06.11 Christer and myself have had breakfast. Roberth is still sleeping. Today we will leave the hostel, Sarajevo and Bosnia Herzegovina. We have stayed at a great and clean hostel which offered hotel standards with room cleaning and clean towels. Today a new country awaits.

06.48 Now all three are awake. It's time to pack our things and leave.

07.01 We are going with the hotel´s own transport to the eastern bus station, Lukavica, here in the city. Sarajevo has just woken up.

07.16 Our driver was speaking German and he drove us in a car with German license plates. The transport was booked at our hotel. We'll make our way to Sarajevo's Serb suburbs. Since the peace agreement Bosnia-Herzegovina is divided into two parts, a Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb part, the Republika Srpska. Our bus station is right on the border of that republic. Along the way there we have also seen a welcome sign and a map regarding the Winter Olympics in 1984 which was right here in Sarajevo.

07.26 We have arrived and are sitting at the bus station Lukavica. Now tickets to Podgorica will be purchased and we are at Putnik café. We want to get rid of our small change. Coins can not be exchanged, but notes can, right? A nervous Asian guy is walking around asking for the bus to Podgorica.

Roberth is waiting for our bus. The place is Sarajevo´s eastern bus station, Lukavica.

Hills and valleys east of Sarajevo.

08.09 The last coins disappeared as baggage fee. It cost as much as 3 KM for our three bags but the driver accepted our 2,90 KM. Now we are sitting on the bus and are waiting for everyone else to sit down. The bus is supposed to depart in five minutes. We have received stickers that match those on our backpacks. Today's bus company is called "Sons".

08.25 Well, just as we started to leave the mountain surrounded Sarajevo, we stopped to refuel. Here diesel costs 2,33 KM per liter. The bus was filled with 145 liters. How long will it last? We have seen signs in both the Latin and Cyrillic letters. Christer thinks it is short on legroom. Roberth commented that Christer do not need to have someone next to him. I'm sitting next Roberth and I´m not saying anything.

08.57 A lady just got on the bus in Trnovo. We see a lot of snow on the moutains. The road is bumpy and we just passed a small flock of sheep.

09.38 We made another stop, more beautiful scenery and now an old lady got on board.

09.57 Autobuska Stanica Foca is written on the building. We are in the small town of Foca and Roberth and I stretch our legs. We are now deep into the Republika Srpska. Along the way, we have seen some mine warning signs. There are still places that are not cleared since the war, often in steep slopes.

10.43 Our travel road, path is, to say the least, narrow and winding. It resembles of a bicycle path in some places. We encounter other vehicles now and then and we recently met some cows. This is vacation for sure, something beyond the ordinary. To the right of the bus, we have steep slopes leading down to a turquoise river.

10.52 We have passed Brod and now travel through some rafting areas. There are plenty of campsites and cabins that welcome all adventurers who want to try the noble art of rafting.

11.09 We have stayed at the Bosnian border control in Hum. Outside, birds are singing. Shall we go out or will people come in? A gentleman just came in and took our passports. At the second border gate there is an oncoming bus. Is it a coincidence or planning that we did not meet on the narrow road before?

MONTENEGRO

11.27 The passports came back from the Bosnians with a new stamp inside. We went on and crossed a bridge before we stopped again and the passports were handed over to the Montenegrin border police in Ðãepan Polje. Now I'm sitting on a stone bridge close to Restoran Soko. This place is closed. We have just entered into Montenegro and are waiting for the return of the passports. I have now been in all the European countries. That is if not counting Kosovo with its dubious status.

11.51 We are on the road again. The views are breathtaking. There are mountains, bridges, tunnels and the Piva canyon. It is incredibly beautiful here.

Our bus is "resting" at the border crossing Hum/Ðćepan Polje.

We will soon enter this bridge.

Deep valleys in northern Montenegro.

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

13.03 I slept a little and probably missed parts of the beautiful scenery. We just crossed Vidrovan and the landscape has flattened out. We have now and then during the journey passed some flower arrangements/small altars/memorials to people who have been involved in accidents along the road. Among these mountains there are also a lot of power plants and dams. The water is beautiful with a strong bluegreen color.

13.25 We have made a short stop in the student and industrial city Nikšić, a city which, inter alia, produces the country's beer. Roberth and I took the opportunity to relieve the pressure here at the bus station. Now, we travel onwards towards the capital, Podgorica.

13.56 We are unfortunately stuck in a traffic jam. Wait, we are rolling again. It was a short stop. There is some road maintenance.

The wild nature of Montenegro.

A temporary stop on the road to Podgorica.

Podgorica, we are resting in the sun.

14.32 We finally reached the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica. We're at the bus station. Here, it's probably a four-hour stop before we continue further. So says the itinerary anyway.

14.57 We will not wait four hours. The plan to eat dinner here has been cancelled. We will go ahead with the 15:25 bus instead and eat dinner as we reach Kotor. Christer has been offered a taxi to Albania and Roberth and I have switched to sandals.

15.28 The debts are no more and we are now leaving the Montenegrin capital. I wonder if I ever have been such a short time in a capital city. With us on the bus is the energetic Asian guy we saw in Sarajevo this morning.

15.53 We travel towards the coast of this small country. The landscape is green and hilly. We are swishing forward in a bus of a smaller kind. The sun is shining and it's hot. The weather forecast said it would be +25 C in Podgorica today and we have no reason to doubt that. The Montenegrin capital is known as a place where it often becomes extremely hot.

16.39 We stopped in the old royal capital Cetinje and then took aim for the sea. Now it is there, far below us. We roll on. The bumps make it difficult to write and take photos. Everything becomes blurred.

16.54 After having been offered spectacular views we are now on Mediterranean Sea level, or rather the Adriatic Sea level, and in the town of Budva. It feels good to have come down. We are about to keep travelling though.

View of the tourist town Budva.

It´s been many hours on a bus but now we are finally in Kotor.

At the Montenegro Hostel reception. Roberth and Peter are waiting to check in.

17.58 Our journey took us past the airport in Tivat, then through a long tunnel and then we finally reached the bus station in Kotor where we got out and started to walk. We went fairly directly to the reception of the Montenegro Hostel (http://www.montenegrohostel.com) inside the old town. We seem to be alone here. Wait now, someone is coming!

18.11 We were quick and easily checked in. We have three beds in a room for four. Hopefully we will get the room all to ourselves. The hostel has a lovely location. If you go out on the balcony you can look out over one of the squares in this cramped and incredibly charming old town that lies between a bay and the edge of high mountain ranges. Let's settle in and familiarize ourselves with the accommodation and surrounding area. We have seen the Asian guy again. We met him in an alley outside where we live.

We are staying in this beautiful building. Montenegro Hostel is on the second floor.

Roberth and Christer are walking towards the serb-orthodox church Sveti Nikola.

The catholic cathedral Saint Triphon (Sveti Trifun) in Kotor.

18.42 Regina del Gusto (http://www.reginadelgusto.com) is today's dining place. We have ordered their meat specialty. We have asked for a bottle of wine. The old city we live in is beautiful. Now the bread basket got here. Another thing that is here is my appetite. It is great to have it back.

19.24 We were offered soup, salad and pork chop with rice and vegetables. We drank Plantazo Crnogorski Cabarnet, a tasty wine from Montenegro. All that remains now is the payment. The food was ok but not too filling.

20.19 I bought postcards and a souvenir. We have seen the beautiful boats and luxury yachts of all kinds in the port outside the city gate. We have also been away and bought some stuff at Roda Market.

21.41 It's time to wrap up the evening. Christer and I have tried some Balkan beers, Sarajevsko from Bosnia Herzegovina, Nikšićko from Montenegro and from Serbia we tried Jelen Pivo.

Expensive boats in Kotor.

Tuesday 26th of April

07.51 Morning has broken in this new country. We just realized some things. We have slept well and Roberth forgot his towel in Sarajevo. It is blue and Christer and I who saw it but thought it belonged to the hotel.

08.42 Christer and I are sitting in the room and we are waiting for a websurfing Roberth. It is a mix of something between a bright blue and cloudy sky outside. Roberth just got back. Now we will go out for breakfast. You can purchase a simple breakfast here at the hostel but we want something more stable and it's also nicer to sit outside and eat.

08.58 There will be no breakfast, yet. They will open in about twenty minutes. We are having a bench break at the square Pjaca od Drva near the Catholic St. Mary's Church from the 1221. Speaking of Catholics, they have declined dramatically here in recent decades. No, no genocide has taken place. It was probably just a bit uncomfortable to be a Catholic Croat in this region in Yugoslavia in the 1990´s. Here in the square there is a small battle going on between the pigeons and cats. Outside the city walls we can see a mighty mountain range.

Birds are singing, sun is shining, lots of cats around, Pjaca od Drva is a peaceful place.

Large sandwiches and small cups of coffee, that is our Kotor breakfast.

09.23 It's breakfast time, we drink coffee and we eat cheese and ham sandwiches at Caffe & Kuzina Scorpio on Trg Sveti Luka. Right next to us is the small church with the same name, Sveti Luka. Sveti Luka, the church has been both Catholic and Orthodox, and it dates back to 1195 A little further away is the Orthodox Church of Sveti Nikola. On it the Serb Orthodox Church flag is hanging.

10.18 We've been walking around in the wonderful cozy old town of Kotor. Some postcards have been mailed and Roberth has bought an ice cream.

10.30 We have now gone left the UNESCO-listed Old Town. Before us now is the Kotor fjord. It is only a fjord by name and nothing more. It looks like a fjord, but has not been formed as the fjords. To the left of us is a big, huge, gigantic cruise ship, Azamara Cruises' Club can be read on it. Here it is quiet and peaceful. Awesome.

Kotor has visitors today.

A beautiful view close to the western city gate in Kotor.

The largest fjord in southern Europe is actually not a fjord.

11.02 We are temporarily back at the hostel and the room. Various necessary things must be done before we move on. New plans are to be set.

11.28 We are at the bus station here in Kotor and new tickets have been purchased. We will travel by bus to Herceg Novi, a picturesque town near the Croatian border. The Asian guy who we met yesterday just passed. He greeted us and told us that he will travel on to Albania.

11.47 A gruff but helpful gentleman is walking around here at the bus station and helps passengers to board the right bus. He nods or shakes his head when different buses arrive. We'll see when he will nod towards the right bus for us. The one we have tickets for should be here now.

12.01 A bus with the correct destination arrived. However, our tickets were not for that bus company so we had to update the tickets inside the ticket office and pay a little more. Now we are on board for a new bus ride.

Two islands in the Kotor fjord, on one of them you can find the Sveti Djordje monastery, the other island
is artificial, built by stones brought there since 1452.

12.29 We are on track. It is a winding and bumpy road along all creeks and tabs of the great fjord of Kotor. Steep mountains and churches like Sveti Eustahije can be seen.

13.39 The bus brought itself and us all the way to Herceg Novi. On the way we passed some interesting places and the scenery was incredibly beautiful, high mountains and the bay as far as the eye can see. Here in Herceg Novi, we walked a steep street from the bus station down to the center. Here we are now under a rain stained parasol at Pizzeria 5. We have ordered pizzas. The waiter told us they have nothing but pizza to offer as the season has not begun yet.

Trg Nikole Dorkavica in Herceg Novi.

Sveti Leopold church on Trg Bellavista.

14.27 I have been to the bank and exchanged my last Bosnian banknotes. This was done while we were waiting for our food. The bank was only a few steps away. We are now eating our pizzas. Soon we will make a further hike in the town.

14.36 We lack a good map of the town so we walk at random down the hills towards the sea. We've found a nice little church, a locked citadel and many cozy narrow streets.

14.54 We have made it to the stones, sand and lapping waves. A fishing boat passes out there. There is rain in the air, pigeons on the beach and Roberth has begun to determine the species of stones. He also imitated the famous "the Little Mermaid" in Copenhagen.

This was a dead end.

We are walking towards the sea.

Peter and a palm tree.

Roberth is checking where he is.

15.13 Music is heard beyond/above some bushes. Behind me is the sea. We are at the city's citadel or the remains of it to be more precise, the ruins of it. It collapsed during an earthquake on the 15th of April 1979. It is a light rain but it is still acceptable walking weather.

15.25 It's nice to walk downhill, but it also means that you have to walk uphill to get back. We have looked at Herceg Novi old railway station which these days is a hotel, we have walked up stairs and through winding roads and are now beginning to recognize the streets where we began our walk.

15.45 Now we are sitting at Cafe Stari Grad on the square Trg Bella Vista. We have ordered coffee. The entire area unfortunately feels "off season". There were more tourists in Kotor. However it has been a nice stay in this town. I bet, it is even nicer on one really hot summer day.

Roberth is pretending to be a mermaid.

The old railway station in Herceg Novi is now a hotel and cinema.

Three men in Herceg Novi.

Christer and Roberth are getting ready for the bus trip back to Kotor.

16.39 We're back on a bus. Now we're going home to Kotor. We are the only passengers in this small minivan. When will this change?

17.38 Well, there were not many more who wanted to travel with the bus. Those who got onboard just went on for a short distance. Now we are home in Kotor again. The large cruise ship has left Kotor during the day.

18.09 We're back in the old town and Roberth has returned to a pharmacy. This time it's not the nose as in Malta in 2008 and in Portugal in 2010, or throat as in Georgia in 2008 that need to cure. Now his feet are suffering from abrasions. Therefore some patches are purchased.

18.18 What started as a joke upon arriving to Kotor has now become serious business. Yes, we plan to climb the hill above the town. There are steps along the mountain side and at the top there is an old fortress. It costs 3 Euros to see the fort and it is paid by the trail’s beginning in the old town. You just have to pay.

Kotor

Three enthusiastic climbers.

Kotor looks like a triangle.

18.27 We have walked for a while up the mountain side. The view is tremendous and the light rain continues. We are resting in front of a church and have a lovely view. We have also asked a few passing tourists to take pictures of us.

18.38 There shall be 1200 meters of walking along this trail before you reach the top. We don’t know how high up we will get and we are not sure how long it will take us. What we do know is the fact that our legs are hurting. On the way up we found some horses/mules/donkeys submitted to graze at a wall. It may be the same animals that we saw this morning in the town. They worked next to a tractor in some form of building work.

18.58 Now it's time to stop wandering upwards. We are at the top of the mountain. We are tired but it was worth every step, groaning and puffing. We have walked into the Sveti Ivan fortress and up here a tattered flag of Montenegro is waving in the wind. Unfortunately it is a continuing rainfall. We will immediately take some photos before we turn back before nightfall. The gate closes 20 o'clock and we do not want to be left on the mountain tonight.

19.25 We passed the church where we rested an hour ago. There we saw four girls/young ladies drinking something that made them really happy. We continued on vibrating legs. The ladies were photographing each other sitting on a wall. It looks dangerous.

19.56 Finally we are at home on shaky legs. The churchbells are ringing out there. It hurts to walk down. We are about to catch our breaths for a while now.

We finally reached the old illyrian fortress Sveti Ivan.

A tired Montenegro flag and the Bay of Kotor.

On the way down we say hello to those on their way up.

20.32 We're back on our breakfast restaurant Scorpio. We will try their Mixed Grill (mixed grilled meat). It is for 2-3 people. It will, according to the waiter and the chef, be enough meat to the three of us, a challenge! It is time for a mountain cheer and we said "Kahunga!" Why this? Well it was something Roberth said and it sounded good. I wonder what Kahunga means?

21.27 We're back in the room after a culinary carnival, a meat feast, good sausages, various meats, vegetables and local beer. We are doing fine. It was blowing half a storm around us when we dined, but we barely noticed it. Soon I will wash my shirt.

22.12 The shirt is washed, the internet is checked and Roberth has went to bed. Now we are feeling good. What will we do tomorrow?