The Starriest Place in Bosnia: Mostar

Immediately, you might ask yourself what makes Mostar the “starriest” place in Bosnia, the answer: Stari Most bridge. After an extremely windy bus ride that lasted roughly three hours (it was so windy that a fellow passenger vomited multiple times throughout the course of the trip), laying our eyes on this magnificently rebuilt stone arc made it all worthwhile. As the aquamarine water of the Neretva river sparkled below, our hearts were filled with incredible joy as we both knew this was the most photogenic scenery we had seen yet. Our timing was just right, as we also got to witness a diver leap into the freezing cold water.

If you happened to notice that I mentioned the version of the bridge that we saw was a 21st century rebuild, that’s because the original was destroyed during the Civil War in the 1990’s. Graffiti artists have tagged building walls with the words “do not forget.” So although the historic centre has been restored, remnants of bombed out buildings and bullet holes plaster the architecture here.

It’s hard to imagine such juxtaposition, but here’s an example: our super luxurious two-bedroom accommodations were just built in May of this year (this was easily the nicest place we booked throughout the entire course of the trip, we even jokingly said we would rent out the second bedroom on Airbnb), meanwhile across the street laid the crumbled remains of a high school, just one of the scars left lingering behind after the heartbreaking Civil War.

With that in mind, we haven’t taken one step for granted, as we have so fortunately had the opportunity to enjoy the treasures this old town has to offer. While drinking and dining by the riverside, we shared a mixed meat plate for dinner, sipped some great craft beers at Old Bridge Brewery and enjoyed the live music at the Black Dog Pub. Rather coincidentally, as we were sitting outside of Marshall Cafe, Sean was spotted by one of his coworker’s brothers, all thanks to a “root of all evil” Whiprsnpr t-shirt he was wearing, what a small world!

Tomorrow we booked a day trip with iHouse tours, so we’re looking forward to seeing Kravice waterfalls. This is only the second place we’ve stayed in for more than one night, so it will be nice to very temporarily lay our roots and not have to rush off and catch some form of transportation in the morning. KK

Adding some extra context to meeting my coworkers brother. We didn't know each other. He spotted my ottawa brewery tshirt as he was walking by and decided to approach me. After chatting for a little bit, I invited him and his gf to join us for a beer and thats when we talked more about back home/work and realized he's the brother of the guy who sits next to me at work. So weird! -SPRead more