tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post6415228876149217876..comments2024-03-21T09:11:41.486-07:00Comments on Souvenir Chronicles: CROATIA: DRIVING TO DUBROVNIK AND CLIMBING THE CITY WALLSJudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14967428008627538620noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-68203675353562337672016-04-24T13:10:00.126-07:002016-04-24T13:10:00.126-07:00You will LOVE this trip. Beautiful Montenegro is o...You will LOVE this trip. Beautiful Montenegro is on the cruise ship agenda now, so tourism is increasing there, but Macedonia is a real hidden gem, as are Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Come back to this site or email me when you are back and let me know how your trip went. I'd love to hear other travelers' experiences.Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967428008627538620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-85147265357737535932016-04-24T02:38:46.710-07:002016-04-24T02:38:46.710-07:00Thank you so much Judy for your insights. The info...Thank you so much Judy for your insights. The information about the road conditions and advice you gave about maps was exactly what I was looking for. When I started planning this trip I expected transportation in the region to be similar to Western Europe with subways and trains. I was very wrong. Instead, I found bus schedules.<br /><br />I am very excited as I never imagined going to Macedonia or Montenegro :)Angie515https://www.blogger.com/profile/09546900762961870858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-32360940020100290732016-04-22T16:35:37.482-07:002016-04-22T16:35:37.482-07:00Angie, I accidentally replied to this as a separat...Angie, I accidentally replied to this as a separate comment rather than directly. Go back to the post and you'll see my reply.Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967428008627538620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-35352388067728630242016-04-22T16:34:17.662-07:002016-04-22T16:34:17.662-07:00I'm so glad you found these posts! It was an i...I'm so glad you found these posts! It was an incredible trip. You are going to have a blast. We are also Southern Californians and used to crazy traffic. We've driven in countries all over the world, so we felt pretty confident going into this trip. We discovered that the traffic isn't bad in the Balkans. It's the lack of signs that makes it hard.<br /><br />Our map was from here: https://mapscompany.com/shop/europe/balkans/map-slovenia-croatia-serbia-bosnia-freytag/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwl-e4BRCwqeWkv8TWqOoBEiQAMocbP9Btgs5qhS2o5PzSnyHtaOT4wfVtvGO1LsF1EGdlRXAaAuHt8P8HAQ<br /><br />If the link doesn't work, let me know. We had to buy a separate map for Albania. also from the same site.<br /><br />We did very well driving in Slovenia and Croatia because our car rental GPS worked pretty well there and the roads are better marked, but everywhere else we relied on the maps, and just about every time we went through a city, we got lost. Signs in many of the cities in countries other than Croatia and Slovenia are non-existent or in script we could not read, at least when we were there, and there is not a developed highway system, so you are on small roads a lot of the time (although by now more of the Adriatic Highway project only the west coast of the Balkans should be done). Some kind of GPS would be enormously helpful, but if you read all my posts, you know that our GPS, which we were promised by the car rental agency would work everywhere, definitely did not work everywhere. If we were to do it again, we would look into buying a GPS and pre-purchasing maps for that area that we could download. You might be able to use your phone GPS, but that would be very expensive because you would need it a lot.<br /><br />We often had a difficult time finding someone who spoke English, especially in Albania, so that complicated matters. Albania was the most challenging place to drive. We did a lot of hand-gesturing and map drawing on scraps of paper. It may be worth looking into hiring a private driver for your time in Albania unless you can get some kind of GPS.<br /><br />Sarajevo was also a bit difficult to navigate at first. If you can find a city map, that might help.<br /><br />When we were there, all the rental car companies would not let drivers take a car into Kosovo. Maybe that has changed. We were fortunate to have connections to arrange a driver. <br /><br />If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. You can also email me at jkcannon@roadrunner.com. Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967428008627538620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-70974331066134039502016-04-22T10:28:45.967-07:002016-04-22T10:28:45.967-07:00Hello, I am going on a trip to the Balkans next mo...Hello, I am going on a trip to the Balkans next month and stumbled on your website. Information about traveling in the region is sparse so you can imagine my delight in reading your posts on Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro & Albania. The brief history lessons you incorporate into the posts are an added benefit so travelers like myself can have a better understanding of the region.<br /><br />If I can I ask you, what map did you use while you were there? My husband and I plan to drive ourselves too. I am originally from Los Angeles so I imagine I can drive comfortably in that region but if you have any driving/direction tips that you could share that would be so helpful.Angie515https://www.blogger.com/profile/09546900762961870858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-91029509940878778302013-12-02T21:03:13.769-08:002013-12-02T21:03:13.769-08:00I like the new site!I like the new site!ElderPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05104290184766381455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-59607954716691108472013-11-28T12:44:20.929-08:002013-11-28T12:44:20.929-08:00Your new site is lovely and I'm glad you'v...Your new site is lovely and I'm glad you've found a corner of Blogland that will host your wonderful travels. When we hit Burano, we were also amazed by the amount of laundry hanging out, and in BeiJing, it's a given. I, too, was impressed by their ingenuity in hanging out the wash.<br /><br />Love this guide to your stair-climbing in Dubrovnik. I'd better find a stair master to get in shape before we go!Letterpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13983311236791267553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-30337532463043345902013-11-26T09:13:28.762-08:002013-11-26T09:13:28.762-08:00I LOVE the pictures of the socks. It totally has ...I LOVE the pictures of the socks. It totally has me wanting to meet the people who own them. I think I'd like them too.Rachael Hutchingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11551315260916922551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-79821420792463541322013-11-26T08:06:07.361-08:002013-11-26T08:06:07.361-08:00There is something about the uniformity of the roo...There is something about the uniformity of the roofs that is charming. It makes me wonder why our USA roofs are made so differently. The laundry pictures are fun-another thing you don't see anymore in the states.<br /><br />The separation of blogs is a great idea. chrisjoneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14006659927591484598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5029419016699075320.post-46687393731809102582013-11-25T20:28:11.874-08:002013-11-25T20:28:11.874-08:00I like your laundry, roof and wall pictures. I did...I like your laundry, roof and wall pictures. I did really like where we stayed. Great new blog spot.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527560924729632331noreply@blogger.com