In 11 days we travelled through 7 countries on our way from Albania to the UK. After leaving Albania we visited Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and France on our way to the UK.
After spending several months in Albania, it was time to drive back to England. We had just under two weeks to get back to England before our flight to the USA for Christmas with my family. During our drive we enjoyed several new countries, as well as a few of our favourite places, and because it was Christmas time, we made sure to fit in a few Christmas markets.
Albania to Montenegro
We left Albania and headed north to Montenegro. Crossing the border between the two countries was very easy. The Albanian officer asked for our passports, car documents, and covid papers. He glanced at our covid vaccines and took the other documents inside the booth. He handed them over to the Montenegro officer as we pulled the car forward to the window. He stamped our passports and sent us on our way.
Our first stop was Bar, Montenegro. We arrived late in the evening, so we headed straight to our hotel for the night. The next day we explored the area, by visiting the oldest olive tree in Europe and Stari Bar (old town) ruins.
For more details on our time in Montenegro you can read our Oldest Olive Tree in Europe and Stari Bar, Montenegro blog posts.
Montenegro to Croatia
After Montenegro we crossed the border into Croatia to stay the night in Dubrovnik. Leaving Montenegro, they simply stamped our passports. On the Croatia side they asked for our passports and car documents, nothing about covid vaccines, tests, or PLF documents.
We have visited Dubrovnik before, so we were only planning to stay the night so we could visit the Christmas market inside the old town walls. Unfortunately, the Christmas market wasn’t very good. There were only a few food stalls open and hardly anyone in the area, so there wasn’t much of an atmosphere.
We think there is a larger Christmas market area inside one of the buildings, but we didn’t see any sign of it and it wasn’t open while we were there –it was a Sunday and late in the evening, so it may have already closed by the time we arrived.
Since we were in the old town we decided to walk around the for a while, enjoying the quiet and snapping pictures of the empty streets. Last time we were here (summer 2016) it was very busy, so this was much different than our previous visit.
After a while, we headed back to the market stalls to get some dinner. As we were finishing dinner, it started to rain again (luckily, we had a couple dry hours to enjoy) so we started to make our way back to our accommodation. On the way out of the old town walls, we noticed a few additional food stays in the small square area across the road. We decided to check them out to see if they were any different to the ones inside the walls. They were basically the same food and drink options, however one of them did have hot chocolate – Ben’s favorite! This hot chocolate was delicious. It had “winter spice” Monin flavor syrup, marshmallows, a cinnamon stick, and a star anise. It was pretty and yummy!
Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina
From Dubrovnik we drove to Split, but we decided to take the long way and stop off at Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Leaving Croatia, our passports were stamped. On the BiH side they asked for passports, car documents, and covid details. They weren’t quite sure about our Albanian covid vaccines, so we were told to pull over to the side while they looked over our documents. The officers than asked to look in the vehicle and had us open several suitcases and boxes. Since we were in Albania for six months renovating an apartment, we had a mixture of items in the car. Lots of clothes (for summer and winter), tools, paint brushes, and various other things that we felt we needed when we left London! After looking through some of our items, they handed our documents back to us and we went on our way.
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The drive through Bosnia and Herzegovina was stunning. It’s a beautiful country and hopefully we can visit again when we have more time to explore. There were lots of old monasteries and dedications to saints that looked very beautiful and interesting, but we didn’t have time to stop and look (plus the weather wasn’t very pleasant).
The rain was quite heavy during our drive, so we weren’t sure how much we would see of Mostar (or how much we would want to see walking in the cold, rain). But as we arrived in Mostar, the rain started to soften, so we parked the car near the old bazaar and started to explore.
For more details on our time in Mostar you can read our Mostar, Montenegro blog post.
After Mostar we continued our journey to Split. On the way we stopped at the Kravica Waterfalls. The waterfalls were much more impressive than we expected. It was a bit windy, so we got soaked from the waterfalls. We enjoyed the few, took a few pictures, and then headed on our way.
Bosnia and Herzegovina to Croatia
Leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina, they simply stamped our passports. Croatia asked for the usual – passports, car registration, and covid vaccines. They barely looked at the vaccine certificates, stamped our passports and sent us on our way.
Split, Croatia
We found accommodation across the street from the Palace – it was the perfect location.
They had a Christmas Market on in the open area between the city walls and the Palace. You did have to show your “green pass” to enter the area. This is the first time we had been asked for our passes.
The atmosphere at this Christmas Market was much better than Dubrovnik’s. There were a good amount of Christmas lights, with several food and drinks stalls, as well as Christmas music filling the area. We enjoyed some yummy sausage and pulled pork. Next to the food and drink area, there was another area with more food stalls and an ice-skating rink. You did not have to show the “green pass” to enter this area. We walked around the small area, and then left the Christmas markets to explore the rest of the city. Most of the stores were closed and there were not a lot of people around. We wondered around for a bit and then ended up along the water. There were a few more Christmas market stalls setup here, but they were closed for the night.
After exploring the city for a while, we headed back to our accommodation to call it a night.
As we were leaving Split the next morning, we headed to the Klis Fortress, on top of the hill overlooking Split. Several scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed here. The Fortress area is quite large, and you can walk around most areas. The views over Split are stunning. There is a small museum with history about the Fortress and former occupants.
Rijeka, Croatia
After Split, we headed further north to Rijeka. When we arrived in town we headed straight to Trsat Castle on top of the hill. We had heard, and seen pictures, of the castle covered in Christmas lights. We also thought there was a market outside the castle. Turns out the market was inside the castle and the lights were amazing. One of the towers is completed covered in lights. The market is all food and drink options. There was Christmas music playing and the atmosphere was the best we had experienced so far. We was starting to feel like Christmas.
The castle was fully open to visitors of the market. Normally you have to pay a fee to enter the castle, but not for the Christmas market. Inside some of the castle rooms there were different Christmas displays, including a fireplace scene for pictures and a large nativity scene. We enjoyed exploring the castle, trying some yummy food and drinks, and soaking in the Christmas mood.
After a while, we headed to our accommodation, which was along the water near the town center.
In town there were several market areas. One was just around the corner from our accommodation, which lots of food options from local restaurants. We grabbed some more food and then walked further into the town center. Along the main strip, there were lots of Christmas light displays as well as a few market stalls. Most of the stalls were closed, or in the process of closing. As we walked further along the main strip, we found another area of food and drink stalls along with music. And about a block from there, was another area of food and drink. This area had a live band that everyone was enjoying – everyone was singing and dancing. It was a great evening!
Croatia to Slovenia
Our next stop from Croatia was Italy, but we decided to take a detour to visit Predjama Castle and Postoina Cave in Slovenia. Crossing the border into Slovenia we were asked to show our passports and car registration. We didn’t get asked anything about covid (vaccine or test) when entering the country, however you did have to show your covid pass when entering any attractions or indoors.
In the area there are other attractions to explore, however during the winter months (while we were there) only the castle and one cave were open. Our short visit to Slovenia was amazing and we are looking forward to returning and exploring the country more.
Slovenia to Italy
From Slovenia we made our way to Verona, Italy. There is no border crossing between the two countries – only a sign to let us know we were no in Italy.
Verona, Italy
Verona was the first Italian city I visited back in 2014. I instantly feel in love with the city and have been wanting to go back for some time. I sometimes worry that expectations don’t live up to reality, but Verona was just as wonderful as I remembered (maybe even better than expected). I feel in love with the city all over.
We both enjoyed our first tine exploring the town so much that we decided to stay a second night before continuing our journey.
Italy to Switzerland
There was nothing crossing into Switzerland, except we were stopped to purchase a Swizterland toll sticker. The sticker costs 40 CHF and is valid for the rest of the year. It looks like the sticker is specific to the year, so it may be cheaper throughout the year. We purchased the sticker in December, so the sticker is valid for over a year.
From Verona we planned to head to Lucerne, Switzerland for the night before continuing to the Alsace region in France.
Unfortunately, we had a hard time finding accommodation in Lucerne for a Friday night. There was nothing available for a reasonable price, so we decided to stay somewhere else in Switzerland and take our time during the drive. We were going to stop in Milan, but that provided difficult with a car full of stuff due to security. We were going to park at a train station, and then train into the main area, but so many reviews mentioned that their car (or their friend’s cars) were broken into. All the reviews said to make sure you didn’t leave anything valuable in the car. Well, our entire car was full, plus a few things strapped onto the roof rack, so there was going to be stuff left in the car. We decided that we couldn’t take the risk and continued to our accommodation for the night.
We had a hard time finding anything along our route but ended up at the Chromotel. I don’t normally mention accommodations unless they are exceptional or unique and this one was unique. There are no staff on site, so you use a machine to check in and check out. The entrance to the hotel building is accessed by QR code (which you receive after checking in), as is the parking gate and your room. The rooms are very large, colorful, and have an interesting shower design. We love the concept of self check in and check out. We stay in a lot of private apartments (AirBNB, etc.) and it’s always a pain when the host doesn’t offer self check in. You have to give them an idea of when you will be arriving, and keep updating them if that changes, etc. When you are driving yourself between places, you sometimes see things of interest and you want to stop – but sometimes you can’t spend too long because the host doesn’t want to wait until 11pm at night to check you in…Self check in is the way to go! Anyway, we loved the idea of this self check in/out hotel.
Since our plans for Milan didn’t work out, we decided to have a down day to just relax before we continued on for the last half of our trip.
Switzerland to France
Again, there was no border crossing, we simply drove into France.
Alsace, France
We spent our first night in France exploring the Christmas market in Colmar. We visited the Colmar Christmas market a few years ago (see our Christmas Markets blog post), and we loved it, so we were happy to visit again. We weren’t sure what to expect and were prepared for it to not be quite the same due to covid and any covid restrictions in place. We were very happy to find that the market felt very similar to what it was like a couple of years ago – pre covid.
After a night in Colmar we made our way to Strasbourg for our second to last night. On the way we stopped at Mulhouse, Kaysersberg, and Riquewihr.
Mulhouse was a new town and Christmas market for us. There were a couple different small markets throughout town. In the town center there is a large Cathedral surrounded by gorgeous, colored buildings. Mulhouse is definitely on our list to visit again (even outside of Christmas) since the town was so cute.
Last time we were in the Alsace region we only had a short time to visit Kaysersberg, and it was later in the day. This time around we allowed more time to visit this town. The town is stunning in it’s own right and with all the Christmas decorations and Christmas feel throughout town it truly felt magical. There are lots of things to see throughout town, so make sure you allow plenty of time to see it all.
The last stop for the night was Riquewihr. This town and Kaysersberg are probably my two favorite towns in the Alsace region (at least out of the ones we have visited so far). Riquewihr is a small town within the old city walls. The medieval buildings throughout the entire walled city are jaw dropping amazing. Medieval architecture happens to be my favoritie style, which is probably why I like this town so much. The Christmas market in town is very small, but the town itself is always worth a visit – and make sure you walk down all of the streets (it’s a small town so it doesn’t take that long to do).
We spent the day at the Strasbourg Christmas market. The markets were smaller this year than the last time we went, however the town is still full of Christmas magic. The buildings are decorated throughout town and the market stalls are more unique and interesting than other towns – a great selection of Christmas decorations and gifts to browse.
After that we headed to Metz for the final night of our roadtrip. I was looking forward to the Metz Christmas market. My favourite thing was the amazing light projection show on the Cathedral. We checked into our accommodation and then hurried to the market area so we could see the projection show in the evening. Much to my extreme disappointment there was not a project show. We didn’t miss it for the night, there was no show this year. We walked around Metz and found that this year the Christmas market was not nearly as good as it was a couple years prior. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get to enjoy one final Christmas market, but at least we enjoyed the other amazing markets in the Alsace region.
France to United Kingdom
The next day we left Metz and headed to Calais for our ferry to England. Crossing the border, we were required to show passports, car registration details, and covid vaccine and negative test results. We were not asked for the PLF or proof of our Day 2 test booking.
Once we got on the ferry, it was as per normal.