Just when you think this holiday can’t get any better – it does!
Today was a great day, starting with a sleep in, breakfast, another rest, then the ship arriving in beautiful Dubrovnik, Croatia.
We were met at the wharf gate, as pre-arranged, by Michael, a local Croatian tour guide.
We hopped in his Skoda sedan and headed towards Bosnia, our destination for the afternoon.
As I mentioned yesterday, Dave has two more countries starting with ‘B’ then me, so it seemed logical (to us) that we should drive the 40km into Bosnia from Croatia.
Driving through the outskirts of Dubrovnik, up through the hills to the border post was so spectacular. You can see why this area has such a great reputation for its natural beauty.
Michael was very knowledgeable and quickly picked up our interests in food and politics. He talked all about the history of the Balkans and we both found it fascinating. It turns out Michael was formerly a maritime engineer, working on cruise ships for years before he decided spending more time with his growing boys was important and he become a tour car driver. Apparently it was his job while he was at university.
Our first stop was at the Croatian border post. We handed over our passports which they gladly stamped and then drove another couple of hundred metres through no-mans land to the Bosnian border post. (Bosnia is actually called Bosnia and Herzegovina) They too stamped our passports, though a little more reluctantly.
We drove on to Trebinje, a town of about 20,000 people around 20kms from the border. The town lies on the Trebišnjica river and many of the buildings were built when the town was founded during the days of the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s. We spent an hour or so walking through the city centre, including over a beautiful old bridge.
We did our usual compulsory supermarket visit, but this time with one exception. No photos! I did actually take four including one of Dave buying a Kit Kat. Unfortunately I was stopped at the shop’s exit by a security guard who demanded I delete the photos. I’m not sure they were pertinent to Bosnia’s national security – but none-the-less I obeyed and deleted them. It seems shopping centre security is a little like that in Australia and can sometimes be a little big for their boots! (I did take some more photos later in a Croatian supermarket, below)
So, who likes postcards?
When was the last time you received one?
In Dave’s usual style – he likes to keep traditions going – we send postcards from various holiday destinations, and this trip has been no exception. So far he has sent about a dozen since we arrived and it has become a routine part of our visits to each location. Usually Dave buys postcards in one location, writes on them overnight and then posts them in the next location. So today we got stamps and posted two cards from Trebinje. Both postcards were bought in Slovenia. That will confuse the recipients!
I often wonder why Dave bothers with this. It is time consuming and it seems so much easier to me to post on social media or, as I am doing, to write a blog. However, the many people who have received postcards over the years seem to really enjoy and appreciate it. So the tradition continues!
After leaving Trebinje, we drove further up into the mountains. The views became even more spectacular. Michael explained the business of local commerce and agriculture including pointing out a number of the local crops including olives, wine grapes, peppers (capsicum), and pomegranates. We also saw sheep and goats and the odd milking cow.
When he asked, ‘Would you like to try a local specialty dish?’ I agreed quickly and we pulled over at a old limestone and wooden building on the side of the road around 10 kilometres past Trebinje. Inside we found a fascinating restaurant serving many dishes including its specialty ‘Bell-top lamb’.
A cast iron dish (originally an actual bell top) is heated in a large open fire. Once it is very hot, the meat, onions, herbs and potatoes are added, the top placed over it all to roast and steam the ingredients. Hot coals are laid over the top of the whole container and the fire is left to go out. The meat stays inside to cook slowly for three hours, without opening it.
Michael asked the waiter if we could look at them cooking it, so we went out into the kitchen and had a look. To see their kitchen and the open-air fire out the back was a real treat. Will I try this dish for ABC radio do you think? Does that make this trip a tax deduction? Maybe not 😉
The menu offered meat by the kilogram, so Dave and I shared a small (but actually big) portion of the lamb and potatoes. I think it must have been about 300 grams judging by the bill. (Only 16 Euros including drinks). It was so delicious, simple and tasty. The simple theme of this holiday is still running! It was served in a terracotta bowl with a basket (also large!) of super fresh crusty bread and we did our very best to eat about half of it. When they offered to package up the leftover meat we accepted – and gave it to Michael to take home to his family. Apparently they only eat meat a few times a week, so hopefully they enjoyed it for dinner tonight.
We were due back at the ship by 7:30 pm at the latest, so by late afternoon we headed back towards Croatia. I got a bit of a fright, and may have panicked a little, when we saw the long queue of vehicles at the border. There were many cars and three large Albanian buses! It actually only took about 15 minutes at each of the border posts, but I was envisaging running along the pier to the ship!
On the drive back to the port, we drove along many narrow back roads, saw small local villages, roadside honey stalls, copious fruit trees and many narrow hair-pin bends. It was lots of fun.
We finished the tour by driving through and around Dubrovnik. Apparently it has become very touristy, and you can see why the tourists would want to come here, it is just so beautiful, especially on a warm sunny (22C) day like today.
We are now back on the ship. Both a little weary, but naming today as the best one so far, and trust me there’s been some good ones!
We will probably give dinner a miss, wait patiently for the photos for the blog to upload, take a couple of Nurofen (me) and hit the sack.
Look out for your postcards, for those privileged enough to be chosen to receive one 🙂