Beautiful Bosnia
The culture, people, history and experience
31.03.2006 - 04.04.2006
The country of the last great war on European soil - the scene of untold atrocities and horror keep tourists from experiencing the intense beauty, culture and history of Bosnia.
And so, from Slovenia, we thought it'd be gags to do lunch in Croatia before heading to Bosnia. And so the Croatian Cuisine Crusade began. We headed to a town called Opatija, a town in northern Croatia that was on the Adriatic Coast. You could not teach the view of the coastline that greeted us – since it was an overcast day, it was hard to distinguish between the sky and the water, great photos were had by all. Lunch was at this ridics swanky restaurant that charged a measly sum for cuisine that was fit for a king. And so we ate like kings (more like king and queens).
Following lunch, it was time to tackle Bosnia. Having had a run-in with the Bosnian border people (The guy asked me if I thought he was blind or otherwise stupid!) we continued onto Banja Luka. The drive was incredible - huge snow-capped mountains, narrow valleys and windy roads, gold! Having spent a night in Banja Luka, we realised that Bosnia was a pretty cool place. And Sarajevo certainly enhanced that vibe!
The meshing of Eastern and Western cultures, it truly is at the crossroads of many worlds. The town is still heavily influenced by 400 years of Turkish rule and 40 years of Austro-Hungarian rule. Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox places of worship were within a Bosnian scarf of each other. While the cuisine was amazing, partly coz it was cheap and Turkish, the coffee was even better! Bosnian coffee is an experience in itself, to the extent that I bought myself a Bosnian coffee set!
Our walking tour guide, Muhamed, was a dude. He gave us a gold tour of the town, even bought us coffee – now thats a tour guide.
And so, having experienced the awesomeness of Bosnia, it was time to bade farewell to new-found friends in Mostar, and make the 24 hour, Amazing Race-style dash from southern Bosnia to Budapest. To catch up with Shelley and Tim.
Watch out for Bedazzling Budapest Buildings and Baths!
Posted by sajperera 04.04.2007 06:43 Archived in Bosnia And Herzegovina
Sounds like someone's trying to outdo the Lonely Planet descriptions. You've got no-one to use the claws on so you've resorted to competing with a BOOK?
Sounds like you're having quality times. How come you didn't get your skinny butt down to Dubrovnik?
10.04.2007 by jencramer