Reaching the sea

Leaving town, I was greeted by yet another turtle. Strange, I do not recall any of these animals on my trip in 2022 - back in 2012, they were pretty much everywhere.

I entered the Republic Srpska, an autonomous entity within Bosnia, where the majority of the inhabitants are Serbians. There was a newly built orthodox church.

It got really hot and now a brutal climb started. Luckily, I met Sasha, a Swiss biker from Geneva, he had been on the road for close to 2 months. I thought the Croatian city Dubrovnik was just a short ride out of Stolac, so it seemed on the map. Looking closer, it turned out it was actually quite far, some 100 km and there was a major coastal mountain to cross..We suffered through this trip, trying to cheer one another on - as the mountains we were riding on trapped the heat and radiated it; no trees in sight.

A refreshing stop was close to the Bosnian border at a monastery with a vineyard and a super cellar, where we cooled down and tasted the wines - they were delicious.

Close to the winery was an impressive orthodox church, with skulls of the monks displayed in the cellar.

After a strenuous climb, we reached the Croatian border and - finally - we could see the sea below. So after having reached Rijeka, I was at the coast again, having biked pretty much parallel to it - but quite far inland.

it was just a nice steep downhill ride to Dubrovnik. Darko and everyone else I had met that day warned me not to go to Dubrovnik. Well, I was curious - as the patron saint of the town is named after me - so I did go there. They were actually right. Even though the city is truly beautiful, it is also just as touristic. The last few days I had spent on the smallest roads with pristine scenery, and Dubrovnik was a bit of a culture shock.

(If I recall correctly, this was my second trip to Dubrovnik, the first one having been as a teenager with my parents - and the third one in February 2017, for my Dad`s 70´s birthday.)

I decided not to stay all too long and aimed for the next border, crossing over to Montenegro, which I reached only at midnight. I thought I would never make it, the road went up and up, first, outside Dubrovnik, it was full of cars, but as Croatia was playing that night, the traffic completely died (well, they actually lost 1:0 to Spain). So yet again I was going uphill at night and of course the road was mostly gravel, due to construction. I was delighted to find a small motel, where the staff was kind enough to do my laundry at that late hour - imagine something like this in Central Europe. It was a long day, with 140 km of biking. Hmmm, writing this blog 12 years later, I am envious of my energy back then, doing around 140 kilometers each day. On my France trip this year, my average was just short of 100 km. I am getting old(er), apparently.