Featured Touring The Balkans - We Are Coming Again!

Day 1/9:
Today we started our "main" (longest) biking tour for this year. Another tour to the Balkans. This time we will combine biking with swimming in different countries, but always in the Mediterranean Sea.
Our first day was the longest ride on this trip. We rode today a distance of 685 kilometres in a riding time of 7:37. The temperatures weren't nice to us! We started at 20 degrees celsius and beginning with lunch time we had continuously 35 degrees. We were nearly melting on our bikes. We ended our tour today in Bosnia in the capital city called Sarajevo. Before we passed parts of Hungary, Croatia and two thirds of Bosnia. There is one interesting thing. The further south you go, the cheaper the fuel becomes. We started in Austria with € 1,53/litre. Croatia € 1,50 and Bosnia € 1,20-1,26.
In Sarajevo we got our last year's apartment again. This means, when you leave the house you are in a real problem. In every direction you can find great restaurants and bars after a walk for maximum of 50 meters.
After our decision we enjoyed a.great meal and got some desserts in a neighbouring cafe.
Tomorrow we will keep on riding to the south.
Stay tuned

A short stop at a fuel station in Hungary.


The loaded bikes.


The highway in Bosnia.


A modern part of Sarajevo




Our restaurant for this evening.




Two glasses of local wine. Delicious!!!


A pyramid filled with white chocolate cream and caramel.


A banana cake.

 

Day 2/9:
Today we started our second riding day. At 0715 we started in Sarajevo/Bosnia and headed to the south border to Montenegro. Most of the country roads in Bosnia are in acceptable conditions. Only the last 15 kilometres to the border crossing in Hum to Montenegro are really "wild". A motocross bike would be the right bike there! Potholes, sand, ballast and something which looks like asphalt is there called a "road" to an international border crossing. But I have to say. It was much better than in the last year.
The long queue at the border crossing we passed by as "bad" bikers and jumped 2 cars before the border crossing control station into the queue. Otherwise we would have melted for 2 hours in the sun. Today we started at 16 degrees celsius in Sarajevo, then it went down to 13 in the mountains and climbed up to 37 beginning at 1100.
After the border crossing we crossed complete of Montenegro from North to South on great roads through the country. Montenegro is a biker paradise!!! Wonderful landscapes, most of the roads are great and very little traffic. BUT: Beware of the animals! Today we had two meet and greets with two cow herds which were laying or standing on the road. The fuel prices are acceptable too, € 1,47 per litre. Arriving at the border crossing from Montenegro to Albania we passed by once again the queuing cars.
After the border crossing we took "the" international road of Albania to the South and ended our tour in Shengjn - Kune at the Mediterranean Sea at our apartment. This road is really boring. It goes through many villages and towns with lots of traffic and hundreds of roundabouts. The speed limit is "official" 50-80 km/h, depending of inner town parts or street crossings. The locals use every kind of German car in unbelievable technical conditions. Some of them smoke like a smoke cannon. Or the parts of the car body are "glued" together by rust and dirt!
The town of our apartment is comparable with parts of the Italian Lido. They look nearly identical. We had some delicious pizzas in an Italian restaurant and afterwards some ice-cream and for the soul two mojitos. The fuel prices here are in comparison expensive, €1,74.
Tomorrow we will explore the near surroundings of our town here.
Today we did a ride for 6:30 hours and 325 km only on country roads.

Montenegros great roads. We took the M18 to the South.


There are many unlighted tunnels. Some of them with curves and hairpin bends too.


The beautiful landscape of Montenegro.


And again.


Mojitos at the beach bar.


The beach and thousands of sun umbrellas.


A very special pizza with a cream cheese filled pizza crust, Parma ham, buffalo cheese, ... Really delicious!


A view along the coast line.


On the beach.


Our apartment house.

 

Day 3/9:
Today we did after our breakfast a 10 km tour on foot to reach a bird nature reserve. On our way we left the tourists part of the local coast line and came to the "wilderness".
On our way we met some free-living horses and hundreds of butterflies. The "entrance" of the nature reserve is a bit tricky. You have to "survive" a very dilapidated bridge. On the other side we were able to watch and hear thousands of different birds, but only in a far distance. We were not aware of the tides and so the further way was under water.
But it was still a great experience!
On our way back to town we got us some refreshments and searched for some more shadow, because the sun tried to melt us.
After a rest in our apartment we joined a local restaurant and had there a great lunch with an exceptional good local Riesling (white wine) from a vinery in the Kosovo. The prices here are great. In Austria we only would have got the wine without our meals.
In the late afternoon we swam for a while in the refreshing Mediterranean Sea.
In the following some impressions of today.

I tried to "catch" some butterflies with the camera of my smartphone, but all of them were in a hurry.


The first horse on our way.


Some more horses.


A view of the wonderful landscape.


A complete empty beach.


A first view of the nature reserve.


The "bridge".


Some more impressions of the nature reserve.




Our great white wine.

 

@Vulpes: This year we went down the Piva valley. Next year we will come again to do the complete Tara valley. Last year we surrounded the Durmitor national park.

 

Day 4/9:
Today was our last recreation day here in Shengjin. We enjoyed the local culinary highlights and found some interesting parts of the town. On the other side of the bay of Shengjin a former naval base is situated. We did another long walk to get there. "Dr. Google" told us that there are still some old torpedo boats to find there. At the entrance of the old base we came to a female guard who told us, that we are allowed to visit the base, but taking photos is forbidden. To keep us away from big trouble we did what were were told. 95 percent of the base are only devastated ruins. 4 torpedo boats, two in a kind of a dry dock and two others partly sunk, where there. ln an other part we found old trucks. The leftovers of an Austrian Steyr 680 from the late 1960's and a M35 truck of the US forces. The only "modern" part was the harbour master and the former command post of the base. After this historic experience we walked back to our apartment. There we started to pack our stuff to be prepared for the upcoming ride to Montenegro tomorrow.

An interesting plant on our way.


Lovely blossoms.


The landscape behind the touristic parts of Shengjin.


"Venice Beach" of Shengjin


Delicious waffle with white chocolate and pistachios and pistachio cream.


Nutella banana waffle.


On the left end of the photo the naval base is situated.


An Austrian Steyr 680 truck.


An US M35 truck.

 

Day 5/9:
Today we started our bikes about 0800 and headed in the direction of North Albania to cross the border to Montenegro again. In the town areas we had lots of traffic and a big amount of policemen were trying to clear the chaos on the streets. Our navigation app rescued us, because the police came up with some road closures and the alternatives weren't signposted. Otherwise we would have get lost in the middle of nowhere in Albania! After about 30 minutes we were on track again and headed to the border. At the border crossing we were nearly alone and after reaching Montenegro the "biker paradise" feeling came back soon. The boring straight roads in Albania changed to hundreds of curves and hairpin bends in Montenegro. This time we had some equipment and body testing, too. The country and coastline roads were bumpy and sometimes there was even some asphalt between the potholes. But we made it again and ended in Budvar our planned destination for the next two days. Due to the road conditions it took us 3 hours for only 140 kilometres without taking the traffic jam of the morning into account. The police accompanied us on our way too, because every 20-30 km they were watching the speed limits in the towns. This is for us not a problem, because in towns and villages we always ride slowly! Today we met an old lady with a cow walking down the street, 4.wild horses on the street, about 10 dogs, sheep's and about 5 cats while we were riding through towns or villages.
The fuel prices are €1,47/litre here in Budvar. Budvar is one of the most popular holiday destinations beside Kotor here in Montenegro. Our bikes got in the garage of our apartment house a nice parking place and we enjoy our accommodation and the life here in the city. To the beach we walk about 15 minutes and we had some fun while snorkeling with lots of different fish in the sea.
Tomorrow we will explore the old town and some more places of Budvar.

The wonderful mountainous area of Montenegro.




Short stop for a drink. Due to the weather and the temperatures it was really muggy and unpleasant today.




The longest straight road on our tour today in Montenegro.






Coming down from the mountains to the coast at Stari Bar.


First impressions of Budvar in Montenegro.

 

@Vulpes: We enjoyed 4 days there. Therefore we wanted to try Budvar this year. It is worth a trip!

 

@joe mc donald: Thanks Joe. It is great. Every day is a new experience with lots of new impressions.

 

Day 6/9:
Today we did a historic journey through the old town of Budva. It was very interesting and there are many parallels to other historic towns in this area like Kotor, Dubrovnik, Cavtat or Split. Some parts of the old town looked nearly identical to the listed above. Today many tourists from Italy and Spain were on the spot. Beside the historic parts in the old town you can find many restaurants, café s and souvenir shops.
After this historic experience we walked to the end of the bay of Budvar and found a lovely little beach behind some great looking rock formations at the coast line.
This time I had taken my Chinese waterproof smartphone with me to take some photos while snorkeling in the sea. Some results will follow.
We ended up after our snorkeling session in a beach cafe and had some great coffee and desserts there. A pastry filled with stiff vanilla cream and fruits. Delicious! On our way back to the apartment we got us some refreshments and another selection of salty and sweet bakeries.
Back in the apartment we started to pack again our stuff. Tomorrow we will leave after our breakfast and head to the border to Bosnia and later on to Croatia.
More will follow.

The "Ballerina" of Budvar. This statue was presented on many places in Budvar in the past. Now you can find it at the end of the Budvar bay behind the old town.


Some impressions of the old town.




On the most left part of the photo you can see the beach where we did some snorkeling.


On this photo you can see the water quality of the sea.


The old town. A view from the rock formation you can see on the photo above.


Our "interesting" way to the hidden beach.


Some very curious fish.


In sum we were able to watch 6 different fish species, but I wasn't able to take useful photos of them.


Where the hell did I park my yacht today?

 

@joe mc donald: I don't think so Joe. On your tours in the area where you are riding you are also able to get impressive and wonderful experiences! For me every kilometre on my bike is a good mood for my soul, regardless where I ride!

 

Day 7/9:
You may have noticed, that I had to reduce the length of our actual trip. The reason is because a very bad weather situation is coming to the area of the Adriatic Sea on Sunday evening. Rainfalls (+40 litres) and thunderstorms are forecasted and we do not want to be washed from the roads. Therefore we cancelled the last of our accommodations near Rijeka and will do a "long run" home for 930 km on Sunday.

Today started with a big thunderstorm in Budvar/Montenegro at about 0300. But we had luck and it ended about 0800, our breakfast time in our hotel. So we enjoyed our breakfast and started our today's ride on fresh "cleaned" roads. That's only a joke. We had some real wet and muddy roads on our way in the morning. Our bikes look again like motocross bikes.
First we passed the bay of Kotor with it's great views. Afterwards we crossed the border from Montenegro to Bosnia and did some shopping in Trebinje. Then we rode to a interesting inn near the border to Croatia and had a delicious lunch with great desserts there. The last border crossing was also only a short stop and then we headed to our today's accommodation in Cavtat in Croatia.
Highlight on our today's tour. A sheep herd crossing our way in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of Montenegro. Nobody was hurt or injured. Only some sheeps had a high heart frequency.
Today we went often from sea level to more than 1.000 m due to the used roads on our tour.
It was a great riding day again.
In the following some.pictures and more impressions.

The bay of Kotor.


Some great impressions in the mountains of Montenegro.










One of the typical cats of this area.


A first view to Cavtat.




Great Rose wine at the beach.