We had an adventure this weekend! We drove the winding dirt roads to Mostar and Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rained all weekend but we still got outside and explored a ton of what these cities have to offer!
MOSTAR
Mostar was our first stop on the trip! Mostar is famous for its old bridge built in the 16th century. The bridge is a well-known symbol of medieval Eastern Europe and it connects the Muslim and Catholic sides of the city. Unfortunately, the bridge was completely destroyed in the Bosnian war BUT was rebuilt in 2004.
We wandered around the old town streets, walked the bridge, and had the best Bosnian dinner (pictured below). Traditional Bosnian food is full of various meats - Ryan was in HEAVEN!!
We stopped in a small shop owned by a veteran of the Bosnian War. The owner wore a USA shirt and told us all about the war. He grew up in Mostar and fought for years to defend his family and his city. He explained that he was severely injured eight times over the years of fighting and was rescued by an American Medevac team after he was critically wounded. After talking for a while, he shared video footage he captured during combat.
SARAJEVO
Next, we went to Sarajevo, the country's capital and the location for the winter Olympics in 1984. I had to take advantage of the stores in the city center and bought a pair of much-needed waterproof boots! Unfortunately, for Ryan, no shoe stores carried a size 12!
We did a 3.5-hour walking tour that was absolutely fabulous. Our guide was very knowledgeable and he had typical Bosnian dark humor which kept us laughing. One of my favorite parts was stopping into a cafe and he showed us how to drink Bosnian coffee properly.
In Sarajevo, they mark the location of where bombs landed in the city with "red roses". This is pictured above. It was a quite moving way to display the city's war history. Our guide shared that his father was killed in the Seige of Sarajevo. This siege was the longest in modern warfare (1,425 days).
Sarajevo was (and still is) a melting pot of religions: Islam, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Judaism.
We had a great trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina! We are going to take a break from weekend trips for a while so we can enjoy our last few weeks in Dubrovnik! Thanks for reading!!
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