Knitting in Croatia, Montenegro and Albania

2:20 PM

Summer vacation is over, and it's back to cold Finnish summer. Holiday travels in the Balkans were a success. After freezing in Finland in June and July, the heat in Dubrovnik was almost unbearable. First day of +38'C made my 4-year-old ask: "Mom, why did we come to Croatia where our blood melts?!" Well, our blood didn't melt and we got a bit more accustomed to the heat, so vacation turned out great. Swimming every day, visiting interesting places and eating delicious food. And, of course, knitting every day.

Before the trip I was having a hard time trying to decide which project to take with me. I had just finished the Lemon top, and I would have liked to have a pattern to follow for easy holiday knitting. Unfortunately, everything in my yarn stash was dedicated to my own designs, so I had to pick one and start swatching in the airplane. The yarn I chose was Quince Sparrow. I thought a linen yarn would be nice to knit even if it's hot, and it turned out to be a good decision!



We started with a flight to Dubrovnik, stayed there for a couple of nights and then rented a car. There were some pretty awesome views along the way, so the first time I picked up my knitting was at the Montenegro border, where we had to wait for about an hour. I was happy that we only paid for one driver, so we couldn't take turns driving. More knitting time for me!

Kotor Bay, Montenegro
In Montenegro, we admired the lovely Kotor bay and visited Ostrog Monastery in the mountains. We spent a night in the capital, Podgorica, on our way to Albania. In Albania, we stayed in Tirana, the capital, and visited Berat, a Unesco world heritage site. On the way back, we stopped in Shkoder, hoping to swim in lake Shkodra. Unfortunately, we didn't find a beach, and as there was no a/c in our hotel, we decided to drive back to Kotor to the lovely apartment where we had stayed earlier. So we got one more swim in Kotor bay before returning to Dubrovnik. As there was no queue at the border, we had time to swim in Cavtat, right next to the airport.

Shkoder, Albania

Budva, Montenegro

On our first night in Dubrovnik a waiter looked at my knitting and commented "But this is your holiday!". Other than that, no-one seemed to mind the tourist lady knitting in cafes and restaurants.

And I finally got to wear my Lehtokerttu top after all the cold days of Finnish summer!

Bisici, Montenegro

Share This Story

Tags: , , ,

Katrine designs simple and chic knitwear with a little twist that makes knitting them interesting. She finds inspiration in Finnish nature and the sea outside her window in Helsinki.

You Might Also Like

6 kommenttia

  1. AnskuSeptember 9, 2015 at 3:36 PM

    Ihania kesäloman tunnelmakuvia! Ja samaa mieltä, sparrow on ihana (kesä)lanka, parina kesänä on sillä tullut neulottua, ja jotenkin tuntuu, että ensi keväänä tarttuu taas kerran sparrow puikoille :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katrine BirkenwasserSeptember 10, 2015 at 9:33 AM

      Kiitos! Sparrow sopi hyvin kesälomaneuleeksi, vaan nyt on tullut neulottua syyshuiveja ja saattaapi jäädä noiden projektien jatko odottamaan kevättä...

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 10, 2016 at 5:21 PM

    Hello! I found your blog over Knitty site ... and when I saw "Dubrovnik", I was really surprised! Who is this person ??
    Now, that I saw your blog post, I´m so glad that you have visited our country !!
    I was born in Montenegro, but I live now in Serbia.
    It's a little weird to see pictured from Montenegro in Finnish blog ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katrine BirkenwasserMarch 11, 2016 at 8:49 AM

      Thanks for visiting my blog! I loved Montenegro, Kotor Bay is so beautiful. We are definitely going back one day.

      Delete
  3. ShaneJuly 1, 2023 at 5:34 PM

    Your pictures are gorgeous! Looks like fun and makes me want to see that place so much

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2024 at 2:06 PM

    Thanks and I have a tremendous present: How Much Home Renovation Cost house renovation shows on netflix

    ReplyDelete

recent posts