Winter is almost upon us in London. The days are getting darker and colder and the skies, although it is hard to believe, are becoming even more shades of grey. To make sure we did not go mad this winter and suffer to much from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) we thought a mission to the Mediterranean for a week basking in the sun was essential.
Julie had always wanted to go to Croatia so we did some research and found that the way to see the coast and Croatian Adriatic islands was by boat. There are a number of things which most Antipodeans travelling through Europe make an effort to do. These include of course beer fest in Munich, Pamplona running with the bulls, Tomatina, Gallipoli on Anzac day and sail Croatia. It was not therefore difficult to book a week away on a 1942 twin mast wooden sail cruiser.
Complete with captain, crew and 28 other young mostly antipodean travelers all keen to get as much sun as possible while enjoying the beautiful clear blue Adriatic sea. The most important thing was always going to be the weather and going in September meant we had the chance of rain but let me just get this out of the way first. The weather was amazing!!!!! Not one cloud in the sky or breath of wind and temperatures reaching above 30 everyday.There was a slight eerie mist every morning and with the water a mill pond it felt as if we were lost in the Bermuda triangle.
We had seven days at sea to get from Dubrovnik to Split which is along the same Adriatic coast line about 250 km North. We started the trip with a spare day in Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is known as the Pearl of the Adriatic. It is an amazing fortified town in the deep south of Croatia which has to be one of the most picturesque towns of the entire Mediterranean. The only down side is that every body else knows this so the place was packed. The grey cruise brigade was out in force which made walking through the crowds even more difficult.
We boarded the ship apprehensively, assessing all the other ship mates as they slowly arrived. Hoping like crazy we were not stuck with 28, 18 year old friends all there for a shag fest. Everyday on the boat followed the same kind of formula. Up at 7-8am for breakfast provided by the on board chef. Depending on how late you went to bed the night before it was either back to bed or straight onto the top deck with a bottle of sun screen. Until lunch nothing really happens. Just relaxing and soaking up the sun. Lunch again provided on board. The boat then anchors in a breathtaking cove so the boat jumping, island exploration and snorkeling can begin. The boat lifts anchor and then heads for an island port for the rest of the day and night. Not a bad formula really.
I don't want to bore you all with to many words as I think the pictures are far more affective so here's the highlights:
First stop was the island of Mljet which is a national park. Unfortunately we arrived late and it was to dark to go bush so instead it was a quick swim followed by dinner and drinks at a beach side bar. The water was about 21 degrees and the clearest I have ever seen. I had a broken rib so was only able to flounder on my back but it was still sweet.
Second stop was another amazing island called Korcula but before morning for the night we stopped of just of the coast of an island with an old monastery. Julie jumped of the boat however with my broken rib I was caged on the boat and could not take part. Not easy at all.The island of Korcula was beautiful and quaint by day. It was the home the famous explorer Marco Polo. By night was filled with cocktail bars and nightclubs. We chose a cocktail bar which was open to the street and played braveheart directly onto the wall of the building across the street.
Third stop was Hvar. This island was meant to be the most exclusive in the archipelago. This was pretty evident once we arrived. The town was filled with very lavish and expensive clubs, bars and restaurants that were charging more than you would pay in Scandinavia. As per usual we opted for pizza which was cheap and damn good. We ate a lot of pizza and sardines and about three times a day ended up trying to cool down with a gelati. Above the town was a breathtaking castle with an amazing view over the harbour. One of those views that will stay with you forever.
Fourth stop was Vis. This was the furthest island away from the mainland and took ages to get to. We did not get a swim on the way but once we got there it was straight to the water for another dip. We decided to climb this island which was a nice walk up a goat track through wild Rosemary covered hills. On the way down we spotted a mini golf course and it was on. I will spare you the details but Julie won on the last shot.
By this stage a bromance had formed between me and three other Aussie guys. This was sweet as we were able to leave the girls to there gossip and extreme tanning and get to competitive extreme boat jumping and stone skimming. None of this helped the recovery of my broken rib but I had to join in. The pride of an entire country was resting on my shoulders.
Next stop was the island of Brac but before getting there we moored of the coast of a place called Bol. This was a shingle spit which was considered the most famous bathing spot in all of Croatia. Clothes were clearly optional !!!!!! Again the water was amazingly clear. It was here that we discovered the local fish loved bread, cheese and ham. We proceeded to shower the water in sandwich ingredients while swimming amongst the fish. It was simply awesome. We were lucky enough in Brac to arrive while they were having an end of season street party with live music and fireworks.
The next day was our last day on the boat. We travelled from Brac back to the mainland to a town called Makarska. My rib was fearing a little better so it was straight to nearest cliff top bare to jump off. It took Julie almost half an hour to build up the courage to jump. It was painful watching but eventually she took the leap of faith. Pretty impressive really, there is no way I would jump after thinking about it that long.
The next morning we left the boat to go inland to Bosnia on a day tour. Bosnia was amazing. The town of Mostar still showed the signs of the war between Serbs and Croats which took place between 1992 and 1995. I am sure you can all remember seeing it on TV. The buildings were all covered on bullet and rocket holes. We had been told to walk a little out of town and visit the old bank. I can tell you now it was a crazy experience. The building was surrounded by people just getting on with daily life, catching buses, going to the bank etc. This was hard to believe as the building like others around it was decimated. We carefully entered and walked up the open stairs past offices which still had the original bank files strewn over the floor. There were bullet shells covering the layers of broken glass.
The old town of Bosnia had been pretty much rebuilt and was different world from Croatia with a strong Turkish Muslim influence, not what we were expecting at all.
We were lucky enough to see someone jumping off the old rebuilt bridge in Mostar. It is 24 meters high and there is a chilly river below with not much water so no chance of either of us being tempted to take the plunge...plus you have to pay so we were content to watch.
We travelled by bus back into Croatia to Split, our last stop. We met up with the boat again and started the farewell celebrations. I was sad to see the back of all my hearty ship mates. It has to go down as one of the most beautiful places we have ever been and a great tour with some awesome people. Back to London where I think I need a holiday to get over the holiday I just had.
After our Croatian adventures we quickly wanted to book a holiday to get over our holiday so we decided to keep up our weekend excursions and head over to Budapest for the weekend. 
Seems that the king of the dual monarchy at the time favoured Vienna as his flagship city so never wanted any significant building in Budapest to be bigger or better than anything in Vienna. Apparently the Budapest Opera house caused a major royal tantrum as it was such a beautiful ornate building when the king came to see the first performance he remained unimpressed about the performance because he knew the building was better than anything he had in Vienna. Talk about being a spoiled brat!
Fortunately for Budapest it emerged from World War I battered, but now the capital of an independent Hungary. There was little mention of the communist rule of Hungary and for our slightly older guide he was reluctant to discuss anything surrounding that era, perhaps some of this fear of the communist rule lives on?
Budapest is a famous spa city, so we simply had to go "bathing". The baths are really the last vestige of Turkish culture in Budapest, left over from their occupation of the city back in 1541. The thermal baths are surrounded by beautiful old buildings and full of not so beautiful old Hungarian men. It was great moving around the different temperature pools, dashing in between them in the freezing weather. The venue is vast though, so many indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and if you had the money full spa services like massages etc - we didn't have the money.
Having seemingly lost our mojo for the city trips we headed back to London a little tired and determined to be more focused about where we go from now on. We might have done our dash in Eastern Europe!
