Tag 58 to 61 Croatia, Dubrovnik, Montenegro, winding roads near Kotor, day off

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17.9.

After heavy rain in the morning in Trebinje, the weather turned out surprisingly good. I rode over the mountains and got closer and closer to the Mediterranean. But the sea didn't want to show itself.

Finally, the moment came, I turned a corner and there it was, the Adriatic Sea. It was a great moment, I had only ridden to this point on my bike. A feeling of happiness spread inside me 🦋🍀🌞 This is what a happy Kai looks like:

I reached the border station to Croatia, took photos, saw the sign that it was forbidden to take pictures here - oops - made my camera disappear, showed my ID obediently and whoosh, I was back in the EU.

The road hugged the side of the mountain and the wind blew so fiercely around the rock formations that it felt like a huge invisible club smacking me in the face in every turn. It was a steep downhill and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't ride faster than 20 km/h and had to hold onto the handlebars with both hands. When I reached the bottom, instead of turning right towards Dubrovnik, I turned left, rode through small beautiful villages, noticed that the traffic on the coastal road was much denser than in the hinterland of Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦, but it didn't bother me because the cars either had space to overtake or had to stay behind me - traffic jams are only annoying when you're at the back 😄🚲 🚗🚚🚙🚐🚚🚗🚌🚕🚛🚗

Then I arrived at Camping Kate, parked myself at the very back on the separate tent meadow with a sea view and under a huge fig tree and pomegranate bushes.

It was lunchtime, so I took a short walk down to the sea...

... and later I took the bus towards Dubrovnik and spent the rest of the day there, bought postcards, visited the Maritime Museum and had a delicious dinner in one of the many restaurants in the narrow streets. Dubrovnik is very touristy, but worth seeing and for me it was a nice change from the completely non-touristy Bosnia. At the bus stop, I met a German retired couple and we walked together through Dubrovnik for a while.

Note about the bus: at the campsite they said it departs at 3:30 p.m., at the bus stop it said 3:10 p.m., it actually arrived at 3:22 p.m. 😜 so my tip for all Germans with precise watches: just go to the bus stop and either be happy that the bus comes immediately or enjoy the time until it comes 😄

After dinner, I make my way back to the bus and sleep well in my tent. It was a great day!

18.9.

The next day is windy. I plan to start early, but end up chatting with someone from Kassel whom I meet while I'm already packed. Eventually, I hit the road and make good progress.

Then I go uphill towards the sea and Montenegro 🇲🇪

On the way, I pass fig trees with huge butterflies and spooky figs.

I quickly reach the border to Montenegro, a great sight directly on the coast at a promontory that I have to go around. First, there's the Croatian border post in a basin almost at sea level with a view of the open sea and the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. Then I drive uphill to the promontory, go around it, and continue uphill to the Montenegrin border post. From here, I already have a great view of the front part of the Bay of Kotor and try to make out the narrow passage on the other side where I will take the ferry.

In Herzeg Novi, I plan to withdraw money and buy a SIM card. Surprisingly, the ATM only dispenses Euros 💶. Obviously, Montenegro doesn't have its own currency. Strange, considering that the country is not even in the EU and Croatia is currently struggling to introduce the euro. Wikipedia says the following:

When the euro was introduced, Montenegro started using it as its currency. Initially, the European Central Bank (ECB) did not object to this step. Since then, however, the European Commission and the ECB have expressed their dissatisfaction with Montenegro's unilateral use of the euro.

Interesting, they just did it. Well, it's easier for me this way. Then for the SIM card. I think it was Sunday, in any case, the mobile phone shops were closed. But I was able to get a SIM card at the kiosk. The lady explained two different offers to me. 500 GB for fifty days for ten euros, for thirty days for fifteen euros. That can't be right, I pointed it out to her, but she just repeated it over and over again. I took the cheaper card and realized that she had simply confused fifty and fifteen. I could have figured it out on my own. In the end, the card only brought me fruit, but more on that later.

I continue cruising. It's a long way to the ferry ⛴, it's already late, and I wonder if I can still make it to the campsite I planned to go to. But I have a tailwind and race at almost 30 km/h on the good coastal road.

The ferry looks somewhat trustworthy. I ride past the cars to the ticket booth, buy my ticket for one euro (I may be mistaken, but it was very cheap), squeeze into a corner, and enjoy watching the cars maneuvering and then the fast crossing in the evening sun.

I arrive at the campsite, squeeze into a corner (the place is crowded with mostly German motorhome campers), have nice neighbors from the Netherlands with a small child, cook, eat, and sleep. Before going to sleep, I try to activate the SIM card, but it doesn't work somehow. I'm too tired to keep trying and use the campsite's Wi-Fi to plan the next day.

19.9.

Break day at the campsite. I chill in my chair in front of my tent until 2 p.m., write in the blog, and play Stardew Valley 😅 Then I finally do the dishes, do some laundry, try to visit the cave (it's somehow not possible when you just walk to the entrance. You have to walk back to the bus stop and take the bus down... I think it's so stupid that I no longer feel like going to the cave. In retrospect, I believe I just had to wait in front of the cave - regardless), and prepare for the next day. In the evening, I eat delicious food again in the restaurant. The break day did me good! Tomorrow I will go to the huge Skadar Lake. I will ride along it for a while until I reach Albania. I'm really looking forward to it!

Here are some impressions from the break day 😉