Tag / Bosnia

The hotel served a very nice breakfast spread including warm eggs and a rich, dark, and surprisingly smooth coffee. Out hostess offered us a free tour of the museum/house. Three floors with progressively impressive living rooms. Each room had Ottoman era furnishings, rugs, and intricately carved ceilings. The museum rooms and hotel rooms intermingle, a clever way to maintain a historic home, share it’s living history, and generate sustaining funds. Shoes removed respectfully at the front door, a welcome drink, and the warmest hospitality created a feeling of being a guest in a home. We even met the descendant of the original owning family.


We had time for a leisurely morning stroll through the old bridge area. And then we were off for our drive to Dubrovnik.


As we left Mostar, we pointed Emily towards the mountains and through the heart of Herzegovina, an area of the country populated by the Orthodox minority population. Quickly, Orthodox churches with rounded crosses and and cemeteries with stone chapels replaced minarets. We passed through the fiercely proud Srpska region, most visibly indicated by the appearance of Cyrillic characters on road signs. The region is dominated by high rocky plains with low scrub trees. The temperature rose to 29C, the warmest of our chilly trip. Not all is cheery in Srpska…we were stopped by road-side “police”…supposedly for a speeding ticket. When the “police” quote incorrect speeds, ask for Eruos (not the Bosnian currency), and provide no written ticket, you have to guess something was up. But 400 Croatian kuna bought our way out of a stressful 15 minutes. Certainly soured our mood and our limited opinions of Bosnia.


We (happily) crossed the border back into Croatia as we approached Dubrovnik along the coast. We veered off to the airport (about 15km in a nearby town) to drop off our car. Goodbye reliable Peugeot. We knew ye well.


A 250 kuna taxi ride took us to Dubrovnik’s Pile Gate. We met Mia, our hostess for our apartment. The apartment was maybe 100 feet from the gate, on the first floor of a quiet building. Clean modern furnishings highlighted beautiful stone walls.


We set out for an orientation walk under fluffy clouds. Warm and sunny…our first chance to break out a pair of shorts. We spotted a perfect table overlooking a busy square and stopped for a beer. And another. Too relaxing to pass up. We enjoyed the great people watching…guessing where people are from and their back story. We even took advantage of the cafe wifi to FaceTime with Jeff’s parents…real time sharing the scene.


Walked thru the thick defensive walls to a point out on the water. Beautiful clear calm water, brilliant in the afternoon run.


Dinner at Konoba “Pubo”, an unexpected delight. We shared a fantastic arrabiatta pasta with crispy pancetta and aubergines. Jeff had a chicken dish with a savory Mediterranean sauce. My mouth-watering beer had an amazing truffle sauce and perfect gnocchi. No room for desert…we left very happy. Drinks at nearby Sky Bar with two warm South African photographers, our new friends Catherine and Wesley. Gabbed and gabbed over beer and mojitos until closing time at 2am.


Such a long satisfying day…in spite of a tiny bit of Bosnian drama. Thrilled to be in Dubrovnik and excited to see what awaits tomorrow.

Awoke to the sounds of a small but lively fish market directly outside our front window. A light drizzle added urgency to morning shoppers buying shiny sardines by the bucket. Shrimp and squid still glistening from the ocean. The air smelled of the sea.


We nibbled on pastries while we packed, and took a quick stroll in the rain to circle the palace one last time. Met South Africa-born Rosella to return our keys and then rolled our bags a short ten minutes to our car…Mother Nature put the drizzle on hold and kindly let the sun shine on us.


Zipped down the A1 towards Dubrovnik before veering off into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We were headed for Mostar, but all roads to Dubrovnik cross into Bosnia for a short part of the route…so why not experience a little of this country too!!


The crossing into Bosnia is noticeable, and stands in stark contrast with Croatia. The road to Mostar is narrow and winding, with little to see or do along the way. This country is clearly still rebuilding from the war that dissolved Yugoslavia. Half-built buildings are everywhere, seemingly frozen. We approached Mostar on a winding road out of the low mountains, the hillsides dotted with cemeteries filled with new grave markers, the marble still polished and shiny.


Mostar was busy on a weekday afternoon, but we made our way methodically to our hotel, circling the pedestrian zones to find the right path through. Our hotel is actually a dozen rooms in a Bosnian National Monument: the Muslibegovic House, built in the 17th century and preserving Ottoman residential architecture. With it’s Ottoman style furniture–a carved wooden canopy bed hung with red and gold silk–our room felt like a time capsule.


We set out to tour the nearby old town, a UNESCO world heritage site hugging the Neretva River around the iconic Old Bridge. Visited two very similar stone mosques: the Koski Mehmed Pasha mosque and Karadjozbey mosque. For a very reasonable 8 KM per person, we could visit both mosques and climb the minarettes. (Not sure if the same deal applies in the high season.) The mosques are small and simple, white walled with typical calligraphy and simple drawings. The prayer area (off limit to visitors) is covered with Turkish rugs, leading to the Mecca-facing mirab on the far wall. Above, a white dome, with simple drawings with green and blue and red. The entire room was quite and subtly lit in the afternoon sun. Like pointy spears, a minarette rose from the back corner of the mosque. A steep set of stone steps spiraled upward with no breaks and only the occasional tiny window. Unlike ornate church bell towers, these structures are not built to show off for visitors…they are utilitarian…a perch to project the call to prayer. Tiny narrow balconies at the top. A nesting pigeon was less than trilled at our visit…their lone white egg sat quite exposed on a delicate nest. Hopefully it will hatch soon.


Each minaret provided sweeping views of the river, the town, and the surrounding mountains. Still, these beautiful views were peppered with shells of bombed out buildings. Un-repaired concrete building show rows of machine gun bullet holes. Most of the old town buildings were topped with new or repaired stone roofs. The signs of the recent war were impossible to miss, but seeming part of the decor. Surely time will erase these blemishes, but for now they stand fresh.


Returning to earth, we strolled the Old Bridge and the old district around it. The entire district is a UNESCO world heritage site, and an influx of international funds has rebuilt this area and attracted a healthy tourist crowd. Stone topped buildings and cobblestone pedestrian streets follow the river. Shops are semi-artisan, but mostly an echo of a Turkish bazaar.


The Old Bridge is actually a New Old Bridge. Destroyed twenty years ago (1993) during the war and rebuilt in a sign of healing four years later. A simple museum and short video present the bridge as a symbolic victim of war. Its destruction and reconstruction are shown without blame, only sadness…followed by joyous rebirth.


We crossed the bridge, climbing its slick stone path. Elderly tourists clung to iron railing during their steep decent. Divers awaited tour groups to perform. Stone towers anchor each end. Fig gelato awaited us in the other side.


After a pleasant stroll up down and around the river and it’s tiny shops, we sat down for a beer and some relaxing people watching. This is not a town with a lot of sites to check off. It’s a strolling site…an experience. And part of that experience for us was simply pausing to take it all in.


Stopped into one of the historic Ottoman houses along the river. Dating from the 1600s, the Bišćević house is a quick glimpse of a traditional home along the river. Bright and airy with low, comfortable turkish furnishings.


In the evening, we ate at the hotel-recommended Šadrvan restaurant. Cheery service and hearty Bosnian food. We ordered a sampler platter to get bites of different dishes. Our favorites included ćevapi (a Bosnian natuonal dish or flavorful minced lamb and beef in a tiny breakfast-sausage shape) and cabbage wrapped around minced meat and rice.. For dessert, tufahije (another national favorite…a baked apple filled with nuts and honey). Finished with a strong Bosnian coffee (basically a variation on Turkish coffee).


Lured into an after dinner drink by a familiar mix of Rihanna, Adele, and Katy Perry. The old town shuts down early, but enough wandering folks to add visual interest. Cobblestones shone in the street lights.


Returned to the sound-isolated confines of our hotel. The silence made sleeping even easier…and sounder.