Blogs from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 5

Admittedly we are not the world’s quickest travelers. Like global snails we have covered a lot of ground in the last 5 years. Staying in most cities for one, two or even three months at a time has given us an opportunity to settle into a community and observe life that most visitors do not get a chance to see. Living in small apartments in normal neighborhoods affords us with the unique possibility to see everyday people living their lives outside of the view that faster travelers probably don’t get to witness. Perhaps a type of travel less about seeing famous sites and more about seeing the subtle differences that make each place unique. Not restricted by time, we have moved around the globe at a glacial pace that has allowed us a good amount of ... read more

With the sun barely up we shuffled onto the bus, as Zoe and the mammoth continued to doze I sat in awe as the incredible delights of Bosnia’s countryside passed by. Having attempted several photographs to show it’s splendour the speed of travel and the winding roads didn’t allow me to capture it properly. Woolly says – I wasn’t dozing I was thinking! I knew that Jo was excited to be visiting Sarajevo, the capital city and as I joined her in admiring the views along the Miljacka River the wonders just kept coming. It was a stark contrast pulling into a small town and seeing the pockmarked buildings once more. Having seen so much of the troubles and struggles that the city had under gone on the news through out the early 90’s I knew ... read more

Since leaving Ljubljana we have travelled through some stunningly beautiful countryside, which is as close as we'll ever get to travelling through the movie set of a fairy-tale. Yes, it is that magical! Slovenia's countryside is dotted with small villages, and every single one of them seems to have a castle and a church. What's impressed us is how connected to the land Slovenians are.....every house has a garden....flower and vegetable, plus an abundance of fruit trees, and grape-vines. The apple trees are in flower, and there are new potato plants poking their heads through the rich alluvial soils which are a feature of this country. The wild-flower meadows a beautiful, and we even saw some cattle and sheep along the way. People are working the land, with quite traditional implements, and many of them are ... read more

It's Monday morning, time to leave Podgorica and visit my friends in Mostar. Weather is not ideal for hitchhiking but comparing to Tuesday morning, with several warnings for wind and heavy rain issued, today is the day to say goodbye to Podgorica. There's 232km in front of me and with some luck, it's doable in one day. I got my backpack packed after breakfast and waited for rain to stop so I can start walking to my first hitchhiking spot. It didn't look like it's going to stop so I decided it's time to go despite the rain. On my way to a spot I bought some bread and water for my journey and picked some cardboard from shopping centre so I could make my signs up. I was at the spot just before noon. My ... read more

After a great visit in Cacak Serbia we are on our way to Sarajevo, why? Well I guess I remember the Olypics there and wanted to see it. So we set our Garmin and off we went, now with no horn in our car. Enjoyed the stunning scenery along the way even if it was a bit raining. Bosnia has recovered from the war better near the sea than in the east, Sarajevo was a bit of a shocker to see, still bullet holes visable in the walls of buildings, still standing are partially destroyed apartment buildings and homes. Driving in it looks like a typical city of the west but a closer look shows the saddness of it all. The people going on about their lives amongest the rubble and distruction , no money to ... read more