City Hall, Bamberg on the river Regnitz

The more I study our alternatives for Spring 2019, the more I am convinced we will have a fantastic time.  The only certain piece of this puzzle is our river cruise from Budapest to Prague.  I’ve been juggling what to do when before and/or after the cruise.  I know we want to visit Berlin, Croatia, and Slovenia.  Then there’s Germany’s Castle Route which is a drive through Germany’s castle region. 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Franconia, Bavaria

To the extent that I can, I hope to keep our costs for connections to a minimum while balancing travel time.  One train route caught my attention, the Balkan Express that runs from Belgrade, Serbia to Bar, Montenegro with the option of cutting out at Podgorica.  I’m having some difficulty finding an “easy” connection between Prague and Belgrade.  RyanAir does not service the Dalmatian Coast countries at all.  Most flights connect through another city (some as far as Paris!).  There are no direct trains, though a connection through Budapest is possible.   Next up is seeing if there are direct connections from a city closer to Prague.   RyanAir does service Bari, Italy with ferry connections to Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia, but the ferry is a 10 hour trip.

Stock Images, The Balkan Express

If you search images for Montenegro, you cannot help marveling at the picturesque small island, Sveti Stefan.  The island is owned by Aman Resorts.  It is private and open to guests only. A one night stay on the island is pricey at $1000.00.  We will marvel at when we stop by on our way to Kotor Bay.  I have found lovely romantic bay side apartments right on the water near old town Kotor that are reasonably priced at $35 per night!  Granted we will not have a pair of 60 minute spa treatments included, but that’s OK.

Orthodox Church Saint Jovan Vladimir, Bar, Montenegro

Stock Image Kotor, Montenegro

We are changing our focus from Ireland/Spain/Portugal to Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia perhaps with a jaunt to Berlin.  For some reason I find it much easier to be excited planning for the Dalmatian Coast than I did for Ireland and Spain.  I have no idea why; clearly I would like to visit Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.   It could be the passing familiarity with Croatia we have from our retirement cruise that included the Adriatic Sea that’s luring us back.

We’re now thinking of flying round trip to Budapest and making a grand loop or flying into Berlin, and flying out from Ljubljana, Slovenia.  This change of plans came about when Ron suggested we join him and Christ on a 12 day Danube River cruise from Budapest to Prague. Sure, we’d love to.  We enjoyed their company in Florence; we travel well together.

We’ll either fly into Berlin then get to Budapest for the cruise or head to Berlin after Prague.  In either case we expect to spend a few days in Budapest, Prague, and Berlin before flying to Podgorica, Montenegro.  We plan to rent a car (probably a Citroen) and drive the coast from Montenegro to Slovenia with inland excursions here and there.   After a few weeks exploring Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia; we’ll fly back from either Ljubljana or Budapest.

I considered a Gate 1 tour of Croatia and Slovenia, but I know I would rather follow my nose through these countries.  I’ll look into private tours here and there along the way.  We met fellow who manages a bespoke shoe shop in Florence who is Slovenian and “would love to show us around his country”.   That could be and adventure, assuming he was serious and has the time.  Italians are well known for their graciousness, and sometimes less follow through.  I fondly reminisce over our time in Florence.  Having a screensaver with random photo popups feeds my nostalgia.

I’ll post a single image.

The Bay of Kotor, Montenegro