Jeanne's Next Chapter: A new part of the world

I have wanted to visit Croatia ever since my mother described it to me after her tour to the former Yugoslavia 25 years ago. On the map, it just appears to be a short hop across the Adriatic Sea from Italy but it turns out to be a little more complicated than that to get there. But when my good friends Terry and Susan told me they would be driving around Croatia and Bosnia, I jumped at the chance to join them. As it turned out, most tourists are long gone by late October so we enjoyed wide open spaces with no crowds and plenty of sunshine. I flew from Milan to Split, Croatia via Munich since the overnight ferries and direct flights to the Dalmatian Coast stop running in the autumn.

Terry is my personal version of Rick Steves. Although Dave and I traveled before we met Terry, he is the one who really encouraged us to go off the beaten track, book independently and maximize those frequent flyer awards. Dave was not able to join us on this trip due to that pesky little detail called a full-time job but I visited so many places that he would enjoy, that I am already planning our return trip. I am most grateful that I was able to squeeze in to the little red VW "Up!" that we drove around this beautiful area.

The Dalmatia Coast

My favorite image of Croatia is of the beautiful Adriatic seashore with offshore islands stretching to the horizon. It begs to be explored by sailboat with time to linger and explore each island.

The first night we spent in Split in a sobe (private room rental) in the ancient Diocletian Palace complex. Many of the buildings, walls and pedestrian streets are made of polished white stone which reflected the evening lights and created wonderful acoustics for this informal courtyard concert.

Diocletian Palace

From Split, we drove to Bosnia (see next posting) and then came back into Croatia to a town called Mali Ston. This town is known for its "Great Wall of Croatia", a three mile stone construction that connected it with the town of Ston and provided protection and defense of its valuable salt flats. Traveling with Terry and Susan always involves active pursuits so we climbed up this great wall to view both sides of Ston. Fresh seafood is served at every meal along this beautiful coastline.

The peaceful view from my hotel room window in Mali Ston.

Part of 'The Great Wall of Croatia"

Some of the thousands of steps we climbed on this trip!

We drove out of Croatia again (hence the 7 Croatian passport stamps I now have) and took a side trip to Montenego before driving back to Dubrovnik, Croatia. This ancient, walled city has worked hard to recover from the devastations of their 1991-93 "Homeland War". We enjoyed walking the city walls all the way around the perimeter which allows one to see both the recovery and traces of bombed out buildings. Before returning to Split for my flight home, we got a great view of the historic city from a high hilltop south of the city.