BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: DETOUR TO MOSTAR PART II, THE SAD AND TRIUMPHANT TALE OF THE OLD BRIDGE

The Neretva River, one of the largest rivers in the eastern Adriatic Basin, runs through the center of Mostar like a ribbon of liquid jade,

and it is crossed by the longest single span stone bridge in the world, the Stari Most, or Old Bridge. According to Rick Steves, this is the "granddaddy" of Venice's Rialto Bridge. The Mostar Bridge was completed in 1566, only 25 years before the Rialto Bridge, so it's technically not old enough to be a granddaddy, but you get the idea.

Mostar's Old Bridge

Venice's Rialto Bridge, photo taken from here

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: DETOUR TO MOSTAR, PART I

Our original plan was to drive from Dubrovnik to Split, but when we learned that we could take a one-hour detour on good roads to Mostar, a famous little town in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we decided to take a detour. As shown on the map below, Dubrovnik is actually separated from the rest of Croatia by a finger of Bosnia and Herzegovina that reaches out to the Adriatic and gives the country a seaport. We had to go through four customs stops to go through that finger: 1) out of Croatia, 2) into Bosnia, 3) out of Bosnia, and 4) back into Croatia.

Not too far northwest of there we went through two more border crossings to get into Bosnia: 1) out of Croatia and 2) into Bosnia. Crazy. As reported, the highway to Mostar was very nice, with a crumbling castle or two perched atop the hills along the way.

 Miraculously, we only made one wrong turn (due to roadwork), and we quickly got back on track.

The drive was much easier than our previous Bosnia experience driving to Sarajevo. I can see now why most tour companies go to Sarajevo via Mostar. However, while the road was much better and much more direct, it wasn't nearly as exciting as our drive into Sarajevo from the north. 

CROATIA: DUBROVNIK SMILES

While the walk along the undulating city walls and the pilgrimage through Old Town's churches certainly dominated our visit to Croatia, there were quite a few other odds and ends that we enjoyed along the way. The first thing that caught my eye as we entered the city walls was a citrus tree that looked strangely familiar, although it was taller and had a lot more trunk than its cousins in my yard:

Note that all the fruit from the lower branches has been picked, but there are still oranges to be had for someone who is willing to lean really really really far over the wall to pick them from above.

The Croatian flag's patchwork center is very unique, and we have to admire their choice of colors:

I adore this statue of Marin Drzic (1508-1567), considered Croatia's finest Renaissance poet, playwright, and prose writer. He seems so pensive, doesn't he?

CROATIA: DUBROVNIK CHURCHES

The main street of Dubrovnik is known as either the Stradun or Placa, depending on whom you ask. It basically bisects the city, and lends itself to a leisurely stroll. Stores and restaurants entice both weary wall-walkers like ourselves and freshly-landed cruisers to stop in for a minute to rest, but more importantly to shop.

A close-up of the bell tower that can be seen in the distance in the picture above. This area reminded me a lot of St. Mark's Square in Venice:

CROATIA: DRIVING TO DUBROVNIK AND CLIMBING THE CITY WALLS

After our morning hike up to the Kotor Fortress, we set out for our next destination: Dubrovnik, Croatia. On the map it looked pretty straightforward--just hang tight to the coastline. Our research told us it should take us about 1 hour and 35 minutes.  Ha. Try three or four hours.

Good thing I still had some morning Happy Pills given to me in the States by my friend Kathy as travel nourishment. She knows me well. I was proud of myself for having stretched out the bag this long.

At first, it seemed that things were going our way. At some point, a miracle occurred.  After not having had GPS for nine days (and through Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, and Kotor), maps and directions suddenly appeared on our device near the Croatian border.

But alas, we would have done better on this stretch on our own. The GPS led us astray. Bob and I differ on how badly we were lost, but I had the printed map unfolded on my lap, and we were not on any roads marked on the map. After asking directions from non-English-speaking Croats two or three times and doing our best to understand their energetic pointing, waving, and shouting, we finally found our way to charted roads.

It was not the last time we got lost, unfortunately.

The approach to Dubrovnik from the south is exquisite. The road drops down from the hills above the coast, presenting a stunning view of the coastline. The brilliant cerulean sea, bright white buildings with red tile roofs, and verdant vegetation make the scene look like it is photoshopped.

If you look closely at the promontory below, you can see the old city walls that form a jagged circle around Dubrovnik's Old Town.

MONTENEGRO: SIX CHURCHES

If you've been to Italy, you know how every time you turn a corner, you are in a courtyard presided over by a church. About 100 miles east of Italy, just across the Adriatic Sea, you can have the same experience, but with a bit more diversity of religion.  One of the distinguishing features of the walled city of Kotor is its many churches. Of the six we saw within the walls of the city, we were able to enter only three, although all seem to be in use.

CHURCH #1
The Romanesque St. Tryphon's Cathedral is the largest building in Kotor, and one of two Catholic cathedrals in the walled city. It was built on the site of an older church and was consecrated in 1166.  It honors St. Tryphon, the patron saint of the city. A massive earthquake in 1667 completely destroyed almost two-thirds of the town and partially destroyed the cathedral's two towers, and money for the restoration was hard to come by, resulting in towers that don't match.

MONTENEGRO: KOTOR'S FORTRESS

One of my favorite places of our entire jaunt through the Balkans, the Kotor Fortress on top of the Mountain of St. John in Montenegro, deserves a post of its own. 

These walls and buildings have a history that would tie anyone's brain in knots. The original fortification was built by the ancient Illyrians, perhaps as early as 100 B.C. Then the Byzantine Emperor Justinian reconstructed the fortress in the 6th century. Venetians took over in the 15th century for the next 377 years and added many of the present-day fortifications, but during their rule the Ottomans managed to steal it twice for short periods of time. In 1797 the area passed to the Habsburgs as part of a treaty, was assigned to the Napoleonic State of Italy for governance, and was occupied by Russian troops until it became part of the French Illyrian Provinces in 1807. Britain conquered Kotor in 1814 and returned the region to the Austrian Empire in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna. After their defeat in World War I, Austria withdrew from the fortress and it was left unmanned until Axis forces moved in during World War II. Finally, the fortress was liberated on November 21, 1944, and has been controlled by its own people since that time.

The date of liberation is inscribed above the Sea Gate, the main entrance into the walled city. A quote from Marshal Tito is chiseled into the stone above the lintel: "We do not need other people's things, and we do not give our own." Photo from here.

As a result of changing hands so many times, the fortifications are a delightfully jumbled mishmash of building styles--no master plan here--and recent improvements to the path up the mountain have made all of it accessible.

View from below. Photo taken with a telephoto lens.

The zig-zagging walls creep back and forth along the craggy mountain spine for almost three miles.