Standing in Dubrovnik with hardly any set travel plans for the week to come, James casually mentions we could take the bus across the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I’m instantly intrigued but wracking my brain, I can’t for the life of me think of what “tourist things” people do there. It’s a country I hardly know anything about, which truthfully made me want to visit it all the more. No previous expectations or preconceived notions, just pure discovery!
*And that’s why I’ll happily read travel blogs on a destination but avoid YouTube videos like the plague! I want to discover it myself first hand, thank you very much. A few helpful hints from a blog post is all I need leading up to a trip.
“So what do you think? It’s only a few hours by bus to cross the border.” He says.
“Absolutely, lets go.”
So we buy the tickets and we’re off the next day- booking Airbnb’s on our way to the bus station. Ahhh, nothing like totally spontaneous, unplanned fun. Here we go!
Our first destination: Mostar
Truthfully, all I knew of Mostar was a beautiful, historic bridge I had seen on Instagram. The caption on the photo had described Mostar as a “fairy tale” town. I would soon find out, it was so much more.
The bus rolls in after dark.
We exit at the bus station and walk the quiet streets to our Airbnb. Upon our arrival we are greeted by a wonderful, friendly host. He informs us, if we aren’t too tired from our travels, there is a bar inside a cave just across the famous bridge. Tempted to crawl in bed and catch up on sleep, we of course drop off our things, change and promptly head off to find this cave bar! In the pouring rain, might I add. Laughing and racing through the rain- we are befriend by a stray dog who follows us the rest of the night. (And finds us again the next day. Oh my heart!!)
Mostar at night
As we enter into the old town district, we hear live music and see people eating massive portions of the local Bosnian cuisine. One young couple waves us over.
“We remember you from the bus earlier- join us!”
We suddenly find ourselves on a double date for the evening with another American woman and a British man. They had far more food than they could possibly finish between the two of them.
“All this food was only €15, help yourself!”
Starving, we dive into our first taste of Bosnia cuisine. It. Was. Delicious. Fresh pita, stuffed peppers… We ate until we couldn’t fit any more in our bellies- the four of us still unable to finish off this platter allegedly for two. (And I thought America had big portions!)
James buys everyone a round of wine and the four of us all set off to find this cave bar. (Stray dog happily following along beside us!)
Mostar’s cave bar
We hear the music coming from the cavern before we can actually see it… the crowd is small given that it’s a Sunday. But regardless, a night of dancing ensues! Meanwhile a storm rages on at the mouth of the cave. The scent of the rain, the sound of thunder and the sight of lighting were all visible while we danced. It was nothing short of magic.
What I leaned the next day was that most people just book a day trip to Mostar. They arrive just before lunch and are gone right after dinner. The streets are relatively full in the afternoon with tourists- but if you’re out early or late at night, you can have Mostar to yourself. And in those hours, it feels really indescribably special. It felt like I was back in Venice, Italy before sunrise when I had the whole city to myself. Little cobblestone streets, the high arching bridge, the water babbling below… truly a fairy tale brought to life.
The morning brought the most extravagant breakfast. With picturesque views of the river, we were treated to customer service that was above and beyond anything we expected. All for the price of cheap, fast-food back at home.
So instead we dined on a silver platter of local cuisine, drank apple juice out of wine glasses and felt unusually fancy for two people living out of their backpacks at the moment.
Mostar’s Bloody History
But that afternoon, I discovered the full story of Mostar. I admit I was ignorant to it’s bloody history and recent destruction in the 1990’s.
Standing inside the Museum of War and Genocide Victims, I felt like the floor had been pulled out from underneath me. I knew vaguely of a war in Bosnia but failed to realize it was just over 20 years ago. In another words, during my lifetime. Yet sadly, I had never learned about it in school.
I didn’t realize. I had no idea. The horror, the killings, the genocide, the torture and the extermination camps, even AFTER the Holocaust when people swore “never again.”
The beautiful bridge I had fallen in love with the night before was actually a recreation because the original dating back from 1557 was bombed to complete destruction, along with the rest of old town.
The disintergration of former Yugoslavia
I felt foolish and silly for not being more informed on the disintegration of Yugoslavia, thinking Mostar was just some “cute fairy tale town.” Now I looked back on everyone we had met thus far in a new light. Our Airbnb host- had he too dodged snipers on his way to school? Our charming, friendly server at breakfast- had he survived the constant bombings and foot shortages? How many members of his family did he lose? How many friends?
Suddenly I was perceiving everything differently. My eyes felt open and my heart felt heavy. Admitting my own ignorance on this topic, I committed myself to learning as much as I could about it while I was here.
We walked every war exhibit and gazed upon every heartbreaking photo in the gallery next to the bridge. Sadly, we watched the news clips- even footage of the beloved Mostar bridge crumbling on YouTube. It was all there- such recent history! Not something you read about in history books- but a war you could literally watch on YouTube. It scared me, it confused me and I wanted to better understand.
That night we stood from the high minaret of a mosque and watched the sunset over this idyllic town. With how peaceful and calm it was, it was hard to imagine Mostar was ever full of terror, screams, weapons and death.
The following day we rose early to be the first ones to river. We stood, soaking in the sights of the bridge one last time before continuing on to Sarajevo, the capital city, with an equally dark history.
Visting Sarajevo
As we arrived in Sarajevo, we checked into our Airbnb. It happened to be located one block from where Arch Duke Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking the beginning of World War I.
Again we found a city of so much beauty being held in stark contrast to its bloody, brutal history. As James had work to do, I purchased a copy of The Siege of Sarajevo at a nearby bookstore. Sitting down with Bosnian coffee at a cafe in old town, I began to educate myself.
13,952 killed in Sarajevo alone
Duration: 4 years or 1,425 days
350,000 people enclosed in the besieged city
Over 12,000 children injured
As I looked at all the smiling faces in the cafe, I would have never known what these people had been through .
The following day, a young man invited us in for coffee and shared with us what it was like to attend school during the siege. Ducking from snipers on his way to class- it was hardly your typical childhood. There was never quite enough food. Trading cigarettes became the most valuable currency. And his father was off fighting in the resistance…. 4 years stretched on like that, with no way in and out of the city.
Over the next two days, we learned everything we could about this beautiful city with it’s troubled past. We visited Sniper Alley, the site of the Sarajevo breadline massacre, crawled through the underground war tunnels and took a tour of the sniper’s lookout. It was a hauntingly unforgettable day.
War Trials
Just recently, as late as 2016, the people responsible for the crimes against the people of Sarajevo, Mostar and the Srebrenica massacre, have gone to trial. Many have been convicted. The trial gained national attention with one war criminal drinking poison in court upon his sentence being upheld.
Tourism Helps To Rebuild
Sarajevo is a lovely place to visit. Please go and learn for yourself first hand. Of course visit the shops, restaurants and ride the scenic cable car up to the mountain. But please include a visit to the museum on the Srebrenica genocide and walk through the Tunnel of Hope. Go see Sniper Alley for yourself. Stand up in the hills where the Serbians camped out- tormenting and killing the people of Sarajevo. Help share the story so it is never forgotten.
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Emily Rose-what a beautiful post on the country I was born in! As many times as I’ve gone back, I’ve never visited Mostar, but definitely will now 😍
Thank you for taking time to read and share your thoughts 🙂 You would love Mostar!!