Hiking around the Plitvice National Park in Croatia, and finally getting across the border to Ukraine with non-EU passports in a Bulgarian rental car - both unplanned off-the-cuff adventures.
Nice! We just went to Croatia a couple days ago, and might visit Ukraine in a few weeks. I'll be near the border and saw some 4 star hotels for about $20. :)
Kinda reminds me of my visit to Poland in the late 80's, when it was just starting on its new journey of post Soviet influence. I had taken a flight from Krakow to Warsaw on a Russian Tupolev Tu-155 jet (amazed I still have hearing), was prodded off of the stairway by a guard with an AK-47, knowing this part of my trip was going to be something else...
Black-market exchange of currency in the backs of Mercedes cabs, trolley rides for about a penny to buy potato vodka for 50 cents/bottle, dining at 5 star restaurants for a few bucks, and when the ladies left the table to freshen up, our tuxedo and bow tied waiter asked above the soft piano music, if we were interested in prostitutes, caviar, and other interesting after dinner options... Old habits die hard, and boy it was like the wild west. What an interesting time to experience history first hand, from a time like no other in my experience.