Blogs from Mostar, South, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 3

18 April 2015 Saturday. The clouds with light rain that moved into Dubrovnik the previous evening had settled over the city with a promise of heavier rain. Rather than giving me a chance to walk the wall, we decided just to head up the coast and then inland to Mostar before ending the day in Split. Driving up the coast from Dubrovnik the weather improved somewhat. We crossed the narrow bridge of land that provides Bosnia-Herzegovina access to the Adriatic Sea, and then turned inland to enter Bosnia proper...more passport stamps going out of Croatia and into Bosnia and then more coming back...altogether crossing the border 10 times on this trip. So on we drove to Mostar. Prior to the breakdown of Yugoslavia beginning in 1991, Bosnia had been a multicultural country, even hosting the Winter ... read more

Hello, Mostar! We headed out of Hotel Sokak in Sarajevo at 8:00 this morning, taking a bus southbound. About an hour and a half in, we stopped at Tito's Bunker, which is built into a hillside and designed to withstand at least a 12 KT nuclear blast. Although it starts at ground level, since it's built into a hill it gets as deep as 200 meters at one point. The design was impressive, and can apparently hold up to 300 people for up to 6 months. They still regularly test and check everything, so it's still useable if (hopefully not) need be. After that, we stopped by a restaurant just outside of town where we got roasted lamb from the spit. I don't mean figuratively or lamb shank. I mean that the entire lamb was on ... read more

Heute also die Besichtigung von Mostar. Ich habe mir das zu einem Museum hergerichtete Muslibegovic-Haus angesehen, in dessen Nebengebäude ich auch übernachtet habe. Dann bin ich in die Altstadt und habe mir das Biscevica Cosak angesehen. Ebenfalls ein Museumshaus. Dann bin ich über die Brücke und habe gegessen. Später habe ich mir noch die kleine Crooked Bridge angesehen. Danach habe ich noch die Karadozbeg Moschee besichtigt bevor ich in der Madrassa der Roznamedzi Moschee Kaffee getrunken habe. Zuletzt habe ich noch bei den Ruinen des Hotels Neretva vorbeigesehen, welches im Bürgerkrieg an der Frontlinie lag und zerstört wurde. Heute abend hoffe ich, dass ich das Fussballspiel wenigstens im Internet auf dem Smartphone sehen kann. Im Moment sitze ich im schönen Innenhof des Hotels und plane die nächsten Tage. Morgen werde ich ja ins sagenhafte Dubrovnik fahren. ... read more

The hope that it would stop raining during the bus journey from Sarajevo was misplaced. It did cease for a while, but it was only temporary. We had a bit more luck with these bus tickets. After our last experience, we had the benefit of knowing which window would dispense the Mostar domestic tickets. Mostar is in Hercogovina - literally Duke's Land. The scenery was quite stunning as we made our westwards. Sadly, the Bosnian countryside does not offer the opportunity to explore it as fully as you might wish. There are still plenty of suspicious little signs, that indicate you might receive more than you bargain for in the shape of a landmine should you go off the beaten track. The journey took 2 1/2 hours and was once again littered with impromptu stops to ... read more

I know it’s wonderful to keep in touch and let you know how I am. I love to do it too. But sometimes, just sometimes, it borders on hard work and not much like a holiday. Typing is typing no matter that it’s project related or personal – it takes time and effort and well, sometimes gets in the way of fun. Or rather, sleep. I’d like to sleep just now but here goes… I’ve made it to Mostar and along the way have had some interesting adventures and seen amazing sights. The bike chugs along. She’s a little petulant (it’s not me it’s her!). She doesn’t always listen to what I tell her and she is never, ever quiet. She makes noises when she ought not to and at times disagrees totally with what I ... read more