sebbo on tour - around the world

For some reason Bosnia and particularly Sarajevo was the place I was most curious about in the balkan region. Maybe memories of what I heard about the Bosnian war in my childhood, maybe the little I knew about it but few stories... First realization when we arrived in Bosnia was that Euros are widely accepted, almost as common as the Bosnian Convertible Marka (based on the former German Mark). Secondly, we noticed the coexistence of Islam and Christianity - mosques and churches are located right next to each other.  Due to the conditions of ever winding roads and long distances, we decided to focus on two destinations - Mostar and Sarajevo including surroundings - and whatever immediate interest we draw to places on the way. Thus, we took a half day to explore Trebinje, its old town and ancient Arslanagić bridge. When arriving to Mostar we had some trouble to find our guesthouse: in Bosnia guesthouse means a private room in or next to a locals flat/apartment, so...

The first barrier was crossing the boarder from Croatia; fortunately we skipped most of the traffic jam by taking a little de-tour through a forest and mountain sideroad that ends right in front of the boarder. But after leaving Croatia there was a long queue again for entering Montenegro. We moved meter for meter, but it took ages.. Mostly because they checked for an international car insurance that many tourists did not seem to have. Again a few tips im travelling Montenegro upfront  Get an international car insurance if travelling by car (they carefully check at the boarder) The local currency is Euro (even though they are not a member of EU) Learn a few Montenegrian words (locals are very appreciated) When we first stopped to take some cash, we were quite surprised that Montenegro uses Euro as a currency. We learned that despite being not in the EU, they import all Euros and use it as a currency, but don't print or issue themselves. Prices seemed to be a bit cheaper ...

Let me tell you the story of our "travel fail" to Croatia: never underestimate peak season if you want to travel like a backpacker.. Three tips for travelling Croatia upfront Try to avoid peak season for a more flexible and cheap travel (most place were booked or just not affordable) Try to avoid July/August in case you want to do anything but lying at the beach (38-40 degrees are quite limiting) Bring or buy sea shoes (beaches are rocky and full of sea urchins), a mat to lay upon and a sun umbrella (as you will need shade) Bring Euros since many hostels/hotels charge in Euros and use conversion rates to their benefit Instead of carefully planning ahead we wanted to travel a bit more flexible and spontaneous - like a backpacker. Hence, we rented a car (already the price should have made us suspicious - double compared to September) and did not book any accommodation but the first night before we left. After visiting the amazing Plitvice National Park with all its fresh w...