Deciding last minute to take a trip to Croatia and Montenegro this summer was probably the most spontaneous thing we have done since becoming parents (and man, was it great!)
A couple weeks before our anniversary we talked to Kevin's parents about babysitting for a week and were set on going to New Orleans. We loved the idea of getting away to celebrate our anniversary, but airfare seemed expensive for what we were getting.
This of course started a different conversation: why not spend that money on something bigger and better.
After a talk with my parents about an additional week of babysitting, and without much more than a second of thought, we booked airfare to Dubrovnik!
In all, we spent a little over two weeks traveling through Croatia and Montenegro - it was the first time in either country for both of us, so seeing it together added an additional layer of excitement.
After arriving in Dubrovnik late the first night, we booked a room near the ferry terminal, then headed to the island Korcula first thing in the morning!
Korcula
The island of Korcula was our first (and favorite!) stop. We spent three nights at Hotel Liburna and it was by far our favorite Dalmatian Island.
The sea (throughout the Balkans) is a stunning shade of turquoise and situated at Hotel Liburna, we had a breathtaking view of old town Korcula. Add to that the relaxing, 5 minute walk along the sea to get to town, and we had the recipe for a perfectly relaxing first stop.
We rented scooters on the second day and loved exploring more of the island. The scooter learning curve is steep, but we walked away unharmed with some hilarious memories.
Here are some pictures from around the island!
For the next day and a half we spent our mornings / afternoons exploring the island and swimming, then settling back to Old Town for drinks and dinner in the evening.
Hvar
The island of Hvar was our next stop. This time, instead of a hotel we chose a great AirBnB in the center of Hvar town (aptly named The Heart of Hvar). It was an adorable two bedroom apartment overlooking the cafes below and kept us right in the center of it all.
We really loved the vibe in Hvar (although what they say about British tourists seemed to be true) and spent the next 3 days enjoying an amazing 1920s beach club, strolling the beautifully white washed streets, and taking in the night life.
Hvar was amazing and while it does live up to its party vibe, it's an incredibly beautiful island and worth the trip!
Omis
From Hvar we took the ferry back to the coast and arrived in Split. We spent only a couple hours in Split but from here we rented the car that would take us down the coast to Omis, Kotor, and eventually back to Dubrovnik.
Driving through Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro for the next week and a half was a lot of fun. I loved our little rental car and all the feisty Eastern European drivers (it's in my blood!)
Below are a couple pictures from our afternoon in Split.
As mentioned, Omis was our next stop; a breathtaking town on the coast, just south of Split about 2 hours.
We spent the next few days at The Hotel Villa Dvor where we enjoyed mountainous views, a boat trip down the mouth of the river (let's just say operating outboard motors is not an innate talent of mine), climbing up Starigrad, shopping local fashions, and falling insanely in love with local fare (namely the home grown tomatoes at our hotel - ha!)
Montenegro
Montenegro was by far the highlight of the trip for me.
My Grandpa (paternal Grandfather) immigrated to the United States by way of Ellis Island with my Great Grandmother in 1920 (he was seven years old). Growing up I was old this story many times and I always wondered if I would return to the homeland and our family village.
Lucky for me, Kevin was an eager and willing participant in this adventure and we had an amazing time both in Kotor (where we stayed at Hotel Cattaro) and on our day-long (void-of-English-speaking) journey back to Ljubotinj.
First, here are some pictures taken within the old city where we were staying.
We spent the first few days exploring Kotor (what a charming old town!), the castle of San Giovanni, and the surrounding bay.
Here are some pictures from our hike to the castle - the views were breathtaking
Later that day, we hired a boat to swim in the blue caves, ride out to Our Lady of the Rock, and even explore an old Russian submarine cave. We weren't sure what to expect, booking with our hotel concierge, but it was delightful. We spent the afternoon with 4 others in a 40' cabin cruiser exploring the bay.
The next day we were off on our big adventure to Ljubotinj - my Grandfather's village.
Most recently my Grandpa and cousin visited in 2003, so I talked with my cousin the night before to get some specifics: the names of family members still on the land, general location, and the understanding that the language barrier would be massive (I speak only 2-3 Serbo-Croatian words).
Ljubotinj is a very small village that in many ways is unmarked, but through advanced GPS systems and a hotel staff member who was from a nearby village, we were off to a great if not vague start.
About 20 minutes into the drive we started playing around with our language app, only to learn that this particular one didn't work without internet service.
With lack of internet, we were out of luck.
So, armed with only a couple pictures and my family name, we were off to my Grandpa's village!
The road over the mountains had been freshly paved, and lucky we spotted this sign. Down an unpaved road about 4 additional miles we arrived.
After driving through the village it became apparent that many people were not home (and the ones who were went inside once they saw a car drive through). But we got out of the car anyway and walked along the road (pictured above) in search of someone to talk to.
We were not fortune in this endeavor, so I eventually knocked on the door of the house pictured above and waited for a reply. No reply at first, so I knocked again (we had seen someone there when we first drove up).
Eventually an old woman yelled a greeting (in Serbian) from inside and finally opened the door (I suppose the spirit of my Gpa was with me that day and I was feeling bold)
She was an elderly women who spoke not a lick of English, but I introduced myself anyway and showed her pictures of my Grandfather's family.
I finally got an "ahhhhh, Blazo! Nickinovich!!", and without hesitation she invited us to walk with her.
We walked down the road and to our car where she pointed "rental?"
YES!
So she continued by motioning that we give her a ride. In we go with not a word spoken between us. She would grunt and point as we made our way around a few unmarked turns, then we finally arrived on the Nickinovich / Dapcevich land.
Dapcevich is my Great Grandmother's maiden name and prior to WWI, Ljubotinj was ruled by the Dabcevich family.
She fearlessly rapped on doors and yelled into windows, but being a Wednesday afternoon, no one was home. I know she felt bad that we came all this way and were not able to meet family, but our adventure with her alone was incredibly fun.
I guess a family reunion will have to wait until next time!
So we went back to her house where she invited us into her kitchen, took out her fine china, and offered us something to eat and drink. As we ate she went outside to make a call. It turns out her daughter speaks English, so I was able to talk with her.
Her daughter told me that indeed her Mother had taken us to the Nickinovich property. I in turn introduced myself as Blazo Nickinovich's Granddaughter / Masha Dapcevich's Great Granddaughter. I told her of my Grandpa's passing and filled her in on some family details.
She wanted to know all about my Dad and where our family was living now; I can't explain how amazing it was telling my family's story to someone halfway across the world...someone who really cared.
Although the trip back to "the old country" wasn't the big to-do I had played out in my head, I made a very sweet and wonderful friend from the experience. I plan to keep in touch with my "Serbian Grandma" over the years. She gave me a note with her name - which I can't pronounce, and her address, so over the holidays I hope to write to her - in Serbo-Croatian - and thank her for her wonderful hospitality.
After visiting the village we had lunch in Cetinje (former capitol and nearest town to Ljubotinj) then drove back to Kotor.
We took the switchback mountain roads back; extremely steep and curved with no cement in some areas, but the view driving back to Kotor was breathtaking.
Dubrovnik
Our last stop (yes, this post is almost finished!) was Dubrovnik. We spent our last 4 days here and had a great time decompressing before our arrival home.
We splurged and stayed at the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik where we enjoyed nightly appetizers and cocktails in the executive lounge overlooking Old Town.
Dubrovnik's old town is massive and breathtaking and we enjoyed strolling around the city walls and exploring the greater reaching areas. Highlights include walking the city walls, an afternoon at one of Dubrovnik's great beach clubs, and taking the (Swiss made! 💕) cable cable car to the war museum and dinner our last evening at Panorama Restaurant.
Our trip far exceeded any 7th Anniversary expectations we had, but as parents of young children with limited downtime and a lack of opportunity to regularly reconnect, this trip was EXACTLY what we needed.
So thank you to our amazing parents who kept our kiddos / puppy / kitty safe and happy - it was a trip of a lifetime!
Phala
(ancient Serbo-Croatian for thank you... the most important of the 2-3 Serbian words my Grandfather taught me 💛)
A couple weeks before our anniversary we talked to Kevin's parents about babysitting for a week and were set on going to New Orleans. We loved the idea of getting away to celebrate our anniversary, but airfare seemed expensive for what we were getting.
This of course started a different conversation: why not spend that money on something bigger and better.
After a talk with my parents about an additional week of babysitting, and without much more than a second of thought, we booked airfare to Dubrovnik!
In all, we spent a little over two weeks traveling through Croatia and Montenegro - it was the first time in either country for both of us, so seeing it together added an additional layer of excitement.
After arriving in Dubrovnik late the first night, we booked a room near the ferry terminal, then headed to the island Korcula first thing in the morning!
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| The view from our overnight in Dubrovnik |
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| Good morning, Croatia! |
Korcula
The island of Korcula was our first (and favorite!) stop. We spent three nights at Hotel Liburna and it was by far our favorite Dalmatian Island.
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| Views of town from our hotel beach |
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| Looking to town from the marina |
The sea (throughout the Balkans) is a stunning shade of turquoise and situated at Hotel Liburna, we had a breathtaking view of old town Korcula. Add to that the relaxing, 5 minute walk along the sea to get to town, and we had the recipe for a perfectly relaxing first stop.
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| Hotel pool |
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| Staying suuuuuuper disconnected 😉 |
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| Hotel bar HH, Face-timing with the kids |
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| Walking to town |
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| Walking up the steps to the city walls |
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| The streets of old town Korcula |
We rented scooters on the second day and loved exploring more of the island. The scooter learning curve is steep, but we walked away unharmed with some hilarious memories.
Here are some pictures from around the island!
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| Riding back into town on Day One, still alive! |
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| Off we go |
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| A stop along the road en route to Brna |
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| Enjoying an afternoon of drinks and beach time in Brna |
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| Looking down into Old Town Korcula |
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| Biker dude |
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| A morning drive through Korcula wine country, Day 2 |
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| (that's Kevin!) |
For the next day and a half we spent our mornings / afternoons exploring the island and swimming, then settling back to Old Town for drinks and dinner in the evening.
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| (that's me!) |
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| Korcula sunset |
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| One evening we came across a Korcula / USA high school water polo game |
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| Our hotel in the distance |
Hvar
The island of Hvar was our next stop. This time, instead of a hotel we chose a great AirBnB in the center of Hvar town (aptly named The Heart of Hvar). It was an adorable two bedroom apartment overlooking the cafes below and kept us right in the center of it all.
We really loved the vibe in Hvar (although what they say about British tourists seemed to be true) and spent the next 3 days enjoying an amazing 1920s beach club, strolling the beautifully white washed streets, and taking in the night life.
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| Ferry drinks en route to Hvar! |
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| Our apartment above Archie's Bar |
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| Our nightly hangout (and where I found my love for martinis) |
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| The main square, directly outside our apartment |
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| A room with a view |
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| Day one beach club (where Kevin "met" his Ricky Gervais friend) |
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| Walking the stunning boardwalk from town to the beach areas |
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| Looking back into town from the boardwalk |
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| The center square at happy hour |
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| Bonji Beach Club! |
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| Our private deck, looking out to the left |
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| Hvar nights |
Hvar was amazing and while it does live up to its party vibe, it's an incredibly beautiful island and worth the trip!
Omis
From Hvar we took the ferry back to the coast and arrived in Split. We spent only a couple hours in Split but from here we rented the car that would take us down the coast to Omis, Kotor, and eventually back to Dubrovnik.
Driving through Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro for the next week and a half was a lot of fun. I loved our little rental car and all the feisty Eastern European drivers (it's in my blood!)
Below are a couple pictures from our afternoon in Split.
As mentioned, Omis was our next stop; a breathtaking town on the coast, just south of Split about 2 hours.
We spent the next few days at The Hotel Villa Dvor where we enjoyed mountainous views, a boat trip down the mouth of the river (let's just say operating outboard motors is not an innate talent of mine), climbing up Starigrad, shopping local fashions, and falling insanely in love with local fare (namely the home grown tomatoes at our hotel - ha!)
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| The view from our room, looking West |
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| View from our room looking East |
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| The hotel was built into a large rock formation, so the entrance (via elevator) was through a cave |
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| Fucker. My favorite boat of all time! |
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| Our river cruise captain |
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| Enjoying the afternoon at a small cafe / rest stop down the river |
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| Pulling away from the river restaurant |
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| drinks in our (luke warm..) rooftop hot tub |
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| The city of Omis by night (as seen from our hotel's rooftop) |
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| View from our room at night 💕 |
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| Hiking up to the fortress (Starigrad) with old town below, and our hotel across the river |
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| Still climbing |
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| Walking from town back over the river, our hotel is the top center building |
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| An AMAZING seafood feast! |
Montenegro was by far the highlight of the trip for me.
My Grandpa (paternal Grandfather) immigrated to the United States by way of Ellis Island with my Great Grandmother in 1920 (he was seven years old). Growing up I was old this story many times and I always wondered if I would return to the homeland and our family village.
Lucky for me, Kevin was an eager and willing participant in this adventure and we had an amazing time both in Kotor (where we stayed at Hotel Cattaro) and on our day-long (void-of-English-speaking) journey back to Ljubotinj.
First, here are some pictures taken within the old city where we were staying.
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| View from our first room (we got upgraded our second day to a balcony room) |
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| Walking our luggage into town |
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| New room's view! |
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| Our room was behind the open shutter doors on the terrace above the cafe |
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| Hotel entrance |
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| The main square (hotel on the right) |
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| Sitting on our balcony, with Kevin looking up to the Castle of San Giovanni |
We spent the first few days exploring Kotor (what a charming old town!), the castle of San Giovanni, and the surrounding bay.
Here are some pictures from our hike to the castle - the views were breathtaking
Later that day, we hired a boat to swim in the blue caves, ride out to Our Lady of the Rock, and even explore an old Russian submarine cave. We weren't sure what to expect, booking with our hotel concierge, but it was delightful. We spent the afternoon with 4 others in a 40' cabin cruiser exploring the bay.
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| Out on the Bay of Kotor |
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| Swimming back from the Blue Caves (small entrance you see on the right side of this picture). They did not give us life jackets, so it was pretty scary, but really cool |
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| Boat only access to this beach club |
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| Russian submarine cave |
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| Inside the enormous cave - it was awesome |
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| Our Lady of the Rock |
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| A brief stop in Dobrota |
The next day we were off on our big adventure to Ljubotinj - my Grandfather's village.
Most recently my Grandpa and cousin visited in 2003, so I talked with my cousin the night before to get some specifics: the names of family members still on the land, general location, and the understanding that the language barrier would be massive (I speak only 2-3 Serbo-Croatian words).
Ljubotinj is a very small village that in many ways is unmarked, but through advanced GPS systems and a hotel staff member who was from a nearby village, we were off to a great if not vague start.
About 20 minutes into the drive we started playing around with our language app, only to learn that this particular one didn't work without internet service.
With lack of internet, we were out of luck.
So, armed with only a couple pictures and my family name, we were off to my Grandpa's village!
The road over the mountains had been freshly paved, and lucky we spotted this sign. Down an unpaved road about 4 additional miles we arrived.
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| Driving down the lane |
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| Past an old cemetery and church |
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| This may have been the old school house and I can't help to wonder if my Gpa ever attended school here |
After driving through the village it became apparent that many people were not home (and the ones who were went inside once they saw a car drive through). But we got out of the car anyway and walked along the road (pictured above) in search of someone to talk to.
We were not fortune in this endeavor, so I eventually knocked on the door of the house pictured above and waited for a reply. No reply at first, so I knocked again (we had seen someone there when we first drove up).
Eventually an old woman yelled a greeting (in Serbian) from inside and finally opened the door (I suppose the spirit of my Gpa was with me that day and I was feeling bold)
She was an elderly women who spoke not a lick of English, but I introduced myself anyway and showed her pictures of my Grandfather's family.
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| Top row, left to right: Aunt May, Uncle Rodger, Aunt Dolly Bottom row, left to right: my Grandpa (Blazo, American given name, Willam), Masha (my Great Grandma), Vaso (Great Grandpa), and Uncle John |
I finally got an "ahhhhh, Blazo! Nickinovich!!", and without hesitation she invited us to walk with her.
We walked down the road and to our car where she pointed "rental?"
YES!
So she continued by motioning that we give her a ride. In we go with not a word spoken between us. She would grunt and point as we made our way around a few unmarked turns, then we finally arrived on the Nickinovich / Dapcevich land.
Dapcevich is my Great Grandmother's maiden name and prior to WWI, Ljubotinj was ruled by the Dabcevich family.
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| I believe this is Rade Nickinovich's home (my second cousin, once removed) |
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| Nickinovich tetherball 😉 |
She fearlessly rapped on doors and yelled into windows, but being a Wednesday afternoon, no one was home. I know she felt bad that we came all this way and were not able to meet family, but our adventure with her alone was incredibly fun.
I guess a family reunion will have to wait until next time!
So we went back to her house where she invited us into her kitchen, took out her fine china, and offered us something to eat and drink. As we ate she went outside to make a call. It turns out her daughter speaks English, so I was able to talk with her.
Her daughter told me that indeed her Mother had taken us to the Nickinovich property. I in turn introduced myself as Blazo Nickinovich's Granddaughter / Masha Dapcevich's Great Granddaughter. I told her of my Grandpa's passing and filled her in on some family details.
She wanted to know all about my Dad and where our family was living now; I can't explain how amazing it was telling my family's story to someone halfway across the world...someone who really cared.
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| Teary eyed / heart full |
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| While I talked to the daughter, Kevin got a tour of her cellar |
Although the trip back to "the old country" wasn't the big to-do I had played out in my head, I made a very sweet and wonderful friend from the experience. I plan to keep in touch with my "Serbian Grandma" over the years. She gave me a note with her name - which I can't pronounce, and her address, so over the holidays I hope to write to her - in Serbo-Croatian - and thank her for her wonderful hospitality.
After visiting the village we had lunch in Cetinje (former capitol and nearest town to Ljubotinj) then drove back to Kotor.
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| Leaving the land. The top left cluster of homes is the current Nickinovich property |
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| The adorable town of Cetinje |
We took the switchback mountain roads back; extremely steep and curved with no cement in some areas, but the view driving back to Kotor was breathtaking.
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| Looking down to the Bay of Kotor |
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| Each turn was marked (this was turn 18) - there were 30 something in all |
Dubrovnik
Our last stop (yes, this post is almost finished!) was Dubrovnik. We spent our last 4 days here and had a great time decompressing before our arrival home.
We splurged and stayed at the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik where we enjoyed nightly appetizers and cocktails in the executive lounge overlooking Old Town.
Dubrovnik's old town is massive and breathtaking and we enjoyed strolling around the city walls and exploring the greater reaching areas. Highlights include walking the city walls, an afternoon at one of Dubrovnik's great beach clubs, and taking the (Swiss made! 💕) cable cable car to the war museum and dinner our last evening at Panorama Restaurant.
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| Hotel view with the Old City on the left |
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| View of the old city from Banji Beach |
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| Looking South (toward Montenegro) on the coastline of Dubrovnik |
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| Southern entrance to the old city |
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| Inside city walls |
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| We found a mojito stand! (trouble..) |
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| Enjoying a final day at the beach |
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| Coral Beach Club |
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| Walking along the outside of the city |
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| Dinner at Panorama Restaurant on our final evening |
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| pearched atop Dubrovnik |
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| Walking the city walls on our final day |
So thank you to our amazing parents who kept our kiddos / puppy / kitty safe and happy - it was a trip of a lifetime!
Phala
(ancient Serbo-Croatian for thank you... the most important of the 2-3 Serbian words my Grandfather taught me 💛)
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