Dubrovnik to Split (& Hvar Island)

Still city/island hopping through Croatia but here's a quick update.  We left Dubrovnik early by bus yesterday morning and got to Split, the second largest city in Croatia, around noon.  There was a fast ferry heading to the island of Hvar so we decided to hop on.  It took about an hour and dropped us in a very quiet (actually a little TOO quiet) town of Hvar where we proceeded to wander around looking for a hostel that was open.  Apparently Hvar is so dependent on seasonal tourism that most hostels close for the winter until April (even though it's beautiful and in the 60s here).  After a bit of searching we found a guesthouse that was under heavy construction and with little to no communication due to the language barrier, were given a room, and dropped our stuff off.  We were mimed that the owner would be back later that night so we headed out to explore the town for a bit.  We quickly realized all restaurants were closed as well as everything else at this point in the day (although it was only around 5) so we grabbed some items from the local grocery store and parked on the water's edge for an early dinner.  After sunset we returned to the guesthouse to meet Luka, the owner, and settled in for the night.  In the morning we made the decision to head back to the mainland and although the only ferry from Hvar was cancelled due to wind, there was one leaving from Starigrad, a town 15 km away, that we managed to catch (after a somewhat unsuccessful attempt at hitchhiking).  A couple pictures from the past day...

Bus, Dubrovnik to Split

Split ferry port

Hvar port

Dinner-- the dried meats here are pretty awesome

Not a bad view for dinner

We're now sitting at an internet cafe in Split trying to determine our next move, which looks like a night train north to Zagreb!  

Mostar to Dubrovnik

Just a quick entry and pictures from the day-- we left Mostar this morning and caught a 4 hour bus to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  By our count that's 5 countries in 10 days.. kind of crazy.  The drive was pretty uneventful until we reached the beautiful Adriatic coast.  The last hour or so was pretty stunning looking over the water and tiny red roofed houses come closer into view.  When we got off the bus we started talking to a very sweet man who owned a small guesthouse just outside of the Old town, so we got a ride to check out his place.  He showed us a great and affordable room so we dropped our stuff and headed out.  Our plan as of now is to make it up through Croatia in 5 days so we don't have any time to waste.  It was a beautiful 63 degrees so we left our jackets and enjoyed the 30 minute or so walk to Old town, the beautifully preserved historical part of Dubrovnik.  We spent the whole afternoon exploring the many winding side streets and enjoying the warmth and water.  

First glance from the bus

The view along our walk into town-- we basically just followed the coast

Old town walls

The historical part of town

The weather permitted some delicious chocolate hazelnut ice cream (ok, let's be honest, the weather has never stopped us)

We were just amazed at the beauty and history as we walked 

We spent sunset overlooking some small islands and waving to boats passing by

And two on the super vivid color setting (just for fun)...

Time for a quick night time stroll by the water and then bed.  Early bus to Split tomorrow, the connecting ferry to Hvar Island!

Sarajevo to Mostar

Mostar is no less beautiful than we hoped. Didn't hurt that we enjoyed our first real sunshine and comfortable temperatures since we left Cairo. Plenty of pictures. The town and its iconic bridge have fascinating histories. One of the now many UNESCO world heritage site we've been lucky enough to see this trip. Tomorrow is off to Dubrovnik to start an all too quick tour up Croatia.

Sarajevo train station - really like the coca cola painting - didn't know trains could run on the stuff.

So inviting. 

Bridge was rebuilt in 2004

Another somewhat disappointing attempt to enjoy Borek. The fresh lemonade was nice.