Park: Springs of the Bosna River (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
I’m spending the afternoon in Vrelo Bosne park in Ilidža, west of Sarajevo. That’s where the source of the Bosna is at. That stream becomes the river Bosna that is the namesake of the country Bosnia and Herzegovina. It flows from here northward until it contributes its water to the Sava river. The Sava river ends up in the Danube river in Belgrade. As I hitchhiked from Belgrade to Sarajevo in one day, I guess it’s possible to follow this stream back to Belgrade. But I guess it’s not completely walkable all the way to the border because of Bosnia’sContinue reading