Between Bosnia and Croatia

We leave Montenegro for Dubrovnik before entering Bosnia to discover the old Ottoman bridge in Mostar. We then ride along the breathtaking Croat coast to Rijeka, where we spend Christmas in a shelter for homeless people.

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We arrive in Dubrovnik by night and are welcomed by Bartek, Magda and Radu, three Erasmus exchange students. They take us around in the superb old town, which is completely desert during the off-season.

Croat coast

Arrival in Dubrovnik

Wall of the old town, Dubrovnik

With Radu, Bartek and Magda, we never get bored!

We then ride along the coast to Mali Ston, where we sleep on a basketball court. All around us, we can spot oyster farms, which are a speciality of the region.

Nice colours

Mali Ston at daybreak

We sleep on the municipal sport court, Mali Ston

Oysters from the region, meal offered by generous sponsors

The morning catch, Mali Ston

We set course to the East for Bosnia. In order to do so, we need to enter Bosnia a first time, come back to Croatia, then enter again in Bosnia. Fortunately, we are not in Central Asia anymore and border crossings are just pure formalities.

Entering Bosnia

Bosnian coast (which is only 10 km long)

Bosnian coast

We are in a Bosnian region mostly populated with Croats, which is the reason why Cyrillic inscriptions are vandalized

We rest for a few days in Mostar with its magnificent Ottoman-style old town. This town has suffered tremendously during Yugoslavia's implosion and scars of the war are still visible throughout the city. The manager of our hostel tells us how he was wounded when he was a teenager, hit by a mortal shrapnel then later by a sniper.

Many buildings carry marks of the war

The Ottoman neighbourhood and its old bridge, Mostar

Built in 1565, the Mostar old bridge was an example of Ottoman-style architecture and remained intact during centuries. It was destroyed in 1993 by a mortar, then rebuilt in 2004 as a symbol of the Bosnian-Croat reconciliation. It is part of the UNESCO world heritage.

We decide to get back to the Croat coast in order to benefit from milder temperatures and head for Split.

Old town in Split

Akira eats a banana, Split

Exiting Split

The Croat coast, which is extremely touristy during summer, is totally desert in December. We pass along hundreds of completely empty hotels, holiday apartments and restaurants. Many of them are being refurbished. We sleep in houses under construction, on wharves, under storage porches for paddle boats, in short we take advantage of the numerous sites that are abandoned during winter.

Along a wharf in Posedarje, Croatia

Breakfast at sunrise

Caught in the dark in Zadar, Croatia

We sleep in a duplex with a view on the sea

Not far from Rijeka

Once in Rijeka, we stay in a hostel where we are the only guests. Our "bed in a dorm" then becomes a 5-room apartment that we have just for ourselves. Petra, the lovely receptionist, brings us homemade cookies and makes sure that Santa Claus brings us a present in the morning of the 25th. If you happen to travel through Rijeka, don't miss the Hostel Kosy.

Luxurious yachts and a commercial port, we are in Rijeka

The Mother Christmas' parade, Rijeka

We spend Christmas Eve in a shelter for homeless people on the heights of the city. We are welcomed with open arms by warm people, far away from stereotypes that one might have about them. What an experience!

We meet Boris, a 58-year-old man who lived for a couple of years in Lausanne. He tells us part of his story, from one small job to an other, all over Europe. He doesn't want any picture of him on the Internet. "Watch out Séb, if I see this picture on Facebook, I'll come to get you in Geneva!", he jokes. Since he speaks perfectly French, he is our interpreter.

Peter, Peter, Josip, Josip, Boris, Boris, Fabijan, Stjepan, Goran, Leo, Marinko, Željko and some former residents reunited for Christmas

Stjepan, who studied culinary arts, is cooking

Some old chaps shake our hand with a huge smile: "Sretan Božić!" (Merry Christmas). They seem happy to have us among them. When we leave the shelter, they insist that we come back for lunch on the following day. "But this time, not as volunteers. You are our guests!". With pleasure! (read this article and its English translation)

We act as if we are working, for the picture

On December 26, we start from Rijeka towards Slovenia, pushed by a very strong South wind. We manage to climb 500 m almost without pedaling: it's a good start! However, a few kilometers before the Slovenian border, the sky breaks loose! Our high-tech gear won't help, a new record of socks wetness is established during this diluvian day. Fortunately, we have the address of a youth hostel in Ocizla where we can sleep warm and dry our stuff.

The Slovenian shower

Coming up next: cross the North of Italy full speed ahead, climb the Simplon pass and let ourselves roll to Geneva. See you soon!