Bosnia and Herzegovina - An unexpected delight

Tucked away at the bottom of Eastern Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country worth visiting.  Little did I know how powerful my short visit would be or how much more I would want to stay and explore.  It gave me insight into the most horrific war since WWII and opened my eyes to this very charming new culture.  Sharing the same language with Croatia, I was very much expecting great similarities, much like just visiting another city of the same country.  However, I was pleasantly surprised. 

Mostar

When we arrived in Mostar, it was not at all what I was expecting.  The area surrounding the Old Town looks like a normal city – square buildings, concrete paths and bitumen roadways; very much a Hungarian influence in building designs.  However, head into Old Town and it’s like you’ve entered another world.  Little cobblestone paths, market shops everywhere, selling anything from jewellery to bags to lanterns and little café shops surrounding the Mostar river and famous Stari Most (meaning old bridge).  The Old Town has a large Turkish influence – vibrant colours, shishas, Turkish hats, baklava – you name it.  The locals are friendly, with gently banter and you can’t help but feel happy to be there!

Market stalls in Mostar

 

Colourful markets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The history of Mostar is also incredible.  Based in the Herzegovina part of the country, Mostar faced a lot of hardship during the 1991-1995 war against Serbia. In 1993, everything in Herzegovina was without electricity, water and military; it was like a desolate city.  The Stari Most was bombed as were surrounding areas.  Everything was under fire, no one felt safe.  Once a place popular with tourists, became a pile of concrete, stone and despair. 

I enjoyed visiting the Old Town mosque (Koski Mehmed pasa), where I learnt about different traditions.  There was a beautiful birdbath area outside the mosque where it was customary to clean yourself, ready for prayer.  Inside the mosque, there is a design of a 6 point star, meaning “believe in your own, but respect others”; which I thought was a powerful statement to live by.  Another interesting fact was that there were many rolls of carpets and rugs in the mosque.  Our tour guide told us that these were all made with at least one mistake in the pattern, as the Bosniaks (Bosnian muslims) believed that God is the only one that can make something completely perfect. 

Inside Koski Mehmed pasa Mosque in Mostar

Sarajevo

Arriving into the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, the impression was very similar.  In the very middle of the old town, there is a division of white stones.  Look East of this line and again it is a very Turkish influence; look West and you have classic Austro-Hungarian architecture. This contrast is attributed to the different periods of ruling in Bosnia and shows how versatile to different cultures the country really is.  Sarajevo is one of the only European cities to have a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue all in one place and is therefore known as religiously and culturally diverse.  The first building to be built was a castle in the field (which is where the name Sarajevo is derived), followed by a mosque for the Bosniaks in the East of the town.  It is said the further East of the town you go, the further back in history you will go. 

In the centre of town is a water fountain; said that if you drink from it, you will return.  Here it will give you your bearings for the rest of the town.  All the streets in the Old Town are named after what you can find in that street, i.e. copper street.  It is a rich and interesting place to roam around, get lost and easily find your way back. 

Water Fountain, Sarajevo

The war time affected Sarajevo greatly.  When you roam the streets, you will often miss the red splashes of paint on the ground.  However, these splashes actually mark sites of massacres.  Where more than 9 people were killed, the red fills up the holes in the ground left from the bombs/bullets and serves as a memorial of sorts for those lost.  These are called Sarajevo Rose and are simple but powerful.  The large National Library that you see in Sarajevo today was completely destroyed in 1992.  It has only been completely re-built last year and is a significant sight to check out when visiting the city. 

A snapshot of Sarajevo Rose - marks massacre site

View over Sarajevo City

The city’s brewery became the most important building during the war time.  Not as we would think, because of the beer, but because the brewery sat on the largest spring water supply to the city.  This is where everyone used to come for water, risking their lives to bring some home to their family.  As such, this area was heavily protected by the Serbs and many didn’t return home. 

Srebrenica

Heading to Srebrenica, moods were mellow.  Hearing about the 1995 genocide was horrible enough.  Actually seeing the memorial and standing inside the same area where the UN had refused most refugees safety, was another story.  The history of Srebrenica is a horrific one; a story that I hope will never be repeated; a mistake by the United Nations that cost over 8000 lives. 

In April, 1993, Srebrenica was declared a safe zone by the UN. To counteract the constant desire by the Serbs to overrule and provide “ethnic cleansing” (removal/killing of Bosniaks), the UN had a 400-strong army of Dutch soldiers to protect the area.  However, when the Serbian military leader, General Ratko Mlavic ordered his team to enter Srebrenica in July 1995, not one UN bullet was shot.  They gave up.  This resulted in mass murder by the VRS (Army of Republic Serbia) over a period of 3 days in Srebrenica and surrounding areas. 

Names of those lost in the 1995 genocide

Entry to the memorial site

Our tour guide told us, while choking back tears, how he managed to escape in the woods up to the Bosnian protected border of Tuzla.  His father and twin brother were not so lucky.  He pointed out their graves in the memorial yard.  Unfortunately for many remaining Bosniaks, closure is still not possible, with many more mass graves to be uncovered and bones to be identified through advanced DNA testing.  Only a quarter of those who died in the 1995 genocide have been positively identified and finally buried to rest.  Almost 20 years on, the discovery, recovery and identification is still continuing.  Let’s hope there’s some closure soon for the thousands of Bosniaks still suffering today.

While the stories of Bosnia and Herzegovina are powerful and heart-breaking, the country has a beautiful charm to it.  The locals are ridiculously friendly and always welcome a chat.  It is a country scarred with many bullet wounds, but one that has banded together to rebuild and become a must-see tourist stop in Europe.

Read about my Med Experience – Bosnia Adventure tour I did here. 

xxx

 

Med Experience - Bosnian Adventure

Well after spending the last 13 weeks looking after hundreds of Sail Croatia travellers, my fellow on-board rep, Sarah and I were absolutely shattered.  We wanted to go to sleep and sleep for weeks. And not drink. Ever again….We wanted to be looked after – hello? Mum – where are you?? However, we all know as travellers, there’s still so much more to do and see and sleep is very much a luxury that can be done when, well, when you’re dead.  Sarah and I wanted to trip through Bosnia and Herzegovina as we’d heard Croatia’s neighbour is full of incredible history and beautiful sights that were worth checking out.  That’s when we found Med Experience - a company offering 5 or 7 days trips through Bosnia.  Since we had such a short time (I get to see my best friend in t minus 1 day!!!), Sarah and I thought this was absolutely perfect for us – we could see Bosnia and also get looked after – win win!

So, we joined some of our fellow travellers in Split (the rest were coming from Dubrovnik) and headed for Bosnia.  As we crossed the border into Bosnia, a few of us needed to use the loo.  Was quite entertaining hearing about Sarah’s first experience with squat toilets (and didn’t we use a few throughout the rest of the week!) – see, we got culture, history, sightseeing and local living all in one! 

Kravica Waterfalls

Our first stop was Kravica waterfalls in the Herzegovina part of the country.  Here, we met our delightful and rather funny tour leader, Mustafa.  Ever full of jokes, Mustafa made us all feel welcome from the beginning and off we set into the waterfalls.  Wow.  It’s the only word to describe it.  Raging after being subject to heavy rain the previous few days, Kravica was spectacular.  The water level was so high, it had washed out one of the restaurants in the area.  We did go for a quick dip, but when I say quick, I mean, the fastest I’ve ever run while laughing…The water was absolutely freezing – zero degrees wouldn’t be far off.  Within seconds my toes felt like ice and I was frozen to the core.  Totally, totally worth the froze bite though – an amazing way to break the ice (excuse the pun) with the other travellers on our tour!

Med Experience Tour Group

Back into the bus we went and we continued on to Mostar.  Here our afternoon was free to roam around, so Sarah and I went exploring the Old Town.  In true Aussie fashion, we went and sat down at a riverfront restaurant and had a beer…so much for not drinking.  It was a delight to watch the tourists on the bridge, combined with the serenity of the river and surrounding greenery, without having to worry about our groups…was Relaxation with a capital R.  We also got lucky and saw a guy jump off the bridge – stupid if you ask me, but maybe just a little crazy!

Mostar River

Stari Most (Old Bridge)

Relaxing with a beer watching Stari Most

 

That night, Mustafa took us to a local restaurant in the Old Town and introduced us to some local delicacies.  He did forget to warn us about the large size of the meals so everyone at the table (including us) ate way too much and were ready for bed by 10pm.  Yes, we are big party animals! During dinner, Mustafa entertained Sarah and me, as he reminded us of one of our Sail Croatia colleagues, Dragan.  Turns out, Mustafa grew up with Dragan, so we tried to get some juicy stories about him…don’t worry Dragan, we don’t know too much! J

The next day we did an optional city tour, which was full of history and personal experiences from our local guide.  You can read more about Mostar in my Bosnia blog.  After this, we tried our hands at cooking some of the local food – that was a laugh! Especially when the class combined beer and wine with knives and inexperienced travellers…. Nonetheless, we all survived without chopping off a finger and prepared 5 dishes, including Burek from scratch.  Rolling out that dough was interesting – some odd shapes and often holey – but they all managed to turn out pretty good! We got to eat all our food, so dinner was delicious and we even had plenty of leftovers for the next day’s bus trip.

Our group with our first few meals prepped (and wine in hand!)

Me, attempting to make burek

We headed to Sarajevo the next day, with a stopover to do some Rafting!  Freezing water matched with rapids and uncoordinated rafters meant some great photos and laughs were had.  Mustafa then took us to a local hang out, Kino Bosna for a night out.  Kino Bosna is an old cinema turned “pub” of sorts; think wooden tables, mismatched chairs and sofas; with lots of smoke and noisy chatter.  The best thing here was the locals we saw, the Bosnian music we got to hear (the band came and serenaded us!) and the cheap drinks!

The band playing at Kino Bosna

On Tuesday, we had a whole day to explore Sarajevo, but started our morning with a war city tour, taken by Mustafa.  You can read more about Sarajevo and war stories in my Bosnia blog.  While the stories were horrific and very difficult for us to comprehend, it was great to have the knowledge of Mustafa, who was born and grew up in Sarajevo.  He told stories of what it was like in the war time; what he got up to; times when he was almost killed; the things he saw that a young boy should never have to witness.  I think we all agreed it was invaluable to get this personal insight into what it was like, rather than just history you can get from books.

Our final day was more insight into the 1991 wartime and the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.  Read more about this in my Bosnia blog.  While the bus travel was long, the background and sights we visited were eye opening and mellowing.  It opened our eyes to the scale of devastation that was experienced in Bosnia, not so long ago.  It showed us the strength of the Bosnian people to start anew, re-build and band together to help those who had suffered. 

After a long day our 5 day trip ended back in Sarajevo.  We said goodbye to our lovely group and of course our entertaining tour guide, Mustafa, as they continued on for the mountains.  The entire trip was amazing – a good mix of group activities and free time to roam at your leisure.  Our fellow travellers were around our age and Mustafa was very knowledgeable and helpful without being overbearing with information.  I definitely recommend Bosnia and Herzegovina as a must see while in Europe!

Sarah and I "just chilling" on the Stari Most

Until next adventure…

xx

Bucket List #1 - Complete

Well my incredible journey on Sail Croatia is very quickly coming to an end.  It’s something I’m not quite sure I want to end yet, nor do I know if I’ll return for another season, but I’m most definitely sure it was the best thing I ever did.  Sunshine, pristine clear waters, beers, cocktails, sightseeing, hiking, adventure activities, new friendships; a summer to remember!    

In light of my time in Croatia coming to a very quick end, I thought I’d share with you my favourite things I loved to do during my time on the boats. 

1.       Stroll the Old Town walls of Dubrovnik

Almost 2kms long, this incredible design encases the large Old Town.  It winds up and down and around, giving you amazing photo opportunities over the Adriatic and the red rooves of the buildings and houses inside the Old Town.  Being subjected to bomb shelling by the Serbian army in 1991, Dubrovnik Old Town was devastated, leaving many places without rooves.  This is evident in the different shades of red tiles on the buildings – some much newer than others – showing the signature of the red roof design.  It is now a massive tourist attraction when coming to Croatia.  The cost is 100kuna to get access to the wall but definitely worth every lipa.

Red rooves in Dubrovnik Old Town

 

View from Dubrovnik Walls

 

2.       Party at sunset at Hula Hula Bar, Hvar

If there’s anywhere you want to go to see the sunset, it’s at Hula Hula bar.  Located right on the water with dominating views of the beautiful sunsets of Hvar, this cocktail bar knows how to party.  With some of the best cocktails I’ve tried here, Hula Hula bar is a large, lounge and hut venue.  You can come down here during the day to relax in the sun, or head down later in the afternoon for that signature cocktail/sunset photo shoot.  Great music, many like-minded party travellers and fun barstaff, on top of the delicious cocktails and tasting platters, Hula Hula never fails to deliver. 

Sunset at Hula Hula Bar

 

3.       Check out Marco Polo’s first house in Korcula

Rumours are that Marco Polo, famous explorer was born in Korcula, my favourite place in Croatia.  There’s always going to be people who contest this (i.e. The Italians), however the locals here are very adamant and get quite defensive if you should argue this point.  As such, Marco Polo anything is a go here in Korcula – Marco Polo restaurants, shops and ice cream.  However, if you go anywhere, go and check out Marco Polo’s house that he grew up in.  It’s not overly big but you can find out some interesting history and background about Marco Polo and can even pick up a little souvenir in the museum dedicated to him.

4.       Bike around the National Park of Mljet

Boasting 54km² of National Park, the island of Mljet is definitely worth a stopover.  The National Park consists of 2 lakes, with a beautiful monastery in the centre of the larger lake.  The scenery in the park is incredible; it has some great foot and bike paths to allow you to explore as much as you like.  Go for a dip in one of the lakes and float under the bridge between the two, where the salt content of the lakes is most concentrated.  I’d recommend hiring a bike and cycling around, as the paths around the park are bike friendly and not at all strenuous.  Then stop at the larger lake and possible hire a kayak for a casual afternoon on the water, where you can paddle over to the monastery on the island of St Mary for some an architecture and history boost.  Entry to the park is 80kuna to help with maintenance and you can pay an extra 20kuna for a boat transfer to the monastery if kayaking is just not your thing. 

Mljet Lake inside National Park

 

5.       Get incredible pictures of the Biokovo Mountain range in Makarska

The best thing about Makarska is its location – situated right between the Biokovo Mountain range and the Adriatic sea.  When you arrive, it looks more like a movie backdrop, with the highest point at 1762m above sea level.  You can do some hiking trials if you are feeling energetic, otherwise enjoy the view and the great photo opportunity – go to the local beach, jump in the water and turn around and take a picture in the water, with these incredible mountains behind you.

Biokovo Mountain Range right behind us in Makarska

 

 

6.       Hike to the Fortica (Stari Grad) fortress in Omis

Not for the faint hearted, the trek to Fortica fortress at the top of Omis is a tough one.  Definitely take good walking shoes and plenty of water, as this walk is pretty much entirely uphill.  The path is very clearly marked out with red dots to show you the way, however the path is often overrun with shrubbery and plenty of loose rocks, so mind your step! Saying this, the view you get from the top is incredible.  The beach of Omis goes off the coast with a long peak, giving you the view of the white sand and clear blue waters, away from the built up town.  The hike up here took me just under 30mins, however I suggest allowing at least an hour to get to the top.  You’ll want to get inside the fortress, even just to get higher views, and at a cost of only 15kuna, well worth checking out.  The other side of the fortress boasts a beautiful mountain range and makes you feel like you’re in a completely different place. 

Beautiful view of Omis beach

 

7.       Taste the delicious wines of the Stari Grad plains

Croatia is re-known for good wine.  Vineyards are abundant throughout the country, including in the Stari Grad plains on the island of Hvar.  You can hire a bike and cycle through the plains and see all the vineyards and maybe stop in at one to sample the produce.  These plains are actually UNESCO protected due to the unique design of the roads to create the plots of land at exactly right angles.  Otherwise, you can partake in a wine tasting expedition to a local winery and sample the sweet grapes of this region.  My favourite winery is owned by the family Zuvela and is a farm/winery combined.  They make and grow everything that you taste there, from tomatoes and olives, to cheeses, breads and olive oils, and of course, the delicious wine!  Definitely worth a visit! 

#teamnaval at Stari Grad Winery

 

8.       Drink a cocktail delivered on a pulley to the top of a tower in Korcula

I just love the view you get up here in a tower-turned-cocktail bar! They are delicious cocktails (granted, you do pay for it) and the atmosphere is chilled, in the sun, with the water right below.  My favourite cocktail here is Pinky Colada (grenadine with a Pina Colada); a nice refreshing way to end an afternoon strolling the Old Town. 

Pinky Colada's = Delicious!

On top of this, I loved to; try the local cuisine – their local pastry, Burek is the closest attempt to a sausage roll I’ve seen in Europe and are delicious! I did attempt to decipher the Croatian language, but sometimes didn’t do so well, especially when Tuna to us is pronounced chew-na, which in Croatian means small penis – always got a bit of a chuckle from the locals! I would have liked to have possibly sample the local talent since Croatians guys are SMOKING HOT (but I do still have 1 week to go…) and of course I got my signature jumping shot from the boat.  All these combined, I couldn’t help but fall in love with this beautiful country. 

It’s now mixed feelings of upcoming nostalgia, apprehension about leaving something that has come somewhat very familiar, excitement for what’s next and gratefulness to have experienced the best summer of my lifetime.  Can’t wait for the next adventure but the memories and friendships I’ve built here will stay with me forever. 

 

Sail Croatia Girls - best friends!

 

Next stop, I’m off to explore the rest of the incredible sceneries of the Croatian mainland and surrounding Balkan countries…

xx