Final prep underway. We head out on our adventure Wednesday. ORD -> EWR -> FRA -> DBV and then a drive to Mostar, Bosnia for our first few days.

We have done a number of these trips through the years and I look forward to and have lasting memories of each. This one seems a bit different as it marks the end of a season where school and work schedules aligned allowing us to travel as a family of 4 for a 2 week stretch. With new jobs and new schools and ever complicating schedules, this is likely the last one of its kind and we are ready to make the most of our time together. After several months of wrapping up senior years, final exams, prom, track meets, job interviews, 2 graduations, apartment finding, family and friend celebrations, and all the other fun things in between, we are ready to spend time exploring a few new places combined with some relaxing and recharging.

Follow along as we make our way through Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. We’re off…✈️

There’s still something fun about flying in a 747 and sitting up in the bubble. Although we all agreed that at this point that plane is the grandpa of the skies and outside of looking cool from the outside the inside is rather dated. Delayed leaving Newark, again Newark 🙄, we arrived in Frankfurt about 30 mins later than expected. Everyone got a couple hours sleep on the overnight and kept forging ahead. Grabbed a quick snack in Frankfurt and then boarded our flight to Dubrovnik. We all caught a solid nap on that 2 hour flight and were greeted by a hot and sunny day in southern Croatia.

All 4 bags met us - stars aligned - everyone has underwear 👍🏻

From there it was navigating the rental car. They are never as large as advertised but solid packing skills prevailed and we were headed to Mostar. We pulled in a little after 4PM local time. We are settled in at Hotel Emen and enjoyed a nice dinner in Old Town, listened to the call to prayer, grabbed a quick gelato and called it a day.

Tomaz and Rosanda arrive tomorrow afternoon so until then….we rest. Good night from lovely Mostar.

Not sure if it’s because it’s obvious we are tourists or just a customary gestur, \240but we end every meal with a shot of some sort. We are a gracious bunch so always accept.

The boys went exploring a bit while Jim and I awaited the Seslars to arrive.

Look close and you can see the boys

View from above

We met up around 4pm and quickly picked up where we left off 2 years ago.

We had dinner at a restaurant owned by a friend of Andraz’. Faris set us up. Beautiful table, beautiful meal, beautiful view. Only thing missing was Andraz. He hates not being able to show us the city he’s come to love so much. Only means we will need to return with him one day.

Special birthday treat for Cameron

We will enjoy another day tomorrow exploring Andraz’ recommendations. Apparently Brandon and I are waking up early to catch the sunrise prayer….we’ll see.

Another goodnight from Mostar.

We met up with Tomaz and Rosanda near the Old Bridge and enjoyed a Bosnian coffee. The local shop owner gave a brief demonstration in how to properly prepare for drinking. The boys and I are fans.

From there we set out on a brief walking tour of Mostar walking by burning the apartments Andraz lived in while in school at UWC Mostar. We walked by the school and Cameron quickly realized he’d been running by Andraz’ school each day without realizing.

From there we made our way back to our car and set out for an afternoon visit to Kravica. This first meant making our way out of the parking lot. Thanks to a young boy doubling as a self declared parking attendant we managed through the language barrier and worked our way out of the payment kiosk. Flipped him a few marks for his trouble and he was off to help the next struggling patron.

It was about an hour drive to Kravica. We arrived and made our way down to the falls. A great way to enjoy the natural beauty of the region.

We made our way back to Mostar for a little shopping and down time before meeting up for dinner at another of Andraz’ favorite spots.

Our first day in Mostar I visited a local jewelry makes’s store. She was very sweet and proud of the shop she has run, along with her mom, for more than 20 years. I said I would be back when I had more time. She welcomed me back and helped me pick out a couple pieces to bring home.

We took a taxi to our dinner spot at the Hotel Emporia and Winery about 10 minutes outside of Mostar. We enjoyed their wine and a delicious meal outside then back to town for a last drink and to bid farewell to our Slovenian friends. Jim met some locals when he almost entered their home thinking it was the bathroom and we heard the call to prayer one last time enjoying Tomaz’ description of the ritual. 🦷😩

Breezy night up on the Terasa rooftop

We look forward to seeing the Seslars again next year in the US when they come to celebrate Andraz’ graduation from St Lawrence and hopefully join us in Florida for a few days. Until then dear friends…..

We made one more walk across the Old Bridge and back to the hotel. Every time i walked across the slick and oddly placed steps I was grateful for not falling on my face and knocking out all my teeth. A beautiful bridge but not for the casual stroller.

One final goodnight, Mostar. We enjoyed our time here very much. Quick sleep and on to the next…

Up early and ready to head south

Good morning and farewell Mostar

A long travel day for sure but we knew this would be the longest travel day.312 miles in just over 9 hours. We traveled over, around and through the mountains gains of Bosnia, Montenegro and into Albania. Plenty of thrills along the way as most of the route was by narrow single lane roads. We stopped once to allow a herd of sheep to cross, saw a horse walking along the road, sat in a traffic jam caused by Gypsies, \240and passed through a new road construction site being managed by the Chinese. Interesting goings on all over.

Thanks to Jim for exercising his best driving skills and getting us here in one piece.

We waited in a long line of cars at both border crossings. There was a bit of apprehension as we crossed the Albanian border. Many rental car companies do not allow you to rent a car and travel into Albania due to the high rate of car theft in the country. We had a plan B if our car documents didn’t allow us to cross which would have involved backtracking to the nearest airport in Montenegro and park one car and rent another. We celebrated when we were allowed to cross without incident, question or further delays. Now to keep good track of the car while we are here. 😳

Early observation - many Mercedes cars driving around her no glimpse of any Mercedes dealerships 🤔

We stopped for gas and a quick stretch about 6 hours into the trip. We stretxhed, loaded up on snacks and got some cash. The local currency is the Lek. 1 Lek = $83 so math skills will be exercised. We were all a little out of sorts managing the currency, snack distribution, communicating with the gas attendant. At this point Brandon declared we aren’t really a road trip family. On we go…

Enjoying the view

Enjoying the view 2.0

We had dinner along the beach, caught the sunset and enjoyed a solid night’s sleep.

Cameron got up early this morning for a run and \240reported our car was indeed still in front of the hotel. ✔️

Our hotel is along the Promenade in Vlore and right along the beach. That’s where we plan to spend the majority of the day today.

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Our waiter, Khaladi, took great care of us all day. He studied computer science in Spain and will soon get his diploma. He explained that getting a legitimate job in Albania is difficult as most are based on bribes of some sort. He may look to go to Spain or Germany for work after taking advantage of the tourist season working at the beach. Hope he can be successful.

Back to the exchange rate - I gave Cameron cash to bring to Khaladi as a tip and quickly realized my math was off. So he enjoyed a 100% tip 😬. I’ve made worse mistakes and view it as an investment in a promising young man’s future. Hope he didn’t go steal a Mercedes 😐 On we go….

We also met two American women at the beach with their young kids. Fascinating to hear their stories of working and living as expats in Bucharest (US Embassy) and here in Albania (Italian Financial Company). A completely different life balancing work and raising children.

We took a taxi to Old Town to look around the shops and have dinner. Shopping was very limited so we grabbed a table at a local family run restaurant.

Can I get you anything else?

We were not surprised that it was a cash only establishment with the hand written receipt torn out of a notebook. 😎

However no 100% tip this time.

We walked around a bit then got in a cab to head back to the hotel. The suspicious route took us through back alleys with a couple near Miss head on collisions along the route 😳. The driver declared “no traffic!” to raise our confidence.

A quick traffic jam later and we were back safely at the hotel for one last drink on the beach to end the day.

Goodnight Vlore…

After a safe landing I made my way over and met him while the guides made their way back up the mountain with Cameron for his flight. The waiting time wasn’t as long for him and we soon got the notice to be on the lookout for him.

A fun way to experience the full view of the region. 🪂

We enjoyed lunch by the beach again and the afternoon by the sea. We made our way along the promenade for our last dinner in Vlore and topped it off with a couple local clubs. Well, Jim and I, one club and the boys enjoyed a couple other spots making the 7AM wheels up call a little rough. 😎 As we walked back to the hotel a guy called out, Jim! \240It was Khalidi our waiter heading out for the evening. Great to see him one more time.

Our overall review of Albania is that in 5-10 years it will be a great place to visit. It’s lovely and will only become more so as they build up even more and recover from the long time Communist rule. Lots of construction projects. The people look generally grumpy but could not have been nicer and more welcoming (except for the aggressive Gypsies who knocked on our car window at the border crossing. 😬)

Thank you for a wonderful visit.

The sea was very calm as we quietly pulled out of town early this morning.

Beautiful walk back to the room and bed sure felt good once again.

This morning we were up and out of the hotel by 7:30AM as we needed to make our way around several bays to meet our boat captains. Not a lot of bridges so one takes the scenic route all around the various bays and mountains.

Started in Lustica and made our way around…

We had a reservation for a boat closer to the hotel however got a message from the captain saying his boat was out of commission but he had a friend who could take us on his boat. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Okie dokie.

Before we made our way around we found a spot to drop some laundry. Always part of the experience - first to locate a place then to actually find it and then to assume it will all be there for pick up tomorrow. 🤞🏻

We picked up some snacks along the way to take on the boat and found our meeting spot.

Today was definitely a day for Google translate. Our Russian captain and his wife spoke zero English and our Russian is a little rusty. It was also fairly obvious that this couple doesn’t regularly charter their boat. It was as if we went to visit an out of town friend and he told us we couldn’t stay there but were welcome at his buddy’s. Andres and Natalia live in St Petersburg in the fall and winter and on their boat in Montenegro in the spring and summer.

How we communicated all day - they were either planning to abduct us or show us a lovely afternoon

They treated us to a lovely bottle of wine when we boarded. Could have been mistaken as communion wine but we were polite and drank a few glasses.

We cruised around d for a bit and made our way to a fairly busy bay where we boarded a dinghy to a local seafood restaurant. No menus - just a pick it out of the tank or off the bed of ice and cook it up kind of place. Beautiful place and another fresh and delicious meal.

Back to the boat and off for a swim. The water felt refreshing and the scenery breathtaking.

We made our way back to the Marina about 6PM and bid our gracious hosts farewell. A lot of smiling and nodding. I think we made some progress toward strengthening US - Russia relations. 🇺🇸🇷🇺 Just doing our part. They said if we were ever in St Petersburg to give them a call. 😎

The ride back around the bay wasn’t quite as long. We’ve polished a few more of our snacks and the boys headed out to grab dinner. It’s hard not to relax here so that’s what we will do the rest of the evening.

We made our way into Kotor for dinner then back to the Chedi for one more drink and gelato.

Our room, no. Birth year, yes

Another great year!

Good night, Lustica Bay. We have enjoyed our stay very much

This morning we got ourselves together and out of the hotel about 10:20AM. Another trip around the bay and we then had a decision to make. Over the mountains or along the sea? \240Mountain route claimed to be 40 mins shorter so up we went ⛰️

Scenic and terrifying all in one package.

And alas, we have arrived back to a familiar place. We will enjoy the weekend here then start the journey home with a brief stop in London. Still fun to be had. Let’s get to it, team!

We stopped at a spot on our way back to the hotel then regrouped and headed back to town for dinner.

The boys hit the local clubs and the elders bowed out for the evening. Ahh youth.

For now we will sit back and take in the day ☀️🌊🐠⚓️🇭🇷

We got cleaned up and made our way into Old Town for late lunch/early dinner. It was another very hot day but being seaside coupled with well placed fans made dining outside quite enjoyable.

Did a little shopping, grabbed one last gelato, then made our way back to the hotel given our early call this morning coupled with the boys’ late night 😎.

We bid farewell this morning as the sun was coming up.

It’s always a little sad to leave a place that has become our family place. Croatia will always be one of our favorites dating back to our first visit in 2013. In a way, our family has grown up visiting here and we all hold special memories. Here’s a couple flashback photos to show just how quickly time passes.

Ok back to present day….days where everyone packs their own bags and meets out front at the designated early morning meeting time. 👍🏻

After 12 days and close to 870 driving miles later we were back at the Dubrovnik airport ready to start making our way toward home.

If I might make a suggestion to the USA it’s to make these delicious snacks available. They are like peanuts in Cheeto form. Delicious! \240Oh and if we could get Somersby Cider that would be great as well.

I enjoyed my Dalmatian snack box on the flight…

…and a traditional German breakfast during our brief stop in Frankfurt

We arrived in London to unseasonably warm weather. 🥵 Guess that sweater I’ve been dragging around for 2 weeks won’t be necessary after all. A brief regroup and we are off to hit some of our favorite local spots. Not ready to let go of vacation just yet!

The best of brothers

We enjoyed dinner at Faros and then Cameron set off to meet his friend who is working in London for the summer. Jim headed back to Paddington and Brandon and I set out for a walk toward Tower Bridge.

The peak summer sunset played well with the skies staying light until 10PM. He and I enjoyed a nice chat as we sat at a terrace bar and took in the sights. While familia, these never get old. I asked if he was ready to get home and he said yes and no and has appreciated the Euro Summer trip very much.

Goodnight Tower Bridge

Goodnight Tower of London

Tuesday morning we woke up early to head to Truefitt and Hill - the oldest barber shop in London and betind.

Official description:

Truefitt & Hill is the oldest barbershop in the world, as certified by Guinness Book of World Records in April 2000. Truefitt was established in 1805 by William Francis Truefitt. Truefitt styled himself as hairdresser to the British Royal Court and the firm received their first Royal Warrant from King George III. In 1911, Edwin Hill set up a barber shop on Old Bond Street, also near the royal neighbourhoods in London and it was to this address H.P.

We have enjoyed shopping here before for cologne and aftershave but this time the boys experienced their first proper straight blade shave. Both enjoyed their treatments fit for a king.

From there we made our way back to Paddington and planned the rest of the day. Jim and I took advantage of exploring the buzz around Wimbledon. A beautiful small town all decorated to host their world event. 🎾 We walked around and enjoyed lunch in town. The boys met us later at the Clapham Junction train station to continue on to visit the Tinkers.

A visit to Oxted has become a favorite way to wind down our summer travels. Mike and family are always so welcoming and prepare a great meal for us all to share. Mike’s dad just arrived for a 2 week visit making the timing of our visit even more special.

Dinner prep

Lovely Ivy always welcomes us

Boys went down to give a quick hello to the Tinker sheep

Berries and cream to end our summer meal

We caught the train back to London and arrived back at the hotel just before midnight. We made the most of our days and prepared for the travel day back to the US

Quick chat with the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Our flight was a little later which meant we could take our time getting packed up and on to the Heathrow Expeess. Special thanks to the boys for managing the extra duffel bag which became heavier in tve final days of our trip with the goodies we’d collected along the way.

No place like home

As I noted when we prepared for our trip, this one felt a little different. In the days and weeks ahead, Cameron will head back to FL and start his job and settle in to his new life routine. Brandon will head to KY to begin his college journey.

These 2 weeks exploring some new and revisiting some familiar places together as our family of 4 was a special gift for us all. Change equals growth. On we go…

Here’s to all the planning and execution led by Jim and to the whole family for bringing their sense of adventure and willingness to share these moments together.❤️

Thanks for following along…travelers signing off for now.

Dubrovnik

6/29/25