When people think of their ultimate travel destination, they probably won't put Bosnia at the top of the list. A trouble spot for much its complicated history, Bosnia has been in the middle of calamity after calamity throughout its storied past, with the Bosnian war still fresh in many of our memories. After seeing much of Europe, and relating it today to it's many wars I learned about in school, it was a change of pace to visit a place that's most recent conflict stretched into my own generation, and not just my history books. Its markings are still visible as if it all happened only yesterday. At age 31, I am old enough and young enough to recall what happened here in the 1990's or at the very lucky of the fact that I was someplace cozily entering my high school years while each and every adult I met had been through an entirely different and volatile situation.
My friend and I we're both nervous as we'd heard of Americans, or anyone for that matter having issues at the border. However, our entry into Bosnia was straightforward, relatively quick and painless but no passport stamp documenting my passage. Upon entering the country (from Croatia) one will immediately notice a change in scenery. While it may not be a slap in the face change right away it definitely felt and looked different. Immediately noticeable was the downgrade in road conditions and the amount of deserted structures dotting the landscape. While not nearly all were deserted there was a noticeable and consistent amount of them along the main road, and up along the rocky hills above. I had never in my life seen so many old junk cars everywhere and at times they were stacked on top of each other rotting in the hot August sun. There were plenty of signs of life however, and the locals were seen carrying on with their normal lives as we passed by mostly unnoticed, tinkering along, strictly abiding by the noticeably lower then usual speed limits. I saw many people hitching rides almost right away, with the feeling that it wasn't as much in desperation, but more of a means of routine transportation.
It was dry here just as was Croatia and it was obvious judging by the vegetation it doesn't rain much during the summer. The landscape was pretty though as is the rest of this part of the world. We carried on without stopping until we reached the city of Mostar. High up on the list of the limited tourists that come to Bosnia, Mostar is known mostly for its very famous "Old Bridge" which was actually destroyed during the Bosnian War. We parked just outside the city and immediately proceeded to find a hotel scoring one for 20 Euros a night quite easily, right in the center of town. We went back to the car to move it to the hotel and had the worst time ever finding our way in. Our GPS was basically useless on this trip despite downloading the latest maps of the area. We spent literally 40 minutes circling around the city trying to find the one and only way into the main city center to park near our hotel. It was good in a way as we were able to explore more of the city we wouldn't ordinarily see. Despite its many beautiful characteristics you didn't have to look hard to notice things weren't always going real well here.
Building after building showed the scars of the still recent conflict with small and at times large holes in their facade. Believe it or not, you actually get used to this while visiting Bosnia but at first its eerie and startling. There are really no signs of World War I or II in Europe. But the stains and strains of this war are still readily visible and one doesn't have to search to find them. We finally found our hotel and set off into the city.
Spanning the Neretva river, The Old Bridge is 100 feet long and 13 feet wide and definitely one of a kind. Originally built in 1557 it was rebuilt and re-dedicated in 2004. It's a Unesco world heritage site and definitely picturesque, especially at dusk. We walked across enjoying the views of the river far below and the old city situated above its banks. There were many tourists here at this time as often (especially during the day) in these types of places a stagecoach will drop off some folks for a few hours in a hit and run type of visit. I would venture to say 90% of the people that visit Mostar probably don't spend the night. Around the bridge shops and small restaurants were everywhere. I noticed however that there was not the kind of pressure you find in some places like Turkey when it comes to buying. This made the atmosphere much more comfortable and we were able to pace ourselves. Nothing like being able to move your eyeballs freely without a desperate shopkeeper sniffing you out right away.
We decided to get something to eat and stopped at a place with the name "National Restaurant" touting it's traditional Bosnian cuisine. It was an odd time so we were the only two in the place as the owner was watching a National Geographic special on animal predators. Probably not your favorite thing to eat your lunch to but a little entertainment doesn't hurt. The food was prepared behind the counter already, and there really was no menu so we elected to try one plate to share. To be perfectly honest the food looked less than enticing but we thought we'd give it a try. The lady plopped several things on the plate that were mostly unidentifiable and we sat down. Immediately I noticed the food was cooked just as a friend had warned me. Purely in Animal Fat. That's right up my alley and the food tasted great. Similar to Morocco, the rice was flavorful and excellent. There were a few different kinds of beef which were terrific as well. The potatoes were also great and while I could almost feel the cholesterol entering my veins I really enjoyed it. We left kind of wishing we had ordered one plate each, but we moved on. Probably the most common dish in Bosnia is Ćevapi which is basically minced meat fingers spilling out of a pita, served with fries and if your lucky some of that red spicy tomato sauce on the side. This along with many of their other dishes is very close to Turkish cuisine and I ended up having this dish a few times before I left Bosnia. It's cheap, simple and usually pretty good. When it comes to details about the meat, you simply don't ask and I of course didn't. I'm certainly no major food connoisseur but I'm picky so you can bet if I like it, it's probably pretty good.
We hung around the bridge a little longer while some divers were busy taking money to jump off the bridge. Apparently the water is very cold and the bridge is really high so it became a magnet for the wide eyed tourists. The divers had lots of strategies to garner more cash from the willing and enthusiastic crowd, and they delayed and delayed jumping until they knew they had secured as much money as possible.
The diver tricked the crowd into which side he was going to jump off from, only letting the people who had donated to the cause know for sure which ended up being kind of disappointing since I fell for the trick myself and missed it. The picture you see is of the decoy. This guy acted like he was going to jump while the real jumper went to the other side amid the distraction. Oh well, it wasn't quite interesting enough to wait around for another hour to see it again. We continued walking around taking in the city. We didn't really spend much money except for my friend proudly negotiating himself into the first of 3 rugs he'd purchase on this trip. We visited the local grocery store which is always a favorite thing for me to do. You can tell a lot about a countries culture by what's available at the grocery store in my opinion. As evening fell we hit the bed early, mainly because of the previous nights lack of air-conditioning (therefore sleep), and the big day ahead in Sarajevo. It's sad turning off the lights in these cities because you know in your heart you'll probably never be there again the rest of your life.
Overall, Mostar was a great introduction to Bosnia and I really enjoyed the city. While it was beautiful, Mostar, like the rest of Bosnia and much of the Balkans region, still has a long way to go in terms of moving forward. There were positives for sure and it became clear to me that Bosnia is not extremely poor, at least compared to many other places in the world. People are definitely not starving here like some may think, and there were few if any sightings of homelessness. There were signs of modern life sprouting throughout the city and its surroundings and things certainly appear to be doing as well as expected considering what happened in this region only 16 or 17 years ago. Environmental education and concerns are definitely a dominant and concerning issue though, and that would repeat itself on our entire Balkans trip. It couldn't have rang more true than when I sat my empty drink bottle down to take a picture above the river in Mostar, and a boy came running over, grabbed my bottle and hurled it into the river below. He had a big smile on his face like he was showing me a shortcut or doing me some kind of favor. I thought it was somewhat symbolic of a bigger problem, and its even heartbreaking considering the beautiful man-made and natural scenery this great country offers. We would encounter people dumping their garbage on the side of the road more than once as well, with little or no trash receptacles in sight. Sometimes you don't even stop to think about some of the basic things that seem so normal to us like recycling or simply disposing of garbage properly. Overall though, I saw bright signs of growth in Bosnia and I was encouraged that people can endure so much and come back from it.
More about Mostar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostar
More about Bosnia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina
Next . . . . . Sarajevo!
My friend and I we're both nervous as we'd heard of Americans, or anyone for that matter having issues at the border. However, our entry into Bosnia was straightforward, relatively quick and painless but no passport stamp documenting my passage. Upon entering the country (from Croatia) one will immediately notice a change in scenery. While it may not be a slap in the face change right away it definitely felt and looked different. Immediately noticeable was the downgrade in road conditions and the amount of deserted structures dotting the landscape. While not nearly all were deserted there was a noticeable and consistent amount of them along the main road, and up along the rocky hills above. I had never in my life seen so many old junk cars everywhere and at times they were stacked on top of each other rotting in the hot August sun. There were plenty of signs of life however, and the locals were seen carrying on with their normal lives as we passed by mostly unnoticed, tinkering along, strictly abiding by the noticeably lower then usual speed limits. I saw many people hitching rides almost right away, with the feeling that it wasn't as much in desperation, but more of a means of routine transportation.
It was dry here just as was Croatia and it was obvious judging by the vegetation it doesn't rain much during the summer. The landscape was pretty though as is the rest of this part of the world. We carried on without stopping until we reached the city of Mostar. High up on the list of the limited tourists that come to Bosnia, Mostar is known mostly for its very famous "Old Bridge" which was actually destroyed during the Bosnian War. We parked just outside the city and immediately proceeded to find a hotel scoring one for 20 Euros a night quite easily, right in the center of town. We went back to the car to move it to the hotel and had the worst time ever finding our way in. Our GPS was basically useless on this trip despite downloading the latest maps of the area. We spent literally 40 minutes circling around the city trying to find the one and only way into the main city center to park near our hotel. It was good in a way as we were able to explore more of the city we wouldn't ordinarily see. Despite its many beautiful characteristics you didn't have to look hard to notice things weren't always going real well here.
Spanning the Neretva river, The Old Bridge is 100 feet long and 13 feet wide and definitely one of a kind. Originally built in 1557 it was rebuilt and re-dedicated in 2004. It's a Unesco world heritage site and definitely picturesque, especially at dusk. We walked across enjoying the views of the river far below and the old city situated above its banks. There were many tourists here at this time as often (especially during the day) in these types of places a stagecoach will drop off some folks for a few hours in a hit and run type of visit. I would venture to say 90% of the people that visit Mostar probably don't spend the night. Around the bridge shops and small restaurants were everywhere. I noticed however that there was not the kind of pressure you find in some places like Turkey when it comes to buying. This made the atmosphere much more comfortable and we were able to pace ourselves. Nothing like being able to move your eyeballs freely without a desperate shopkeeper sniffing you out right away.
We decided to get something to eat and stopped at a place with the name "National Restaurant" touting it's traditional Bosnian cuisine. It was an odd time so we were the only two in the place as the owner was watching a National Geographic special on animal predators. Probably not your favorite thing to eat your lunch to but a little entertainment doesn't hurt. The food was prepared behind the counter already, and there really was no menu so we elected to try one plate to share. To be perfectly honest the food looked less than enticing but we thought we'd give it a try. The lady plopped several things on the plate that were mostly unidentifiable and we sat down. Immediately I noticed the food was cooked just as a friend had warned me. Purely in Animal Fat. That's right up my alley and the food tasted great. Similar to Morocco, the rice was flavorful and excellent. There were a few different kinds of beef which were terrific as well. The potatoes were also great and while I could almost feel the cholesterol entering my veins I really enjoyed it. We left kind of wishing we had ordered one plate each, but we moved on. Probably the most common dish in Bosnia is Ćevapi which is basically minced meat fingers spilling out of a pita, served with fries and if your lucky some of that red spicy tomato sauce on the side. This along with many of their other dishes is very close to Turkish cuisine and I ended up having this dish a few times before I left Bosnia. It's cheap, simple and usually pretty good. When it comes to details about the meat, you simply don't ask and I of course didn't. I'm certainly no major food connoisseur but I'm picky so you can bet if I like it, it's probably pretty good.
We hung around the bridge a little longer while some divers were busy taking money to jump off the bridge. Apparently the water is very cold and the bridge is really high so it became a magnet for the wide eyed tourists. The divers had lots of strategies to garner more cash from the willing and enthusiastic crowd, and they delayed and delayed jumping until they knew they had secured as much money as possible.
The diver tricked the crowd into which side he was going to jump off from, only letting the people who had donated to the cause know for sure which ended up being kind of disappointing since I fell for the trick myself and missed it. The picture you see is of the decoy. This guy acted like he was going to jump while the real jumper went to the other side amid the distraction. Oh well, it wasn't quite interesting enough to wait around for another hour to see it again. We continued walking around taking in the city. We didn't really spend much money except for my friend proudly negotiating himself into the first of 3 rugs he'd purchase on this trip. We visited the local grocery store which is always a favorite thing for me to do. You can tell a lot about a countries culture by what's available at the grocery store in my opinion. As evening fell we hit the bed early, mainly because of the previous nights lack of air-conditioning (therefore sleep), and the big day ahead in Sarajevo. It's sad turning off the lights in these cities because you know in your heart you'll probably never be there again the rest of your life.
Overall, Mostar was a great introduction to Bosnia and I really enjoyed the city. While it was beautiful, Mostar, like the rest of Bosnia and much of the Balkans region, still has a long way to go in terms of moving forward. There were positives for sure and it became clear to me that Bosnia is not extremely poor, at least compared to many other places in the world. People are definitely not starving here like some may think, and there were few if any sightings of homelessness. There were signs of modern life sprouting throughout the city and its surroundings and things certainly appear to be doing as well as expected considering what happened in this region only 16 or 17 years ago. Environmental education and concerns are definitely a dominant and concerning issue though, and that would repeat itself on our entire Balkans trip. It couldn't have rang more true than when I sat my empty drink bottle down to take a picture above the river in Mostar, and a boy came running over, grabbed my bottle and hurled it into the river below. He had a big smile on his face like he was showing me a shortcut or doing me some kind of favor. I thought it was somewhat symbolic of a bigger problem, and its even heartbreaking considering the beautiful man-made and natural scenery this great country offers. We would encounter people dumping their garbage on the side of the road more than once as well, with little or no trash receptacles in sight. Sometimes you don't even stop to think about some of the basic things that seem so normal to us like recycling or simply disposing of garbage properly. Overall though, I saw bright signs of growth in Bosnia and I was encouraged that people can endure so much and come back from it.
More about Mostar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostar
More about Bosnia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina
Next . . . . . Sarajevo!
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