Bosnia & Herzegovina
Mostar & Sarajevo
From May 27th to May 29th, 2023
Day 1
Woke up this morning in Dubrovnik and took a ~5 hour drive to Bosnia & Herzegovina across the Metkovic Border Crossing. The crossing was a more residential type crossing and it took us about 10 minutes to get through.
To break up the long drive to Sarajevo, we made a few stops along the way. The first stop was at Kravica to enjoy the natural waterfall on the Trebizat River. Kravica, which has a population of less than 600 people, is a popular place for locals, Bosnians and tourists to come and enjoy the waterfalls, picnic, camp, and swim in the water. The cascades are 80 feet high and 400 feet wide. We chose to have a beer at the one and only wooden cafe and when we were leaving we saw them setting up for a music festival that would take place over the weekend.
Our next stop was in Mostar, and from the first impression we were totally blown away Immediately we were wishing we had more time to spend here, and even thought about spending the night. The main attraction here, which is what the city is named after is the Mostar Bridge (aka Stari Most). The cobblestone narrow roads leading up to the bridge are just as charming as the shops that line the alleyways. The view of the bridge is so impressive and there were many people walking around trying to get a good look at the view from the top of the bridge and give ‘donations’ to the fearless jumpers that were preparing for their turn to take the plunge. We spent about 3 hours in Mostar walking around and eating at a cafe. In that time, we donated 10 euro to the jumpers and saw three different people take a crack at the 65 foot jump.
Before leaving for Sarajevo we had luck at a small cafe overlooking the water, the bridge, and the jumpers. We got a nice table on the balcony and enjoyed the view. We got a chicken soup, lamb kebabs, and a meat & cheese board.
We finally made it to Sarajevo after driving through more beautiful Bosnian countryside and checked into Swissotel. The guy at reception was proud to tell us that he had just gotten his American green card and was excited to make his move to Chicago. There was so much fresh excitement in his voice and he was looking forward to becoming a commercial truck driver.
Because of the long day and drive, we opted to get take out and picked up dinner across the street at Kimono, and ate back in the hotel room.
Day 2
We started our morning with exercise and spa at the hotel before heading out to do a walking tour of the city. The walking tour started at the Eternal Flame, which we had seen many times online. It was interesting because there was nobody there or around it at the time we were, which was Sunday around 11am. The Eternal Flame was installed in 1946 as a memorial to those who liberated Sarajevo during WW2. It was unveiled one year after the liberation of the city.
We continued our walk through the Main Street of old town Sarajevo and popped into a church and heard a little bit of their Sunday Mass. Their voices rang like bells.
We then walked through the winding bazaar before sitting for lunch at Cevabdzinica Petica. The food was great, the people were in and out of there like a revolving door, and you the food is local.
We took the cable car up to Trebevic where they had the luge/bobsled course for the 1984 Olympics. There wasn’t much to see or do here other than take pictures and enjoy the overhead view of Sarajevo and we only stayed for about 15 minutes, which seemed like everyone else was doing the same.
While walking back to the hotel from a full day of touring, we walked across the Latin Bridge where arguably the most famous assassination in history took place, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Principe in 1914 that many say led to the start of WW1.
It started to rain quite a bit so we popped into the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity & Genocide, that shared a bit about the history of Yugoslavia, the role Sarajevo has played in multiple wars, and the destruction of war and war criminals. We spent about 20 minutes inside and the experience left us with heavier hearts.
We walked to dinner at Piccolo Mondo and had a great meal of chicken soup, salad, spaghetti aglio olio, ‘garlic bread’, and penne al forno. It seemed like a local spot and we were happy to have a nice meal and fit in with the locals.
Day 3
Took the ~4 hour drive to Belgrade, about 250 kilometers and dodged many cows crossing the windy roads on our way. The landscapes, farms and river scenery were beautiful and we crossed at the Sepak Border Crossing in 10 minutes time.