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Published: September 13th 2016
Mostar
Leaping off the bridgeThe hotel we are staying has been great although a bit more expensive than we usually pay but it has been worth it. Our room is lovely with a balcony and a fantastic breakfast, so we made sure we booked the bus a little later. As we booked out the hotel staff gave us two small packages with homemade biscuits from their kitchen with a thankyou note. The two ladies behind the reception were excited we were going to Sarajevo and gave us some tips on food and said it was a great city.
The bus terminal was a short walk and we knew where to stand, a nice big bus pulled in to the platform next to ours giving us hope it would be a good trip. Then we looked up and saw a mini bus coming our way and we just looked at each other and said “I bet this is ours” and yes it was. It was modern and comfortable but from previous experiences we knew it probably did the milk run through the countryside. We left at 11.30am and
Sarajevo
Latin Bridge and the assassination corner the first stop was for the driver to buy more smokes he was a chain smoker and I had seen him throw the empty pack out the window so I knew this one was going to happen. Next we stopped for petrol, then to pick someone up and then for the driver’s lunch break while everyone sat on board, all this only 1.5 hours into the trip. We eventually made it to the border which was a very easy crossing, you stay on the bus and the guards come and collect your passports and after a few minutes they are returned.
As we got closer to Bosnia and Herzegovina the countryside started to change from flat fields to hills gradually getting higher and now across the border it is beautiful. The only downside is the rain was getting heavy and the higher we climbed the more fog surrounded us. We stopped at every little village along the way with the driver having a good yarn to everyone and us wondering if we would ever get to our destination. About 20 minutes from Sarajevo we come to a T-intersection where we needed to turn right but we turned
Sarajevo
Shops in old Sarajevo left and off to another small village. Finally, on our way again and we realised that we were being taken to the bus terminal out near the airport miles from the centre and our 6 hour trip had turned into 7.5 hours. We got our bags and looked around, Scott walked off to find an ATM or money exchange which are usually around the terminal and I got speaking to another backpacker from our bus who looked as confused as us. He asked a local shopkeeper where the nearest ATM was (why didn’t Scott think of that rather than marching around in the rain?) and got told it was at the shopping centre we passed miles down the road – great. When Scott came back we said goodbye and good luck to our fellow traveller as he was going in a different direction and walked over to a taxi much to our relief he accepted Euros, I guess he gets it all the time and Euros are welcomed in most shops in these regions even though they have their own currency.
We are staying at a hotel on the edge of the old town and we finally
Mostar
Bridge at night got in at 8.00pm so it definitely was not the most direct journey but I will look on the bright side and say it was the scenic tour of the Bosnian countryside that people pay good money for – Oh that’s right we did pay good money for this trip.
It was raining quite hard so once we sorted out our bags we ran down to the old town for dinner, looking for an ATM and a place that had inside tables. Found the ATM and got out some KM (convertible Marka or BAM) which is 1.3 to the AUD$. The cafes look great but it was too wet to sit outside, we found one that served (well they all do) cevapi which is like a skinless sausage or kofta. It was served in the best pita bread I have ever had with a cheese similar to ricotta that has a slightly sour taste that was so creamy called kajmak and onion, all of it was very delicious.
Day 233 Wednesday 7th September 2016 – Sarajevo Today is still drizzling but not enough to stop us so
Sarajevo
Old Theatre after breakfast we wandered through the old town it is like a miniature version of Istanbul with small mosques and minarets and markets. It is full of cafes with baklava and Turkish delight and shops with goods that you would see in Turkey plus a few locally made hand crafts. There is a sprinkling of funky shops selling jewellery, bags and clothes similar to Balmain markets in Sydney but with a Sarajevo twist. I weakened and brought a groovy pair of handmade earrings but stopped myself from buying any bags or shoes but there is always tomorrow.
We walked to the spot where on Sunday 28 June 1914 an event happened that changed the world. On the corner near the Latin Bridge Archduke of Austria-Este Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were killed by Gavrilo Princip a member of the Black Hand. Earlier that day the group had tried to kill them by throwing a grenade but it blew up one of the cars behind theirs. After a rest at the Governors Palace Franz insisted on visiting the wounded at hospital but for some reason nobody told the drivers and near the Latin Bridge realising they were
Sarajevo
What a plate of cevapi looks like going the wrong way they were told to go to the hospital. When your number is up it is up, because sitting in the café opposite the Latin Bridge was Princip thinking the assassination was a failure and he looks out the window and here is Franz and one of the cars in the group has stalled turning around. He jumped up and walked across and shot them dead and this single event lead to World War I. You hear about these important moments in history that change everything but standing here it is hard to believe. A twist of fate and in seconds something starts that cannot be stopped, 20 million killed, another 20-50 million killed in the 1918 Influenza (directly attributable to WW1), Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire and Tzarist empire end along with the monarchy in Germany, Russian revolution and the rise of Communism, followed on the heels by Fascism in Europe and another war. The war was probably inevitable but you wonder if it had started later would the results been better or worse? Gavrilo Princip life did not end well as he was jailed and suffered skeletal tuberculosis which led to an arm being amputated and
Sarajevo
The pressure died of malnutrition and the disease weighing 40 kilos at the age of 23 in 1918, shortly before the war he started, ended.
Scott has been in need of a haircut for the last few towns, so I pushed him through a door to a tiny barbershop on the main street before the old town. This was the most entertaining experience, I will set the scene the room was 3x2 metres with one barber chair and basin and 3 seats for clients - all very cosy. Now for the description of the barber who in no way looked like but was channeling Tom Cruise in Cocktail but instead of tossing glasses in the air it was his comb and scissors. Now sitting in this tiny space did place you in the danger zone as he never stopped twirling in between every cut but he was a professional and Scott did come out with both ears and me with two eyes. We have never seen anything like it and I guess it is how he attracts customers into his shop. “Probably not the best haircut I have ever had but I guess you could call the whole thing
Sarajevo
The infamous corner a hair grazing experience – sorry bad joke” (that’s Scott’s contribution).
Walked back into the old town and passed by a shop selling Turkish Delight so we brought a few pieces, it was really nice so we will be back to buy more as it is only 6KM for a kilo, how many kilos can you eat before making yourself sick? Scott is on a mission to find out. Kept looking around until the rain got heavier and stopped for a coffee and baklava.
Tonight we went to a groovy little bar Zlatna Ribica that is full of eclectic objects and antiques playing terrible but fun early 80’s songs. Back to the same place for dinner Cevabdzinica Zeljo and have discovered this place is meant to be one of the best in town so it was a good choice.
Day 234 Thursday 8th September 2016 – Sarajevo Staying in a “boutique” hotel against my better judgement as I always believe you pay more for a room and with less quality when it is described as “boutique” and this place fits the bill. Room is
Sarajevo
One of the many "Sarajevo Roses" just okay, breakfast is rather bad (except the coffee is proper coffee machine coffee), but the staff are exceptional and thankfully the price wasn’t that much higher than elsewhere. After our cold omelette brekkie we headed down the road and dropped off our laundry and the woman running the place was able to give us some good information about the walk we were about to take, the people in Sarajevo are some of the nicest we have met on this trip.
Took off on our walk up the hill and into the suburbs to the “Yellow Bastion” that gave great views over Sarajevo. Thanks to our laundry lady we then walked further up the hill to the “White Bastion” which was higher still and as expected gave even better views. Both Bastions are old forts that once protected the city but are both in a bad state of repairs, particularly the white which is full of rubbish and covered in tags. Before heading off the laundry woman gave us the warning of “don’t stray off the road and into the forest because there are feral dogs and landmines” – unfortunately too often on our trips we have
been given that warning about landmines.
We then wandered back down the hill and into town to take a look over the shops and visit some more landmarks. Sarajevo is famous for lots of things, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the first European city to have electric trams (second in the world after San Francisco), the location for the 1984 Winter Olympics and more recently surviving the longest siege in modern history – 1425 days from 1992 to 1996. When Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia, Serbia wasn’t exactly pleased and attacked and eventually surrounded the city with a force of 18,000 men. Over the period of the siege, artillery rained down on the town and snipers shot at anyone that moved, 11,541 people died with 1500 being children. All over the city are scars to this time and the most obvious are what they call “Sarajevo Roses” which are scars on the pavement and roads where artillery shells landed (and didn’t explode) and are now painted red. Many landmarks were destroyed or damaged but thankfully most have now been rebuilt or repaired and today it is hard to believe it ever happened.
Sarajevo
Sarajevo at night You walk the streets in the sunshine with all the tourists and shoppers and cannot imagine what the residents went through only 20 years ago. We managed to spot a few roses and also visited the rebuilt City Hall before wandering home and picking up our laundry. The woman running the laundromat not only did our laundry but was able to give us some great tips on where to drink in town (maybe we looked thirsty). So after we dropped our laundry off back at home we took up one of her tips and wandered across the river to the Paris bar for a couple of drinks. The weather had been on and off showery today but had cleared up briefly on our walk to the laundromat and bar but it soon turned bad again so after a couple of drinks we went looking for a quick dinner and we went to our usual restaurant for our usual feed.
Day 235 Friday 9th September 2016 – Sarajevo to Mostar Yes, I know we keep saying that we are sad to leave a town (except Prague and Aktau) and
Sarajevo
Sarajevo rooftops leaving Sarajevo is yet another sad occasion. Had breakfast, packed and checked out by 10am, and walked the 2 blocks downhill to the taxi stand to get a taxi to the bus station. Went to the taxi that was at the front of the line and asked if he was running a meter or what it would cost to get to the bus station. He looked us up and down and enquired if the backpacks on our back would be joining us on the trip – “what these things? no we will leave them behind” – dickhead. Gave us a price of 50 Marks when the price should have been under 10 so we just both burst out laughing and walked up the line to the next guy who used a meter and got us there for 8.50 marks.
At the bus station we stood in line to buy tickets and just before we got to the counter a woman came up frantically and said her bus was just about to leave and she needed to talk to the woman at the counter so we let her in, but then the woman behind us went ballistic, and
Sarajevo
Entrance to the City Hall then tried to push in front of us as well. The woman that we let in was only 10 seconds and ran to a bus and left, the one behind got a bus 40 minutes later so no reason for the argy bargy. Our bus was due at 11.30 but didn’t turn up till 12.00 and rather than having designated seats it was first in best seats. As usual I handle the stowed luggage while Shelley gets on board to make sure she gets a non-claustrophobic seat and today thankfully our system worked well.
Full bus today that only got worse as we headed out of town and our bus picked up more locals and had them standing in the aisle. Was going to stand for a young woman so she could sit but then when I saw what she paid for a ticket which was a quarter of what we did and I thought “stuff it, I am older than her and I am staying put”. The trip took 3 hours which was longer than I had read by an hour but we passed through some of the most scenic country we have seen in Europe
Mostar
There he goes so far. Huge mountains, beautiful rivers and picturesque towns, this bus trip had it all, and sort of had us wishing we had a car and more time in this country. As we approached Mostar the rain started and persisted till we hit our destination. Before leaving the bus terminal we picked up tickets to our next town (Dubrovnik) and then did the 15 minute walk to our hotel. Started out in a drizzle and of course 2 minutes from the hotel it bucketed down so we arrived like drowned rats.
Our room is sort of an apartment with a little kitchenette and decorated in Islamic style and with a 4 posted bed, one of the better rooms we have stayed in. Dropped off our bags and because the rain had eased went for a walk down town. Wandered through the tourist area before parking at a bar where the drinks were 4 marks each – rip off, so we moved on. Found another bar where they were a reasonable 2.50 marks so sat for couple before going for a feed and then home. First impressions of the town are that it is fabulous and has a
Mostar
Rebuilt Mostar Bridge great feel, and is very picturesque. A lot of tourists but not overwhelming and it is so good to hear the live call to prayer again. The worst thing we found was the pathway around the tourist area near the bridge is made from river stones jutting out of the concrete, and not only is it ankle twisting to walk on but in the wet so slippery. We both nearly went A over T a couple of times and saw others nearly doing the same – OMG I think I have officially become a geriatric, I am now complaining about how dangerous the footpath is.
Day 236 Saturday 10th September 2016 – Mostar Got up at 8.30 for our breakfast at our hotel which was served in the leafy courtyard, quite brave of the woman to have us eat out here as black clouds rolled over but thankfully we were able to eat our breakfast without any rain. Our feed this morning was an endless procession of food that kept being plonked on the table – we must have looked hungry. All the food was fresh and we
Mostar
Overlooking the creek finished it off with two huge pieces of baklava. Whilst we ate bees were buzzing around us, but the only thing they were interested in landing on was the ham. Didn’t care less about the honey, fruit, butter or anything else on the table, only the ham – have no idea what was in that ham that had them so excited, but I did have a mental image of a pig walking around a field covered in horny bees.
After our feed we headed up the road to what is called “Sniper tower”. Bosnia has many ethnic groupings but generally speaking there are the Muslim Bosnians, Orthodox Christian Serbians and The Catholic Croatians, and over the centuries there has been inter marriages to muddy the distinctions. In the Bosnian civil war, poor old Bosnia copped it from all sides, with Serbia attacking from one side to “defend” their people and Croatia from the other to “defend” their people. Sarajevo was besieged by Serbians whilst here in Mostar it was the Croatians who did the besieging. All around this town you will see bullet and shell holes in buildings to remind you of the carnage and overlooking one
Mostar
Park with sniper tower behind of the plazas is an empty shell of a building called sniper tower as it was from here that snipers shot at anything that moved in town. Bosnia is now a patchwork quilt of ethnic districts and autonomous zones which seems to help keep the peace. From here we walked down to the star attraction of Mostar which is the Ottoman bridge that spans the Neretva River, it was destroyed by Croatian artillery in 1993 and then thankfully rebuilt in 2004. Again had to walk down that dangerous footpath through a much larger crush of people today. Just near the bridge nearly two thirds of the footpath is taken over by café seating and stores selling souvenirs so it becomes a veritable crush of people to get through. This is a beautiful town in a fabulous setting with an amazing old (new) bridge which ticks all the boxes for tourists like us but feel it has got to the point that the place just isn’t big enough for everyone. Just up the road a massive hotel complex is being built and I just couldn’t imagine what the place will be like when that is finished and at the peak of
Mostar
Neretva River high season – maybe they need to build another bridge?
To add to the attraction of the bridge, locals jump off it every hour, which draws even more people in. Before each jump guys run around collecting money and glad to give it as you couldn’t pay me enough money to jump from it. Whilst we were waiting a tourist came up and wanted to jump but was stopped. Apparently there is a technique and you have to be trained and only last week someone was injured doing the jump. Spent all morning and part of the afternoon walking around the old town and after passing over the bridge three times, and due to the crush of tourists do not want to ever do it again. Black clouds came rolling in the afternoon and so headed home just before a huge rain storm hit that kept us house bound for a couple of hours.
Most of the tourist in town seem to be day trippers from Sarajevo or Dubrovnik so again early in the morning or after 5pm is the best time to walk around. We had dinner over near the Crooked Bridge and sat at
Mostar
Those slippery streets a table overlooking the water which was a beautiful way to say farewell to Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
Hold the onion please...
Minus the onion, it sounds like I would really love cevapi with that creamy cheese and that gorgeous looking bread. Yum!