It has been a long time since I have crossed a border and had to stop and show my passport in Europe.  We left Croatia and drove to Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina.  I didn’t know much about Bosnia & Herzegovina before my arrival, but driving through the countryside you can see it was hit pretty hard in the war.  Many villages were demolished by rockets.  The war ended almost twenty years ago but most people have not returned.  Mostar was one of the most damaged cities in the war.

Mostar is most famous for it’s old bridge.  It was originally built in the 16th century.  One side of the bridge was the Muslim side and the other side was the Croat side.  Even after the war, it used to be that nobody would cross the bridge.  Buses only drove on one side of the river.  The Muslim side was almost completely destroyed in the war.  The bridge was destroyed in 1993 and not rebuilt until 2004.  Today, there are stones that lay close to each side that say Don’t Forget 93.

I took some photos to show the war scars that are still evident.  They are still rebuilding the city but a lot of houses still have artillery damage to the exterior.  People still live in the some of the houses with damage.  Mostar really opened my eyes to view a city in a different way.  I have been to cities that have experienced war, but those wars were many years ago.  This was the first time that I could walk down a street and see the evidence of the sad reality of what I heard about in elementary and middle school.

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Here is our little white Chevy that is getting us around Croatia.  My first manual and it is still running 🙂

We took the scenic route from Split, Croatia to Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina.  It was a scenic drive along the  Croatia coast which they refer to as the Dalmatia Coast.  (Dalmatian dogs actually get their name from Dalmatia.)  The drive was pretty easy considering you go up and down the hillsides.  Construction on the highway was the only thing that we would have to slow down for.  They stick little stop lights on the highway instead of flaggers.  The road was pretty much ours which made it a really nice drive.  I pulled over to a little parking spot to take a couple of photos.  You can see the white and black mountains, the blue green water and ruins of what once was.

Here is a video of Split.

We decided to leave Trogir a little early and stop in Split for an hour.  It was a little rough leaving our parking spot in Trogir and I even had a man who lived in the house next to our spot try to get the car out.  I think I would have had a hard time getting the car out if it was automatic.

Split is on the Adriatic and is the second largest city in Croatia.  Split is centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian.  The palace was constructed around AD 305.  This is what we wanted to see and I was determined I would find a parking spot.  We basically drove all the way into the center just to find out the parking lot was full. Split is also the hub for ferry boats to all the islands and Italy.  I turned around and then realized I was in the ferry line for Italy.  Yikes, I don’t have time to take a boat to Italy when I should be heading to Bosnia & Herzegovina later in the day.  I got turned around and found some parking a little further out.  Of course I’m pretty sure I’m the only fool who paid money to park since everyone else never put money into the machine.

Split was good for a short visit but I’m not sure I could handle the crowds all day.  The palace was worth the visit and we were treated to a nice choir which I will post later.

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Here is a short video of the sights of Trogir.

Here is a short video clip of Plitvice National Park.

I hope someday I wake up and find this type of delivery on my front door.  I would take fresh bread on my doorstep any day.

I guess they are short on space for soccer fields.  They built the fields around the castle next to the Adriatic Sea.  It was early in the morning and there was a team practicing on a little field next to the field.  I guess they practice in tight spaces so they learn to keep the ball in control and not kick it into the sea all the time.

The drive from Plitvice to Trogir (along the Adriatic Sea) was about 3 hours.  Trogir is an island that is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Driving instructions weren’t the greatest to the room we were renting.  The streets were narrow, full of cars and people and then you have the Vespas cruising by you on either side.  It took us about 3 times driving around trying to find the sign that sounded like would be a big sign we couldn’t miss.  In fact, it was a little brown sign, and the turn wasn’t really onto a street but a little ally way.  Driving in Trogir really helped my confidence with the stick, but I have determined that I think it is way easier to backup than it is to go forward.  The room we rented also said parking is no problem that they have a spot.  They didn’t mention that it was a very small street and hard to get in and out of.  I was just hoping nobody would come down the street at the same time we go up. There isn’t room for a person to walk by the car so I’m not sure what you would do if a car came.

We knocked on the door and waited.  Knock again and still nothing.  Check in was to start at 2 and we were there around 2:30.  Hmm we didn’t have a phone to call so we weren’t sure what to do.  Really doesn’t help when you have to go to the bathroom.  We tried to see if the WiFi was unprotected so we could email, but no luck.  We had no way to contact the owner.  So we left a note on the car and headed into town with as much of our valuable belongings as possible because we need to find someone with a phone.  We walk to the tourist office which was closed (Sunday).  We then walk over a bridge and into old town.  We find another tourist office and the lady kindly called the owner for us.  The owner lady drove and picked us up.  (Turns out she was busy cleaning a room in the back of the house.)

Trogir has a long history but you can tell by the architecture that Venice had some influence.  The white cobblestone walk ways are so clean that it is easy to slip.  It almost seems like you are walking on marble.

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