Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

This city was HOT and sticky!! Mostar is a city known for its Turkish culture and famous for its bridges. It has one old bridge called the Crooked Bridge and the famous Stari Most. The Stari Most is a large bridge that was destroyed during the war in the 90's and then rebuilt from the rubble. It is now the gateway to the historic old market with its smooth, slippery stone pathway (death trap slippery, but very cool looking - type of limestone) and serves as a diving platform for the trained adventure seeker in need of some cash. A team of men walk the ledge of the bridge in their speedos repeatedly preparing to jump, then asking for money for "the show." It was fun to watch, but you have to be patient as they work the crowd. It is roughly 72 feet from the tip of the bridge to the surface of the water. Taking this leap began in 1664 and became somewhat of a tradition in that a boy must do this at the age of 16 as a symbol he is coming of age. If he did not do this, his life would be a complete failure or so the story goes. Mabel has told us multiple times that when she grows up, she is going to jump off that bridge and we are going to take her picture. That girl has goals and evidently she won't be a failure! :). They also have dive platforms of varying height nearby.

We stayed in a great apartment in a central location near the city's sights. Everytime we walked into town, DeMille and Seth would pick a ripe fig for us to eat. Yummy! We meandered through the old town that was rebuilt after the war and checked out the markets. The scars from the war still show through with broken down buildings and bullet splattered walls. The market has been re-established and now sell many handmade trinkets unique to this region. We really wanted to get a Turkish coffee set, but it's not practical for us to stow in our bags. One day we will own one.

We ended the scorching day with dipping our toes in the Neretva River and eating outside as we watched more bridge jumpers. There is much more history to discover about this cool town, but seriously don't slip on the smooth paths. It was ridiculously smooth.

On to the next country...

P.S.- Mabel told us she does not like lemonade because it makes her close one eye (meaning it's sour). She also told us "I can say yes, ma'am, but not yes ma'am chicken butt." I replied you are correct.Read more