BiH

Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Mostar

9/10/13-12/10/13

After being dropped off and saying bye to Ian and Kath, we waited in a deserted train station for our train to Mostar in Bosnia. Riding the oldest train we have encountered in Europe, we experienced smoking Bosnian army men, train attendants hitting the underside of the train at every stop (I’m guessing to make sure everything is still working), beautiful views of mountains and rivers and the thought that we missed our stop. Luckily we didn’t.

A cute little hostel called Madjas awaited us when we arrived. Set up in a Bosnian house with a cozy lounge room and a great spacious outdoor area, Madja and her daughter who checked us in welcomed us and helped us settle in.

river through the middle of the city

We have been on many tours since our travels began but none can compare to our epic 12-hour tour of Mostar and its surroundings. This well known tour is organized by the hostel for guests only and ran by the unique Bata, Madja’s brother. Bata took us to some amazing places and shared his experiences and strong opinions on the war that broke out amongst the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia.

We drove around in a mini van/bus with 12 other ‘Backpackers’ as we were all called for the day. Bata pointed out many buildings and vantage points from the war, buildings that have been transformed into fancy shopping centers, run down structures and many derelict buildings that still have the scars of bullet and shrapnel damage.

Before leaving the town of Mostar, we stopped for a freshly made Burek and got to see the traditional way of cooking the delicious bakery treat in the kitchen’s coal fire oven in a local café.

Burek time

Next we made our way about 40 km south to the Kravice falls. This beautiful spot is quite out of the way for big tour groups so it was nice to have some space to explore. We braved the freezing cold water and climbed under waterfalls and over rocks. Leah being the stronger swimmer followed some guys up to a big rock in front of a strong waterfall. After scaling the slippery surface Leah jumped off the 8-meter high boulder with a scream.

behind a waterfall

time out from the freezing water 

the rock that Leah jumped off

The car rides to each place were filled with stories and we even had a dance in the van listening to Bata’s Bosnian turbo folk through his sub woofers and flashing lights set in the roof.

Pocitelj town was our location for sunset. This medieval village is located on the Neretva River with amazing views from the top of the mountain. Only a few families remain in this village after the war. We were lucky enough to go inside one of the houses and visit a little old lady who made us some traditional coffee and home made cordial made from elderflower and pomegranate. We had some amazing views from the top of two ruined castles at sunset before making our way home via a few more places. We finished our tour at about 11pm at an amazing cevapcici place where we enjoyed the famous minced meat in pita bread with a creamy sauce.

the van "Bata's girlfriend"

Backpakers in the castle

the Neretva River

queen of the castle

Slate roofs 

sunset

We walked around the town the next day visiting the sniper building; an old gutted bank building on the front line during the civil war in the early 90’s that was a prime location for snipers. The building had an eerie feel to it with the several floors covered in glass, graffiti and the odd local junkie.

views from the sniper building

After being severely bombed in the civil war, the old bridge in Mostar, the Stari Most had to be fully reconstructed. Construction only finished in 2008 and since then it is one of Mostar’s favorite attractions. Each year divers jump off the bridge into the river below and this has also become an activity popular with tourists. A few people from our hostel jumped from the bridge and got a certificate for their 20-meter drop.

the old bridge at night

During one of our nights Bosnia was playing Liechtenstein in a World Cup qualifier, only 2 wins away from a guarantee in their first ever World Cup Finals. Bosnia went on to win that game 4-1 and then beat Lithuania 1-0 a few days later. So best of luck to them in their first World Cup.

Now time for some travel days …

arvi -