Wander More Work Less

A very early start for Sarah. I was up at 5:15 am and she was up at 5:45 am. It’s moving day again. The Uber picked us up at 6:30 and we head to the bus station in Split. There are about 10 buses lined up, so best we get the right one. Ours is going to Mostar, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you’d heard of Mostar before this, well done — we hadn’t. Of course, we’d heard of Sarajevo (Winter Olympics) and Bosnia because of the wars.

Nothing much on the agenda today—let’s call it a “rest” day. You definitely need those on this sort of trip. That said, we still started the day with a 45-minute walk down to and along the beach promenade. We walked until the beaches gave way to the marina. It was already 29°C by 7:45 am.

The alarm was set for 6am, but I was already awake. Sarah was not. 😮 We needed an early start so we could explore Split’s Old Town area before it got too hot. Breakfast first, then off to the bus station—€1 each for the 5 km trip. We had a quick look at the waterfront, then headed into the alleyways of the Old Town. This is the Europe we came to see—narrow alleys and a little café or square around every second corner. Our map and GPS struggled in there. Each time we stopped at a landmark, it turned out to be the one on the map a block away. We soon figured this out and started relying on the signs posted on the walls of the alleys instead. We slowly ticked off the sights, including: Iron Gate Jupiter’s Temple Diocletian’s Palace Saint Domnius Cathedral Gregory of Nin Statue Golden Gate Republic Square Plus a few others. The highlight was Saint Domnius Cathedral, with its amazing columns and tower. Then—against my better judgement—we headed to the Ma...

After a long travel day yesterday, we had planned to do not much today. But we were still awake around 6:30am, and by 7:30 we were ready to go hunting for some breakfast, as we had absolutely no supplies. Today is another public holiday—Independence Day—so we were slightly worried that supermarkets might be closed. The route to the closest market takes us via the nearby beach, which is just 200 metres down a slight hill from where we are. The beach and sea look beautiful. There's a brand-new promenade that has only just opened, and there are still signs of construction going on behind the beach. We’re at Znjan Beach. The supermarket is small but has some of the basics we need, including milk, bread, muesli, yoghurt, coffee, biscuits, apple juice, and beer. Just the essentials! 😉 It doesn’t have any meat, which is odd. We decide to grab some dried pasta and a jar of sauce, just in case we don’t find anything else for dinner. Back to the apartment to unload and have brea...

Checked out and walking to the train station before 8am. It’s warm, but there’s cloud cover, so we don’t need to stick to the shady bits. 1.8 km feels a lot further when you’ve got 8 kg on your back and 4 kg on your front!

The apartment had no hot water this morning! That was fine for me, as I’ve generally been showering after our morning activities, but Sarah was keen to have one when she got up. She decided to wait. I’ve messaged the host—hopefully, someone is coming to fix it today. Otherwise, it’ll be a very refreshing shower later on!

An early start to the day—up at 6am and off to the bus station by 6:45am. It’s the reverse of yesterday’s walk, as the bus station is right next to the train station. The morning is cool and fresh, around 14°C, but it’s meant to reach 31°C later in the day. We bought bus tickets at the station to Bled, a town about 55km away. It’s famous for its lake and the picturesque church on a small island in the middle. We’d seen it on The Amazing Race and thought, since we’re nearby, we should definitely check it out. The bus ride takes about an hour, maybe less, with just a few stops along the way. A return ticket only cost €3.80 each—cheap as chips! Though not quite as cheap as Lidl’s wheat beer! 😂 Oh, and before I forget—I didn’t get whacked last night. 😁 Not only are we visiting Lake Bled, but Sarah informs me we’re walking the entire perimeter of it. What?! I guess, since we’re not paying to take a boat out to the island, we might as well burn some calories and enjoy the scenery. The walk...