Bosnia

When I planned my second trip to Europe, I was a little worried that my plans were a little too stagnant and that I would not be able to improvise if I wanted to. I realized I was wrong when I heard that the hostel organizes day trips to Mostar, Bosnia.

Six of us piled in the car at nine this morning and headed off towards Mostar. The first stop we made was an old fortress atop a hill, where the longest wall in Europe once stood. Many of it is now in ruins, but they have restored some of it, so we walked up the obscenely steep wall to the top where our guide (the son of the owner of the hostel) gave us a brief history lesson.

After that, we crossed the border and ate lunch in Bosnia, where we were served these flaky pastries filled with potatoes, cheese and meat. It was all served with plain yogurt, which was a surprisingly good compliment to our food.

Iva then drove us up a big hill and down into this park with some really cool waterfalls. The water was about 10 C, but some people from our group went swimming anyways. He said the park was usually full, but it was empty today because of the rain. I decided to skip having a swim - just hanging out around the falls was cool enough.

There was a rope swing at the other side, and the four people I was with (a Canadian, a Norwegian, a Finn and an Australian) thought it was the scariest thing they had ever seen. I don't know why they were making such a big deal out of it. It was only about 2 feet above the water once you drop, and the rope wasn't that long. However I knew that when people are scared of a rope swing, they will inevitably make an ass of themselves. The Canadian did just that, and I have a great video of it below. I was hoping the Norwegian would do it and fall on his face. He just can't seem to stop making little snide comments (and big ones) about America. I can roll with that pretty easily while traveling, but soon enough I'm going to start making fun of him for everything he does and says that I find stupid.



His comments range from everything to "I have very little respect for your country and your system" to what he just said at breakfast:

"Yes, we got back yesterday and one of the Americans or Canadians said 'we did the wall thing' *pompous laugh because the girl didn't remember the name of the damn wall*). I don't think even he remembers what it was called. And you can't even have a normal conversation with him, because he knows so much more than you, and if you like something he doesn't, he will provide you with his professional opinion very gladly on why you are wrong and your ideas are rubbish. Of course he precedes everything with "I'm sorry but" so he doesn't seem too harsh to such stupid Americans as myself. I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity for the perfect burn. It will come and it will be GLORIOUS. Unfortunately I'm going with him on a wine tour, so I'll have to hear why everything I like sucks.

The next stop was Mostar, the former war torn city of Bosnia. It took a while for us to get here, and when he stepped out of the car, the fact that I was in Bosnia really struck me. Parts of it are still very rough, and you can see scars of the war on every block. However once we entered the old town, the scenery changed. The bridge (where locals will jump for money) provided amazing views of the city, and the river running through really made the city look cool.

After crossing the bridge, we entered into the old city, which is filled with a bunch of merchants and such selling souvenirs and crafts and such. They make some pretty ridiculous pipes over here...

We ate lunch at a restaurant looking over the river, where we were served pita with beef sausage and of course, yogurt. At first it struck me as odd that they didn't serve beer or pork sausage, but then I remembered that we were at a Muslim establishment. After taking a few more pictures, we jumped in the car and headed back into Croatia, which is one hell of a ride at sunset.

But before we got home, we stopped at a roadside stop and ate some fresh oysters from the Mediterranean...

Tomorrow I plan on going on a wine tour, so I'll let you know how that goes.