Blogs from South, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe - page 5

After having travelled from a country where begging is illegal, it was a mini shock to the system to encounter lots of gypsies begging on arrival at Mostar bus station. It was a bit stressful because I had tourist touts trying to get me to stay at their hostel etc and one of my flip flops fell apart while I was running to get my luggage off the coach which I had forgotten about, so I had to change shoes. Following that ordeal, I paid the luggage storage and set off for Stari Grad (Old Town). The route there took us (me and a girl I knew from my previous hostel in Dubrovnik) past burnt out and bombed buildings. I felt almost in awe as the recent devastation in Bosnia was now a stark reality. We ... read more

We’d had quite a good few days in Sarajevo, and leaving was hard; the stunningly beautiful drive through the mountains of Southern Bosnia made it that bit easier. The bloke on the cruiser in front of us thought the same, repeatedly risking his life to take photos while leaning through the corners one handed. We headed more or less south, towards Mostar. As we drove, the country dried out, becoming much more Mediterranean, rougher, dustier, more to my taste, less to Klaire’s. We passed through Mostar and headed for the tiny nearby town of Blagaj, about a ten minute drive. There were a number of campsites around. And half of them were shut for the winter. It was the first of the month, and that signified the end of summer for many. We started to get ... read more

26 June – got the bus to Mostar to see the Old Bridge (of course). The iconic 1566 old bridge which was rebuilt after being blown up during the “conflict”. It took 4 1/2 hrs on bus from Split to Mostar - thought it would be 3 hrs only (not). The strangely named Motel (in terms of the motel – God knows where you would park!) Kriva Cuprija (MKC), overlooks the smaller Crooked Bridge (Kriva Cuprija) which was also a victim of the conflict and has also been rebuilt. It is seen as a model for the Old Bridge. The MKC sits right above a small burbling stream which feeds into the main river and my room was right above it (as are most I think) – lovely to have no noise other than the stream ... read more

On my last afternoon in Sarajevo I visited an old synagogue, which today serves as the Jewish Museum: once again I was struck by the extreme lack of visitors (and low entry charge) at this small but interesting and informative museum. I talked at length to the curator, who I assume is a member of Sarajevo's small remaining Jewish community. Since the 15th century the city had a large, vibrant and socially-accepted Jewish community (mostly descended from Jews expelled from Spain), but under the Nazi occupation they suffered immensely. I also visited a museum next to the spot where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed, which was dedicated to that event and its preceding history. This was possibly the dullest and most uninformative museums I've ever visited, but as entry only cost 2KM (€1) I can hardly ... read more

We got up fairly early this morning, drove two hours on a very, very windy rode to Bosnia. (Gina almosted puked) The first time that Gina and Dad had come to Medjugorje it was this very little, very old town, with its big church that all of the pilgrims would come to. There was something about that place that used to be like magic, it was so peaceful, and holy and joyous. Well... when we got there today, 15 years later we didn't even recognize where we were. Our hearts sank as this beautful memory and place has been tarnished with ugly commercialism. There were resorts everywhere, stores all selling useless items for way to much money. This once considered holy city has now turned into a street fair. Very sad. So we climbed the famous ... read more