Croatia: Split

Croatia's busy ferry port of Split

Saturday 15 June 2013: Based at Diocletain's Studio within the bastions of the old city, I take a couple of days to explore Split's culture and heritage.
Monday 17: I settle into my comfortable 4-berth cabin, which I have all to myself, aboard Blue Line's overnight ferry (20:30-08:00) heading to the port of Ancona, across the Adriatic, in Italy.
Tuesday 18: Express train (15:30-18:56) from Ancona to Rome (more later) where I stay overnight in the Conte Verde Hotel before taking the airport bus the next morning to Rome Ciampino Airport - it's time to split (aaagh).
Slideshow of Split.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Mostar

War-shelled ancient bridge rebuilt

Thursday 13 June 2013: Walking north from the station into the old town I soon find Mostar's welcoming Pension Isa, my haven for the night.
Friday 14: The city's 16th-century, Stari Most, Medieval bridge, built by Ottoman-Turks to span the steep-sided Neretva river, was destroyed by cynical Croat shelling during Bosnia's fight for independence in 1993. With the aid of international funding the flag-stone bridge was rebuilt and reopened, under heavy security, in 2004 to symbolise the reconciliation of the ethnic groups.
Wandering down the old cobble-stone streets, past low-key vendors and traders, I soon reach the elegant hump-backed arch spanning the swift-flowing Neretva. The traditional practice of young men jumping from the bridge to prove their worth has resumed but the the icy waters below help me resist the temptation. 
After lunch I backtrack to the newer part of town, opposite the station, where several bombed-out and pock-marked buildings remain, awaiting demolition or repair.
Returning to the riverbank to dine I watch the sun going down over the worn-torn city's atmospheric old bridge and reflect on the devastation of war before moving on.
Saturday 15: Catching the 09:28 train back across the border to Ploce I take a bus northward along the Croatian coast to Split.
Slideshow of Mostar.

Ploce

Pleasant little transport hub, Ploce

Thursday 13 June 2013: From Dubrovnik's sea-front bus station I soon arrive at the little ferry port and end-of-line train station at Ploce (pronounced Plochee). I have several hours to wait for the next train across the border to Bosnia & Herzegovina but Ploce's a pleasant enough place for a wander, a picnic lunch and a haircut.
Soon I'm on my way again aboard the 17:06 to Mostar chugging inland along the wide canals of the flat coastal plain.
Slideshow of Ploce.

Croatia: Dubrovnik

Red-tiled rooftops on the Adriatic shore

Monday 10 June 2013: Only one-minute walk from the tourist office, the Old Town Accommodation guesthouse, hidden within the city fortifications (with no alley name or house number to help), takes me an hour to find, but it's clean and central - ideal.
Tuesday 11: The classic walled-city, Dubrovnik is a great place just to wander around (at least until the cruise liner muppet groups arrive) and take-in the sights - ornate churches, clock towers, gates, ramparts and steep little alleys speckled with shops and restaurants.
Wed 12: 'The' thing to do in Dubrovnik is to walk around atop the extensive city walls and fantastic it is too with great views over the red-tiled rooftops to the port and cliffs below. Iron gates lead out to the rocky outcrop on which the city was built where tipsy revellers plunge into the Adriatic Sea below, cool.
Slideshow of Dubrovnik.

Kotor & Herceg Novi

Fortified mountainside above Kotor

Saturday 8 June 2013: A two-hour bus ride north takes me to the walled town of Kotor and the Hotel Galia on the waterfront.
Sunday 9: It's a strenuous zig-zag climb up to Kotor's mountainside fortifications high above the town but the views back down are just reward. Apple, pear and blackberry cider are the local drinks of choice, the perry (pear) works best for me.
Monday 10: Heading north again I stop briefly at the small castellated town of Herceg Novi before continuing to the mother of all walled towns on the Adriatic coast, Dubrovnik.
Slideshow of Kotor & Herceg Novi.

Montenegro: Budva & Sveti Stevan

Privately owned isle, Sveti Stevan

Friday 7 June 2013: Taxi ride over the border to Ulcinj in Montenegro, then a bus north, along the scenic coastline to Budva, a pretty old walled-town bustling with pink tourists. Once settled in at The little Hobo guesthouse I stroll south, back along the beaches and limestone cliffs, to the pretty fortified isle of Sveti Stevan, sadly all now just a large private hotel complex.
Slideshow of Budva & Sveti Stevan.

Slow train to Shkoder

Slow train clickety-clacking along

Thursday 6 June 2013: Tirana's cute little train station, complete with hand-written national timetable, is a delight. Few people here take the train as buses are newer, quicker and more reliable but I'm happy to relax aboard a well-worn compartment on the 13:10 service to Shkoder. At just 145 lek (about 85p) for the four-hour trip it's a real bargain - comfortable seats, room to walk around and great scenery, fantastic.
All too soon we roll into Shkoder and I settle into the tiny Hostel Mi Casa es Tu Casa before climbing up to Rozafa Fortress for fine views over the town and surrounding countryside. A black olive salad, grilled steak and, of course, a carafe of local red gold wind-up a great day.
Slideshow of the train ride to Shkoder.

Berat

Town of a thousand windows

Tuesday 4 June: Taking the bus south to the UNESCO World Heritage listed town of Berat, I'm lodging in a pleasant old Ottoman home, Lorenc Guesthouse, on the south bank of the river Osum. North of the river is Berat proper, a rare example of Ottoman architecture where a hilltop citadel, The Kale, defends the open town below. Tiered down the rocky mountainside the oblong houses have numerous south-facing windows to make maximum use of the prevailing sunshine, "the town of a thousand windows". It's a glum day but views from the fortress summit are spectacular.
Slideshow of Berat.