This series is my travel diaries from my trip to Europe touring the Balkans, I worked with Treasures Tours on the Adriatic Adventure Tour through the beautiful countries of Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Croatia.
I began my journey in Stara Pazova, Serbia before meeting with the rest of the group. I was in awe at the beauty of Serbia leaving the airport, we stayed at the Hotel Vila Sunce which was walking distance from the cultural town center.
Our first full day in Serbia began with a visit to a local outdoor produce market Zelena Pijaca after breakfast where we sampled different Serbian delicacies, held some baby chicks and got to meet some amazing local people. After enjoying some gelato, we embarked on our day trip to the Srem District of Serbia, specifically Sremski Karlovci also known as the city of wine culture and spirituality.
This beautiful city lies on the coast of the Denube river and we toured a local fishing dock and restaurant, Dunav, where we enjoyed a beer while the owner caught our lunch. While we waited for our fresh lunch to be prepared, we took a walk through the historic town admiring it’s architecture and style.
After filling up on freshly caught fish, we made it back to the hotel to relax before taking a trip by car to the lively city of Belgrade, Serbia. Belgrade immediately caught the attention of the shopaholic in me, the streets lined with shoe stores and boutiques. After shopping around and enjoying the scenery we grabbed a light dinner, for my dad just cake, at a restaurant with outdoor seating in the center of the city.
With our stomachs full, we made our troop back to Stara Pazova to rest, in the morning we began our drive to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first city we visited in Bosnia was Sarajevo, we stayed at a lovely hotel that was a quick walk over a bridge to the city filled with local merchants, cafes and the occasional hookah lounge. We toured through the old part of town, Baščaršija, and enjoyed Cevapcici a Bosnian minced meat served with onions in bread.
After more shopping, be prepared for a good amount of shopping throughout this trip, we stopped for Turkish coffee and Rose lemonade at an indoor/outdoor beautiful cafe. For lunch we enjoyed soup, shopski salad and goulash from Nanina Kuhinja in Sarajevo.
Our third day in Sarajevo was sadly our last, we started the day with a formal tour of the old part of the city before hopping on the bus and traveling to Mostar, Bosnia where we stayed at Hotel Villa Milas, walking distance to the Stari Most. The Stari Most is a reconstruction of a bridge that was destroyed during war.
We walked the old bridge and toured the historic town of Mostar, Bosnia, and ate dinner at the Hindin Han restaurant overlooking the water where they served large platters of different meats, vegetables and of course french fries.
We started off the next morning with a stunning hike to a castle up a mountain overlooking Polcitelj, Bosnia, the view was definitely worth the exercise and ruining my sandals.
Still not 100% sure we were allowed to tour the castle ruins but we showed ourselves up.
Our mid-afternoon gelato provided us with energy for the next event for the day, visiting Kravice Falls. These waterfalls are something you must see if you’re traveling in Bosnia, especially in the summer, it is a great place to swim on a hot day! We swam, had a burger and a beer while enjoying the beautiful sunny day.
We enjoyed our last night in Mostar by embracing it’s nightlife, enjoying some drinks and taking in the scenery before we arrived in Albania.
We were welcomed into Albania by yet another feast, as we arrived at our hotel after a long day of driving. Our hotel, overlooking the city of Kruje was in the center of town, right next to the markets, the fifth century castle and museum and of course another little hike.
After walking through the Albanian history museum, and taking in the views from the top of the mountain, we re-fueled with espresso before heading into town to check out the shops and cafes!
I hope you enjoyed part one of my Adriatic Adventure, stay tuned for part two where we finish up our stay in Albania and travel to Montenegro and Croatia, finishing up this trip in Slovakia!
Also make sure to check out Treasures Tours for all inclusive tours of the Adriatic, Slovakia, Mongolia and India!
xoxo
Frankie
Beauty By Frank 