Mostar

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I wasn't intending on going to Mostar but it seemed like every other backpacker in Europe was making the point of visiting the rebuilt Stari Most or Old Bridge. It also meant I wouldn't have to go through Zagreb twice to visit Split.

I was picked up by the hostel owner from the train station and she gave me the potted history of the region during the war. Originally no one in Mostar thought they would be brought into the troubles even when all the Serbians in the area mysteriously left one day but when the war did break out she was one of many sent over to Croatia, originally only for a week or so. However, when the Croats decided that they would like the Herzegovina area for themselves and started battling with the Bosnians she was then sent to Scandinavia to live in a refugee camp. When she returned to Mostar she couldn't recognise the place.

As we drove through the town you can see that it sustained far more damage than Sarajevo, with whole streets a mass of burnt out buildings still. But as it was pointed out, Sarajevo was the capital so that needed rebuilding first.

The Stari Most has only been here for a few years as the original which had been standing for over 400 years was systematically destroyed by first Serb bombing and then Croat bombing. It's an odd bridge which has very steep sides so you have steps which you walk up and walk down and on a good day you get to see the locals diving off it into the river. Apparently there had been a diving tournament a few days before I arrived though so I wasn't able to see anyone doing it.

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