Tag: croatia

Bosnia-Herzegovina. City of Mostar and Kravica Waterfalls. August.

From Dubrovnik, I made a day trip on my final full day in Croatia to the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Since I did not have much time for mistakes and this involves a number of passport checkpoints, I decided to go with a tour.

It was only the previous week when temperatures peaked at around 40C, but in Mostar I mainly did a walk, a lunch at a rooftop cafe and then a dessert near one of the rivers. I did not swim at Kravica Waterfalls (no bathers, though I did spend much of the holidays debating if I should buy a new one), mainly sat near the edges.

Towards Mostar and back to Dubrovnik, the tour guide gave a LOT of information about history, culture, politics, society and more that I would not otherwise have gleaned, so it was a great experience overall.

City of Mostar

Mostar is quiet known due to its role in the war in Yugoslavia but it has some interesting cultural underpinnings to it. Unfortunately the tour guide we had focused on the war and seemed to not take his role seriously (making jokes, etc). I overheard another guide talking in greater depth and detail, but perhaps the quality that the other one is offering is higher due to a higher price.

Kravica Waterfalls

While I was sitting down, I noticed or heard a group of three woman humming along in what seemed to be some sort of prayer.

Zagreb, Croatia. August

Some photos around Zagreb:

The Westin Zagreb has an interesting promo with New Balance where you can rent out shoes and a gym outfit, which worked out quiet well. It’s given to you by housekeeping and you leave the clothes when you check out.

The gym they have is part of another complex with some nice machines. It’s a big deal if you are into keeping fit…

The new city itself is quiet small and very accessible via the tram network. There is also the village above the city which can be accessed via furnicular or you can walk up/down the large hill.

I took business class Croatian Airlines on the way to Prague!

Valamar Hotels, Dubrovnik, Croatia. August.

We stayed at Valamar Lacroma Hotel, which has a really great breakfast buffet, great views, great gym and so on.  There is access to a few beaches nearby as well as restaurants which are a short walk away.  Dubrovnik old city is a bus or taxi ride away. I recommend staying here! See below for some wonderful views during the night and day from the hotel.

Photo from the Valamar Presidential beach and it was really hot that day. The necklace that I am wearing is actually gold colored but here it appears silver:

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Here’s the sunset overlooking the islands of Koločep and Otočić Daksa:

But what about Dubrovnik Old City?

On my first night, while waiting for family, I had a meal overlooking the castle.

We also had a seafood in the old city near the bay, but you would be looking at quiet a price for it. I think it was a couple of hundred euros, almost.

I did not really do a lot of tourist things at the Old City, walked along the perimeter and in the streets during the evening. I was mainly relaxing around Valamar as I wasn’t too keen on the sunshine and crowds.

The coastline around this area is absolutely amazing. Most of it in Croatia but there is a part of Herzegovina that touches the Adriatic Sea, around Neum, otherwise much of Bosnia-Herzegovina is landlocked and not touching the sea due to Croatia.

My day trip in Bosnia-Herzegovina on my last day will be covered in another post.