Croatia

Saturday

Got to Vienna by a comfortable bus ride with Student Agency, one of the nice Czech travel companies. We'd packed a serious picnic, so when we arrived in the city, we were relaxed and not starving and hungry. Lisa and Joel met us at the bus and took us to the hotel before going in search of coffee "mit schlag". We took a rather circuitous route to a cafe and finally the Hundertwasser Haus, an apartment block that has been rounded off and brightly painted. As the day disappeared, we decided to hunt dinner from a tram, and in the end found a pleasant neighborhood on the edge of the river and a garlic-scented restaurant for Austrian food and beer.

Sunday

Breakfasted on strudel and more coffee "mit schlag" before going to Vienna airport. The flight to Dubrovnik (via Austrian Airlines, a major airline which was completely unimpressive compared to Czech Air or even most of the budget airlines) was smooth and featured a stunning U-turn over cliffs and the turquoise Adriatic. Experienced the first of insane Croatian drivers. Were warmly welcomed at our guesthouse by our host, Anica and her slippered teenage son. Set off to find the Old Town and got ourselves lost in it's labyrinthine streets before stumbling upon an appealing (if empty) restaurant where we gorged ourselves on oil- cured cheese, local prosciutto, squid, mussels, fish and local wine.

Monday

Went out early and got Strudl for the grown ups and ate on the terrace. Walked through the local market to port Gruz. From there (after something "mit schlag") we walked over a residential hill to the Bay minutes before the fog lifted. We lunched on bread, sheep cheese and apples while the fog cleared before walking around the peninsula and through a truly hideous resort. More coffee on a busy pedestrian promenade with some amazing people watching before walking back over the hill with some minor detours. Roof top terrace with sunset and a view over the harbour for dinner.

Tuesday

Early rising and more strudel. We caught the 10am ferry to the Elafiti Island of Lopud after the relaxing trip across crystal water we found a nice spot on the Island and ate lunch. After lunch we left the grown ups to do their own thing and walked up to the top of the Island for a view of the coast and a ruined church, communed with the lizards and came back down to the water side to take a nap in the sun. As everything on the Island was closed we climbed a tree and picked some unripe oranges for liquid but they were far too sour to enjoy. Met the grown ups and sat by the sea and enjoyed a cold beverage until the boat came to pick us up. Ridiculously amazing sunset!

Wednesday

Chill day. Instead of taking any trips we split up for morning walks and met in the Old Town for a truly delicious lunch at Dubrovacky Kantun. In the afternoon, we walked the city walls, an interesting excursion since Joel has a strong dislike for heights and would periodically hold onto the back of your shirt if he felt you were too close to the edge. However, the views were stunning. Interestingly, the only noticeable war damage was in the brand-new red roofs and several fallen buildings. Cooked an excellent dinner of market-fresh greens and pasta and relaxed on "our terrace".

Thursday

Rented a car in the morning to drive to Montenegro, the newest European country and next-door neighbour to Croatia. Our destination was the Bay of Kotor, one of the few fjords outside of Scandinavia and a full third of Montenegro's coastline. At one point the fjord cinches in. During the Roman era, Queen Teuta controlled this point and installed a shipwrecking device there to increase her wealth. Eventually the Romans took notice and "removed" her. The drive in was lovely, with increasingly beautiful views at every turn, but quite time-consuming. We arrived in the early afternoon quite hungry and had yet more bread and sheep cheese by the water. We decided to climb to a fort above the town of Kotor, which the grown-ups weren't up for, so we left them to wander while we climbed vertically for an hour on crumbly cobbled steps and steep grades. When we reached the fort, triumphant and sweaty, the town spread out below us as if from an airplane. Drove out before dinnertime, stopping at the Croatian border at a lovely local restaurant. We ate fantastic roasted vegetables topped with ham and cheese.

Friday

Had a relaxing morning, drinking coffee Croatian-style (for hours) and purchasing vegetables for lunch at the market. In the afternoon, determined to sunbathe on our last day in Dubrovnik, we headed out to yet another rocky spit and watched some men's swim team arrive, decide the water was too cold to swim, and relax in their bathing suits for a Coke or cards. Met the grown-ups for another lovely seafood dinner and ice cream dessert.

Saturday

Packed up and left at noon with the same insane taxi driver who'd driven us in. We had a very tight connection, and the airport seemed bent on making us miss it, with a late plane, some unattended baggage closing the arrival area in Vienna, and a mysteriously difficult to find bus stop, but we parted ways eventually, and made it back to Prague in time to catch the last bus home.