Yesterday we heard a loud rumbling sound and it felt like the entire room shook. We figured that the washing machine was not properly secured and it just slammed into the wall when it started the spin cycle. This morning we did some Googling and found out that a magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit the area. Apparently earthquakes are pretty common in this region. The last big one was in 1979 and it leveled most of the old city and effected many buildings in the other districts. There’s no sign of the damage. Everything has been rebuilt and repaired. It does make you think.
We rescheduled the free tour for today and met up with our guide just outside of the old city at 10:00 am. She started the tour by giving us an in depth lecture about the history of the town. It took over 30 minutes.
Founded around 500 BC Budva is one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic. Legend has it when Cadmus, the ruler of Thebes, was exiled he was humiliated by being driven out of town riding a bull. Eventually he settled in Budva and began the first settlement there. The name Budva derives from the word for bull.
The Romans conquered the city in the second century. When Rome fell the area became part of the Byzantine Empire. In the 14th century the Ottomans dominated the area but didn’t occupy Budva. Instead they exacted tribute to help fund their ongoing European conquests. Eventually Budva came under the control of the Venetians and in 1797 became part of the Habsburg Empire. After World War I it became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II was part of Communist Yugoslavia. After siding with Serbia for most of the Balkan wars of the 1990s Montenegro became an independent country in 2006. Subsequently Montenegro became a member of NATO and has applied for membership in the European Union. Today Budva is the most popular tourist designation in the country.
(Ballerina Overlooking the Old City)
With the history lesson out of the way we proceeded to walk through the old town. Our guide explained that because of the recent, extensive modifications to the old city Budva would never qualify as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our path took us through the main thoroughfare and eventually we came to an uncongested area near the sea. There we saw an old, abandoned monastery that had been used as an upscale restaurant until the owners passed away. Nearby was an Orthodox church named The Church of the Holy Trinity which we entered.
Our guide explained some of the differences between Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox religions. We’ve been touring Eastern Europe for almost a year and have seen many Orthodox churches and thought we had a good understanding of their practices but we’d never heard this before. She explained the Orthodox religion forbids images of god and the saints and so icons are always painted with a flaw to reinforce the idea that these pictures are simply representations rather that likenesses. We’d often noticed that the perspective on icons was “off” but thought it was simply the style. We were told that this is the most common type of flaw that you will see.
(The Old City)
Most of the rest of the tour was simply identifying buildings and giving some local color. The tour ended at a large plastic bell which was near a large metal anchor. Both of these items had been used as props in a movie that was filmed there (we couldn’t find out the name of that movie) and had been left there at the request of the city. They are now iconic symbols of the old town.
After the tour we went back into the old city to have lunch at a place that our host had recommended named The Pasta Bar. It was a small place with just a few high tables with bar stools. The menu consisted of a few different types of dried pastas and several different homemade sauces. We opted for the fussily bolognese and fussily carbonara. We each got a huge bowlful and they were both delicious. Deborah could only eat half of hers so we took it home. Total cost: €12.50 / $14.00.
(Pasta for Lunch)
Before heading home we stopped at the supermarket for a few things. It was still early in the afternoon when we got home but Deborah was still not fully recovered so we decided not to do too much.
Big news: we finally finished all of the oranges we bought on our way to Dubrovnik. It took us about two weeks to eat 22 pounds of oranges. At least we got our vitamin C.
Distance walked: 4.4 miles
Thursday, November 29
We had intended to visit the nearby town of Kotor today which is just 30 minutes away by bus. We’d actually passed through Kotor on our way to Budva and had seen the old city walls.
Deborah had a pretty bad night. She has developed a bad cough and by morning was only interested in staying in. She suggested that I go by myself but I declined.
After lunch I did go out for a walk and explored the rest of the shoreline promenade to the north. It was a beautifully sunny day and there were lots of families eating in the seaside restaurants and sunning themselves on the waterfront benches. I brought the camera and added a few photos to our collection which now numbers in excess of 14,000. What would we ever do without digital storage?
We spent almost two full months in Croatia. During that time we visited Zagreb, Pula, Ravinj (day trip), Zadar, Split, Klis (day trip), Trogir (day trip) and Dubrovnik. We really enjoyed Croatia.
Zagreb, the capital, is a typical European city with museums, theaters and public transportation. We found the prices for food and housing in Zagreb to be very reasonable.
The other cities we visited were mostly along the Adriatic coast. Most of these cities originated in ancient or medieval times and retain a lot of their historic character. They benefit from their proximity to the sea and the moderate climate which makes them prime destinations for tourists and provides an excellent source of fresh fish for their restaurants and markets. Prices for just about everything on the coast are substantially higher than the surrounding regions with Dubrovnik being the most costly.
Here’s our must do list for Split (previous posts included Zagreb, Pula and Zadar)…
Visit Diocletian’s Palace. Most of the old town is built within the confines of the palace.
Walk along the seaside promenade. The harbor area is very beautiful.
See the Temple of Jupiter. It’s also known as the Baptistery of Saint John the Baptist.
Visit Saint Domnius Cathedral. It dates from 305 AD and is one of the oldest churches in the world. Don’t forget to climb the bell tower.
Visit Diocletian’s substructure. It’s where the Dragons were chained up in Game of Thrones.
See the works of Ivan Meštrović. See the statue of Grgur Minski near the old gate and visit his gallery just north of town.
Visit the Museum of Fine Art. Have coffee in their cafe too.
See the Museum of Archeology. They have an impressive collection of coins and inscriptions.
Stroll through Marjan Park. They have walking, biking and hiking trails.
Take a bus to the nearby city of Klis. It appears in Game of Thrones as The Free City of Mereen.
Take a bus to the nearby city of Trogir. See the medieval city and its many attractions.
Shop at the produce market and the fish market for fresh foods at good prices.
Eat cevapi at Kanteen Paulina. It’s the best we ever had.
Enjoy desserts at Luca Ice Cream and Cakes. You won’t be disappointed.
(Diocletian’s Palace)
Here’s our must do list for Dubrovnik…
Walk the Old Town Walls. You get some of the best views of the city (and will have to climb about 30 flights of stairs). Cost is 150 KN / $23.00 per person.
Visit Fort Lovrijenac (Fort Lawrence). You’ll get spectacular views of the old city. It’s the site of the Red Keep in Game of Thrones. Many scenes were filmed there. Cost is 150 KN / $23.00 per person.
See Sponza Palace. See the memorial to the Dubrovnik Defenders. Free of charge.
See the Rector’s Palace. It doubles as the home of the Spice King in GOT.
Walk through the Franciscan Monastery. See the oldest pharmacy and stroll through the cloister. Free of charge.
Visit the Dominican Monastery. See their collection of medieval and Renaissance art and religious artifacts. Cost is 30 KN / $4.75 per person.
Visit the many churches including the Cathedral and the Church of Saint Blaise. Climb the Jesuit Staircase to Saint Ignatius Loyola. It’s where Cersei did her Walk of Shame in GOT.
Eat at Taverna Arsenal. The food is great and they have an excellent Krema Schnit. It’s not cheap but if you go back a second time you may get a discount.
We spent a little over a week in Bosnia and Herzegovina and split our time between the cities of Mostar and Sarajevo. The country was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years and the character of the cities still reflect their influence.
The old town of Mostar is rather small and can easily be seen in a day. There’s a huge number of mosques which seem to give it an exotic air. The main attraction is Stari Most (Old Bridge) which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town suffered terribly during the war of independence in the 1990s and has not yet fully recovered. Still, it’s a really interesting place and definitely worth a visit.
Here’s our must do list for Mostar…
Walk the Stari Most. The Old Bridge was the source of wealth during the Middle Ages as travelers had to pay a tax to cross.
See the Crooked Bridge. It’s a smaller version of Stari Most and was created as a proof of concept.
Visit the Koski Mehmed Paša Mosque. For a great view of the area climb the minaret (they charge 3 KM / $1.75 per person).
Wander around Spanish Square. See Sniper Tower and other buildings that were bombed during the war.
Enjoy the shops in the old town. They sell all sorts of local handmade crafts.
Have Bosnian Coffee at Stari Grad cafe. They serve it with Turkish Delight.
Have pastries at Aldi II. Try the Hurmasice, it’s a local favorite.
Go to Šadrvan or Hindin Han and have Cevapi or Plescavita.
(Stari Most)
Sarajevo was much more varied than we expected. There are three distinct parts of the city. There’s the old Ottoman/Turkish section, the Austro-Hungarian section and the modern section. We tend to gravitate towards anything Turkish and so spent most of our time in that part of town.
The town was heavily damaged during the war of independence in the 1990s but most everything has been rebuilt and restored. It was interesting to relive one of the most pivotal events in history: the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. We were interested in seeing the village from the 1984 Olympics but apparently there is nothing worth seeing anymore.
It should be noted that prices in Bosnia are very reasonable compared to Croatia. You money goes a lot further.
Here’s our must do list for Sarajevo…
See Latin Bridge / The Assassination Museum. Learn about the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand.
Visit Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque. It dates from 1531 and is one of the largest in Bosnia.
Gaze upon the Clock Tower. It’s the only lunar clock tower in the world.
Visit the Sarajevo Cathedral. It is part of the Austro-Hungarian part of town.
Search for Sarajevo Roses. Bomb scars from the war of independence that have been filled in with red resin.
Climb the Eastern hills and see the White Bastion and the Yellow Fortress. You’ll get to see some residential neighborhoods and enjoy fantastic views of the valley.
Trek to the National Museum and see the Sarajevo Haggadah from 1350. It can only be seen on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Tour the Town Hall. It’s a beautiful building. There is a fee.
Eat Turkish Halva at Carigrad. It’s made with butter and molasses and has the consistency of fudge.
Have Bosnian Coffee at Caffe Bar Sebilj. Be sure to dip your sugar cube in the coffee, take a small bite and drink with the sugar in your mouth.
Eat Burek or Zeljanica at Buregdžinica Bosna. It’s the best we’ve ever had.
Today we had an 11:00 am bus from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Budva, Montenegro. There were two problems to solve. 1. The weather was forecast to rain all day. 2: How best to minimize the stairs in order to get someplace where a car could pick us up. Carrying our luggage up a long, steep staircase on wet slippery stone steps was going to be a challenge. Normally we’d strive to keep our bags on the light side but since we’ve been traveling for over a year we had to pack more than usual. With two suitcases that weigh just under the airplane legal limit of 50 pounds and two rather heavy carry-ons (plus a tennis racket plus a backpack with lunch, the leftover oranges, etc.) it was going to be a challenge. We decided that the best way would be to walk down the stairs to the main street, across the old town and up the ramps to the Pile Gate. It was a much longer route but going down instead of up would be easier and we could roll our luggage the rest of the way. We were ready by 8:30 am, and since the rain had temporarily abated, we decided to make a run for it. We got to the bus station two hours early but at least we were dry.
Once again the bus trip was down the narrow, winding coast roads. We traveled parallel to the sea but couldn’t see very far due to the low lying clouds. This time the border crossing was rather easy. We simply handed our passports to the bus driver and he handed them to a border agent who stamped them. This was the fourth and last time that we would be leaving Croatia (the first time was on a day trip to Slovenia, the second time was to go to Bosnia and the third and fourth times were coming from Bosnia to Dubrovnik where we had to cross the border twice). At the border to Montenegro we got off the bus and handed our passports to an agent who scanned them and stamped them. No strip searches this time.😉
Getting from the bus station in Budva to our apartment was another little challenge. The fact that the building doesn’t have a number wasn’t a big deal because the street doesn’t have a name! Our host gave us the GPS coordinates for the building and told us to tell the taxi driver the name of the neighborhood. Surprisingly, it worked rather well and we arrived with little trouble. To get to the apartment we had to climb one regular staircase and one very long staircase to get to the third floor. Of course, it goes without saying that the town is built on the side of a hill and we have to climb quite a few stairs just to get to our street. Why does this keep happening to us?! At least in this case there is a tangible benefit. The living room wall in our apartment that faces the water is all glass and leads to a balcony that has a commanding view of the bay and the entire new town. It’s a stunning sight.
(View from our Balcony on a Cloudy Day)
After settling in we headed out to explore and buy some supplies. By now it had started raining again, the temperate had dropped and the wind had begun to blow. It was rather unpleasant. We saw just a little of the waterfront district before ducking into a supermarket. Not being able to find packages of chopped meat Deborah asked at the deli counter. The man responded by picking up a beautiful looking hunk of beef and pointing to a grinder. Deborah nodded her ascent and we walked out with fresh ground beef. You don’t see that everyday.
On the way home we found a 24 hour bakery called, “Good Food” that had some nice looking baked goods. We bought some burek and some pastries to eat for dinner.
It’s clear that neither of us is fully well just yet. By 8:00 pm we were exhausted. I went to bed and Deborah followed soon after.
Distance walked: 3.3 miles
Monday, November 26
We headed out to see the old town. It’s just a 15 minute walk from our apartment. The forecast called for rain for most of the day.
Walking along we were really quite surprised at what we saw. Budva is a clean, modern Western European style city. They even use the EURO as their currency. We had expected something more Balkan – something similar to Sarajevo. There’s no doubt that the town exists to service the tourist trade. There are sleek, modern hotels everywhere and big brand name shops along the streets. Near the waterfront there are food stalls and rides that reminded us of the kind of thing you might see at Coney Island or Atlantic City. There is also a promenade that extends all the way around the bay. We spied a small peninsula about two miles outside of town that is said to have some nice beaches. If we get a chance we will walk down there and take a look.
Walking along it’s hard to miss the old city. All of a sudden there is large clearing where you can see high stone walls enclosing a large swath of land. On one side the walls are built on rocks abutting the sea. The rain and wind was causing high waves to crash on the walls. There was spray everywhere. It was a lovely sight.
(Old Town Fortress)
We entered the old city through one of the gates and found long, narrow, winding streets that are typical of Medieval towns. The streets were lined with shops catering to tourists. There were a number of restaurants, jewelry stores and souvenir shops. As expected there were also several churches and monasteries. The fortress contains an archeological museum from which you can climb some of the towers. Given that it was a Monday and the off-season many of the shops were closed. Still, we walked most of the streets and tried to take it all in. When we exited the other side we found a marina filled with large boats waiting to take tourists out on excursions.
We re-entered the old town through another gate and walked to the other side and had lunch at a restaurant that had a patio overlooking the sea. They actually had two patios – one open to the air and one covered. Since it was raining we choose to sit in the covered one.
It was a huge restaurant that could easily accommodate several hundred customers. Including ours there were only two tables in use. The restaurant, part of the Astoria Hotel, had a nice selection of seafood items. Deborah ordered the seafood risotto and I ordered the grilled calamari. The risotto was heaped with shrimp, mussels and squid. My dish had a melange of tentacles, potatoes and chard surrounded by large squid bodies. Both were absolutely delicious. Squid is caught all along the Eastern coast of the Adriatic and is a local speciality. It’s fresh, tasty and full of flavor; they really know how to prepare it properly so it isn’t the least bit rubbery. The portions were huge and we wound up taking about half of the risotto home with us. Total cost: €33.00 / $37.25.
(Grilled Squid for Lunch)
After lunch we walked back towards our apartment along the sea using the promenade. There were lots of small beaches; some were predominately rocky and some were sandy. We stopped at a post office to get our Montenegro stamps. They didn’t seem to have any collections or sets so we settled for a single stamp. It cost €0.95 / $1.09. The exchange rates have generally been going in our favor. When this trip started in November of 2017 the rate between the EURO and the DOLLAR was about 1.20. Now it’s 1.13. Nice!
We got our credit card statement today and found something interesting. There was a cash advance (and a service charge and an interest charge for same) shown in the exact amount that we’d paid for our postage stamps in Sarajevo. A call to the credit card company revealed that in some countries vendors put through charges as CASH instead of CREDIT in order to save on the credit card fees. We thought that the only way to authorize a cash advance was by putting in our pin code, which we certainly did not do. We were shocked! We get realtime alerts on our phone for our charges and it never indicated that it was a cash advance; it looked like a normal charge. The credit card company finally “fixed” the issue but it took over 50 minutes on the phone. The person on the other end didn’t seem to understand that interest on cash advances accrue daily and that simply paying the bill in total would not wipe out the amount. We had to explain it to them!!!! We’ve been pretty happy with the credit card services that we get from Capital One but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
We finally get around to doing the free tour. We had scheduled with the operator before but had to cancel because we were not feeling well. After being in Dubrovnik for over a week why did we bother? It’s true that we already knew our way around the city quite well but we’ve found that these tours offer interesting stories and insights. Besides, it’s great to get a local’s perspective on the wars of the 1990s and the politics of the day. We’d actually signed up for two tours: a city tour for today and a Game of Thrones tour for tomorrow but were told that since we’d been the only ones who signed up, and the tours were very similar, that we should just choose one of the dates.
We met the tour near Buža Gate at 11:00 am. Three others had also signed up so we would be a party of five. One young girl was from England and there was a mother and daughter from Queens, NY. The tour guide had chosen this gate as a meeting spot because it is one of the highest points in the city. This meant that the tour would be mostly downhill. The old city is built on a hill and there are a LOT of stairs.
Truthfully we didn’t see too much that we hadn’t already seen but we did learn one little factoid about Game of Thrones that made it worth our time.
*** SPOILER ALERT *** If you don’t want to know skip to the next paragraph now: Kit Harington was seen filming scenes in Dubrovnik which means that Jon Snow eventually makes it to King’s Landing. We can’t wait until April when the series will finally be back on the air!
We did get to see one place that we hadn’t seen before. It was the Rector’s Palace, sometimes referred to as the Duke’s Palace. The interior was used in several scenes from GOT where Daenerys Targaryen meets with the Qarth’s Spice King.
(Rector’s Palace)
Distance walked: 1.9 miles
Saturday, November 24
Our last day in Dubrovnik. This was our last opportunity to see things that were on our to-do list. We started the day by going to the Franciscan Monastery where we found one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe. It was founded in 1317 and has been in continuous operation since. The monastery’s cloister is open to the public and we had a nice stroll around. The columns and arches were characteristic of the Venetian style.
(Venetian Style Cloister)
Outside, the main street, we took some photos of Big Onofrio’s Fountain. It’s a huge, ornate fountain that has supplied the public with drinking water for centuries. The fountain was originally used exclusively by the Jewish community but in the 9th century, after the fall of the Ragusa Republic when Dubrovnik became a self governing state, it was moved to its current location near the Pile Gate.
Next we headed towards the Ethnographic Museum. We had no intention of entering it – we just wanted to see the building. The exterior had been used as the entrance to Peytr Baelish’s brothel in Game of Thrones.
Along our way to our next destination we stuck our heads into Church of the Holy Annunciation – an Eastern Orthodox church. The interior was decorated with Western style paintings. It’s very unusual for an Eastern Orthodox church. The only other place we’ve seen this was in Saint Michael’s in Belgrade.
Today we finally got a chance to visit a gallery that we’d noticed previously. It was a large, two story store that sold Croatian Naive Art. We’d first been introduced to Naive Art in Zagreb where it had its beginnings and hadn’t seen much of it elsewhere in Croatia so we were surprised to see a large collection here in Dubrovnik. The gallery was packed full of paintings. We even saw a couple by an artist that we particularly like: Croata. The prices were quite high and nothing we saw even tempted us but it was fun to visit.
The gallery was part of a complex of buildings that housed a Dominican Monastery. They have a museum that was said to feature paintings from the Renaissance period. The cost of entry was 30 KN / $4.75 per person. Cash only.
The museum is housed in a set of rooms off another beautiful, Venetian style cloister. Some of the highlights of the collection included two Papal Bulls from 1304 granting an indulgence for one year to anyone participating in the construction of the monastery, a painting by Titan from 1490 and a reliquary containing the head of Saint Luke the Evangelist.
(16th Century Triptych)
By now we were ready for a snack. We headed back to Taverna Arsenal, the place where we’d had Thanksgiving Dinner. Deborah had a cappuccino and we split a piece of their fantastic Krema Schnit. We had the same waiter from our previous visit. Apparently he remembered us too because he gave us a 10% discount for being repeat customers. If we’d known that we would have ordered TWO pieces of schnit!
We haven’t really gone into as much detail about Dubrovnik as we would normally have done but we were pretty sick during our visit. In spite of being there for eleven days we were only out and about for a few of those days and most of the time it was only for a few hours. Dubrovnik is a lovely city and is really worth a visit. Our only complaint is that it was the most expensive city on the Dalmatian Coast and, by our observations, the most expensive city in the Balkans.
We found a really great website that showed many locations around Dubrovnik where scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed. We set out in the morning to try and track down as many as possible.
The old city of Dubrovnik, which dates from roughly the eighth century, is a fascinating place. It’s completely surrounded by high defensive walls and built into the side of a large hill. If you’re not willing to climb stairs made out of slick, smoothed limestone then you’d better stay away. At the lowest level, just 15 feet above sea level, there is a long, wide main street which connects to innumerable narrow winding alleys that seem to go on forever. It’s easy to imagine that you could get lost there.
We investigated a number of interesting places on and just off this main street. There are quite a few churches and medieval buildings made out of stone. In the city’s first incarnation the buildings were all made of wood. Frequent destructive fires lead to an ordinance requiring all buildings be made out of stone. Because of this regulation some of the buildings that can be seen date from as far back as the 12th century.
As we wended our way through the streets we immediately recognized The Jesuit Staircase. We knew it as the place where Cersei left the Sept of Balor and began her walk of shame. At the top of the stairs is an old Jesuit Monastery that now houses one of the most prestigious high schools in the entire city. Sadly, the Sept of Balor only exists in the world of special effects.
After a pizza lunch and a little grocery shopping we headed back to the apartment. Neither of us were feeling very energetic. We were both suffering from bad colds. If looking for Game of Thrones sites had been a scavenger hunt we would have ended in last place.
Distance walked: 2.3 miles
Monday, November 19
In the intervening days we’d stayed in the apartment and binge watched shows on Netflix. We really weren’t feeling much better today but in spite of that we decided to venture out and see some more of the city.
Dubrovnik is indescribably beautiful. The city is set against the deep blue water of the Adriatic Sea. The further you go from the water the higher your elevation and the more lovely the sight. By the time you reach the northern most walls the entire city is laid out before you. You can see many tall towers, church steeples and portions of the crenelated wall and you can hear the sounds of the ocean crashing on the rocks below. To the west is another fortress set high on a cliff. This was our destination for today. It is Fort Lovrijenac (Fort Lawrence) but might be more familiar to GOT fans as The Red Keep.
We walked up the stairs from our apartment, passed through Buža Gate and along the outside of the northern wall. In the distance to the southeast we could see a small scrap of land called Lokrum Island. This island is the place where Richard the Lionheart of England was said to have been shipwrecked in 1192 on his way back from the crusades. It’s also where many of the scenes from the City of Qarth (the greatest city that ever was or will be) were filmed. There’s a ferry that runs out to the island. Hopefully they have not closed for the season.
As we rounded the city walls to the south we came on to a small bay with a stone pier separating the walled city from Fort Lovrijenac. This pier was also quite familiar. It was featured prominently in the scene where Marcella leaves King’s Landing to board a boat destined for Dorne.
We walked up a long series of winding stone staircases and arrived at the entrance to the fort. Cost of entry was 100 KN / $15.00 per person(!) The fort dates from the 11th century and was instrumental in keeping the Venetians from conquering the city. There’s not much to see in the interior. We climbed the stairs to the revetments and were rewarded with a commanding view of the area. This fort was used for many scenes from GOT. Several exchanges between Tyrion and Varys were shot there. Whenever you see an exterior shot of The Red Keep you are seeing this fort.
(Fort Lovrijenac)
After touring the fort we reentered the walled city through Pile Gate and had hamburgers at one of the many restaurants along the main street. It had been a long morning of walking and climbing stairs and now we had to face the daunting task of climbing back up the hill to our apartment. It wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t been so sick.
Distance walked: 2.6 miles
Tuesday, November 20
After being sick for over a week we finally caved and went to the doctor. The only local clinic in the area opened at 5:00 pm so we decided to head over to a clinic associated with a nearby hospital. It was raining and the hospital was about 1.5 miles from our apartment so we decided to take an Uber.
We arrived at the clinic without an appointment and were told that the doctor was busy and would fit us in as soon as possible. After only 30 minutes the two of us were seen. Deborah’s diagnoses was a sinus infection. The doctor prescribed antibiotics that we were told we could pick up at any pharmacy. My diagnosis was bronchitis. They did a blood test to check to see if it was viral. Since it was bacterial I was prescribed antibiotics too; he handed me a box of pills on the way out. We have our own private insurance that will cover us anywhere the world. We paid for the services in full and will have to submit it for reimbursement.
The receptionist and the doctors all spoke English quite well. All of the paperwork (including the diagnoses) were all in English, too. Excepting the absence of Purell dispensers we could easily have mistaken it for a medical office in the U.S.
Distance walked: 1.6 miles
Thursday, November 22
Happy Thanksgiving! In spite of the fact that we’re supposed to be resting and recuperating we decided to go out today. Of course it’s not a holiday in these parts so all of the shops, stores, attractions, etc. were all open for business. We decided to walk the walls.
For the low, low, low price of 150 KN / $11.25 per person you can walk on top of the walls that surround the old town. We’d seen people doing it and it looked like a lot of fun. Of course it turned out to be even more stairs than we expected. It’s hard to exercise when you are having trouble breathing but how many times are we going to be in Dubrovnik?
The weather was fine, the air was clear, the sun was shining and it was a great day for some sightseeing. The first part of the path overlooks Fort Lovrijenac. As we turned towards the south we noticed that large parts of the wall had been recently reconstructed. We also saw piles of rubble below that had obviously been homes and businesses. This was all damage that had occurred as part of the war of independence in the 1990s. The entire old city of Dubrovnik had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 so all of the post-war reconstruction had to follow the appropriate guidelines and use authentic materials.
To the east was the ancient harbor that now serves are a marina and home to the aquarium. At the north end the highest point on the entire wall is Minčeta Tower. Many portions of the wall have been featured in scenes from King’s Landing but this tower was actually the home of the House of the Undying in the city of Qarth.
(The Walled City)
After climbing the equivalent of 30 flights we were pretty tired so we were looking forward to a nice “Thanksgiving” lunch. We tried a couple of restaurants that had been recommended but they were both closed for vacation. One of the restaurants near the main street was open and was quite busy so we headed over there. It had a very high Google rating and there were tables outside in the sun. It looked inviting.
We started off with a couple of drinks. Deborah had an Aperol Spritz and I had a Poseidon (it had fig liquor, curaçao and fruit in it). For our main courses we had roasted chicken with a melange of vegetables and Dalmatian Fish Stew with a side of polenta. Both were excellent. The fish stew attracted the interest of a nearby stray cat who also wound up enjoying part of our meal. We thought that we were finished but when the waiter suggested coffee and cake we decided to take the plunge. We wound up sharing a piece of Krema Schnit that was so good that it rivaled the one we had in Bled, Slovenia. Of course nothing is inexpensive in Dubrovnik and since this restaurant was in a very touristy area it exceeded or normal budget by quite a bit – but it was our Thanksgiving dinner so we splurged. Total cost: 450 KN / $71.00. The place was called Restaurant Arsenal. We’d strongly recommend it.
We took a taxi from the stand in from of our apartment building to the bus station. This time it cost only 5 KM / $3.00 whereas the trip from the bus station had cost 14 KM. Unfortunately there are no Uber-like services in Sarajevo so you’re pretty much at the mercy of the bandit cabs.
Like Belgrade there was a charge to get onto the bus platform of 2 KM / $1.20 per person, or as we like to call it: graft and corruption. We also had to pay the same amount for our luggage, but this is normal.
The bus ride was scheduled to take five hours and 45 minutes. The bus usually makes 15 minute stops along the way but you never know when or what will be available. We came prepared with our own sandwiches, water and snacks.
The bus traveled back the way we had come, through the valleys surrounded by high mountain peaks, along the broad slow moving river and eventually to the narrow rushing steam that flowed through Mostar. We stopped there to pick up passengers and then headed towards the coast. About 30 minutes later we were at the Bosnian border.
(Leaving Sarajevo)
The bus driver collected our passports and took them over to a small shack where they were probably scanned before returning them to us. No stamps. Just down the road was the Croatian border crossing. When we had entered Croatia from Serbia we, and all the passengers on the bus, had been subjected to an extensive search of our luggage and had practically been strip searched. This time a border agent came into the bus and collected our passports. Eventually he returned them to the driver and we left to further our journey. We scoured our passports for any signs of a new stamp. We were happy to see that we’d both gotten one.
As we continued on our way we joked that the bus might stop again for oranges, and if it did, we were going to get some. We even got some Croatian Kuna out for that eventuality. Sure enough, as we entered into the small town of Opuzen, we saw a huge number of trees laden with fruit. Before we realized it the driver had stopped and was walking back to the bus with four large bags of oranges. It seemed that other passengers had asked him to pick some up for them. I tried to get to the front of the bus but by the time I did the bus started moving again. Just as I was about to return to my seat the driver stopped at the next stand and motioned for me to get off. I jumped off the bus and grabbed the first bag I could find. It was huge and surprisingly heavy. We estimated that it was a 10 KG / 22 lbs bag. It cost 20 KN / $3.15 which works out to $0.14 per pound. What a bargain! We immediately ate several. They were as delicious as we had remembered. It looks like we’ll be eating a lot of oranges for the next week or so.
(My New Best Friend)
A few minutes later we were driving along the indescribably beautiful coast and arrived at another border crossing. What, another border crossing? We had just come from Bosnia and cleared into Croatia? What crossing was this? Well, that’s an interesting story.
The Croatian coastline is actually broken into two pieces. A small section of it is owned by Bosnia and at 12 miles it is the second shortest coastline in the world. In 1699 the Ottomans lost most of their possessions in the Balkans to the Austro-Hungarian and Venetian Empires. Dubrovnik, now part of Austro-Hungary, was afraid of an invasion by the Venetians so they seeded a small part of their coast to the Ottomans. Today that portion of the coastline belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Again we handed our passports to the bus driver and he redistributed them. Again they had been stamped. This time it showed that we’d left Croatia. There was no Bosnian border crossing to speak of so we just continued on our way. A few minutes later we went through this charade again. Again there were no Bosnian border crossing but this time we had to get off the bus with our passports. One by one each passenger handed their passports to the Croatian border agent and he scanned them and handed them back. He didn’t stamp them. At least they didn’t want to see our luggage. About 45 minutes later we arrived in Dubrovnik. Only heaven knows what country our passports think we are in. The trip had lasted five hours and 45 minutes and required six border crossings but we had arrived and were looking forward to exploring our new home.
We called an Uber and set off towards the other side of the peninsula in the direction of the old town. Along the coast we spotted a number of small islands with old fortresses and on the other side another fortress that was situated high on a cliff overlooking the sea. When we got to the old town we looked at each other and said, “That’s King’s Landing”. Sure enough there was a huge fortress sitting in the middle of old town that had been used to film scenes from Game of Thrones. The best part was that our driver let us off at Buže Gate, one of the portals to the fortress. Our apartment was going to be inside of King’s Landing!
The old town is well know for its stairs. Many of the streets are practically vertical with long climbs. Fortunately Nino met us and helped carry our luggage. He took Deborah’s suitcase and the oranges, I took my suitcase and the tennis racket and Deborah took the two carry ons. It took some doing but eventually we made it to our new place.
(Sunset Over Dubrovnik)
After taking inventory we walked all the way down to “Flea Bottom” to see some of the town. We checked out the Bosnian restaurant that Nino had recommended but it was just too expensive so we settled “for a bowl of brown” or in our case a couple of slices of pizza at a corner stand for 50 KN / $8.00. After a quick shop at a small local market we headed back home. We knew that Dubrovnik was the most expensive town on the Croatian coast but prices seem on the ridiculous side. We were both tired and by now Deborah had caught my cold. It was going to be a miserable night for the both of us.
Another busy day. We started by visiting Sacred Heart Cathedral or, as it’s more commonly referred to as, The Cathedral. It’s a large Gothic style catholic church that was built by the Austro-Hungarians. Construction lasted from 1884 – 1889. It’s the largest cathedral in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is the seat of the archbishop. The Cathedral was heavily damaged during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s and has been completely restored. In front is a huge sculpture of Pope John Paul II to commemorate his visits. He was there twice. Entry was free of charge.
Our next visit was the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque. When the governor of Sarajevo, Gazi Husrev, died he left his fortune to the city. The money was used to build the mosque, a primary and secondary school, a public bath and a market place. The mosque, which was built in 1530, is the largest mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was the first one in the world to be lit by electricity in 1898. It was heavily damaged during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s. With funds from all over the world reconstruction began in 1996 and it was restored to its pre-Austro-Hungarinan decor. The interior is in the typical style – one large domed room with white walls and brightly colored decorations. We enquired about climbing the minaret. Apparently, some 20 years ago, someone committed suicide by leaping off the top. Since that time the minaret has been closed to visitors. Cost of entry: 3 KM / $1.80 per person. Cash only.
(Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque)
The mosque complex also includes two turbe or tombs. The first one contains the governor, Gazi Husrev-beg, and the second Murat Beg Tardic who was the governor’s commander and the first administrator of his charity.
Next we walked over to the other side of town and visited The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The complex is actually several museums arranged in a rectangular pattern with a small botanical garden in the middle.
The first building contained their archeology collection. There was a small display of broken artifacts starting around 600 BC followed by pieces from ancient Greece. The largest collection of items was from the Roman period. There were a lot of large carved stone objects many of which were part of funerary rituals.
When we got to the second floor we came face to face with the main reason we had come to the museum: The Sarajevo Haggadah. It’s a rare illuminated Sephardic Haggadah that was created around 1350 in Barcelona. Haggadahs are the program for the Passover Seder. The book has had a turbulent history and has barely escaped destruction several times including, most recently, The Nazi occupation in World War II and the Siege of Sarajevo. We were horrified to find that the room where the haggadah was on display was closed. We could only glimpse it through the glass door. After seeing the rest of the building we enquired about the room and were told that due to security restrictions the haggadah can only be seen on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There was no mention of this on their web site nor anywhere else that we’ve looked. We were VERY disappointed. There was a video screen that showed pictures of all the pages. We took a photo of one of them.
(The Sarajevo Haggadah)
The next building held a library. It was closed.
The next building contained the Natural History Museum. On one side of the building there was a large display of minerals. We saw quite a few meteorites most of which, ironically, had been found in the United States. On the other side was a large collection of stuffed animals in naturalistic settings.
The last building contained the Ethnographic Museum. We’ve seen a lot of these museums in the past year and none were really too interesting. We decided to skip this one.
The courtyard that contained the Botanical Garden was a charming place to walk. It was not a large space but there were walking paths and old monuments had been placed along the perimeter. Of course nothing was in bloom when we were there. Cost of entry: 8 KM / $4.80 per person. Cash only.
Finally, it was time for lunch and our opportunity to try another one of our guide’s recommendations. We went to Ćevabdžinica Mrkva. Deborah ordered a skewer of grilled chicken and vegetables while I ordered a cevapi. The skewer was well seasoned and quite delicious. The sausages in the cevapi were some of the best we’ve had but the sandwich was lacking because the restaurant didn’t serve ajvar (I had to pay extra for the kajmak). Still, it was a very good meal. Total cost: 11 KM / $7.00. Credit cards are accepted.
After lunch we tried to see the Sephardic Synagogue, which is now a museum, but is open only Monday – Friday from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Distance walked: 6.5 miles
Monday, November 12
Our first order of business was to visit the main post office. The interior of the building is reputed to have a gorgeous glass ceiling. Also, we hadn’t yet gotten our stamps for Bosnia.
The ceiling turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. It’s just plan mono-colored glass and nothing that would warrant the things we’d heard of it. Our hunt for stamps was much more successful. We were presented with collections of stamps for the past three years. The collection for 2017 seemed to have the nicest pieces so we bought it. Total cost: 38 KM / $23.75. That’s a lot more than we’d care to spend but we’ll get over it. Credit cards are accepted.
Next we went to the Museum of the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand. It’s a tiny, one room exhibit where most of the displays are about Austro-Hungarian culture at the end of the 19th century. Only the last two displays had any information on the assassination itself. The most interesting part of the museum were the maps showing how the major powers had divided up the world during that time period. Total cost: 4 KM / $2.40 per person. Cash only.
Lunch was at a falafel restaurant called, believe it or not, Falafel Restaurant. We ordered a bowl of tahini covered falafel balls which came with a nice salad and an order of humus which came with a basket of soft, fresh bread. It was quite filling but also quite delicious. Total cost: 10.00 KM / $6.10.
(Falafel for Lunch)
All of the baklava we’ve had since we left Sofia, Bulgaria has been very disappointing. The most common problem is that the syrup is made from sugar and doesn’t contain any honey. Before we left the apartment this morning we checked to see the highest rated baklava places in town. We had high expectations that we could find something to our liking here.
We found one small shop that sold seven different kinds. They each were made from a different kind of nut (walnut, almond, hazelnut) or dough. We tried the Sarajevo version. It was made with walnuts and had a dough that was more pastry than phyllo. It was quite good. We determined to try the other shop as well before buying enough to choke a horse.
Now for the real fun. There are two fortresses on the hill to the East of the city. One is known as the Yellow Bastion and the other the White Fortress. The first one was about 1.5 miles away but it was going to be uphill all the way.
The Yellow Bastion is just a ruin. It’s just a plateau where you can get a view of the city but there’s not much else. The most interesting part was the walk to get there through a part of town that we had not previously seen.
The 1.5 walk to the White Fortress was also quite interesting. We walked through some typical residential neighborhoods and got to see how many of the people live. The houses were small, typically made of stone and had ceramic tile roofs. Many people had workshops facing the street and cats roamed everywhere.
When we finally got to the White Fortress we saw a stronghold made from large white stones that had collapsed some time ago. It looked like it dated from the Ottoman period. A little further along we came to another, larger fortress that was also made of white stone. This one was definitely from the Austro-Hungarian period. Some of the walls had fallen and there was no roof whatsoever but more of the structure had survived. At the far end, accessible only by walking over narrow elevated stone paths, were large windows that led to small balconies – ideal for shooting photos. From there it was easy to see where the Serbs had bombed the city from the highest peaks on the Northeast side. It’s likely that all of these fortresses suffered substantial damage during the siege.
(Sarajevo as Seen from the White Fortress on a Hazy Day)
When we got home I realized that I had a sore throat and felt achy in all my joints. I had caught a bad cold. It was the first time I’ve gotten sick since we left the States.
Distance walked: 7.2 miles and 43 flights.
Tuesday, November 13
We had planned to go to the museum about the Siege of Sarajevo and write up a detailed account but because I was not feeling well we just stayed in, rested and prepared for our six hour bus ride to Dubrovnik tomorrow.
We had a 9:00 am bus from Mostar to Sarajevo. The trip was scheduled to take just 2.5 hours. We left the apartment around 7:00 am to get some breakfast. We had looked online the night before and had found very few places that were open at that time. We suspected, at worst, that we’d be able to find a bakery and get some burek. One of the restaurants we’d found the night before was open and had burek on the menu but had not made any just yet. The waiter offered to make us a couple of cheese omelettes and we readily accepted. They came with a basket of fresh bread. The omelettes were overcooked and had very little cheese but were enough to hold us for the bus ride.
When it was time to board the bus we gave our bags to the driver. He said, “two”. Two what? EUROs, BAM, Kuna, Dollars, ??? We were really getting tired of trying to divine what currency was in use. I asked and he told me that it was two for each bag. I gave him four KM and that seemed to satisfy him. We were happy because the 4 KM / $2.40 was half of what it would cost in EUROs.
For the first hour or so the bus followed the Neretva River. In Mostar the river is a narrow band of rushing water but as we got further out of town it widened into a slow moving majestic gorge surrounded by tall sheer rock cliffs. The roads have been cut directly into the side of these mountains and we could see larger mountain chains in the background. It was unbelievably beautiful. We climbed higher into and over the mountains until we got to a series of passes that lead to flatter lands and eventually to Sarajevo. The city was larger than we expected and soon we’d learn the details of how it was laid out.
(Following the River)
Our apartment was over a mile from the bus station so we took a cab. We tried to call an Uber or use one of the many taxi applications that we had on our phones but none were active in this area so we finally relented and took a local cab. At a cost of 8 KM / $4.80 it was a lot higher than it should have been.
As usual we took inventory in our new apartment. It’s one of the nicer places we’ve stayed. It’s plain to see that it has been renovated fairly recently, all of the dishes and appliances are new and it’s very well equipped. Still, we needed a few things like tissues and toilet paper and, oh yeah, food. We headed out to take a stroll around the old town area and planned to get groceries on our way back.
Near the main road we found an interesting looking monument. It was dedicated to all of the children who died in the war between 1992 and 1995. Off to the side the names of each child had been listed. It was very sad to see.
(Monument to Children Killed between 1992 – 1995)
Across the street there was a large shopping center where we would later go food shopping. In front was a series of stands where local foods were being sold. We just can’t resist these markets. We bought a medium sized jar of natural honey and one pound of smoked cow cheese for a total of $6.50.
Finally we got to the old town – or was it? The buildings were certainly not modern and had the distinct characteristics of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but wasn’t the old town supposed to have an Ottoman character? By this time we were rather hungry so we found an interesting (and highly rated) restaurant named The Epicentrum and ordered some lunch. It’s not exactly peak tourist season now so we basically had the entire place to our selves. I ordered the spaghetti bolognese and Deborah the moussaka. The spaghetti was very good but the moussaka wasn’t anything to get excited about. Cost: 22 KM / $12.00.
After dinner we walked a little further into town. We literally crossed a line that was sculpted into the street and found ourselves 400 years back in time in the Ottoman Empire. The buildings had the characteristic stone facades and low windows that we’d been expecting. We were delighted. We were later to find out that, after the Ottoman’s were kicked out in 1878, the Habsburgs, instead of destroying the old city, left it intact and began building their city right next to it. The effect is charming and an excellent example of East Meets West.
As we walked along we saw a number of Sarajevo Roses. During the siege of Sarajevo exploding mortar shells scarred the pavement. The patterns that were left have been said to resemble flower arrangements. These scars have been filled with red resin to remember those lost during the siege.
(A Sarajevo Rose)
We went to the Wiener Cafe for dessert before calling it a day. We shared a piece of baklava. It was very disappointing. We should have known better than to order a Greek dessert in an Austrian cafe in Bosnia. Cost for one piece of baklava and two cappucinos was 10 KM / $6.00. Cash only for anything under 20 KM.
Distance walked: 5.9 miles
Saturday, November 10
We signed up for the 11:00 am Free Tour and met our guide near the main square in old town (now often referred to as “Pigeon Square”). As in Mostar some other people had made reservations and failed to show up. Another private tour.
Our guide was a young man who makes his living as a tour guide. He said that he typically works 3-4 tours each day for the four months that constitute the busy season and the rest of the time he simply takes work as it comes along. He told us that he had a degree in history and it became apparent that it was a subject that interested him a great deal.
The tour was supposed to have lasted 90 minutes but actually went for a full three hours. He was very interested in the United States, world politics and our travels. This tour, unlike most, was a two-way discussion. We talked a lot about things that were not part of the normal tour and learned a lot from each other.
The tour started with an overview of Bosnian history . Bosnia first came into being as an independent country in the 10th century. It was occupied by the Ottomans for over 400 years and by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I it was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II was part of Communist Yugoslavia (Yugoslavia translates as the Land of Southern Slavs).
One of the more interesting sights on our tour was the clock tower. It’s the only public clock in the world that keeps lunar time – something that is useful to Muslims. It indicates the time of their daily prayers. At sunset the clock shows 12:00. A muvekit (timekeeper) is tasked with maintaining the clock so that it remains accurate throughout the year as the length of the days change. We’d certainly heard of lunar calendars before but never of a lunar clock.
Our guide also spent a great deal of time talking in detail about one of the most significant events in history that happened to occur in Sarajevo: The Assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand and his wife Sofia – often referred to as the event that triggered World War I.
After the war of 1878, when the Ottoman Empire’s influence in the Balkans came to an end, The Austro-Hungarian Empire occupied Bosnia. Serbia was angered when the empire officially annexed Bosnia in 1908. Serbia was concerned about the growing influence of the Austro-Hungarians in the region and wanted to resist being assimilated as well. Serbia trained and funded members of a secret society called Black Hand with the aim of stemming the influence of the Empire in their region. They tried to assassinate members of the royal family several times but failed. On the event of the Archduke’s visit to Sarajevo Serbia sent seven members of Black Hand to kill him. Only five assassins actually showed up.
When the Archduke’s party arrived they traveled in a three car formation from the train station to the Town Hall; the Archduke and his wife were in the first car. Along their route one of the assassins threw two bombs at the lead car. The first bomb missed and the second injured several people in the second car. The Archduke and his wife escaped unharmed, continued on to Town Hall and had lunch with several dignitaries.
After lunch the Archduke was scheduled to return to the train station but, en route, changed his mind and decided to visit the injured members of his party at the hospital. The car made a wrong turn and, when it stopped to turn around, the assassin Princip, took out a handgun and killed the Archduke and his wife. Princip was arrested, tried and convicted but since he was a few days short of being 20 years old he did not qualify for the death penalty under Austro-Hungarian law. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and died three years later of tuberculosis.
At the end of the tour our guide gave us some recommendations for restaurants and coffee shops. Since it was way past time for lunch we immediately set out to test his suggestions.
We had lunch at Buregdžinica Bosna, a restaurant that specializes in Burek. They sell it by weight. We tried to order 150 grams but were told the smallest size was 250 grams (about a half a pound). Deborah ordered one stuffed with spinach and cheese (called zeljanica) and I ordered one stuffed with meat (according to the Croatians and the Bosnians if it’s stuffed with meat then it’s burek and if it’s stuffed with anything else it has a different name – Serbia begs to differ). Both were covered in a white, sour cream sauce. They were the best burek we’ve ever had – and we’ve eaten burek (banitza) in countless cities across the Balkans over the past 12 months. The pastry was light and crispy and the fillings were fresh and full of flavor. The cream sauce is something special that we haven’t had before. It was only wanting for some garlic. Total cost: 10 KM / $6.00. Cash only.
(Best Burek Ever)
To wash it all down we then tried our guide’s recommendation for Bosnian coffee at Caffe Bar Sebilj. When we arrived all of the outside tables were full so we tried to sit inside. The owner waved us off and told us to find a table outside. When we told him that none were available he walked over to a couple who had finished their coffee and appeared to ask them if we could share their table. They were gracious, told us to have a seat and proceeded to pay for their coffee and leave.
When the waiter came by we ordered two Bosnian coffees. It’s not clear that he spoke any English but we finally made ourselves understood and got what we asked for. While we waited for the grounds to settled we ate the rose flavored Turkish Delight that is typically served. For fun we drank our coffees Bosnian style – you dip a sugar cube in the coffee, bite off a bit of the sugar and then drink the coffee. We don’t typically put sugar in our coffee but we’ve found from experience that this is the best way to drink this style coffee. Even without the sugar the coffee was strong and had a rich flavor with no bitterness. Total cost: 4 KM / $2.40.
On the way home we couldn’t resist trying a local delicacy: Turkish Halva. We ordered a piece from one of the many confectionaries and ate it while we walked. It’s just like the halva you’ve been eating all your life (crushed sesame seeds and sugar) except this version also contains molasses and butter. It has the texture of fudge and a strong flavor of caramel. The version we enjoyed had walnuts in it. It’s unbelievably good. We’ll definitely go back for some more.
We took a 9:00 am bus from Split to Mostar. It was our first foray into Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bus company required us to pay 3 EUROs for each of our two bags (in touristy places prices are often quoted in EUROs to make it easier for travelers to understand the costs but the money is almost always collected in the local currency). We gave them 20 KN and they gave us €0.50 change. We’ve never seen that before.
The bus ride was a short 4.5 hours. We ambled down the coastline along narrow winding roads. On one side were steep barefaced mountains and on the other side was the ever beautiful coastline. When we got near the town of Opuzen we noticed thousands of orange trees laden with fruit. A few minutes later the bus stopped along the road. It didn’t look like a bus stop and no passengers got on or off. We joked that we’d stopped at one of the many roadside stands for some fresh fruit. Sure enough, we saw the driver standing at the stand purchasing a bag of oranges. As he stepped back on to the bus he ripped the bag open and handed them out to the passengers. What a treat! The oranges smelled wonderful, peeled easily and were bursting with flavor and juice. We’ll remember that experience for a long time. Traveling is a never-ending series of surprises.
When we got to the Croatian border the driver collected our passports and gave them to a border crossing agent who stamped them. We drove a few feet more down the road and the driver got off to speak with a Bosnian border agent. He returned very quickly and redistributed the passports to the passengers. There was no new stamp. It was very disappointing.
The bus got into Mostar about 15 minutes early and we walked the one mile distance to our new apartment. We found it near the river in a court that looked like a scene from one of the those end of the world movies. We later learned that the court had been bombed during the war of the 1990s because one of the buildings belonged to the Bosnian military. All of the buildings in the court had obviously sustained damage; some of them have been repaired or rebuilt but the damage was still apparent.
The name Mostar literally translates as Guardian of the Bridge. During the 400 years under which the town was occupied by the Turks a single bridge was built over the Neretva River. Mostar was at the center of a series of important trading routes connecting Eastern and Western markets and merchants had to pay a toll in order to cross from one side to another. The revenue made the Turks very wealthy. Turkish troops were stationed at both ends of the bridge to insure orderly operations. The bridge, named Stari Most, which literally translates as Old Bridge, has stood since the 16th century and is considered an outstanding example of Islamic architecture.
During the Balkan wars of the 1990s the bridge collapsed when it was heavily damaged by Serbian forces. After the war the Bosnians, under the auspices of UNESCO, rebuilt the bridge using funds that had been donated from all over the world. It was reconstructed to look exactly as it had before the war. The bridge was reopened in 2004 in an elaborate ceremony that included the UK’s Prince Charles. It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one the country’s most recognized landmarks and a major tourist attraction.
The old town appears as if time stopped in the middle ages. The winding streets are paved with river rocks that have been worn smooth over time. The streets that lead up to the bridge, where the bazaars would have been, are now lined with shops selling all sorts of items that have been produced in the region. Jewelry and decorative items made from silver and copper are very popular. Of course there are the usual shops selling paintings from local artists and cheap tourist trinkets.
The bridge itself is in the shape of a high arch and extends about 65 feet above the river. Because of the steep slope there are raised treads every 12 inches or so to help with footing. It must have been difficult for horses and wagons to make their way across.
The West approach to the bridge is crowded with restaurants and cafes. We had dinner at a place called Šadrvan. Deborah ordered cevapi and I ordered the Bosnian schnitzel (deep fried veal rolled with ham and cheese). Both were excellent. The total cost was about 35 DM / $21.00. This was a nice meal in a fancy restaurant in the touristy part of town. It looks like we’re back to very reasonable prices once again. We’re really going to like Bosnia!
(Cevapi with Ajvar and Kaymak for Dinner)
By the time we finished eating dinner the sun had set and all of the bridges and buildings were lit. We walked over to one of the bridges South of Stari Most and took some pictures.
(Stari Most)
Afterwards we went to a cafe for coffee. We tried to order a Bosnian Coffee and a Turkish Coffee but the barista explained to us (in perfect English) that they were effectively the same thing and that both were, in fact, actually slight variations of Greek Coffee. We had read about the (slight) differences between the two and had heard that Bosnians take that difference very seriously. In the end we got two Bosnian coffees which came with two pieces of Turkish Delight (this is fairly typical). The coffee was similar to Turkish coffees we’d had before. As expected it was very strong but we were surprised when it was also smooth and had absolutely no bitterness. By now we’ve learned that you’re NOT supposed to drink the grounds.
We tried to pay for the coffees with the local currency called BAM (Bosnian Converted Marks which are usually abbreviated as KM) but they didn’t want them. They asked if we had EUROs. We didn’t have any with us. Then they asked for Dollars. Again, we didn’t have any with us. Finally, they took our KM but, since they didn’t have any KM of their own, they gave us change in EUROs. We’ve never seen a place that wouldn’t accept their own country’s currency for payment.
Distance walked: 6.3 miles
Thursday, November 8
Normally on our first day in a new town we would have gone grocery shopping but since we were only going to be in Mostar for a very short time we decided we’d just eat out three times a day. For breakfast we headed over to one of the nearby restaurants in the old town district called Urban Grill. We arrived at 8:00 am and were the only customers there. Deborah ordered a cheese omelette and I ordered eggs over-easy with sausages. Both plates came with cucumbers, tomatoes and sour cream. We also got a basket of a freshly made hearty rye bread. It’s hard to impress when doing eggs for breakfast but the food was really quite good. The cost was 20.50 KM / $12.00. There was no issue with currencies because we paid with a credit card.
At 10:00 am we met the free tour at the Spanish Square north of the old town. The tour consisted of three people: Deborah, the tour guide and me. A third person had registered, and we waited for them for about 10 minutes, but they never showed up so we had a private tour. Ivan, our guide, setup the free tour in Mostar about four years ago and is the only one performing this service. There are several paid tours available but we were surprised to learn that there was only one free tour. Mostar is a very popular tourist destination and could probably support several.
Ivan had some interesting background information to share. We saw quite a few buildings that had been bombed in the 1990s. Many are still standing but are nothing but hollow shells consisting of stone walls. A small number of historically significant buildings are just starting to be restored. Money is tight. Bosnia is not a wealthy country and any industries that Mostar had were destroyed in the war. Outside of the tourist trade there are few opportunities these days.
During the latter part of the 19th century Mostar was a protectorate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There are quite a few buildings from that period. They are easy to spot as their style is quite different from the predominant Eastern/Medieval style buildings.
The city is littered with mosques. Many of them are from the Ottoman period with several over 500 years old. Quite a few were heavily damaged in the war and most have been restored. The country, which is split into 10 Cantons, is divided evenly between Catholics, Muslims and Eastern Orthodox. Most Cantons have a dominate ethnic makeup and each ethnicity has its own regional government. There is also a single national government in Sarajevo. Before the war Mostar had an intermarriage rate of over 30% and all ethnic groups lived together in harmony.
Ivan had a packet of photos that showed various buildings before and after the war. It was easy to see the toll that the fighting had taken. It was very sad indeed.
The most important thing that we learned during the tour was about a local pastry called hurmasice – and the best place to get them: Aldi 2. They’re a cross between a biscuit and a cake, made with a combination of white flour and semolina, and had a consistency similar to corn muffins. They are drenched in a sugary syrup.
(Hurmasice and Hazelnut Mousse)
It was a beautifully sunny day when we arrived at the recommended coffee shop. We wanted to sit outside but found no empty tables on the patio. Deborah figured that we would have to settle for an inside table but I had other ideas. I noticed that one of the waitresses was about to make up a new table in an empty spot for a family that had just arrived. I asked if I could do likewise and she nodded. There were several spare tables on the far side of the patio and she started dragging one across the pavement. It made a terrible noise. I started to pick another up and was warned that they were very heavy. It was a bit heavy but I made it across the patio without dropping it. I’d do anything to avoid making more of that horrible dragging noise. After depositing the table in a Deborah approved spot I came back and carried the waitress’ table to a place she indicated. After that we got great service.
We ordered a hurmasice and another fabulous looking pastry that turned out to be hazelnut mousse covered in white chocolate along with two cappuccinos. When the bill came the total was “9.00” and there was an “E” next to each individual item. Based on our previous experience with the local currency we suspected that this meant we were being charged in EUROs but it turned out it was in fact denominated in KM. Total cost: 9 KM / $4.80. We paid with a credit card. This was one of the least expensive cafes we’ve been to and the food, not to mention the service, was great! We had gotten to the cafe around 12:30 pm so this snack was destined to stand in as our lunch.
With bellies full of caffeine and sugar we decided to visit the Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. Since entering Bosnia Deborah has been carrying a scarf to facilitate entry into the mosques. Women are required to cover their heads and hide all of their hair. This mosque dates from 1617. In front of the Mosque is a small courtyard where we found a decagon shaped fountain. These fountains are commonly found in and around mosques and allow the worshippers to perform the Wudo, the ritual washing, before prayer. The ritual consists of washing the hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, head and feet with water.
The interior of the mosque was one large room. In typical style it had a domed ceiling with stained glass windows, white walls and brightly colored decorations. There was also access to a long, narrow, steep set of stone steps that led to the top of the minaret. We’d climbed many church bell towers over the years but had never climbed a minaret. We jumped at the opportunity (at least I did, Deborah always prefers to avoid long staircases whenever possible). From the top we had a magnificent 360 degree view of the entire town and surrounding countryside and snapped quite a few photos. The cost to see the Mosque was 3 KM per person and there was a charge of 6 KM to climb the minaret. Cash only. Again, I got change in EUROs!
(Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque)
Loudspeakers have been installed atop all of the minarets in town. Five times a day, starting at dawn, the call to prayer can be heard all over town. Often more than one mosque will be broadcasting at a time. It can make for some interesting harmonies.
Next we walked south, passed the Stari Most, to another bridge from which we planned to take pictures of the town. We’d already taken some nighttime photos from that place and wanted some daytime ones to go along with them. Finally, around 5:30 pm, we headed back into the old town for some dinner.
(Stari Most and Old Town)
For dinner we had some traditional Balkan food at a restaurant called Hindin Han. Like many places in town it was crawling with cats – in this case kittens – that like to keep the customers company. Deborah is somewhat allergic to cats so we had to keep shooing them away; it really wasn’t a big deal.
We ordered a cevapi (quickly becoming our new favorite food) with ajvar and kaymak and a plescavita that was stuffed with cheese. Both came with some fresh vegetables and fries. The portions were enormous. We should have ordered just one and shared it. The food was so good is was a shame to leave some of it behind on our plates (that doesn’t happen very often). The cost: 22 KM / $14.00. Credit cards accepted.
