Drawn to the country because of its cheapest route out of Europe, we decided to spend 4 nights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Initially not knowing what to expect, my reservations, which were drawn from a quick Google image search of it's capital Sarajevo, were quickly turned to shame at my ignorance of anything that has ever happened in the world ever. Bosnia and Herzegovina has such a fascinating history that it dominated our visit there with walking tours and museums. We spent 3 nights in Mostar, famous for its Old Bridge that people crazier than me sometimes jump from. It stands 22m above water level and has caused many an injury, to knees and shoulders specifically, and also a few deaths to those that did not enter the water correctly. No thanks. Don't fret if you're not up for the plunge yourself, you can often see people jump daily as some locals consider it their job, jumping when tourists have paid them enough to accumulate €25.
The evidence of the previous war around Mostar from 1992-1995 is ever present with bullet holes and shrapnel wounds adorning buildings they haven't yet rebuilt in a haunting way that makes me appreciate my home town from deep within my gut. Complete houses still stand in ruin neighboured either side by 2 new buildings. I couldn't help but wonder as we walked around the town what role different people played in the war. If I saw a man around my Dad's age I would assume he played a soldiers role. An elderly woman, that of a worried parent. Anyone my age, a child just trying to play with the turmoil unleashing all around. One of our guides shared a story of how he was playing with his toys when a sniper bullet hit the wall just feet from where he was playing; he was aged 7 at the time.
A former state of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was at war when it declared independence from the state with opposition from the Bosnian Serbs. What followed was 3 years of warfare and many lives lost as well as the destruction of the country including Mostar's Old Bridge which has since been rebuilt and colloquially renamed the New Old Bridge. We spent the 3 nights here wandering around the tiny village like town and spent 1 day touring around different sites surrounding Mostar. The €30 day tour included a visit to many of the countries examples of wealth; water. This spring and river rich country has so much fresh water to offer its inhabitants and was beautiful from outside the city as well as in. Kravice waterfall was a sensational way to break up the day with a dip in it's many natural pools. Below are pictures of some of the sites visited throughout the day.
Hostel David hosted us while in Mostar and took us in like a giant, ever-evolving family. Beer was forcefully put in your hand if you arrived at night or a hot, home-cooked, breakfast placed in front of you if you arrived in the morning. Pedra, the owner (whose son is David) will wake at 5am to cook breakfast for early departing guests and work tirelessly around the clock for his guests. This is a huge recommendation from me. From Mostar we got on a train to the capital, Sarajevo as that's where our cheap flight was departing from. We only had one night here but it would have been nice to have at least 2 or 3 in order to do all the walking tours and see some more sites that we didn't have time to see. As previously mentioned, I had huge reservations and very little expectation of Sarajevo but was pleasantly surprised. The streets are not beaten down streets of a war torn country; why did I expect this? The war was 25 years ago! Much like many European cities, Sarajevo has its quaint little winding streets with shops selling all kinds of trinkets. The museum in the basement of the City Hall is a fantastic explanation of the last 100 years of history and the events that have shaped the country today. The picture below was one of my favourites from the museum as it shows a group of men hiding from sniper attacks but with their priorities in check, puffing away, Balkan boys through and through.
Although Bosnia and Herzegovina is not an affluent country now and has many struggles with corruption probably stemming from the fact that it is the only nation to have 3 presidents, it has not always been so. Being one of the wealthiest cities in Europe in the 16th century due to its intersection of religions, cultures, trade routes and travellers, for 450 years muslims, catholics and jews have lived peacefully side by side in Sarajevo and it's quite common to see mosques, Cathedrals and synagogues within 5 minutes walk of each other. It currently has an unemployment rate of 40% however it's encouraging to see tourism consistently on the rise, 26% increase on last year, as this is a nation that is both worth visiting and worthy of visitors. There's so much to learn and see with your own eyes that if history, museums and walking tours are your thing, this is a must visit country for you.
