Sin 'n' Joy: BiH

Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro : List of Blog posts

In September/October 2019 we had a trip to Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro.

I took lots of photos and notes along the way and have compiled a small subset of them into a number of blog posts as a reminder of our fantastic trip and to provide information that may be of use to others in planning trips to this area of the world.

The many blog posts are as follows:

Mostar

We drove from Dubrovnik to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) taking a route with three border crossings; out of Croatia and along the 9km stretch of BiH, back into Croatia and then across the border again into BiH via Metković (this was apparently the best route for us; some crossings aren't open for tourists and with others the roads apparently aren't as good). We were delayed by less than 5 mins at each border crossing so it worked well for us.

Stari Most (the Old Bridge) was opened in 1567, destroyed in 1993, rebuilt and reopened in 2004. It attracts a lot of tourists.

I had a mixed platter of food for lunch for the cost of about 10KM (~NZD$9) and a Bosnian coffee (I really should have poured it for the photo!).

We were pleased to be able to get freshly pressed pomegranate juice in the streets. It was sooooo good.

Also pictured is Sniper Tower, an abandoned mansion (there are quite a few buildings like this around), and a Bruce Lee statue.

There is a significantly smaller version of the old bridge called Kriva Ćuprija (the Crooked Bridge). This was built prior to Stari Most in 1558 and is believed to have been the prototype before the more risky bigger version. This bridge (according to Lonely Planet, some other sites differ slightly) was destroyed by floods in 1999 and rebuilt in 2002.

We ended the day with a fantastic meal at Hindan Han where I had the stuffed squid with cheese and tuna and Jane had sweetbreads.

Next... Sarajevo

A full list of all blog posts from this trip can be found here

Sarajevo

The drive from Mostar to Sarajevo is very scenic.

Once checked in at our accommodation in Sarajevo we went for a wander. Straight outside our hotel was the Latin Bridge which is an Ottoman bridge, of which the northern end of the bridge was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, which triggered World War I.

Out next stop was lunch at Ćevabžinica Željo where we had Ćevapčići.

Around the corner we came across the Sebilj fountain which is an Ottoman-style wooden fountain built in 1753 and has no shortage of pigeons around it.

Wandering through the streets was enjoyable and we found the vast majority of people around to be locals.

The fruit and vege at the market looked fantastic.

Shortly thereafter we saw the Eternal flame which is a memorial to the military and civilian victims of the Second World War in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For dinner we had a superb meal at Žara iz duvara - The Singing Nettle. Jane wrote some awesome words about this one: "And another meal! Oh my word, this was amazing. A husband & wife ( I'm assuming!) run restaurant - they are the only staff! In a little back alley in Sarajevo. We started with Nettle doughnuts with hummus - both items were an absolute treat; for mains I had the chicken breaded with sesame and flax seed - a dish I'll be attempting to recreate at home. This was served with garlic and nettle pesto. Simon had the daily speciality - beef in sauce! (very limited English, but so very friendly and warmly welcoming). We had a seasonal salad made of perfectly dressed and seasoned cabbage, amazing tomatoes (at last!!!) and lovely fresh crunchy cucumber. Outstanding meal. We wanted to share the nettle cheesecake for dessert, but alas we were utterly full. We may yet return tomorrow. I'm not even joking on that"

On Day 2 we continued walking around Sarajevo, including ventures to some parks, along the river, the Festina Lente Bridge, up to the Sky Lounge on top of the Marriott Hotel and more Bosnian coffee.

In the afternoon I went for a walk up to the abandoned Winter Olympics 1984 Bobsleigh Track and continued on to the top of the mountain. It was quite a steep climb up with the route I took. On the way I came across some abandoned buildings and some lovely scenery.