The Pearl of the Adriatic
Dubrovnik needs no introduction, but it earns every superlative anyway. Day twelve started with a walking tour of Old Town, through limestone streets worn smooth by centuries of footsteps, past the Rector’s Palace and along the ancient city walls that have kept this city standing through wars, earthquakes, and sieges since the Middle Ages.
For fans of Game of Thrones, this is King’s Landing in the flesh. Dubrovnik served as the show’s iconic capital, and once you’re standing inside those walls, the choice makes complete sense.
We wandered down to the port, and some of the group made the climb up along the walls for a bird’s eye view of the terracotta rooftops spilling down to the Adriatic below. A boat tour took us out on the water for a different perspective entirely. As the sun dropped over the old city that evening and turned everything gold, we sat at a restaurant just off the coast and let the moment sink in. Some trips have a highlight. Dubrovnik was ours.
Three Countries, One Day
Day thirteen was one of the most unexpectedly moving days of the entire trip. We left Dubrovnik and crossed the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina for a day trip to Trebinje, a sun-drenched Mediterranean city set along the Trebišnjica River just 28 kilometers from the coast.
Our first stop was Podrumi Vukoje 1982, a family winery founded that year and now one of the most celebrated producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Everything here is estate grown, the vineyards are fully organic with sheep grazing between the rows to keep the land healthy and natural. The star of the tasting was Žilavka, Bosnia’s signature indigenous white grape, recently named one of the top 100 wines in the world by Decanter. It’s a wine that earns that recognition: crisp, mineral, and unlike anything else in this part of Europe.
From the winery we drove to Tvrdoš Monastery, a Serbian Orthodox monastery built in the late 15th century on the foundations of a 4th century church. The name Tvrdoš means “tough” in Serbian, a fitting name for a place that has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times over the centuries, surviving Ottoman raids and Venetian wars alike. Beneath the monastery sits a stone wine cellar dating to the 15th century, where monks have been producing Vranac and Žilavka for generations. Standing in that cellar, surrounded by old oak barrels and centuries of history, is the kind of experience you don’t forget.
By evening, we had crossed a third border into Montenegro, stopping in the ancient walled city of Kotor for dinner at Star Milini Restaurant. Three countries in one day. Not bad.
A Free Day on the Adriatic
Day fourteen was exactly what everyone needed. Budva, Montenegro’s coastal gem, asked nothing of us. Some wandered the charming old town, others claimed a spot by the pool or on the beach with a cold drink and nowhere to be. Dinner was in town, and just as the evening was winding down, the sky lit up with fireworks. Nobody had planned for it, and yes — it was as magical as it sounds.
