New Thing #86 - Balkans Trip - Day 11 (Countryside & Mostar, Bosnia)

June 23, 2015

B had to work again today, so Nate and Sarah went to do some sightseeing of Sarajevo on their own (and maybe recover from a bit of jet lag), and Megan, Nikki and I prepped for a day trip around the Bosnian countryside, with the specific destination of Mostar at the end. Our tour guide, Faruq (sp?), was running late, even passing us on the street once before coming back around to get us. He ended up being quite the Chatty Cathy, and I may or may not have wanted to punch him in the face a couple of times. Perhaps it's because his idea of a time to get back was pretty gray, or because he didn't really listen to us, but it was definitely an interesting day. Maybe it was his favorite quote, in talking about dating women, was "Shut her down with music." I'm not sure what that means, but perhaps if his lady friend is annoying him, he play music to shut her up? Who knows. He was also obsessed with old school hip hop and R&B, with a particular preference to Usher. Can't say I was bothered by that part at all. "YEAH!"....See what I did there?

During our trip, we went from the Bosnian region to the Herzegovina region, which is generally at a lower altitude with a completely different climate than other parts of Bosnia (Sarajevo included).

My hair is looking pretty good today!

On the way out of Sarajevo.

Beautiful scenery. Sorry for the window glare, but these roads don't have anywhere to stop and take pictures from.

Stop #1 - The town of Konjic, famous for it's 17th century Old Bridge built by the Ottomans (so, you know, pretty old) that could hold numerous tanks during WWII. Unfortunately, the Germans ended up blowing it up during their withdrawal after the war (jerks), where it sat destroyed for decades. A few years ago, the Turkish government rebuilt it free of charge. Sadly, it may not be the original, but it's cool the Turks paid to rebuild it.

Another GORGEOUS day today!

Wide enough for a few tanks.

Bridge selfie.

Faruq felt like we wanted him our picture.

Additional ladies on our trip.

Stop #2 - Jablanicko Lake for a snack break. (I'm all about snack breaks, but I felt like it was a bit early to stop for a break.) At least the weather was beautiful, and Faruq ordered us some kind of donut that was light and airy, with more kaymak to smear all over it. That stuff is legit. He told us a lot about the war that raged here in the 90s, and the effects that reverberated throughout the country. When I told him I was from St. Louis, he was super excited, and said how much he wanted to come visit. StL took in a ton of refugees after the war, and has one of the largest settlements of Bosnians in the U.S.

Jablanicko Lake

Yum!

Snow White moment again.

Faruq just had to photobomb my mountain shot.

Stop #2.5 - This was a quick detour of Jablinica to learn about a train bridge that was also blown up during one of the wars. Rumor has it that it was rebuilt after the war, and then re-blown up for a movie. They left it in shambles after the movie as a reminder. I don't remember the details surrounding this particular stop, sorry.

Stop #3 - Pocitelj, a fortress/castle from the Ottoman Empire. The web site said it's an easy uphill climb. Easy, my ass. The steps were stupid crazy and nearly impossible to climb. I don't really even know how else to describe it, but it wasn't easy. How the hell were people supposed to get up to that thing? It was hot and sticky out, and I don't think any of us had anticipated the work out. (Not that I mind some hiking and a little bit of effort, but it's better when I know it's coming.) Not to mention that Faruq just wouldn't. shut. up. I think he might be a little bit crazy.

Gorgeous scenery.

B's description of Jurassic Park type landscape is on point.

Pocitelj.

My head got a bit sunburnt after the beach days in Croatia and shopping yesterday, so B let me borrow her fedora. It's quite fetching, if I do say so myself.

These steps were okay. The rocks were a bit uneven, but manageable.

Fortress.

The views are worth it though.

Stop #4 - Waterfalls (I can't remember the name). Okay, these were legitimately awesome, and beautiful. I mean, come on, who can resist a waterfall? People were in and swimming around, but while it was hot outside, the water was still pretty chilly. I guess that's why anyone not in the water was sitting in the sun to try to stay warm. We took ANOTHER break while some people got coffee, but the three of us just wanted to get on the road. It was after noon, and we still hadn't stopped to eat or even made it to Mostar yet. Faruq didn't seem to be in any kind of hurry, and I think he was enjoying dragging his feet for us. Or perhaps it was just a cultural difference, and he saw nothing wrong with it. We did stop for Megan to pick up some pomegranate rakija (rock-ee-ya) for Brenda though. Essentially it's a Balkan type of moonshine flavored with different fruits or herbs.

Faruq kept asking if we brought our swimsuits.

Stop #5 - After more driving (some, not so safely), we stopped in Blagaj for a "late lunch" around 4:00pm. The restaurant was nestled near a cave where the Buna river spring comes from. It was really out of the way, but obviously Faruq had a connection here since everyone knew him. But, I also suppose that he chose the place because it's famous for this clean drinkable spring, as well as it's beauty among the water. We didn't really know what to order, and we made the mistake of letting Faruq order. We got two HUGE platters of meat for 5 girls (one of whom is a vegetarian) and him. While the food was awesome, we didn't need that much food. I really hated wasting it all, as I'm not sure they do to-go containers in the back country of Bosnia.

Buna spring.

The salad was really good!

Meat platter times two: chicken, cevapi, veal. (There were some fries underneath.) Very good, but way too much food.

I think this was a dessert made from dates? Pretty good, actually.

Okay, our lunch spot wasn't all bad.

I don't think he's driving down an actual street. Faruq just kind of made up his own roads sometimes.

Stop #6 - We finally made it to Mostar, which was a really cool little town. We walked over the New Old Bridge that was blown up in the Siege of 1993, but also rebuilt in recent years. It's apparently a pretty famous place to dive off of as well, though it's also incredibly dangerous. There's only a small sweet spot to hit if you dive directly off the center. Any variance in either direction from center can result in some disastrous results. Faruq kept asking us if we wanted to jump, but even if I was a strong swimmer, there's no way in hell you would have gotten me off that bridge.

New Old Bridge.

Even more steep than it looks.

He insisted on a a photo at this angle.

This guy was all tuckered out.

Sadly, it took us so long to get here, we didn't really have time to look around. A lot of the shops looked very similar to what we had seen in Bascarsija, but there were definitely new places that we didn't have time to explore. The artwork was really cool, and I'm still bummed we weren't able to spend more time here. Too many breaks earlier in the day!

I love the street rocks.

Another old bridge, but smaller.

Finally, around 5:30, we started the 2 hour trek back to Sarajevo. Fortunately, Faruq drove really fast, so it went by pretty quickly. We did get to experience the "lollipop man" as Brenda calls it. It's basically like the highway patrol pulling over speeders. Brenda had mentioned them on our drive in to Bosnia on Sunday. You essentially get pulled over by a guy waving what looks like a lollipop and you have to have a chat with them. I have no idea if Faruq paid them or talked his way out of it, but he didn't end up with a ticket.

Having a chat.

Overall, the tour wasn't bad. I would definitely recommend some tweaks to it to make it better, but after some stellar day trips in my European arsenal, this one didn't rank in the top. We did get to see the Bosnian countryside which is really beautiful, and hopefully more tourists visit to see that it's more than the horrific reputation from the 90s.

After a short wait for Brenda, Nate and Sarah to return from their sightseeing, we walked down the street for dinner to Noovi, Brenda's favorite Italian restaurant. I can't believe it's our last night with B. I feel like we just got here, and I haven't filled by B quota for the year yet. :(

Pasta with tender salmon bites. Y.E.S.

Brotherly/sisterly love.

We headed back to Bascarsija to meet with up with a few friends of Brenda's, who were leaving for a new assignment the very next day. The walk was short, but it was down some darkened eerie looking steps. She warned us to beware of gaps in the steps, but I'm not sure Nikki heard her. She ended up stepping directly into a gap full of step water, soaking her up to the knees. :( Luckily, she wasn't hurt, except maybe for her pride a bit, and some wet pants.