Bulgaria: Where the Mountains Meet the Sea. This makes Lasnamäe look really good

 

Our hotel breakfast was great - the kind where you feel you might need a nap afterward. There were pastries, fruits, cheeses, eggs in every form… the works. But as we were heading out, we made a rather tragic discovery: they’d hidden the sparkling wine somewhere off to the side, far away from the rest of the buffet. By the time we noticed, we were already walking out the door. A true breakfast crime.

Today’s plan: a little road trip to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s charming ancient city. We had a rental car booked, of course, and were meant to pick it up at 9 a.m. When we rolled up around 10 (details, details) to the edge of the park where the car was supposedly waiting, we quickly realized… there was no rental office. Just trees, benches, and a very patient lady who had been standing there for an hour waiting for us. Apparently, the “office” was simply her favorite parking spot. Fifteen minutes and a few signatures later, we were off!

Plovdiv is only about an hour and a half from Sofia - but why go straight when you can dramatically detour into the mountains?

The beginning of the detour was stunning: fiery autumn leaves, winding roads, postcard-perfect scenery. Then, as we climbed higher, the fog rolled in - thick enough to make us feel like we were driving through heavy clouds. Visibility dropped to about two meters, and in an entire hour we saw exactly one other car. It felt almost eerie.

Our first planned village stop involved a steep, gravelly road descending almost vertically, so we took one look and collectively decided: not today. The next village was friendlier - perfect for a photo stop. As soon as I stepped out of the car, though, I managed to plant my boot squarely into a pile of something organic that clearly wasn’t leaves. Ten solid minutes of scraping later, I had learned a valuable life lesson: never step off Bulgarian roads without checking your surroundings first.

Luckily, a bit further along, we found a random outdoor tap with running water in a park (what are the odds?), and I gave my boots the spa treatment they deserved. We crossed over a hydroelectric dam, descended from the mist, and an hour later rolled into Plovdiv.

Our first stop: doughnuts. There’s a place there rumored to have the best ones in Bulgaria, and after one bite of the salted caramel and cherry ones and without even having seen any other doughnuts yet, I can confirm - the rumors are true. We even got a plain one “for the road,” though to be honest, it barely survived three steps before disappearing.

We wandered through the Old Town, climbing up to the ancient ruins. Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and you can feel it - cobblestone streets, pastel houses, and the kind of views that make you forget your calves are burning. From the top, you can see the modern blocks stretching out below. Scott took one look and said, “You know, Lasnamägi is starting to look pretty good.” A true compliment - if you know, you know.

After some aimless strolling and a few disappointing cookies, we headed back to Sofia for dinner.

The plan was a famous ribs restaurant — smoky, hearty, the real deal. Except… when we arrived, they told us it was fully booked. Just as we were about to slink away in defeat, the hostess came running after us, waving her notepad: “I checked wrong — we can fit you in!” And just like that, we were saved. Dinner was superb.

Where Mountains meet Magic. Cold Coffee, Clean Bins, and Mountain Views

After yesterday’s long day on the road, today’s plan was simple: take it slow. Since we were still full from last night’s dinner, we decided to just pop out for coffee. The morning air was freezing — think 10°C after yesterday’s 25°C in Nice — so I was already dreaming of sipping a steaming hot latte.

Scott ordered a cookie frappuccino, and I, for some reason, very confidently asked for an Iced Brown Sugar Latte. I walked up to the counter, took my drink, and was genuinely shocked that my iced coffee was… cold. To this moment, I still have no idea what I was thinking ordering an iced drink when all I wanted was warmth.
Luckily, Scott once again saved the day. He chatted with the barista, explained my tragic coffee miscalculation, and somehow managed to get me a free hot cappuccino instead. The barista even threw in a few pumps of syrup — bless them.

Coffees in hand, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed the car, and drove up into the mountains. Near the village of Canillo, we paid €6 per person and took a walk up to a spectacular viewing platform with nearly 360-degree mountain views. We were among the first ones there, the weather was perfect, and the scenery was absolutely worth it.

Back in the village, we stopped for a quick snack — or so we thought. What arrived could have easily fed a small African country. My buckwheat galette with goat cheese, walnuts, and honey was delicious. Scott only managed to eat half of his salmon salad before surrendering.
As we sat there, people-watching and digesting, we noticed something fascinating about Andorra’s dedication to cleanliness: apparently, it was trash bin washing day. Yes, an actual truck was driving around washing the street bins one by one. Sparkling clean!

After a short rest back at the hotel, we went for an evening walk — admired some modern tube-and-bath-style sculptures (don’t ask), wandered along the river and through the old town, and noticed that Andorra has the same quirky pole-top statues as Nice. We then lingered around until 8 p.m., waiting for the restaurants to finally open.

We chose a cozy-looking place in a side street. However, since we weren’t guests at the hotel attached to the restaurant, our food apparently wasn’t a top priority. Luckily, we weren’t in any rush — and when our dishes finally arrived, they were absolutely worth the wait. Maximum deliciousness.

Croatia Full of Life. When the airline shortens your holiday

 

We had planned to spend three days in Dubrovnik, but LOT, where we bought the tickets, forgot to tell us that they had canceled the return flight, and basically we could either fly back three days earlier or stay in Croatia until spring. Neither option worked for us, and LOT refused any communication, so we bought new tickets with Finnair one day earlier than originally planned.

So we only had today's full day in Dubrovnik. We started the morning with a walk in the old town, enjoyed all those streets and stairs again, bought some art and this year's Christmas tree ornaments (in the old town they have a Christmas shop open all year round, where they paint the Christmas tree ornaments by hand on site). We took a quick break in the apartment during lunch and then walked to the sea.
For the evening, we had a table booked at Dalmatino, where we also spent the last night of our honeymoon four and half years ago, but since Scott thought that this dinner deserved a dedicated blog post,I will not list all these wonderful dishes here. Stay tuned

Before dinner, we managed to watch a very beautiful sunset.

Azur of Montenegro. First class food poisoning.

 

In the morning, it turned out that breakfast was offered a la carte, not as a buffet. We had an omelette (Scott) and an energy breakfast (me) and also wanted croissants (to share). It turned out that you have to pay extra for the third portion. The food arrived at the table in speedy 35 minutes. Good thing we were the only guests. My energy breakfast had to be: corn flakes, raspberries, banana, Plazma bisquits, milk, yogurt, honey. A bowl of muesli and a bottle of milk arrived on the table. When the young man said bon appetit and started to leave, I asked, where is the rest? After that he also brought honey, jam and one banana.

The whole way through Montenegro towards Bosnia and Herzegovina was driving through thick fog. Sometimes it was just between and above the mountains on the side of the road, sometimes you couldn't see further than 10 meters from the car.

There is an incredibly beautiful view of the mountains between the two borders, we took pictures and then drove to Bosnia and Herzegovina. My stomach had already started to hurt, and I blamed some specific circumstances. But a 15 minutes after arriving in the country, I started to feel nauseous, dizzy, sweat was flowing so that my hair was soaked. My stomach hurt even more and my hands started shaking. I didn't feel good at all. Finally we arrived in Trebinje, I went to the first bar we came across and after using their toilet we sat on a piece of wall next to the car. That's where I also left all of my breakfast. Since it seemed to me at that point that I could more or less sit, we started to drive towards Croatia again, because we thought that since I was feeling lousy, I would much rather feel lousy in the European Union, and not in the middle of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Three kilometers later, however, a new stop with the same intention was needed. It seemed that after that the whole mess was more or less over and I felt fine.

The border crossing into Croatia went smoothly and we drove straight to Kupari beach to enjoy the light blue water and white beach.

Our apartment in Dubrovnik is on the fourth floor with a view of the old town, the sea and the sunset. We walked around town, oh my gosh, I didn't remember HOW many stairs there are. And HOW expensive is the food here in the old town.