Bosnia
http://www.bhtourism.ba/eng/
Sarajevo
www.sarajevo.ba
Sarajevo is
awesome and should be on everyone's short list of places to go.
It’s
unbelievably beautiful! It’s a weird mix of Turkish and Austrian architecture,
and you can see the mountaintops wherever you go in the city. I was there at the
end of the winter and the snow-topped mountain peaks were so gorgeous,
everywhere to be seen... before the war it was a multicultural cosmopolitan
city. Things seem to be getting better now, but the eastern-style bazaar is a
lively place to hang out in.
I want to go back!
Trip
Report - Truman Capote
The former Yugoslavia was so diverse and
interesting, it was like a miniature version of Europe (with lots of dashes of
turkey!!!!). I can certainly say that those were the most beautiful sights I
have ever seen in my entire life!
Sarajevo and Dubrovnik and Mostar were
so heartbreakingly beautiful. it made me so sad to see all the bombed out homes
in the Bosnian countryside.
I flew into Slovenia, which is quite
beautiful... it has its own thing going but it struck me as the most Germanic
(or Austrian) country I have ever been to. I felt like I hadn't left Germany...
it's a wonderful place! Delightful and pleasant, but not amazing.
It was
really a little too fast, just a road trip so I definitely want to go back and
see more!
But Croatia and Bosnia just blew me away. I have never been to
such stunningly beautiful places in my life. I had moments where I thought I
would cry, it was that emotional... and I live in Europe, the beautiful
continent, but this was really up there, probably my favourite place in
Europe.
It was good that I was traveling with people who were very
knowledgeable about history and politics, because I understand all the conflicts
somewhat better. They really do go back hundreds of years...
photos
this is the first time I did a rent a car thing with 4
people: I was struggling against it, but in the end it turned out to be cheaper
than the bus. (I may be mistaken)
Croatia is a fairly wealthy country...
a local bus fare is 1 EURO and a cross country bus ticket was 30 or 40
EURO.
It's popular now so I can only imagine the massive traffic (for
buses also) during the summer along the coastal roads. Our car was hijacked by
my friends who are obsessed with the Byzantine and Turkish empires, so we were
suddenly in Bosnia before I knew it. I really didn't expect Mostar to be so
beautiful.
Bosnia has some amazing mosques. It really was a meeting place
of east and west. we also sat in on some beautiful Serbian orthodox ceremonies,
and it was saddening.
I am just a stupid tourist, but I noticed little
things. the orthodox (Serbian) church in Dubrovnik was empty, and was damaged
from where people had attacked it in retaliation for the bombings in the early
nineties.
in Mostar the Croat Catholics had built a massive crucifix on a
hill overlooking the city and had driven the Muslims out of their homes and
across the bridge, before blowing it up.
and Sarajevo was busy, and
stunning, but just so sad. I think everyone wants to label the Serbs as the bad
guys, but we passed through Slavonia and people said that the Croatians had
driven the Serbs out of there too.
the ferry was great, cheap and much
more comfortable than a bus.
the trains in Croatia suck, but there are
good connections to Ljubjlana... you get a nice ride through the mountains to
the sea!
I went with some classics geeks. there's so much history
there... read up!
split is so cool! the private rooms were
cheaper than the hostels at times.
it was weird, my Austrian friend kept
bashing Croatia and saying that the people were unfriendly and that the food was
bad, but the food was far better than anything I've eaten in Austria or
Germany.
I've also always associated Slavic culture with chillier
weather, so it was funny to be in the Mediterranean hearing it around
me!
But I did find Ljub. much more beautiful and much less crowded
and nasty than Prague. Prague just rubbed me the wrong way.
Trip
Report - Panda Bear
When I went travelling to Mostar, Medugorije and
throughout Bosnia and Hercegovina the bus rides are long if you are travelling
for a day trip try and catch an overnight bus because depending on the time of
travel i.e. summer, fall or winter. In summer the overnight bus will be best
travelling during the day gets very hot and make sure you are there EARLY;
because even though you bought your tickets and reserved in advance them there
is no such thing so if you really want to sit in a specific seat then get to the
bus depot early and don't expect them (the natives of the city) to move out of
your way. A lot of these people travel to the bigger cities to do shopping and
over the border shopping and make sure all of your permits or travelling
documents are in order! (I only say these things even though it is my dad’s home
country and I have citizenship I still get hassled because my Croatian is fluent
but of course it has a different accent!) Shops are open in the morning then
they have a siesta in the summer time (mostly all year around) from about
1200-1700hrs for the hottest part of the day and after 1700hrs they open until
2100hrs. But, the coffee bars are open early and open late and have the younger
crowds out or the people that just get off of work and like to hang out for a
bit and they are open late like 0200am.
Articles
Next month
sees the launch of direct flights to Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. But what does the country have to offer tourists?
