Blogs from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 32

Mostar was mind-boggling. One of the main mind-screwing things was that the door to our apartment was bullet-ridden. But that stood out massively/paled in comparison to all the bullet holes... everywhere. And mortar marks. oh yes and gutted, destroyed buildings with no rooves and only one whole wall - that was the one shared by a bright pink, modern, immaculate, apartment block. The people were friendly though, and the food was excellent, and very cheap, cheaper than you can eat in nz! ... read more

The residents seem unselfconscious about the Swiss-cheese like buildings that line every street. It is impossible to walk ten feet without seeing another at least partially destroyed grocery store or apartment. Bullet-sized holes and artillery shell explosions are evident everywhere. Many of the near-rubble buildings have warnings posted: NO PARKING OR CLIMBING for fear of the building completely collapsing or undetonated mines exploding. But this is not an entry about destruction. It is a story of rebuilding. Upon arrival into Mostar, Bosnia, I was taken in by the Derviskadic family, who runs Pension Oscar, a beautiful new white home overlooking the emerald river that divides the city. I am their only guest and feel more like a visiting friend than a boarder: we all share the same bathroom. To begin the discourse, I ask about ... read more

Our route until April 2007Sarajevo was not in our original itineray, but Bosnia was included in our railcard so we decided that the 12hour train journey to the capital city would be worth it- it really was! We arrived really late, but were greeted off the train by a very friendly man who spoke no English but knew about 4 words of German and had very imaginative sign language. Our hostel was right on the edge of "Pigeon Square" which is a really lively meeting point for locals because it borders onto the Turkish market and the city's main mosque. It was really nice because we were able to hear the call to prayer which rang across the city five times per day. Also the balcony leading to our hostel room had an excellent view across ... read more

I left Dubrovnik at 8 in the morning on the 12th on the way to Mostar. The granny I had been staying with asked me what were my plans and I foolishly told her what I was truly doing. On the bus I met Mic, a friendly english guy whom had some interesting adventures in Croatia. We followed the coast for a while, which was really amazing, and then went inland. We didn't get stamped in and we never really figured out when we entered the country as you could still see croatian flags well into Bosnia. The landscape was beautiful, rugged and mountaineous. Okay, before I go deeper into the blog I'll try to explain the war in Bosnia as it's such an important part of the live of the people there. But it's a ... read more

The dark decade It was the beginning of the 90's and Europe had just gone through the euphoria of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 'Iron Curtain' when things started to take a turn for the worst in Yugoslavia. I was about 12 years old when it started. Old enough to understand that something terrible was happening in that country where some of my friends had been on holiday, but too young to understand what exactly happened. One of the reasons for choosing this destination was to try and understand a bit more about this 'dark decade'. During my first week I hadn't been confronted that much with the war but that was about to change as I left Montenegro for Dubrovnik. Explaining what exactly happened and why in less than 500 pages, is ... read more