Croatia here we come! Blog 2 from "Travel light in Bosnia, Croatia & Venice"

Thinking back and blogging! 

We continued our adventure and enjoyed our beautiful bus ride from Mostar to Croatia. Our destination was Podgora which we did not know anything more about than that it looked amazing from the little information we had. But the bus driver did not remember to stop in the tiny village so we ended up in Makarska. Go there if you want to experience a crowded tourist trap with shops, restaurants, and children’s entertainment. It is not our cup of tea. Luckily we managed to find a room through the third travel agency, expensive but in a very nice building with a quiet courtyard located between the harbor and the beach. Our landlord advised us to go to the island of Brac. Our plan was originally Hvar but we were open to other suggestions. When we found an apartment on Brac, a landlord that was prepared to pick us up, and a boat to take us to Brac it was an easy, and good, decision.

Brac is a beautiful island with quiet villages and crystal clear water! We had not planned to rent a car but it is not easy to travel around Brac by bus if you have limited time. We managed to see most parts of the beautiful island in 3 days with our Smart. A perfectly sized car for steep mountain roads! But I have to admit that I was scared stiff many times. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! 

We loved everything! The water was amazing and each swim was different. Sutivan, Milna, and several of the villages we visited were so quiet, beautiful and friendly. You can read more in the book or contact me if you want more. Of course, we visited Bol and Zlatni Rat as well as Vidova Gora, the highest mountain in the area. We can definitely recommend Brac!

It is great to blog about our last journey now when we are just about to start planning our next journey. The plan is to take our backpacks to Albania and Montenegro but we will see. 

Travel Light in Bosnia, Croatia & Venice - travel blog 1

Sarajevo was a positive surprise! An interesting city with loads of things to see, a bit too exciting history, nature around the corner if you want to go hiking, and low prices.

But our first impression almost made us wish we had chosen another destination. The taxi driver took us to the darkest suburbs, and after he had realized he was lost and we finally arrived at our street, a 5-minute walk from the old town, we found our guesthouse in the darkest of alleys. In the worst moment, we stepped into the most beautiful room with super comfortable beds and met a nice and service minded landlord. We strolled around the historical sites in the warm night, had tasty food and drinks, and felt completely safe. After sleeping like logs, we took “the free walking tour,” which gets our best recommendations.

Our next destination was Konjic. Our tour over the mountains in an old car with a driver that not allow me to take a picture of his credentials who did not know a word in English was a bit too exciting even though the views were amazing. Until we saw the gorgeous lake! I could definitely consider spending a week or two in the Bosnian mountains, hiking and swimming in the amazing lakes. And don’t sleep on the bus or in the car – the views are too good to miss!

Mostar was a given stop, and the bridge was as astonishing as expected. We were lucky to find a good restaurant with a perfect view of the lit bridge and we even bathed in the cold river. Still, it is not on our top list. Too touristic, and too many beggars. If you plan to visit Mostar I suggest you go hiking in the mountains and swim in the beautiful lakes instead of spending more time than necessary in the town even if it is beautiful.

It was hot, so we decided to head towards Croatia and the sea! 

Packing tips for your next journey

Some keys when we travel are - not carry heavy luggage, never having to say no to an adventure, and always be able to dress well when we visit fine restaurants.
 
Normally we plan our travels a few months, or at least weeks, before departure to get reasonably priced tickets since we travel during school holidays. But also to have time to learn about our destination. We read, talk about places we would like to visit, ask friends, and enjoy the feeling of excitement of having a journey to look forward to. When we left for Bosnia, Croatia, and Venice this summer, we had not even decided a destination 3 days before departure. You can read more about it in the book, but the summary is that we managed to find tickets to reasonable prices but had to be a bit flexible when it came to the destination. To put together a well planned and light backpack was extra challenging when the only thing we knew was that we would land in Sarajevo, visit Mostar and return home from Venice. 

When we make our packing list, we start with the following headings:
1.    Travel – what we need on planes, buses, and trains
2.    Walks – thin pants, nylon stockings, and water shoes
3.    Evening - nice clothes, shoes, sarong, flashlight
4.    Day - everything we need for walking, activities, sunbathing, and swimming
5.    Sleep – silk sheets and clothes to sleep in (which we also use for other purposes)
6.    Toilet - everything for the body
7.    Medicines - plus tablets for diarrhea and motion sickness
8.    Other - electronics, safety, games, coziness (tea lights, lighter, string lights), glasses, food

Our backpacks weigh 7-8 kilos each, and this is our packing list. In the book, you will find explanations why we pack what we do and how we manage to have a relaxed journey without emergency shopping and never having to say no to activities no matter if it’s a zip-lining or a nice show. 

Packing list for 2-5 weeks in a warm climate:
a.    4-5 bottoms - long thin pants, skirt, shorts, dress plus shorts under f. below.
b.    8 tops - thin shirt, wind jacket, 2 Tank Tops, 4 thin t-shirts, one of which you can use for swimming and one to sleep in.
c.    Hat, cap, or bandana.
d.    3 pairs of shoes – sandals, or lightweight sneakers, water shoes that you can use for walking, flip-flops or slip-in sandals.
e.    8-10 thin panties, 2 bras (one soft bra), nylon socks, nylon tights, or thin tights.
f.    2 swimsuits or bikinis, surf shorts or cycling shorts for swimming, snorkel and mask or goggles, sunglasses, bathing cap.
g.    2 sarongs, one to lay on and one to use as a blanket, sundress or outerwear.
h.    Phone, tablet, iPod, headset, 2 chargers, adapter, power bank, waterproof case.
i.    Defense spray, flashlight and a small headlamp, lighter, 4 tea lights, string lights. 
j.    Wet wipes, 7.5 cl hand disinfection, 2-3 small packs of paper handkerchiefs, soap sheets, detergent.
k.    Deck of cards, crossword magazine or from weekly magazines, Yatzy, 2 pencils or pens, small notebook, manual hand fan, small compass with a thermometer, spork (spoon, fork, and knife in one), safety pins.
l.    Shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, toothbrush, toothpaste, face cream, body lotion, sunscreen, aloe vera, makeup remover, mascara, cerate or lip gloss, tweezers, nail cutter, nail-file, razor, small hairbrush, silk towel, tampons.
m.    Personal medicines, diarrhea tablets, bracelet or pills against motion sickness, painkillers, surgical tape, Compeed. 
n.    Silk sheets, eye mask, mosquito net.
4-5 storage bags of different sizes, 2 vacuum bags

Passion for traveling!

What is your passion? One of mine is to travel around the world. I have soon visited 60 countries, so I have plenty more to see. Why do I write books about traveling? Isn’t it enough with pictures and short posts? I want to inspire you to experience much more on each journey you make. And since I love to live a decluttered life, I always travel with a light bag, or backpack. Most people I meet on my journeys carry much more stuff, and me and my daughters still manage to go trecking, climbing, snorkeling, fine dining, make a dull room cozy, have books to read and listen to, and much more. In my books, you can follow our journeys, get loads of practical information, and tips, and learn how to travel safely on your own, or with children. 

I published my latest book yesterday, so I am tired after weeks of hard work, but happy that it is out there to inspire you.

The book is about our journey in Bosnia, Croatia, and Venice. An unplanned journey that turned out to be one of our best. We went on challenging tours through hairpin curves in the mountains. Either with a professional driver that refused to let me take a picture of his driver's license or in a rented Smart. Since we love to swim in crystal clear water, we chose our islands carefully. As always, we wanted to see as much as possible during our 14 days journey, so we made some bad choices. Luckily the finale in Venice was amazing! After 40 000 steps, plenty of boat tours on the canals, amazing dinners, and late nights on the quaysides we did not want to leave the heat for our chilly home country. 

Now I will take a few days off to travel in the countryside. I will take long walks, listen to the birds, smell the forest, and be happy that I reached one of my goals. I published 3 books, in 2 languages, in 1 year!

Happy Easter!