Blogs from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe

Notre 2e et dernier arrêt en Bosnie a été à Mostar. C'est une petite ville très touristique qui est connue à cause de son beau pont et la belle rivière bleue-verte qui passe en dessous. C'était vraiment beau et comme les 5000 autres touristes qui sont passés par là en même temps que nous, l'activité principale consistait à traverser le pont plusieurs fois et se photographier avec de plusieurs points de vue :) On a réussi malgré tout le monde... et on n'était même pas dans la haute saison.. je ne veux même pas m'imaginer c'est comment en juillet-août. Vous remarquerez que Nellie n'apparaît pas sur plusieurs de nos photos... c'est qu'elle dormait confortablement dans sa poussette (ou le porte-bébé) la cocotte! Il y avait aussi beaucoup de marchands d'artisanat mais il y avait tellement de ... read more

The people of Sarajevo endured the longest siege in history during the course of the Yugoslav wars from 1992-1995. This is an historically significant European city, and her 300,000 citizens lived a life of hell for four long years under relentless shelling and small arms fire from enemy forces, who occupied strategically important hills surrounding the city. They also had to deal with ever vigilent snipers who wreaked a deadly toll on those brave enough to run the gauntlet of sniper alley. Sarajevo has been the recipient of a massive reconstruction fund since the cessation of hostilities in 1995, however it's painfully obvious with thousands of bullet holes violently impacted on building facades that the city was shot up all to hell in the war. As a result of being besieged during those bleak years the ... read more

Mostar – idän ja lännen kohtauspaikka Balkanin etnisten sotien aikana 1990 luvun alussa useimmille varmasti tulivat tutuiksi kuvat raunioituneista taloista ja kärsivistä ihmisistä. Minullakin nuo muistikuvat ovat hyvin mielessä ja aivan erityisesti mieleeni on jäänyt yksi yksityiskohta sodan järjettömyyksistä. Mostarin vanhan sillan tuho. Bosnian alueella Mostarissa on 1550 luvulla rakennettu kaunis silta joka ylittää Neretva joen. Silta on yhdistänyt jo aikojen alusta idän ja lännen, kristinuskon ja islamin sekä alueella asuneet eri kansallisuudet, bosniakit ja kroatit. Bosnian sodan aikana 1991 silta vaurioitui ensimmäisiä kertoja ja marraskuussa 1993 se tuhoutui lopullisesti kroattien tykistötulituksessa. Sota ei tietenkään tunne armoa ja mikään ei ole turvassa – jotenkin vaan tuntui jo silloin, että on niin turhaa tuhota vuosisatojen takais... read more

Nice little inland trip to this city. Great place to buy gifts. You can park near the old town (however, some locals try to collect parking fees where they are not authorized, so park away from them). Had a few beers at Johnie's place (see photos). There are divers that jump off the local bridge here that provide some good entertainment. Also, if you are in to seeing the effects of war, you can see many bombed out buildings here which should always be a reminder to all of us the after effects. ... read more

After having travelled from a country where begging is illegal, it was a mini shock to the system to encounter lots of gypsies begging on arrival at Mostar bus station. It was a bit stressful because I had tourist touts trying to get me to stay at their hostel etc and one of my flip flops fell apart while I was running to get my luggage off the coach which I had forgotten about, so I had to change shoes. Following that ordeal, I paid the luggage storage and set off for Stari Grad (Old Town). The route there took us (me and a girl I knew from my previous hostel in Dubrovnik) past burnt out and bombed buildings. I felt almost in awe as the recent devastation in Bosnia was now a stark reality. We ... read more