Blogs from Mostar, South, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 6

Caught a ride over to the Old Town early this morning on Gogy's trip to work. This would give me the full day to explore the town plus I have no idea where his place is in relation to downtown so the ride helped greatly. Went and checked out the Stari Most (Old Bridge) as I was nearby already. It's easily the number one attraction here. The original bridge was built in the 15th century I think but of course it was destroyed during the war. It's really so simple but something about it just makes it stand out. The setting is great too with a few mosques in the background with the nearby fountains that surround the town as the final backdrop. Walked along the river a bit until I ran into this Muslim cemetery ... read more

"The bridge that was turned into ash and then rose like phoenix the bird" When we were in Bosnia and Herzegovina we decided to make a stop in Mostar on our way down to Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea. Mostar is situated in Herzegovina and the city is known mostly for the bridge Stari Most in the Old Town of Mostar. The bridge was built in the 16th century when Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were Turks and their religion was Islam. The style they had the bridge built in is influenced by this. Mostar has since long way back been inhabited by both Muslims and Croats. In fact the city has been quite clearly divided into a Muslim part on one side of the river and a Croatian part ... read more

Oh, wow...... Caught the early morning bus from Dubrovnik to Mostar. The scenery along the journey was great, first up along the Dalmation coast (going in and out of the Bosnian coastal enclave in Nuem) before turning inland over the border again to the mountains of Bosnia. We arrived in the valley of Mostar, checked into the hostel near the bus station before heading into town. There's just one main attraction in Mostar - the Old Bridge (or Stari Most) from which the town derives its name. With features like this, there's always the possibility that they've been over-hyped so much that they end up being underwhelming. Not this time. Walking my way down the main commercial street and into the cobbled streets of the old town, suddenly the bridge presents itself. Stunning. Words can't describe ... read more

Ok, we know that some of you think we're still in Dubrovnik celebrating Maja & Steve's wedding...it's for you that we're finishing our blog. We'll be honest and tell you the final blogs were all written last summer, we just never uploaded all the photos and hit the 'publish' button. We're very sorry. New life in Canada got in the way. For almost a year. No excuse, however, and we understand if out of protest you refuse to read the rest of the blogs. Admittedly, part of us still wishes we were stuck in Dubrovnik with everyone. Anywhoo, let's pretend it's last August... We packed up Saturday night and left bright and early on Sunday morning for the Dubrovnik bus station. A rushed breakkie across the street and on the bus we were with Sonia and ... read more

DAY 106 Dubrovnik to Mostar to Split?! VIA Makarska We have decided to take the 8:00 AM bus to the Split this morning via Mostar, Bosnia & Hercegovina. It's about three hours to Mostar. We drive along the coast of Croatia is the most beautiful of all coastlines. The little villages tucked into the valleys and the small marinas scattered along make this such a scenic picturesque drive and we then head inland. The border crossing is uneventful and we don't even get a stamp in our passport. Nobody even knows that we have been there. The customs officials look at our passports for a second and nod. We want a stamp to add to our collection. 11.30am and Mostar. We check the bus time tables to see if it is feasible to go to Medugorje. ... read more