I absolutely loved the day I spent in Bosnia and Herzegovina – it was one of my highlights out of this whole month of traveling. Mostar is SO cool.
After the drive from Dubrovnik, we started with a quick tour of the city. We walked through the Old City and then headed to the most famous part of Mostar: Stari Most! Also known as the Old Bridge. Fun fact, the original Stari Most was built in 1566, but it was destroyed during the conflict in the 1990s. The restoration work was finished in 2004, and it’s a UNESCO site now. Sometimes locals jump off the bridge, which seems wildly unsafe but also would be cool to watch. Once we were on the other side, our guide turned us loose with an instruction on when to get back to the bus.
I headed over to the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque, which advertised that it had the best views of the bridge. I had to borrow a long skirt because I was wearing shorts and, well, it is still a working mosque. It was a beautiful building, and climbing the minaret did have amazing views of all of Mostar!
Mostar represents pretty much my only souvenir purchase of the trip. The markets were selling these absolutely gorgeous Bosnian coffee sets. It’s similar to a Turkish coffee set – I hesitate to say they’re the same, because I honestly don’t know and haven’t been to Turkey/tried the coffee there, but it has a similar shape. I tried some Bosnian coffee at a café for lunch along with a cheese burek! It was delicious.
We had a stop at the Kravice waterfalls on the way back. It was amazing to hike down to the waterfalls, only to find a thriving area where locals were hanging out. I went swimming in the waterfalls and had a hard cider, and it was such a perfect afternoon.
Other side note – I was really pleased that this tour took us through the entirety of the Bosnian coastline, such that it is. Beyond being a really pretty drive, I also have looked at the geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina for ages and wondered about that tiny little piece of its borders that touch the Adriatic.
I am really looking forward to making it back to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo has had a fascinating history, and from the little I’ve seen of this country, it’s a magical place.