Roland's Travelog: By Bus to Bosnia

Have never been to Bosnia before, so looking forward to this. Especially interested in seeing the bridge at Mostar which has intrigued me for years, since I read a story about someone in Mostar during the time it was blown up in 1993 during the war in Bosnia.

Bus along the Croatian coast has many beautiful views again and helps pass the time on this 4 hr journey. Bosnian customs are quite a breeze, only 10-15 minutes or so, not bad for a busload and you could get off and walk around. But the drivers then sitting down at a cafe 50m into Bosnia and having a feast of a lunch for the next 30-40 minutes was a bit frustrating, especially without any Bosnian marks in my pocket.

Left: View from the bus along Croatian coast.
Right: The wonderful Lena and Mother (If you need somewhere to stay in Mostar)

At Mostar, a lady called Lena has spotted me getting my bags on the bus and obviously identified me as a potential guest at her homestay. She stands at the bus steps and greets me with a smile and a 'Are you looking for a room?' She seems nice, it seems easy, hope she is better than my Croatian experiences ! And I don't have to carry my rucksack more than 100m to her home, which is a bonus.

Walk around Mostar towards the famous bridge and get my first sight of this structure that I have wanted so long to visit and which has such a story to tell. The bridge was rebuilt and re-opened in 2004, I only realised this was happening when I happend to see it on TV the night it re-opened. I would have been happy just to go along one day just to see the site. For a bridge it is something special, influenced of course by the history behind it.

Many buildings in Mostar are still completely gutted, some have been rebuilt, but it all takes time and money and things can only be done one step at a time. Wandering through the touristy shops that have sprouted up around the bridge there is an array of stalls selling objects of Muslim and Turkish origin reflecting the Muslim history of half this town. It is certainly a refreshing chnage from some of the tourist shops in other parts of the Balkans. Around here I try out another local speciality, čevapčiči, which is similar to a donar kebab but with a thicker type of bread and chunks/strips of meat rather than sliced, this one came just with onions and no extra salads.The meat and bread are both tasty, but I can't help feel it could do with something a little extra.