Brilliant Balkan ! Part 2

Day 06/28 Dec : Dubrovnik, Croatia - Kotor, Montenegro

Time to explore Dubrovnik in the day! Dubrovnik, in my opinion is one of the best places to visit in East Europe. This medieval city is quite a sight to see and no visit to Dubrovnik would be complete without a walk around the astonishing city walls.

As it was the month where oranges were in season, I decided to secretly pick one of them, afraid that it as a crime or such. Sadly, it tasted extremely sour, although it was very very fragrant 🍊. (Too bad I didn't take a photo 😞)

After venturing through the ancient city, we soon headed to Kotor. On the 2 hour journey, we took some pretty shots of the hillside view...

The city of  Kotor was exceptionally breathtaking! Although it has a silly name, we enjoyed being the time there... We were happy as we had the place to ourselves because winter there wasn't known as 'high season'

Approaching the city walls of Kotor

A stunning church inside the Kotor Old Town

Day 07/29 Dec : Medjugorje - Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina

After the long, early ride we finally reached the holy city of Medjugorje. Medjugorje appealed to us because of its holy pilgrimage and the belief that the mother of God was sighted here atop a hill. We will never forget this place as it gave us an unforgettable experience.

So what was the journey that we experienced you might ask? Here's the answer: We climbed for an hour and a half to reach the mountaintop. Sure it sounds tiring but here's the catch, the hill was made out of giant rocks where we almost slipped and tumble to our deaths. The way back took us surprisingly, a much more longer time rather than climbing it. I also saw some people that were not wearing shoes at all!

Upon reaching the mountaintop we were able to see the whole city from there. A statue of Mother Mary was erected as a reminder that we should be peaceful at all times.

The statue of  Mother Mary

We were lucky as we got to enjoy the beautiful sunset view as we went back down.

After finishing the tiresome journey, we went to Sarajevo to stay in the night.

Day 08/30 Dec : Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina - Belgrade, Serbia

Today we were invited to visit the Tunnel of Hope & Museum, which was an underground tunnel that was built when the Bosnian War happened. We were shown a small preview of what had happened and I must say that the old times were scary. The tunnel was relatively small so we had to squeeze in to fit our bodies there...

We then went to the Old Town and to visit a Mosque that was built during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In my opinion, it looked similar to the ones I've visited before in Turkey. There were Turkish-related shops situated there, so I decided to get some pastries called Borek because we didn't have the chance to eat some when we were in Turkey...

View from a bridge at Sarajevo

After all of that, we went in the Bus and went to Belgrade for the night.

On the way to Belgrade

Day 09/31 Dec : Belgrade, Serbia

Ah, a new day, a new city. This time we're going to have a city tour around Belgrade, where the Palace of Ljubice stands. Although the weather coldness numbed my fingers, the town never failed to surprise me with its beauty

The next stop that we went to was the old part of the city. The scenery and atmosphere amazes me. It was beyond my expectations. Tiny cafe kiosks lining up down the streets, each them luring me with the aroma of freshly-baked gods and newly-brewed coffee

As the clock strikes 3, it was already afternoon. Time flew by very fast when you're shopping for food. Belgrade was fun, but things must come to an end. Goodbye Belgrade! 

Day 10/1 Jan : Sofia - Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria - Bucharest, Romania

We had a short transit to Sofia even though we knew it was the capital city of Bulgaria. Let's just say that we just went through Sofia because our main objective was to get to Bucharest. We did though had a short stop at Veliko Tarnovo as it was famous for its product of rose oil. Every time I set my foot into these stores, the fragrance of roses wafted through the air.

Upon reaching the hotel at Bucharest. I quickly took a photo of my origami as it was the new years. This year it had turned to the year of the pig, so I decided to make new years ornament about this. I'm glad how it turned out!

Day 11/02 Jan : Bucharest - Bran, Romania

For far too long I have had it in my childhood dreams to visit Dracula's Castle in Transylvania and today was the day I visited it. But Bran Castle was not what I had imagined for a vampire icon. Anticipating a gray, dull, unwelcoming feat of architecture with crows resting on branches, I was rather dissappointed that it was well... not frightening at all but it was rather homely.

All in all it was a great day exploring Bran Castle and a very 'Transylvanian' experience to enjoy. I would certainly recommend this day trip to anyone visiting Romania...  

It looked very different from the inside as the day was getting darker

Then it was time to leave 😔... I really enjoyed the time being and would 100% recommend these countries for people to visit... Overall, it was a good experience...