From Sweden to the Balkans, crossing Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina in a Jeep WJ

[HiPERnx]

This is not a recent trip but quarantine gives me time to write up about it. This trip was completed in 2018. Currently i'm driving USA to Argentina on a motorcycle, more on that in the trip thread.

The vehicle
It's a Jeep Grand Cherokee v8 -99, known under the model code WG and is the European made (Austria) version of the North American WJ. The differences are small, mainly better build quality and rust protection from factory.
It has a modest 2" lift (BDS springs), leveling spacers to level it all out and Iron Rock Offroad Heavy Duty short arms both front and back. It's running 32" Cooper AT tires and SpiderTrax 1.25" wheel spacers and stock rims.
It has a IBS Tech dual battery system with a Optima Blue Top marine deep cycle battery. At the time of the trip it has a sPod for the main electric circuit and custom fuse panel for the AUX system.
It's equipped with a dometic fridge (26L if i remember correctly), ARB air compressor and some extra light in the front and back (it gets dark in Sweden and i love driving at night). 2x Vision X Light cannon multi led, 2x NBB 225 Alpha 75 xenon, 2x China copies of the Vision X Transporter (get the real deal guys, they suck and cause interferance with the radio).



Metalpasja rear winch bumper (no winch) with 2x Rigid D2 reverse/camp lights.


Finished dual battery setup and fridge.



Preparation
The trip was in large mapped out ahead of time as planning is half the fun!

Getting it all packed. Pop-up tent to the left, kitchen and pantry in the yellow pelican cases and spares, oil, tools in the black pelican case. Only things missing is the cloths and the camping table.



Beer and Swedish snaps in the fridge.



The trip

1. Boat to Latvia
2. Lithuania
3. Poland
   1. Warsaw
   2. Krakow
   3. Tatra mountains
4. Slovakia
5. Hungary
   1. Budapest
6. Serbia
   1. Novi Sad
   2. Belgrade
   3. Tara Mountains
7. Montenegro
   1. Kotor
   2. Ulcinj
   3. Podgorica
   4. Montenegro Highlands
8. Bosnia & Herzegovina
   1. Sarajevo
   2. Mostar
   3. Offroad through the country side
9. Croatia
   1. Pag Island
   2. Mountains
10. Slovenia
    1. Ljubljana
11. Going home!
    1. Austria
    2. Germany

Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.



After the first day, a friend i was traveling with needed to return to Sweden for personal reasons. Had to backtrack to Riga, Latvia on the second day. It was just to accept that i’d be camping alone from now.

First camp (Lithuania).


Second day, on my way to the second camp. Still in Lithuania.


Camp the second day.



After being one day behind schedule i decided to do a long haul from where i camped for the second night to Warsaw. While in Warsaw, Poland i got a message from a friend that had seen that i’m heading south. He was in Krakow and we decided to meet up in Krakow for a night before i continue to the Tatra mountains.
More in the next post.

 

[HiPERnx]

Tatra Mountains, Polish side.

My mother is from Poland, but i never spend much time in Poland, just a few weeks here and there. It was nice to be there and explore.




Budapest
From Tatra mountains i picked up a hitchhiker form Germany that came with me to Budapest.


In the next post the real adventure starts with Serbia!

 

[HiPERnx]

Serbia


First went to Novi Sad, a semi-large town i northern Serbia.
After Novi Sad the journey carried on to Belgrade, where i spent a full week to catch up with email and work.







When i left Belgrade is where the overlanding adventure really begins. First stop Uzice.

War memorial in Serbia.






Stayed in a hostel a day until i left for the Tara mountains.
Accidentally crossed a abandoned military airfield. It's 2020 (or 2018 at the time) so my Jeep started to self identify as a MIG fighter jet.


Tara mountains were magical!




Dinner and camp time!


The Tara mountains was an amazing experience. I met some truly amazing people in the hostels and the nature was stunning.

 

[Sierra Valley]

Look forward to the rest of your post.

 

[HiPERnx]

Look forward to the rest of your post.

Thanks!
I was just about to sit down and write it now!
Didn't have time yesterday.

 

[HiPERnx]

Montenegro 1/3


Montenegro was the country that surprised me the most.

I started by driving from Tara Mountains in Serbia to Kotor, Montenegro.

Border crossing from Serbia into Montenegro.


Getting close to the sea!


Kotor is a cool city, but not much of an adventure. But the adventure is left to come!


From Kotor i continued to Ulcinj, close to the border with Albania, a nice beach town. My plan is to drive straight across Montenegro offroad. From the border with Albania to Bosnia & Herzegovina.
On the road from Kotor i picked up some hitchhikers that i dropped in Ulcinj too.

The beard from Serbia is gone!


Cigar on the beach before the adventure starts!


Due to the limitation of the number of images i'll continue this in the next post!

 

[HiPERnx]

Montenegro 2/3


The adventure begins!
I wend by the capital and up in the mountains of Montenegro. With the Albania on the other side of the valley i started my adventure through the Montenegro Highlands.

Into the mountains we go! Cellphone signal is long gone. Very few people live in the highlands, most live near the coast.


One of my favorite pictures of my rig.


Pasing a small village in the valley.




The grasslands of Montenegro Highlands.


First camp, Captains Lake. Pretty much dead center in Montenegro. Absolutely stunning.


The nearby sheepherder's dog was interested in my setup.



More in Montenegro 3/3!

 

[HiPERnx]

Montenegro 3/3

As i woke up the next day next to Captains Lake i explored around the lake a bit.
View attachment IMG_1935.jpg



Then I set off towards the border with Bosnia. The day started nice!



As i descended, the weather was not as nice.


Very close to the border with Bosnia & Herzegovina. Even to the point where my adventures got me into trouble. I was planning to not exit the country this day. Especially not illegally. My adventures got me into some long forgotten trails that took me to the wrong side of the border checkpoint, had some explaining to do on how i can enter the country again without a exit stamp...


Final camping spot in Montenegro!


Shortly after sunset the rain started pouring down. Staying in the tent to watch some movies.


Next up Bosnia & Herzegovina!

 

[HiPERnx]

Bosnia & Herzegovina

BiH started by going to Sarajevo to get some work done. For you that remember your history lessons know that Sarajevo was the place for one of the most influential events of recent world history. It was the place for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The event that kick started World War 1 and in effect also World War 2. Wikipedia Article.

BiH is one of the countries where the effects of the Yugoslav war is still most noticeable. More on that later!

After Sarajevo the journey carried on to Mostar, a stunning city!


War-torn building in Mostar. It's evidence everywhere of the relatively recent war.



After a few days in Mostar the trip continues to the country side. One thing to remember is that large parts of BiH are still active minefields, so real offroad is off the able as i don't want to run over a mine.

It looks amazing right?! But don't let looks deceive. The sign to the left in the image warns me that it's an active minefield. It was scary to think about that what would normally be just a small accident, loosing control and spinning out could turn catastrophic here, active minefield on both side of the road.



Truly stunning views!


Camp


BBQ skewers at camp. Pretty nice if i say so myself!




After the second camp (sorry, didn't snap any pictures) i continue towards Croatia.

 

[Arjan]

Stunning pictures !
Many, many thanks - please keep them coming !

Perhaps you can do a simple maps to give us all an idea for the route you travelled...

 

[HiPERnx]

Stunning pictures !
Many, many thanks - please keep them coming !

Perhaps you can do a simple maps to give us all an idea for the route you travelled...

Thanks!

I was just trying to download the GPX from Garmin (used a Garmin inReach to track the trip), but it seems Garmin is having some server problems. I'll make sure to post it when i have the file.

 

[beanco]

Thank you for taking the time to post your journeys. I enjoyed your motorcycle trip, I hope you can continue someday.
Amazing landscapes and full of history.

I am currently stuck at home planning an adventure for 2021(fingers crossed) First I need to see all of America, then hopefully start crossing the borders to see our neighboring countries.
Ben

 

[HiPERnx]

Map overvew:



Balkan specifically:


Montenegro only:

 

[rfoubi]

Awesome trip so far, epic mountains and great to see some places less travelled!

 

[misfit31]

Looks like a great trip. How technical did you find the routes, especially in Montenegro? I am looking at doing a Balkans trip in the near future, though only in a mildly modified Subaru.