Balkans Birthday Adventure
Early this year I wrote about my travel wishes for 2016 (Balkans, Baltic and Tobacco Fields) and I hoped to do a road trip through the Balkans for my birthday. The plan was to meet up with S, a native Sarajevan who fled the war in the 90s and drive through Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro but life happened and rather than cancel the trip, I was even more excited to do it by myself. I enjoy travelling with people but when I go away by myself, I flourish. I find that I always come home a little bit different and this trip was no different.
As I cannot drive - yes, I know, I'm useless - I had to look for a local company to get me from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo, taking in Herzegovina. From the moment I emailed Skender of Sarajevo Funky Tours I knew I was in for an amazing time and he totally delivered. On my birthday he sent Adnan and Ameenah to pick me up from Dubrovnik for the 2-day road trip. Within 5 minutes of meeting the duo, we discovered we were all close in age and had birthdays within days of each other. They even organised cakes for me and had a restaurant play the happy birthday song for me. I woke up on my birthday in a strange country with no familiar faces but by the end of the day, I had two mates who I shared beers with under the Old Bridge in Mostar.
Seeing as the Herzegovina trip was beyond amazing, I decided to use SFT for the Siege Tunnel Tour in Sarajevo. Ameenah (another one), the tour guide, was 23 years old when the war started and so we got to hear first-hand experience of someone who lived in the city during the siege. Alem, another tour guide and Skender's brother, had excellent tips on where to eat, drink and get panoramic views of Sarajevo, Tivat and Kotor. These guys all made my week and I made a promise to them I'll be back to the Balkans and Sarajevo especially. Hey Chiny, pack your bags!
The Balkans is such a beautiful but under-visited region, and with what's happening in Western Europe, I foresee a lot of tourists heading east for sun, sand, sea and snow. You should too.
xx
