After our time in Plitvice Lakes, we headed back to Split for a couple weeks.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

We celebrated another Thanksgiving internationally and also celebrated my birthday.

Thanksgiving and Marlene’s birthday.

Thanksgiving and Marlene’s birthday.

In addition to the Advent Christmas houses and decorations, this year Split added an outdoor ice skating rink which the kids really enjoyed.

Thanksgiving and Marlene’s birthday.

A fuzzy photo of a night spent out with good friends and family at Mandrill’s BrewPub and Kitchen.

Thanksgiving and Marlene’s birthday.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Dan got approved for his second year of Croatian residency. Now we wait for his new ID card to arrive and he’s also now allowed to leave the country since the approval wait period is over. Perfect timing too because we need to drive the van out of the EU to comply with its temporary import which states we need to exit every 6 month to reset it.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

We took a ferry to Hvar Island in order to pick up our van and say good-bye to our favorite village dog, Rio.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

He took his time snuggling with each and every one of us.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

And begging for leftovers.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

One last belly rub at the stone house before we walk to the van.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Oh, and we grabbed two bottles of olive oil that we harvested too.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

And of course, Rio followed us to the van. One last photo together for now.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Last year when we left, he chased us down the road and it broke our hearts. This year he hung out. When we started our van, he got up and went off exploring as he usually does. Guess he knows we will back next fall.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Caught the shorter (and cheaper ferry) off of the island in Sućuraj.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

And then we made it to our 25th European country in the van…. BOSNIA! Crossing the border took about 3 minutes but getting insurance took about 20 minutes. The office was closed so the border agent had to call someone to come to the border. We ended up paying 240 kuna ($35.95) for a 3-day insurance policy.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Our plan is to stay one night in Mostar. As soon as we arrived we wished we could spend more time here. It’s beautiful.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

It’s also heartbreaking because of the amount of destroyed and bullet riddled buildings still visible from the war.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Dinner shenanigans.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

After dinner, we ended up going for a walk to scope out a better parking spot for the evening.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

While walking around, this little lost puppy found us. She continued to walk with us while looking around every corner for her owner. After almost getting hit by a car, we put a rope around her collar and gave her some water and dog food.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Since we don’t have any cell data in Bosnia, we stopped at a cafe for internet and to ping some local FaceBook groups regarding this lost puppy. She is just a few months old and is wearing a new yellow collar. After no luck, we decided it was time to head back to the van. We were all cold and needed to warm up.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

The puppy made herself at home pretty quickly. She slept for a good couple hours before waking up again. We were scared she was going to pee, poo or eat our stuff while we slept.

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

But nope. She slept through the night. Didn’t make a peep and caused no damage. Tomorrow we will go back to the cafe to check our FB messages to see if anyone knows her owner. (Spoiler alert: it has a happy ending!)

Leaving Hvar and Rio the village dog for Mostar, Bosnia.

Here’s a little Instagram story from our day:

And here is Dan’s video of my birthday in Split. Enjoy!

Thanks for following along,
Marlene

Categories: dailyEurope

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