I didn’t know what to expect when I first decided to go to Bosnia. I still remember growing up in the 90’s and seeing pictures of the Balkan war and not really knowing what it was about. Bosnia itself has always been around and made up part of the former Yugoslavia, a country full of racial tensions which reached there simmering point again in the late 80’s and early 90’s. My first stop in Bosnia was Mostar a small town with a big history nestled in a valley surrounded by treeless mountains. This town is most famous for its old bridge which sits about 25m above the river below and has its own dive club where the divers jump off it. The bridge was hundreds of years old. During the war this town was under siege by both Serbian soldiers and Croatian soldiers with the Bosnian’s in between. The front-line was a road which separates the old town from the new town and even today there is a distinct separation between people who are of Croatian decent and those of Bosnian decent and symbolically this street is still that point. At the height of this war the Croatians sent a mortar shell into the bridge and blew it up destroying hundreds of years of history, today it has been rebuilt and is really a symbol of the strength of the town.
Wandering the streets of Mostar there are still hundreds of ruined buildings which had been bombed but never repaired or knocked down, there are buildings with mortar holes and bullet holes in them and there is still even the tallest building which looks half destroyed and riddled with mortar holes where Croatians would sit and aim there sniper rifles at people trying to get food and water for their families.
Today the Bosnian people are warm and welcoming and definitely some of the friendliest people I have come across in Europe. They are predominantly a Muslim race but quite modern in their beliefs. During my stay in Mostar I stayed at a guesthouse called Madja’s rooms. This had a real family feel to it with Madja meeting me at the bus-station and then putting me in a car with her slightly insane brother Bata and then meeting her mother who was really in charge of the guesthouse and made the best morning coffee.
Here I met some nice guys from San-Fran Mark and Kevin and Dave from the California. We went around the town on our first day and then went out at night to see some of the relaxing café’s and bars that they have in town. At night just before dark the mosque all put on their lights and the call to prayer comes out which is an amazing experience to see. The first night there we went to a place call Ali-Baba’s cave which was a bar inside a cave. Here we smoked a sheesha pipe and drank some beers.
The following day we went on the infamous tour ran by Bata. We all piled into an old Mercedes van named Bella, and to make enough chairs a poof was placed in the car for someone to sit on. Our first stop was the cross which overlooks Mostar, built by the Croatian’s, this dominates the city skyline and is slightly inappropriate in a majority Muslim town. We climbed to the top of the cross which felt like it was about to fall over. Our next stop was an old fort of, which had spectacular view into the surrounding valley. The highlight here was the beautiful juices that an old Bosnian widow made for us to taste.
Following this and some crazy driving by Bata we stopped off at a waterfall. This had multiple levels and was fun to explore. There were also some natural Jacuzzis and was so refreshing given the heat of the day. We also went on a rope swing which was about 15m above the river where it started. Our final stop was an old mosque called which was situated next to a cave which had a river flowing out of it but it has never been found where this water actually comes from. After an awesome dinner we went inside the cave and the mosque and then had the most delicious Bosnian coffee. After 13 hours we finally arrived back and went out to an outdoor bar and drank some cocktails and smoked more sheesha.
Dave and I were up early the next morning to get on the train to Sarajevo. The train passed through so many tunnels that I lost count and then went through a number of mountain passes. It is rated one of the most scenic trips in Europe. We arrived at the train station in Sarajevo and were picked up by Harris, the owner of the hostel we were staying in. Harris is very entrepreneurial and at the age of 16 he offered up a room or 2 in his parents’ house without telling them on Hostel-world. After a few letters came in his parent’s found out and eventually let him start the business. Now he runs his own tours and also has a travel agency. For a 21 year old he works so hard. His hostel has an amazing view over the city and we spent many a night on the terrace with 2L beers and the world’s largest pizza’s!
Sarajevo, home of the 1984 winter games, was surrounded for 3 years during the Balkan war by the Serbian army while the world sat on its hands and did nothing. The town sits in almost a bowel surrounded by mountains and has one of the most beautiful old towns I have see on this trip. After exploring the town and also the nightlife which consisted of a lot of turbo-folk with Dave, Harris and two other Americans Matt and Mark we were finally able to go on Harris´tour of his town. We ended up at the tunned which ran under the UN controlled airport which gave the town a passage from which to get food and other supplies. Then onto the old Olympic Bobsled which was destroyed by the Serbians. Finally, the 1984 Olympic stadium and the old town. The most moving thing was Harris´ story of his time during the war which has to be experienced to do it any justice.
After 4 days here I went back to Mostar to catch up with Wendy and her friend Laura and then onto Hvar in Croatia.
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