Battlements To Battlescars

---

Rob left the heating on 30°C all night so we both woke up pretty warm. Neither of us wanted to go back to old town so instead we walked into a part of the new town called Lapad. We bought some stamps so that we could get our postcards sent off and then we were stuck for something to do. We both discussed the possibility of getting something to eat and began to search for somewhere. It was only when we found a pleasant Italian that we discussed with each other that we weren't hungry. After this we headed to a supermarket and bought bread, fruit, dried fruit etc for the bus journey. We sat outside the supermarket and had baguette and the jam from the previous day.

Seeing as though we couldn't think of anything to do we decided to catch an earlier bus. We caught the three a clock bus from Dubrovnik to Mostar and arrived around half six. It was freezing when we arrived and there was snow on the ground. As we stepped off our bus a girl confronted us asking if we had accommodation and to get rid of her I said that we had already booked a place. When I told her where, she got out her mobile and got the owner to come and pick us up.

With our bags on board we had a quick look at the Mostar sights from the car. Instead of explaining what was what the first thing the lady from the hostel asked us was whether we wanted anywhere to stay in Sarajevo. In the quick journey to the hostel the effect of the war was evident; bullet holes splattered over buildings and some buildings were only shells.

The hostel was part of a high rise flat on the second floor. Upon entering the hostel we stepped directly into the common room and were asked to take our shoes off, there were two computers in the room and a small kitchen off to the side. Our room was a three bed dorm without anyone else in, which was nice. After an uncomfortable introduction; where we were unsure on what the hostess wanted us to say, we set off for a restaurant she recommended.

The restaurant was empty other than a couple of New Zealand lads who came on the same bus as us from Dubrovnik. To start we had a vegetarian plate; a lovely assortment of cheeses, potatoes, spinach, carrots and other veggies. The main courses were less special but filled a hole none-the-less. On the way back from the restaurant we went over the famous bridge of Mostar; a bridge which Rob's parents walked over 32 years ago. Although back then it had not been blown up by Croats and later rebuilt.

At the hostel we went on the computers to make use of the free Internet access; uploading blogs and what not. When I put the headset on to ring my dad the hostess informed us that we weren't allowed to speak after 11; this is somewhat understandable due to the small size of the hostel. About twenty minutes later she came back and told us that the computers weren't to be used after 11 and spent a significant amount of time looking for a sign that illustrated her point as if to justify it. With that we left the computers and went to bed quite abruptly.

---

Photos

Mostar Bridge
The first sight be night

Vegetarian Plate
How vegie should be done!