Montenegro to Vienna

by Jeff Gunn | Jun 8, 2025 | Europe

Bosnia lies just above Montenegro and while it has many more attractions our plan was just to visit historic Mostar and revisit ( even more historic ) Sarajevo. Mostar ( and Sarajevo ) were heavily damaged in the Balkans war and evidence of that conflict is still very visible on many buildings. Sadly, Mostar’s famous bridge was directly bombed in the conflict, but, while completely destroyed at the time, it was later painstakingly restored to all its former glory. The place is an absolute magnet for tourists and probably one of the busiest towns we have visited. It was literally difficult to walk down the streets…! In Mostar you just got the unmistakable vibe that Bosnia right now is an “in” destination.

Just a few very scenic hours drive north of Mostar is Sarajevo. Yes, you remember it from the beautiful winter Olympics in 1984, followed less than a decade later by a bloody civil war that led to the loss of many lives and destruction of much of the city. It was, however an event in Sarajevo in 1914, probably more than most people realize that shaped the world as we know/knew it in 20th century. It is often described as the “shot that rang out around the world” – here, in June 1914, a young Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, precipitating events that led to the First World War, and by extension, ultimately to the Second World War . One shot, by one angry guy.  It was humbling to stand beside the Roman Bridge on the very spot where the assassination took place and to think about how differently the world might be today had that single event not occurred – and, of course, how many lives were ultimately lost as a result of it. 

Sarajevo offers much more than just a historic bridge though, and is often described as a meeting place between east and west (given its history). The square, its mosques, its churches, its food – the place just oozes with sights and experiences. Again, great weather helped and we enjoyed both these places in glorious sunshine ( albeit among thousands of other visitors ).

Leaving Sarajevo, we simply took a generally direct route out of Bosnia, briefly across eastern Croatia and on into Hungary. Perhaps appropriate that our next two stops were Budapest and Vienna ( Austria), capitals of the very same Austro-Hungarian empire that collapsed at the at the end of WW1. Princip could not have possibly realized that his single bullet might have had such impact, it ultimately brought down an empire.

Despite the empire falling its two great cities very much remain – Budapest and Vienna ( each on the Danube ) have to rank among Europe’s most beautiful. One can walk for hours on end ( and we did ) just exploring historic streets, buildings and other sights, and/or savouring their culinary delights. In both places it was almost sensory overload ! Budapest, right on the Danube, was packed with several Danube cruise boats docked so had a tremendous vibe. That, along with the great sights, and the weather as well as the opportunity to reconnect  with with a Hungarian couple we crossed paths with on the Pan American trip ( in Peru ) made for a very memorable stay.

Only a four hour drive west of Budapest lies Vienna, steeped in history ( be it musical, artistic, political or economic ) this centre of the old Austrian-Hungarian empire and home of the Habsburg’s could occupy a visitor for weeks. We had a couple of days and checked out some old haunts as well as places we’d not seen before. We took advantage of their super Metro day pass to explore as much as we could in the two days we were there. It’s quite likely we will pass through Vienna again, and we have no problem doing so. It’s just an amazingly beautiful city.

Leaving Vienna, we pulled one very long day drive to get across to the small town of Fussen, in Bavaria, Germany. Fussen is the starting point for perhaps Germany‘s most famous road, which we will explore in our last blog before flying home to Canada for a 3 month break.

Till next week….

Romania to Montenegro

by Jeff Gunn | May 31, 2025 | Europe

Our travels in the former Yugoslavia back in 1990 were brief but did take us up through the bigger cities in Serbia so on our route back to northern Europe we sought to drive around it this time. From Romania, that meant swinging southwest down to Bulgaria then heading more or less less directly north through Macedonia and Kosovo before going west to Montenegro and then Bosnia.  Perhaps we were given misleading advice but it was also strongly  suggested to us that visiting Kosovo might cause problems entering Serbia ( Serbia being one of just a handful of nations that still do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state ). One thing you learn quickly in these parts is to get your politics ( and historical figures ) straight – don’t mention just “Macedonia” to the Greeks ( it’s got to be North Macedonia ! ) and never forget where Alexander the Great came from ( claimed by several countries in the region !).

Leaving Romania one drives through pretty countryside to the southwest before crossing the Danube ( by ferry in our case – though I did ask Lois if it might count as that Danube “cruise” she has always wanted. Yes, you know the answer 😊 ). Both Romania and Bulgaria are now in the EU and as such part of the Schengen border control which means there should’ve been no border at all between them. While it was rather perfunctory ( and super friendly ), there was a control in place but we we were only stopped briefly. In northern Europe, no stops at all.

Sofia was to be our only Bulgarian stop and  then really only because it fell right in our path, but it was certainly worthwhile for the day we spent there exploring its sights. Like Bucharest, another city with some interesting history, beautiful buildings, upscale neighbourhoods and wide boulevards, but unfortunately also blighted by much litter, horrendous graffiti, and gardens that were simply unattended. It’s not to suggest that you don’t see graffiti in other areas of Europe, you do, but not to the extent you see it here. It was very sad to see such disrespect for historical property.

From Sofia it’s only a few hours west to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, a country which, along with Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia peeled off from the former Yugoslavia after the conflicts in the 1990’s. The politics, as a result, can be a little tortuous and while tensions still simmer in places there is not ( as far as we know ) any remaining military conflict.  Our passage through both Macedonia and Kosovo was brief, we enjoyed what we saw and the people we met were again, unfailingly helpful and curious ( more than once we were asked what on earth we were doing there !!!! ). I mention friendly again – here is what I mean; leaving Pristina we stopped at a fuel station to get some diesel before crossing to Montenegro. All three employees, on seeing our van and the unusual plates, came out to meet us. One spoke fluent English, so asked about our trip and translated for the other two who seemed absolutely enthralled by what we had done and where we had been. It was actually difficult to leave! One insisted on wiping down our dirty windshield while the other filled the van with diesel and the other talked to us the whole time. Before we could leave, he dragged me to the drink machine and insisted I take two drinks with us courtesy of them – one for Lois and one for myself. Of course I politely refused, thanked him anyway, but that went absolutely nowhere. No way were we leaving before we took a couple of drinks “on the house”, and their best wishes for a safe onward journey. It’s not quite always to that extent but It’s the kind of experience we’ve had from people in this area over and over again, which truly makes for a warm welcome. They have been through such difficult times and now seem happy and content with their independence. 

In truth, save for a few sights ( see pics above and below ) there’s not much to bring you to Macedonia or Kosovo and had they not been the only way to get us to Montenegro and Bosnia it’s not likely we would have even visited. It was quite funny, in Pristina, when I asked what the major attraction was – “Biill Clin-ton” came the unexpected answer. Bill Clinton ?Apparently the former president pushed through a vote at some important stage in a UN meeting that helped the Kosovo people in their push for independence. In any case, the guy is absolutely revered in Kosovo with a wide boulevard (named ) and a large statue (built ) in his honour. While Pristina was short on top tier sights, it did offer us a wonderful camp spot, shared with a delightful Dutch couple also travelling in the Balkans – the grounds of the Hotel Gracanica were truly a refuge for us in what was otherwise a rather chaotic city.

The one country here we were really excited to visit ( to the extent we probably rushed the former two in order to spend more time there ) was Montenegro. Far more like northern Europe than its neighbours, seemingly wealthier and more developed, it is also stunningly beautiful. Its coastline includes the world famous Bay of Kotor ( a cruise ship magnet ) and the hip coastal towns of Budva annd Sveti Stefan.  What was especially interesting ( and very scenic ) though was our entry into the country from Kosovo. A steep climb up, over and then down the border range during which time we connected with a group of foreign, ( mostly Canadian ) cyclists. We were all getting stamped in at the border together and the Canadians in the group ( on a 2 week cycling trip through to Albania ) could not resist checking out the van with BC ( Canadian ) plates. Anyway, a fun chat ensued, and some photo ops along with the usual travellers tips. One of the cyclists was actually from Vernon, Lois’s home town ( small world ! ). Even though we plan to return to Montenegro later this summer we still could not resist exploring a bit more now, such was its appeal. The Bay of Kotor, crowded as it was ( a large cruise ship was in ) and postcard-like Sveti Stefan were particular highlights. We both agreed that this is one country we really look forward to revisiting !

Till next week…