In t-minus 18 days the three of us (Ron, Judy, Kelly), are at the mercy of Air Canada as we embark on our 25 day adventure to the western Balkans.
For those of you who haven't heard me (Kelly) blather on about this trip for about the last year or so, here is the prologue.
A few years ago I saw a Rick Steves program on PBS about Europe's hidden treasures, one of which was the city of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I fell in love with the tragic story of a city that has blended together the East and West, cathedrals and mosques, and how, during the Balkan War on the mid '90s forces who had surrounded the city bombed the 427 year old bridge and on November 9, 1993 it fell into the Neretva river below. The bridge was rebuilt in 2004 and is a now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After then watching a 6 Part BBC documentary about the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the ensuing war I decided that I wanted to also visit everywhere. Realizing that I could only really afford about 3 weeks off of work, I narrowed it down to Bosnia and Croatia.
When I decided on the Balkans I got (and still get) a lot of questions (especially when I mention Bosnia) - Why Bosnia? Wasn't there a war there? Isn't there a war there? Is it safe? Aren't people starving there? - and the question I get the most: Is that in Europe? I don't even know where that is. So for those of us still unawares, I've included a map (see above). Italy is just on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, and that's Hungary sitting on top of Bosnia.
I pitched the travel idea to mom and dad (Judy and Ron), and we bought Rick Steves' travel book on the area, which also included a section on Slovenia and what a beautiful country it is - and our trip started to take shape. After months of planning here we are, less than 3 weeks away.
So here's the itinerary:
September 11th we fly Vancouver - Amsterdam, Amsterdam - Zagreb, Croatia.
The next day we take the train from Zagreb to Sarajevo.
2 days in Sarajevo, Bosnia
2 days in Mostar, Bosnia
3 days in Dubrovnik, Croatia (with a day trip to the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro)
2 days on Korcula, Croatia
2 days in Split, Croatia (with a sailing trip to Hvar)
2 days in Zadar, Croatia (with a trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park)
3 days in Rovinj, Croatia (with side trips to Pula and Motovun)
5 days in Ljubljana, Slovenia (with day trips to Lake Bled, Julian Alps, the Karst)
Then we drive back to Zagreb and fly out.
Stay tuned on or after the 11th for our next post, possibly with a lengthy rant about how much Kelly hates to fly.
