Stockholm to Montenegro – August 26-27

To get to the small country of Montenegro, where we would spend a week hiking, we first flew into Stockholm for a 24-hour layover.  In Stockholm we participated in a Nordic food and drink tour.  One very memorable part of the tour was the Swedish licorice. Evidently the Swedes love their sour/bitter licorice. Most of our group spit it out immediately. Those of us who did not wished we had. But we loved Stockholm. 

We then flew into Split, and had a driver take us south along the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia to Dubrovnik, where we would meet our hiking group. Along the way, we stopped in the towns of Makarsta and Ston. We wanted to spend time in Ston to for the “Wall” and the oysters.

Built in the Middle Ages to protect the precious salt that the town produced, the stone wall is the second longest in the world. And viewed from the town, it is impressive. This makes them the longest defensive structure in Europe; they are sometimes referred to as the ‘European Walls of China”. We did not walk the wall because we spent most of our time enjoying its other famous attribute – its oysters – doing so at a wonderful restaurant tucked away along the Adriatic Sea. 

As we washed down oysters with crisp Croatian white wine, our waiter suggested that we order a freshly caught scorpion fish roasted with local vegetables and potatoes. In his Croatian accent he then said, “If you cannot trust a chubby waiter for a food suggestion, who can you trust?” I am sure that was not the first time he had used that line, but we bit. And we were glad we did. Our first meal in this part of the world was splendid. We would continue to have amazing fish and seafood for the rest of our trip. 

Sluggish from jet lag and a big midday meal, we briefly explored this wonderful village. We then got back into our car for the 90 minute drive along the coast to Dubrovnik. Thank goodness we had a driver because we both took naps along the way. Once we arrived in Dubrovnik, we rested briefly before meeting our hiking group for the 45 minute climb to our restaurant overlooking Dubrovnik and the Adriatic Sea. Over dinner our group discussed what we should call ourselves. Several names were jokingly suggested. Thankfully, we decided that we would call ourselves the Adriatic Adventurers.  And so, our adventure with our fellow Adriatic Adventurers to Montenegro would begin the next day.