Bosnia
We had Terry, Paula, Merit, Brenda, and Jona on this trip. The drive was straighter than to Montenegro, although there is only one road to the official crossing and it is not the shortest distance between two points.
Today we covered only Mostar with a quick stop before it.
Apparently there are many tourists visiting Bosnia these days.
We stopped at the small village of Počitelj, which has a mosque and an old fortress. Many buses came and went as we explored this small place, but most of them did not bother to walkup to the fortress. After the short run up to the fortress, I randomly walked up a road and was able to get a picture that captured the soul of this place. It is one of my favorite pictures for this trip.
Then it was time to visit the war torn old city of Mostar. The city was developed in the 15th and 16th century. It is known for its old bridge (Stari Most) and Turkish houses. The city is divided into two half by Neretva River, where one side is the Christian sector and the other is the Muslim sector.
During the war of independence of early 90s, much of the city was destroyed included the bridge. Much of the old city and the bridge was recently restored or rebuilt. But in other parts of the city, one can still see the scars of the war.
Despite the very touristy atmosphere and souvenir shops around the old bridge, I enjoyed my time here. It is different than Croatia and Slovenia, people are friendlier. We had lunch at a local restaurant away from the old town, had our best and cheap meal yet. Best of all was that no one spoke English, and we just pointed to other people’s plate to indicate that was what we wanted. The waitress was friendly and patient with us!
I took out 50 marks, the local currency, from the atm to pay for things and to add to my coin collection. Actually they take euros, kunas as well (but not dollars).
With our tummies full, we’re ready to shop a little. We bumped into other people in our group, and everyone was in shopping mood as well! Even Jona got something.
We saw few UN peacekeepers walking around. They were not armed and looked like just having a day off as tourists.
Just as we’re heading back to our van with ice cream in hand, bunch of UN helicopters buzzed overhead, and we all rushed for our cameras. A poetic ending to a perfect outing.
As for people of Bosnia, it’s a fixed bag; some are good looking while some aren’t.
More Photos from Bosnia....
Today we covered only Mostar with a quick stop before it.
Apparently there are many tourists visiting Bosnia these days.
We stopped at the small village of Počitelj, which has a mosque and an old fortress. Many buses came and went as we explored this small place, but most of them did not bother to walkup to the fortress. After the short run up to the fortress, I randomly walked up a road and was able to get a picture that captured the soul of this place. It is one of my favorite pictures for this trip.Then it was time to visit the war torn old city of Mostar. The city was developed in the 15th and 16th century. It is known for its old bridge (Stari Most) and Turkish houses. The city is divided into two half by Neretva River, where one side is the Christian sector and the other is the Muslim sector.
During the war of independence of early 90s, much of the city was destroyed included the bridge. Much of the old city and the bridge was recently restored or rebuilt. But in other parts of the city, one can still see the scars of the war.
Despite the very touristy atmosphere and souvenir shops around the old bridge, I enjoyed my time here. It is different than Croatia and Slovenia, people are friendlier. We had lunch at a local restaurant away from the old town, had our best and cheap meal yet. Best of all was that no one spoke English, and we just pointed to other people’s plate to indicate that was what we wanted. The waitress was friendly and patient with us!
I took out 50 marks, the local currency, from the atm to pay for things and to add to my coin collection. Actually they take euros, kunas as well (but not dollars).
With our tummies full, we’re ready to shop a little. We bumped into other people in our group, and everyone was in shopping mood as well! Even Jona got something.
We saw few UN peacekeepers walking around. They were not armed and looked like just having a day off as tourists.
Just as we’re heading back to our van with ice cream in hand, bunch of UN helicopters buzzed overhead, and we all rushed for our cameras. A poetic ending to a perfect outing.
As for people of Bosnia, it’s a fixed bag; some are good looking while some aren’t.
More Photos from Bosnia....
posted by Jonathan @ 10:45 PM
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