Trip across this world as you pass by… – The Balkans

I had a gap in my trip planning which I had always known was going to be the flexible portion of the trip. I would just go with the flow and see where things took me as I got there.

Things took me to the Balkans.

I had no idea what I was in for. Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. With some of the most tragic yet fascinating history.

I already said that Iceland was the poster child of my trip. For everyone who has asked which was the best place I travelled to, I have been honest and given the same answer: Iceland. But really, surely everyone to some degree wants to go to Iceland. Same for Croatia?

Allow me to go off piste a little here but I have this odd trouble when someone asks me what my favourite ‘x’ is. For instance, what is my favourite Queen song? Is it the one that got me into the band? Is it the one that I’ve likely heard more than any other? Is it Bohemian Rhapsody? By a lot of metrics it must be. But what does that say about me as a Queen fan? Not that much. Maybe it’s just a desire to be a special snowflake but I find it much more interesting that my favourite Queen songs are Sweet Lady, It’s Late or You Take My Breath Away. What’s your favourite Queen song? (side note: this is also coming from the guy who plays Mario in Mario Kart so I probably don’t actually have a point here).

Anyway in short, Iceland was the best. But Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina were possibly my more interesting favourite places, and also go there, especially if you like cats.

I actually had a less than auspicious reason for wanting to go to Montenegro. It looked cool in Casino Royale. Here’s the joke, it wasn’t even actually filmed there!. They did a good job though because real Montenegro lived up to and surpassed fake Montenegro. I never would have guess how spectacular it and Bosnia and Herzegovina are. If you like to go for a drive, do yourself a favour and drive into Kotor around the Lovcen National Park from Cetinje and drive from Mostar to Sarajevo. And be a little naughty and stop off wherever you can to take some photos.