Things get a little fast-paced at this point because I was only in Kotor for one night, then I would go to Mostar, Bosnia the next day and Sarajevo, Bosnia the day after that, so here it goes:
I had a private car take me from Kotor to Mostar the next day for nearly the same price as the bus (cheap) in less than half the time. The drive and driver were both awesome. I had absolutely no idea how picturesque this part of Europe was, but holy cow, everything here is beautiful! Mountains on mountains on mountains, and it's all just amazing. The driver was super nice and we made a couple stops on the way to see some really cool stuff, including one of the oldest monasteries in Bosnia in the middle of nowhere, where he bought me a small bottle of some of the local Rakije (the native liquor here, that's also really good). This guy was great and we had a great trip on the way to Mostar. Another notable sight as we approached Mostar was an active minefield on a nearby hill that the main road passes by. There are actually signs that warn you of active mines that still exist in this part of the country, so you absolutely cannot go for a hike here and it can actually be pretty dangerous. Why are there mines here? Well, you'll have to look into the history of the Yugoslav wars that happened during the 90's in this part of the world. I don't want to give a huge history lesson about it but it still has a huge relevance today, as this was an actual war that happened less than 20 years ago and everybody in this part of Europe has been affected by it. I've been able to learn a thing or two about it after traveling through this area and it's pretty interesting. But everyone's got a crazy story here because of it, and it's crazy to think how things were in this part of the world less than 20 years ago. A lot of the post-war effects are still extremely visible in this region and everyone here is still slowly recovering (very slowly economically).
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| Views on views on views |
Mostar was another really small town in Southern Bosnia (Herzegovina to be exact) and it had a really nice vibe to it, but it was definitely pretty quiet. There's a really famous bridge here, probably the most famous landmark in Bosnia, and it's about 80 ft. tall and is jump-able in the warmer months. I've got some friends that have jumped it in the past and definitely have to give those guys some cred after seeing how high up it is. I for sure would have done it buuuut unfortunately it was closed for jumping during this time of year ;) Before leaving Mostar I took a quick trip with a couple random friends I met from Hong Kong, Spain, and Brazil (these things happen when traveling alone) and we went to another nearby town called Blagaj which was really nice. There wasn't a ton to do in this part of the country (again, these places are significantly slower during this time of year) but it was a nice stop on my way to Sarajevo, the capital city.
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| Still a lot of noticeable damage on some buildings in Sarajevo |
It was yet another very scenic (and surprisingly very crowded) bus ride from Mostar to Sarajevo, which is where I would spend the next 3 nights. Again, once I arrived in Sarajevo to my hostel in the early evening there was a group of people in the lounge area playing a drinking game. After a short while I joined in and we all got acquainted with each other. It was a fun time meeting new people yet again, a few Australians and a few Americans, and we would go out with each other each of the nights I stayed here. The following day consisted of what had normally been the first thing Alex and I would do whenever we came to a bigger city worth seeing - and that was the free walking tours. It had actually been a really long time since I did one (I think the last one was Budapest before the holidays) so here I was again, back in super-tourist mode. This time was a little different because I was the only one that had actually booked a time to do the tour. So it was actually kind of cool because I basically had myself a free private walking tour through the city for the next 3 1/2 hours (which was also pretty long). But my guide, Ervin, was really, really good. He was an encyclopedia that basically knew everything, and he overwhelmed me with information about this place. He had some stories about himself and how him and his family fled the country during the war so it was interesting to get his take on how things went down, and he's not much older than me. It's hard not to notice the visible damage that you can still see in this city from that time too, and it gives you more perspective being in a war torn country that was still recovering. I don't think there's many places in Western Europe that still have this kind of visibly recent history from a war, so it was interesting to see it in this way.
But I think the most important thing about this tour was the fact that HE POINTED ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO GET SOME NEW SHOES. Because I really needed some new shoes and was struggling to find some that I liked for a decent price AND that was my size (I think people just have smaller feet in Europe). So he pointed me to a place that had some shoes I liked and when they didn't have my size, the super cool dude at this place then pointed me in the actual right direction of the place that actually had shoes that I liked AND WERE MY SIZE, SO I GOT NEW SHOES. This was the highlight of my entire trip so far and I was pretty stoked about it. I'm looking at my new shoes now and I couldn't be happier with my life.
But in all seriousness, Sarajevo was great, and one of the true highlights was the Gallery 11/07/95 which covers a genocide that occurred in the small Bosnian town of Srebrenica during the war in 1995, and the Siege of Sarajevo, which happened over the course of a few years in the mid-90's. This was maybe the heaviest museum I've ever been to (emotionally), and the place almost brings you to tears. But it's worth it to know and get an idea of what most of these people went through during this time and it's nuts. Gives you real perspective on what this city and its people have been through.
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Sarajevo
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I was really glad I went to that museum, and aside from a few strolls around the city and taking in the sites this was how I spent most of my time in Sarajevo. It's a really cool little mountain city, and I would for sure recommend it when visiting this area of Europe. I was happy to meet some more awesome people while I was there, and from Sarajevo I would continue my journey east to another capital city: Belgrade.
Before finishing this post I've got to point out that when I mentioned that this place was still recovering from the war, I think that's mostly from an economical perspective. From what I saw (even though I'm just a tourist) it looks like people here have actually been able to move on, at least most of them, and put the violent past behind even though it's still relatively recent. I gotta say, when you hear about what happened here and what went on and you see how many people are still able to smile and find happiness in their life regardless of what happened, it's pretty inspiring and cool to see. The people in this entire region have been some of the nicest people I've ran into on my entire trip, and it's pretty amazing to see. I think there's a special group of people in this area and they're able to find humor in any situation. One of the cooler things I've noticed on this trip and definitely worth pointing out. Post over.
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