Tuesday, December 19, 2017: Dubrovnik, Croatia to Montenegro and the Kotor Fjord area before returning to Dubrovnik.

By 9:00 we were on the road south of Dubrovik, driving right along the coast. The sun was just perfect for lovely photos of Old Town Dubrovik.  It is a lovely coastline with lots of islands in the Sea, as stated before, some are inhabited, and others are not.  At the border crossing, we left Croatia and entered the country of Montenegro. We will be spending most of the day in Montenegro, driving around the Fjord/Bay of Kotor. 

You drive on a narrow road near the coastline, so that most of the village is situated above the road.  The village along the first part of the drive were not special, but the further you drove the move interesting they became. The mountains coming down into the fjord and the fjord itself was lovely.  

Dubrovnik from our Hotel Room

The Walled City of Dubrovnik

Beginning of Fiord to Kotor

The town of Kotor was the most special, as it is a walled Old Town.  We walked around the town enjoying the old buildings.  We found a couple eastern Orthodox churches, which proved to be interesting, comparing them with Roman Catholic.  We found a little store that had a large collection of Slavic Wooden Dolls, made in Montenegro.  The store clerk was very knowledgeable in the history of the dolls.  Rachel purchased another Santa for her collection that is totally different from all of the other Santa’s she has. The store clerk recommended a restaurant that we found and were able to have a light lunch.  We had muscles for lunch, which were excellently prepared.  After lunch we returned to the car and headed back to Dubrovnik.

The Store clerk gave us the history of the city wall and the wall going up the mountain.  Because of this wall, Kotor was the only city that did not fall to the Ottoman Empire in the 1600’s.

Water Rushing out of the Mountain

Chapel in the Fiord

Sea Farming - Muscles

City Gate to Kotor

City Wall with the Wall Going up the Mountain

Our Dinner Restaurant

Top of the Chimney

Orthodox Church

When we arrived in Dubrovnik we went to the old walled in city for a short walk around dinner.  The city has been rebuilt several times due to earthquakes and therefore does not quite have the ancient city feel to it.  The original city was built hundreds of years ago so it is a very old city.  We found an Iris Pub that served meals for dinner.  After dinner we walked around the city before returning to our hotel for the evening.

Small Boat Slips near Homes

Bell Tower in Dubrovnik - Time 5:30

Decorated Store Window

City Gate

Our plans for tomorrow are to return to the old walled in city of Dubrovnik and walk around more before leaving for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Monday, December 18, 2017: Split to Dubrovnik

We are leaving the apartment a day ahead of our friends. They will be flying back to Zagreb on Tuesday, but we want to drive south along the coast to Dubrovnik and into the country of Montenegro. We will be arriving back in Zagreb by Thursday the 22^nd.  In Zagreb we will be staying in different apartments, as the one they booked, before inviting Cherie, is too small.  We have found another 2-bedroom apartment within the same block, so we will still be seeing them.    

We left the apartment around 9:15. Cherie and Rachel walked to where the car was parked, while Cal stayed with the luggage.  Since we parked in a residential area, did not have to pay for the parking.  When we left Split, we drove south on the toll-way for about a half hour, before we headed toward the coast.  For the rest of the day we drove along the coastline until we reached Dubrovnik.

Stairway Leading to our Apartment

Snow Capped  Mountains

Terraced Farming Areas

Beautiful Rugged Coast View - Winding Road

The coastline is very rugged but extremely scenic.  We were constantly driving through town that were perched on the edge of the mountain while having beautiful coastlines.  The highway provided remarkable vistas of the towns and resorts.

Hidden Villa

More winding Road

One area that was a surprise to us, was where citrus fruits are being grown.  There is a river delta which is all marshland. However, due to the installation of a canal drainage system, the water level has been lowered so that it is an extremely futile area to grow fruits, vegetables, and other produce products. Between the canals, on the dry land, are rows of trees, such as oranges & tangerines, which are currently in season. There were so many roadside stands, full of this local produce. The area is surprisingly large with many orchards.

Drained Marsh

At one point, we followed a road out onto a peninsula that juts out into the Adriatic Sea.  The first town was Ston.  The “old town” and a large surrounding area are surrounded by a stone wall that goes up the side of the mountain.  The wall reminds you of a miniature Wall of China.  The medieval town is inside the wall, whereas the modern town is just outside the wall. 

More Sea Farming - Muscles

Walled Town of Ston

Wall Around the Town and Surroundings

We continued driving on this peninsula road for a few more kilometers before turning around.  However, before we turned around, we came to a grape growing region. The area is quite rocky with rock fences bordering the terraces. The grape vines look to be old as they were gnarly from many years of pruning. Vineyard caretakers were pruning the grapes at this time of the year.

Stone Fenced Vineyards

We arrived in Dubrovnik around 5:00 and began looking for a hotel.  Fortunately, we found a very nice one that allowed us to have two adjoining rooms for a very reasonable rate.  After checking into the rooms, we took an hour to relax before dinner.  We stayed at the Hotel for dinner, where they had a very nice buffet with a variety of main dishes from which to choose.

Sunday, December 17, 2017: Split to Sibenik, and return to Split:

Cherie’s friend booked an Airbnb apartment for our accommodations in Split.  

The apartment is in a perfect location, and is very adequate, but the NOISE level!!

What was not stated in reviews from previous guests, is that below the apartment there is a venue that plays LOUD music until 1:00 am.  Friday night everyone was so tired from traveling – we definitely noticed the loud music, but we slept through most of it.  However, last night (Sat night) was a different story. It was several decameters louder! Things were vibrating in the apartment from the volume of the bass!  None of us slept until 1:00 am!!  For myself, I was still vibrating inside for at least another half hour. You can imagine how everyone was feeling this morning!! To say the least, this Airbnb review will NOT be positive! 

Cal’s cold continues to be an issue.  He needs to take it easy today, especially after only having a half night’s sleep.  We bought stronger meds from a Pharmacy this morning – finding an open Pharmacy on Sunday morning was difficult, but on the 3^rd try we found one. 

Cal is going to stay in the apartment today.  Cherie and I are going to explore the villages along the coastline north of Split.  It was noon before we were on the road.  It was a lovely drive, mostly within view of the Adriatic Sea.  There are hundreds of islands off the coastline.  Some have villages with roads, while others are rocky with no residents.  There are a few causeways running from the mainland to the islands, but most are accessed by boat only.  We saw harbor after harbor full of sail boats, yachts and other boats.  Cherie thinks all Croatians own a boat, due to the numbers of boats in docks, coves and harbors! Beautiful views!

Today is Sunday, right? Well, not a single church was open today in any of the villages we visited!! We would have visited 3 or 4 had we had the opportunity. 

These villages are summer resort areas, as most of them are closed for the winter season.  Literally, it was difficult to even find an open coffee bar along the way.  Yes, it was Sunday, but it was more than that, as in one village the ATM machines were boarded up!

We reached the town of Sibenik about 3:15.   After walking around the old Town of Sibenik, and disappointed we could not enter its famous St James church, we decided it was time to drive back to Split on the toll-way.   

Notice the bullet holes in the door

St James Church

The temperature has been dropping all day and it has been windy.  We have worn our hats, coats and gloves whenever we have walked around a village.  

Everyone was back at the apartment, beginning Happy Hour when we arrived! Cal joined us for dinner tonight, as he is feeling a little better. Hopefully he can sleep well tonight. Hopefully no music! 

Our Group in a Sleigh

The Three of us With Santa